Pounds Of: Muscle

Big Mr. Olympia Preview: Full-Page Eye-Popping Pics!
OCTOBER 2006 / IRON MAN MAGAZINE—WE KNOW TRAINING™
20
POUNDS OF
MUSCLE
In Only 2 Months!
How One Man Did It
BEST ARMS IN
BODYBUILDING
See Moe El Moussawi
Load His Guns
BACK-TO-BACK
20 POUNDS OF MUSCLE IN 2 MONTHS
ANGLE ATTACK
Lines-of-Force Concept
In Mass-Packing Action
OCTOBER 2006
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www.ironmanmagazine.com \ APRIL 2006 261

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150 DECEMBER 2009 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

October 2006 Vol. 65, No. 10
Moe-Muscle Arm
Training,
page 194
We Know Training ™
FEATURES
FEATURES
60 TRAIN, EAT, GROW 84
In the final stages of their ripping phase, the TEG men re-
veal what they’ve learned about the fat-to-muscle process
this time around.
98 READY, SET, GROW! PART 2

Muscle-training researcher Rob Thoburn answers ques-
tions on the ROB, POF and DC training methods.
108 AN APPLE A DAY

Jerry Brainum looks at the almighty apple and how its
phytonutrients and fiber can make you bigger, stronger
and healthier.
124 A BODYBUILDER IS BORN 15

Ron Harris discusses bodybuilding for Big Mr. Olympia Preview: Full-Page Eye-Popping Pics!
™
grown-ups—getting it done when you

have a job and responsibilities.
20
POUNDS OF
132 20 POUNDS OF MUSCLE
In Only 2 Months!
How One Man Did It
MUSCLE IN TWO MONTHS BEST ARMS IN

BODYBUILDING
Drug-free bodybuilder Mike Semanoff See Moe El Moussawi
Load His Guns
BACK-TO-BACK
tells how he made incredible muscle ANGLE ATTACK
Lines-of-Force Concept
gains in record time—his training In Mass-Packing Action
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PLUS:
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Please display until 10/5/06 •’Roid-Rage Research •Ab-Etching Exercise Order
C1_oct06-2blu_F.indd 1 7/31/06 12:04:23 PM
142 TOP-10 SECRETS Greg Blount and Jennifer

Goodwin appear on this
OF THE BEST DRUG-FREE month’s cover. Photo by
BODYBUILDERS Michael Neveux
Five-time Team Universe champ Skip
La Cour gives you an inside look at what it takes to build
extraordinary muscle—without trips to Mexico.
166 BACK-TO-BACK ANGLE ATTACK

Jerry Robinson’s multiangular roadmap to improving your
20 Pounds Back- rear view with the lines-of-force concept.
of Muscle to-Back
in Two Angle 194 MOE-MUSCLE ARM TRAINING
Months, Attack, Cory Crow outlines IFBB pro Moe El Moussowi’s best-
page 132 page 166 arms-in-bodybuilding program. (Just call him Gun Show
Moe.)
Mr. Olympia 210 HEAVY DUTY

John Little explores Mike Mentzer’s high-intensity mass
Preview,
methods.
page 238
238 MR. OLYMPIA PREVIEW
Lonnie Teper takes a preliminary peek at whose physique
will peak or wreak at the greatest muscle show on earth.
Lots of big, eye-popping pics here, gang.
264 ONLY THE STRONG SHALL SURVIVE

Bill Starr shows you how to get more pop at the top—and
build more overall muscle in the process.

DEPARTMENTS
30 TRAIN TO GAIN
Results of a new study on rep speed—and how to get a
grip. Also, Joe Horrigan’s popular Sportsmedicine.
Muscle “In” Sites,

44 SMART TRAINING
Top strength coach Charles Poliquin presents his
page 226 thoughts on size vs. cuts and remaking muscle memory.
50 EAT TO GROW
Protein fact and fiction, lactoferrin boosts your body-
building gains and food as drug and destressor.
78 CRITICAL MASS
Steve Holman looks at ab-etching exercise order and
the hardgainer calorie conundrum.
Eat to Grow, Train to Gain, 82 NATURALLY HUGE

page 50 page 30 John Hansen helps you alleviate gain pains with tips on
eating for more muscle.
220 BODYBUILDING PHARMACOLOGY

Jerry Brainum delves into research on ’roid rage. (Just
read it and don’t piss us off!)
226 MUSCLE “IN” SITES

Eric Broser’s Web surfing pays off again with lots of cool
muscle stuff, including Mr. Olympia’s killer site.
228 NEWS & VIEWS

Inside the world of bodybuilding with Lonnie Teper.
258 PUMP & CIRCUMSTANCE

Ruth Silverman looks at the ladies’ side of things.
276 MIND/BODY CONNECTION

Randall Strossen, Ph.D., draws fine lines, and Dave Drap-
er answers Bomber questions.
288 READERS WRITE

News & Views, Pump & Circumstance, Timeless Terminator, young upstart and killer contest
page 228 page 258 coverage.
In the next IRON MAN

Next month is our 70th anniversary issue (yes, IM
has been around since 1936!), and to celebrate,
we’ve got a special pictorial of many of our classic
covers. Full-page reprints featuring the legends of
bodybuilding. Very cool, if we do say so ourselves.
Plus, we put the get-big interview Qs to Eric Broser,
creator of the Power/Rep Range/Shock system, and
he fires back with some interesting answers—as
well as plenty of info you can use to get huge.
Then it’s on to lifting big with our bench press
special, tips from Ryan “Bench Monster” Kennelly,
the three-time Arnold Classic bench press world
champ. You’ll be repping with three big wheels on
each side of the bar in no time with this step-by-
step program. Watch for the knockout November
WEB ALERT! IRON MAN on newsstands the first week of October.
from the world
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John Balik’s
Founders
Publisher’s Letter 1936-1986:
Peary & Mabel Rader
Publisher/Editorial Director: John Balik
Associate Publisher: Warren Wanderer
The Olympia and Design Director: Michael Neveux

Editor in Chief: Stephen Holman
Art Director: T. S. Bratcher
Senior Editor: Ruth Silverman
Other Previews Editor at Large: Lonnie Teper

Articles Editors: L.A. Perry, Caryne Brown
Assistant Art Director: Aldrich Bonifacio
Designer: Emerson Miranda
The most anticipated bodybuilding contest
IRON MAN Staff:
of the year is the Mr. Olympia, and this issue Vuthy Keo, Mervin Petralba,
features full-page photos of some of the top R. Anthony Toscano
competitors. In addition, Lonnie Teper gets Contributing Authors:
out his crystal ball and makes his fearless Jerry Brainum, Eric Broser, David Chapman,
Teagan Clive, Lorenzo Cornacchia, Daniel Curtis,
predictions for the sport’s biggest battle. It all
Dave Draper, Michael Gündill, Rosemary Hallum,
starts on page 238—and our “live” coverage of Ph.D., John Hansen, Ron Harris, Ori Hofmekler,
Olympia Weekend at IRON MAN’s Graphic Rod Labbe, Skip La Cour, Jack LaLanne, Butch
Muscle.com, with photos (by Bill Comstock, Lebowitz, Stuart McRobert, Gene Mozée,
Charles Poliquin, Larry Scott, Jim Shiebler, Roger
Bill Dobbins and others) and audio interviews Schwab, C.S. Sloan, Bill Starr, Bradley Steiner, Eric
and reports (by Ruth Silverman and Lonnie Sternlicht, Ph.D., Randall Strossen, Ph.D., Richard
Teper), starts on Thursday, September 28, and Winett, Ph.D., and David Young
continues throughout the weekend. Contributing Artists:
Lonnie and Ruth have set the journalistic Steve Cepello, Larry Eklund, Ron Dunn,
Jake Jones
standard for news and personality reporting in the world of bodybuild-
Contributing Photographers:
ing with their work in IRON MAN and at GraphicMuscle, and they re- Jim Amentler, Reg Bradford, Jimmy Caruso, Bill
cently added audio and video reportage. I find their spontaneous, mostly Comstock, Bill Dobbins, Jerry Fredrick, Irvin Gelb,
unedited, cinema (and audio) verite–style interviews and commentary J.M. Manion, Gene Mozée, Mitsuru Okabe, Rob
Sims, Leo Stern, Russ Warner
to be exciting and personal in a way that only the Web can provide.
Look for IM’s GraphicMuscle.com to have the Internet’s most compre- Director of Marketing:
hensive Olympia experience. If you can’t be in Las Vegas for the O, it’s the Helen Yu, 1-800-570-IRON, ext. 1
Accounting: Dolores Waterman
next best seat in the house.
Subscriptions Manager:
Elsewhere in this issue, Jerry Brainum reminds us of the incredible Sonia Melendez, 1-800-570-IRON, ext. 2
nutrient cache that is the apple. The old rhyme about an apple a day E-mail: soniazm@aol.com
turns out to be truer than anyone knew. Research has validated the value Advertising Director: Warren Wanderer
of the apple, and Jerry explains not only the many ways it can help you 1-800-570-IRON, ext. 1
build bigger muscles but also its numerous protective qualities. His (518) 743-1696; FAX: (518) 743-1697
Advertising Coordinator:
comprehensive look at the research on this ubiquitous fruit starts on
Jonathan Lawson, (805) 385-3500, ext. 320
page 108. Newsstand Consultant:
Charles Poliquin’s insights are invaluable for the breadth of his experi- Angelo Gandino, (516) 796-9848
ence with many types of athletes as well as the depth of his knowledge.
He has trained athletes from many Olympic sports in addition to body- We reserve the right to reject any advertising at our
discretion without explanation. All manuscripts, art
builders, and the answers he gives in his Q&A column, “Smart Training,” or other submissions must be accompanied by a self-
exhibit that unique mix of knowledge and experience. Learn from the addressed, stamped envelope. Send submissions to
IRON MAN, 1701 Ives Avenue, Oxnard, CA 93033.
coach on page 44. We are not responsible for unsolicited material.
Skip La Cour has walked the walk for many years—he’s a five-time Writers and photographers should send for our
Team Universe champion with an amazing physique. The Team Universe Guidelines outlining specifications for submissions.
IRON MAN is an open forum. We also reserve the
trials are the most prestigious drug-tested bodybuilding event in the right to edit any letter or manuscript as we see
United States. The best of the best compete, and Skip’s T.U. record—five fit, and photos submitted have an implied waiver
of copyright. Please consult a physician before
heavyweight wins and two overall titles—stands alone. His “Top-10 Se- beginning any diet or exercise program. Use the
crets of the Best Drug-Free Bodybuilders,” which begins on page 143, information published in IRON MAN at your own
risk.
should become the mantra of anyone who aspires to greatness in the
sport without using banned substances. In reading about them, you’ll IRON MAN Internet Addresses:
notice that the first five secrets involve the mental aspects of bodybuild- Web Site: www.ironmanmagazine.com
ing—and for good reason. Skip knows that mental success always pre- John Balik, Publisher: ironleader@aol.com
Steve Holman, Editor in Chief: ironchief@aol.com
cedes physical success. If you don’t control the mental aspects, you can Ruth Silverman, Senior Editor: ironwman@aol.com
never achieve your true potential. T.S. Bratcher, Art Director: ironartz@aol.com
For comments on this issue or all things bodybuilding, send e-mail to Helen Yu, Director of Marketing: irongrrrl@aol.com
Jonathan Lawson, Ad Coordinator: ironjdl@aol.com
IronLeader@aol.com. IM
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24 OCTOBER 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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TRAINING TWEAKS
Fast Results How important is repetition speed?

Many trainers place great emphasis on the speed, or The researchers found that doing one set increased
cadence, of repetitions during a set. Ostensibly, doing an strength by 25 percent, while doing three sets increased
exercise at a specified cadence may require more mus- strength by 48 percent. Despite that finding, the authors
cular tension, which in turn may activate additional mus- suggest that some beginners may need to stick with one-
cle fibers. Using a certain exercise tempo also promotes set programs because of time constraints and greater
better exercise form, resulting in less chance of injury. training-compliance levels.
A major debate among exercise physiologists is Training fast also led to greater strength gains than
whether raising (concentric contraction) or lowering (ec- training with a slow tempo. That effect wasn’t as great as
centric contraction) a weight leads to greater muscular the number of sets, with the subjects showing an 11 per-
size and strength. Some research shows that eccentric cent greater gain in strength when training fast than when
muscle contractions are more productive because you training slow. Those findings are contrary to common
can use heavier weights. That causes more muscle dam- knowledge and experience, which suggests that a slower
age, leading to upgraded compensation processes—size training tempo leads to greater progress. The authors
and strength. Other studies show little difference between aren’t sure why the faster speed led to greater strength
concentric and eccentric muscle contractions. The con- gains but think that it may involve a higher discharge, or
sensus is that both types are important. firing rate, of single motor units.
A more recent training philosophy suggests that em- All the training groups showed an increase in upper
phasizing repetition speed is most important for making arm size, which isn’t surprising, since they were all
muscle gains. Its advocates suggest taking 30 seconds untrained at the start of the study. None of the groups
or more to complete the rep. The theory is that the added showed any superiority in muscle size gains.
muscle tension provides a concentrated growth and The findings of the study don’t jibe with common
conditioning effect to muscles. Some recent books even sense or experience. Using a fast style would lead to
say that the system is so efficient, you can train for 20 looser exercise form, resulting in less, not more, muscle
minutes or less using the slow style and equal or exceed involvement. When beginners use a fast style, they tend
the results you get from more conventional training. to obliterate the controlled lowering of the weight, which
A recent study compared doing fast and slow reps, would also blunt strength and size gains. As for training
along with different numbers of sets (three vs. one) in 115 volume, doing three bad sets would likely lead to greater
healthy, untrained subjects.1 The subjects were placed in gains than doing one bad set, so the superiority of train-
four groups: ing volume shown in this study isn’t surprising either. I
would suggest, however, that one high-intensity, con-
1) One fast set trolled set would produce better gains in muscle size and
2) Three fast sets strength for most people than a looser, fast style of train-
3) One slow set ing as exemplified by this study.
Neveux \ Model: Peter Putman
—Jerry Brainum
4) Three slow sets
1 Munn, J., et al. (2005). Resistance training for
The groups did just one exercise, one-arm curls, using
six to eight reps per set. All groups trained three times a strength: Effect of number of sets and contraction speed.
week for six weeks. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 37:1622-26.

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R AND R
If Calories Are Low,

Train Less to Grow
A while back I was talking with the
current Master’s Pro World champion,
Bob Cicherillo, and he had an interest-
ing philosophy about contest prepara-
tion. As a contest drew closer and he
was surviving on fewer calories, he
actually reduced his training frequency
and volume, the polar opposite from
what most bodybuilding competitors
do.
His reasoning made a lot of sense:
“If you aren’t giving your body a lot of
extra fuel for recovery, why on earth
Comstock \ Model: Armin Scholz

would you want to start training harder
and longer? You’re a lot better off eas-
ing up a little toward the end.”
More recently I was speaking with
’80s legend Gary Strydom, on the
eve of his comeback last spring. Gary
echoed a similar tactic. “I train with
higher volume and higher reps in the
ELITE EXERCISES off-season and also include more
isolation exercises,” he said. “I’ll also
Isolation Lessons
New German pro Armin “the Hammer” Scholz has never had a problem build-
do more drop sets and supersets.
I’m eating a lot more food, particularly
carbs and fats, and doing less cardio,
so I can benefit
ing his arms. Since they tape out at more than 23 inches, I wouldn’t believe him if and grow from
he ever claimed they’d been a challenge. Still, that doesn’t mean he has nothing doing more in the
gym.”
to offer the rest of us when it comes to arm training. In going over his workout, I That all
found two rarely performed exercises that could definitely help stubborn biceps changes when
and triceps put on some new mass. it’s time to diet
Facedown incline dumbbell curls. Regular incline dumbbell curls are a down and get
good choice for hitting the biceps from the stretch position, but those of you with shredded. “When
I’m getting ready
powerful front delts probably get a little too much help from those bad boys. To
Isaac Hinds \ Lift Studios
for a contest, I lift

eliminate the unwanted assistance, flip over and do your curls facedown so that heavier for lower
your biceps get the work they need. With your torso braced and immobile, it’s reps, and I just
going to be all biceps, giving your guns growth stimulation. do straight sets
Bench dips. Armin never liked parallel bar dips, as his enormous shoulders of basic free-
weight move- Gary Strydom.
always tended to take over. And close-grip bench presses, that other staple comments. That lets
pound movement, were no good because he felt them more in his chest than his me recover better, and I actually grow
triceps. So it’s been bench dips, done between two benches and with his hands into the show like Arnold and those
behind him, that have carried the load and been responsible for torching his guys used to.” It was hard to argue
horseshoes. with Strydom’s logic, as he was sitting
at 282 pounds of dense, ripped mus-
You may find cle just three weeks out from his first
that you, too, contest in more than a decade—and, I
get more out of might add, at 46 years old.
bench dips than Have you found yourself losing
the other two, muscle as you diet down for con-
tests? I bet you blamed your diet
more traditional
Neveux \ Model: Jonathan Lawson
or your cardio, when chances are it

movements too. might have been your weight training.
—Ron Harris Shorten your sessions and lower the
www.Ron reps, and maybe next time you can
HarrisMuscle walk on stage with more muscle than
ever before.
.com —Ron Harris
www.RonHarrisMuscle.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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bench press—say, 20 extra pounds
on the bar—after only a couple of
workouts? Sure, adding 20 pounds
to your bench in two or three training
sessions may sound crazy, especially
if your bench press poundage has
been stuck in neutral for a while.
But nine times out of 10 this stall is
due to an easily correctible muscle
weakness—not in the pecs, delts
or triceps but in a group of muscles
known as the rotator cuff.
The rotator cuff muscles stabilize

the shoulder joint. During the bench
press and almost all other upper-
body movements these muscles
protect the shoulder joint and
prevent ball-and-socket slippage. If
these muscles are underdeveloped,
they become the weak link in the
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TRAIN TO GAIN HIGH INTENSITY
Can Failure Breed Success in Training?

Arthur Jones, the eccen- the approach and others refuting it. Previous studies, how-
tric and brilliant inventor of ever, have been hampered by methodological flaws, such as
the Nautilus and MedX exer- using the wrong types of equipment or untrained subjects.
cise machines, had a deep- The authors wanted to compare the effectiveness of 11
seated distrust of exercise weeks of resistance training to failure with not training to fail-
scientists and other academ- ure. A secondary aspect compared the hormonal responses
ics. Although he came from to the two modes of training: to failure and not to failure.
a family largely consisting of The study featured 42 experienced men who were ran-
medical doctors, Jones was domly assigned to training to failure (RF), nonfailure (NRF)
self-taught; he used trial and and control groups. Various strength, power and blood tests
error to find answers. His were instituted before the start of training and after six, 11
Nautilus machines were an and 16 weeks. Both training groups made similar gains in
attempt to improve on what one-rep bench press strength, squat strength and muscular
he considered the deficien- arm output, as well as maximum number of reps done on
cies in free weights. Jones wanted to make exercise more the squat. The failure group showed increased upper-body
efficient and “idiot-proof.” That’s ironic, since most people endurance, while the nonfailure group showed greater
who use Nautilus machines still manage to use them im- lower-body endurance.
properly. From a hormonal viewpoint, the failure group showed
Jones espoused a minimalist training philosophy. He drops in insulinlike growth hormone 1, along with a rise
believed that you should do enough exercise to produce in the binding protein in the blood for that hormone. The
added strength and muscular size and no more. Jones felt nonfailure group showed lowered cortisol levels, along with
that most bodybuilders were grossly overtrained and their increased resting total testosterone. The authors imply that
workouts were nothing more than a form of manual labor, a training to failure, due to increased stress, led to a higher
going-through-the-motions activity that produced gains at a level of the catabolic hormone cortisol. Along with that
snail’s pace. comes the implication that not training to failure would result
In his writings in Iron Man in the mid-1970s Jones applied in greater overall gains, though training to failure appears to
commonsense solutions to exercise problems. One of his increase local muscle endurance, at least in the upper body.
favorite terms was “self-evident logic,” meaning that only a The study leaves many questions unanswered. Were the
fool would challenge the simple logic he presented. In a way, trainees provided enough recovery time? Did the men in the
his training tenets were one-size-fits-all, in that he suggested train-to-failure group actually train to failure? Jones frequent-
that the only way to produce maximum muscle gains was ly pointed out that many who thought they were training to
through training a set to “utter and complete failure.” That failure fell considerably short of the mark. That would negate
ensured full activation of the maximum number of muscle the study’s results. It also shows how studies can easily be
fibers required to induce faster gains in size and strength. skewed to prove a preconceived notion. That may not have
That level of training intensity also demanded more rest. been the case with this particular study, and the use of more
Jones believed that people have a finite recovery ability, and experienced trainees was a definite plus.
exceeding that limit led to overtraining and slow or no gains. Still, Arthur Jones made much sense when he said that
To bolster his claims, he pointed to the lack of regular prog- the only way to ensure that a muscle was trained to 100
ress made by the majority of bodybuilders. percent of its capacity was to train that muscle to failure.
Mainstream exercise scientists didn’t exactly embrace Even the exercise scientists don’t dispute the law of muscle
Jones’ dogmatic assertions. They considered him a radical fiber recruitment, which states that the maximum number of
parvenu who had never bothered to climb the ivory tow- muscle fibers used are recruited in a specific sequence and
ers of academia and who therefore had to recruit more muscle
no justification for challenging established fibers requires using
exercise research. The academic snobbery heavier weights with a
continues to this day; many with advanced higher level of training
degrees disparage the dissenting opinions intensity. That taps into
of those without them. That’s true despite the muscle fibers that
the fact that many of the greatest inventions are most associated with
in history have been created by such un- gains in muscle size and
educated Neanderthals as Thomas Edison strength.
and the Wright brothers. Arthur Jones was —Jerry Brainum
in good company.
The latest example of the attack on the Izquierdo, M., et al.
heart of Jones’ training concepts is a study (2006). Differential ef-
comparing the effects of training to failure fects of strength training
with not training to failure.The authors note leading to failure vs. not
Neveux \ Model: Jose Raymond
that the main purpose of training a muscle to failure on hormonal

to failure is to activate more motor units, or responses, strength and
muscle fibers. The high mechanical stress, muscle power gains. J
in turn, results in altered gene expression Appl Physiol. 100(5):167-
and muscle damage. They mention that the 56.
research on the efficacy of training to failure
is equivocal, with some studies confirming

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TRAIN TO GAIN SPORTSMEDICINE
Trap Training and Neck Injuries

The trapezius serves many functions. Most trainees think of improved awareness of the scapular position, or posture.
it only as the muscle on top of the shoulders. That, however, Shoulders that are rounded forward are a common problem.
is only the upper trapezius, or “trap,” as most trainees call it. The second issue is the need to strengthen the muscles that
The entire trapezius muscle is kite-shaped. It originates on pull the shoulders back, such as the exercises mentioned
the base of the skull and all the vertebrae in the neck (cervical above. The third is the stretching of the tight muscles that pull
spine) and midback (thoracic spine). The trapezius attaches the shoulders forward—pectoralis major, pectoralis minor and
on the outer clavicle and a bony prominence on the scapula. serratus anterior.
The trapezius has many functions: It can raise the scapula So far, all of this information sounds very helpful. The prob-
straight up, upward rotate it, and retract it, or pull it back. lem is that certain movements that target the traps and del-
The middle and lower traps are strengthened by various toids can place a very significant load on the disks, or shock
rows—barbell, dumbbell, T-bar, cable and assorted ma- absorbers, of the neck. I asked for input on the topic from
chines—and exercises, such as bent-over lateral raises, a.k.a. Robert Bray Jr., M.D., a neurosurgeon specializing in spine
rear-delt raises, and side lying rear-delt raises. The upper pathology who’s treated many weight-trained athletes, from
traps work during those movements too, although for the bodybuilders to powerlifters and football players. He is the
average trainee they’re more specifically targeted by shrugs, director of Diagnostic and Interventional Spinal Care in Marina
upright rows, presses, behind-the-neck presses and lateral del Rey, California, and is the medical director of the Spine
raises. (Athletes in other sports develop the traps with cleans, Program at St. John’s Hospital in nearby Santa Monica. “The
power cleans, snatches, power snatches, push presses and trapezius muscle exerts a powerful downward force on the
jerks off the rack.) All of those movements produce well-de- lower cervical spine,” he explained, “particularly the C5-6 and
veloped traps. C6-7 disk. Overhead training can produce a force on these
Well-developed traps are important in the concept of disk levels that can lead to degenerative disk changes, which
scapular stabilization, a term often heard today in physical can lead to decreased disk height and foraminal stenosis”
therapy, chiropractic sportsmedicine, athletic training and (narrowing of the space where the nerves exit the spine).
orthopedic circles. It involves several issues. The first entails I’ve seen many cases of ruptured cervical disks that oc-
curred during behind-the-neck presses. Many train-
ees can perform the behind-the-neck press without
incident, but some seem to continually strain and
use the neck as an accessory muscle during the lift.
It may be the powerful contraction of the upper tra-
pezius during this lift, as described by Dr. Bray, that
accounts for the injuries.
The trapezius is such a powerful muscle that
shrugs can be performed with very heavy weight.
IRON MAN has run articles recently about the late
Mike Mentzer’s training philosophy. At one point, Mike
and Ray Mentzer trained with the great bodybuild-
ing champion Casey Viator. Casey performed shrugs
with 700 pounds. The powerlifter John Gamble often
did the same. Many recreational trainees use heavy
dumbbells to train their traps.
If you find that while performing shoulder and
trap training you feel neck pain, pain traveling down
to your shoulder blade area or under your shoulder
blade, or pain that travels down the arm, I suggest
you stop performing the exercise and seek an ap-
pointment with a spine specialist.
—Joseph M. Horrigan
Editor’s note: Visit www.softtissuecenter.com

for reprints of Horrigan’s past Sportsmedicine col-
umns that have appeared in IRON MAN. You can
order the books, Strength, Conditioning and Injury
Prevention for Hockey by Joseph Horrigan, D.C., and
E.J. “Doc” Kreis, D.A., and the 7-Minute Rotator Cuff
Solution by Horrigan and Jerry Robinson from Home
Mike Mentzer shrugs with Casey Viator Gym Warehouse, (800) 447-0008 or at www.home-
along for the ride. gym.com.
Balik
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TRAIN TO GAIN HARDGAINER
Get a Grip For more muscle power and better workouts

Grip staying power you place on it. Once
is essential for great you feel your grip strug-
workouts. Think of how gling to cope, use chalk,
many times your grip but use it only where
has let you down on you need the help, like
chins, deadlifts, shrugs, on back exercises and
pulldowns and rows, for upper-body pressing
example. Or how your movements. In the latter
grip sometimes slides a your grip isn’t going to
little during bench press- give out as it may in
es and overhead presses. the deadlift, but during
In each case your per- bench press reps your
formance is marred and hands may slip outward
your workout effective- a little unless you apply
ness compromised. chalk.
Take the following Experiment to find
preventive measures, the right amount of
and your grip may never chalk. Use too little and
seriously limit your train- you won’t feel much
ing again: benefit; use too much
1) Don’t use a thick bar and your grip may
for general training—use slip. But use enough
a regular-diameter bar. and your grip will be
strengthened. Rub a
2) Use a bar with deep, piece on your fingers
sharp knurling; if a bar and palms, including
has no knurling or barely
Neveux
the area between your
any, it’s of no use for
thumb and index finger.
heavy deadlifting.
Rub your hands to-
3) The knurling must not be clogged with chalk, rosin or gether, and blow off any excess chalk. Keep it away from your
dirt—use a stiff brush to remove grit. face, or else the dust may impair your breathing or get in your
eyes.
4) Use lifter’s chalk or rosin.
Don’t get chalk on the floor because chalk can act as a
5) Use an over-under grip—one hand pronated and the lubricant there and lead to slipping. Chalk isn’t only for hands.
other supinated—also known as a reverse, or mixed, grip, You can chalk your shirt across the shoulders for squats to
for deadlifts and barbell shrugs but not for other exercises; help prevent the bar from slipping out of position. If you’re
also, alternate grip widths from set to set for balanced sweating heavily and are going to do some pressing with your
development. back on a bench, get someone to chalk your upper back. That
6) Hold the bar in your palms, not your fingers—wrap your may help prevent your torso from sliding on the bench.
hands around the bar. Get chalk from a store that sells mountaineering gear or
general sporting goods. Also, remember that chalk can di-
7) Add specific grip training to your workouts. This won’t minish the effect of knurling on the bar. Periodically scrub the
produce benefits immediately, but it will pay off in time; knurled parts of bars with a stiff brush to prevent that.
specific grip training can incorporate thick-bar work. Rosin. Rosin powder is an alternative to chalk. Rosin
Few bodybuilders get even close to achieving the strength may be less messy, which may make it acceptable in gyms
potential of their hands because they often use grip crutches that proscribe chalk. It’s used by baseball players, specifically
and fail to train their hands properly. Don’t use wrist straps or pitchers. Rosin may also be put on the undersides of footwear
hooks that attach you to a bar. If you do, you may end up with to help prevent slipping on smooth surfaces. You can get a
underdeveloped hands on a well-developed body. As your grip rosin bag from a sporting goods store. —Stuart McRobert
strength increases, so will the muscle and connective tissue of www.Hardgainer.com
your hands.
Gloves aren’t necessary—and your hands can slide inside Editor’s note: Stuart McRob-
them because of sweating. If you get excessive buildup of cal- ert’s first byline in IRON MAN ap-
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TRAIN TO GAIN BIGGER BODYPARTS
Shoulder Growth With a Girlie Workout

Like most bodybuild- which is technically 30
ers, I do most of my train- reps. Let me tell you, just
ing with heavy weights, Tara Scotti. the first tri-set was a true
reps in the six-to-12 bitch to finish. By the third
range, and straight sets. one, I was whimpering like
It’s a proven formula for a baby and struggling just
adding mass. But training to use 12-pound dumb-
heavy all the time will get bells. Oh, how the mighty
you only so far. Eventu- had fallen.
ally, the muscles fully But the humiliation
adapt to it, not to mention wasn’t over yet. It was
that the constant pound- time to do presses,
ing on the joints takes seated dumbbell presses
its toll sooner or later. to be exact. The superset
Recently, my left shoulder was 15 reps of Arnold
joint had that feeling of presses, immediately
imminent disaster—an followed by another 15
injury was just around the reps with the palms facing
corner, waiting for me to each other. Because I’m a
make one dumb mistake. strong shoulder presser, I
Slipping slightly out of stupidly picked up a pair
the groove while pressing of 40s for my first set. I
130-pound dumbbells didn’t even make it half-
a couple of weeks back way through before I had
was mainly to blame. Of to drop them and swap
course, I want my shoul- them for 30s. By the third
ders to continue growing, superset, I was using a
so I had to explore op- paltry 25 pounds in each
tions that didn’t involve hand, but they felt more
heavy pressing. like 125s.
While interviewing pro When it was done,
figure competitor and my shoulders were so
personal trainer Tara pumped and on fire with
Scotti about her shoulder lactic acid that I literally
training, I asked her to could not reach my brow
Comstock
give me her toughest with my towel to wipe the

shoulder workout. With sweat that was pouring
my own ulterior motive I into my eyes. Janet, who
challenged her to detail typically does higher reps
the most productive workout she knew for someone who and rests less between sets than I do, hadn’t had as much
couldn’t perform heavy pressing movements. “Da Hottie,” difficulty with the workout as I had. “Not so easy, was it?” she
as her fans call her, obliged, and I set out to try it the next smirked. Dang her, and dang that Tara, too, for putting me
time my wife and I hit delts. I expected nothing more than a through such torture.
change of pace. I mean, seriously, how hard could a figure When I woke up the next morning, I was painfully sore in
competitor possibly train, compared to me, the bad-ass all three heads of my deltoids. They were actually tender to
hardcore bodybuilder? Little did I know I was in for one of the the touch. I can’t say how long it’s been since my shoulders
most memorable workouts of my life. got that sore from training, or if indeed they’d ever been
We began with a barbell, alternating reps of front raises that sore. And who would have thought the workout to do it
and wide-grip upright rows. Fifteen of each made for a total would be designed not by a 285-pound Mr. Olympia but a
of 30 reps per set, and we did three of those with no more 120-pound Toronto Pro Figure champion?
than 60 seconds of rest in between, as instructed. I made it If your standard heavy weights and lower reps for straight
and was getting quite pumped, but I felt pretty confident this sets haven’t been getting you anywhere, I suggest you give
workout wasn’t going to be so bad. Tara’s shoulder shocker a try the next time you train delts. I
Next up was a tri-set of three exercises. The first was guarantee you’ll be surprised at how brutally tough it is, and
dumbbell rear lateral raises, facedown on an incline bench, soreness and growth will follow as surely as summer follows
12 to 15 reps. As soon as that was done, you sat up and did spring. You may even decide to cycle this ultra-intense style
seated lateral raises for another 12 to 15. Then you stood up of training into your yearly program or just rotate it in every
and did 15 “Scotti raises,” a two-part movement of alternat- third or fourth workout to shake things up. You’ll hate it while
ing reps. You start with the dumbbells in front of your waist, you’re doing it, but I have a feeling you’ll love the thicker,
with your palms facing the mirror. Keeping them that way, rounder, striated shoulders you’ll get.
you trace a circle in the air and meet the dumbbells over your —Ron Harris
head, then reverse the circle down. For the second part you
flip your hands over so your palms face the ground and do a Editor’s note: Check out Ron’s new free online training
standard lateral raise. We did 15 reps of the two-part raise, blog, The Daily Pump, at www.RonHarrisMuscle.com.

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Charles Poliquin’s
Smart Training
Size vs. Cuts

manually apply resistance—pushing down on the bar—for
eccentric work instead of adding weight. The negative rep-
etitions will exhaust eccentric strength, which will help get
the contractile proteins to return to their previous training
size. You want to do eight total sets per bodypart, and make
Q: I’m 6 ’2”, 218 pounds and 17 percent bodyfat at sure you rest four minutes between sets or two minutes
25 years old. I’ve been bodybuilding for one year, between antagonistic pairs of exercises if you’re training in
and I’m caught in a dilemma: Should I drop now to a that manner. Each eccentric rep should take four to six sec-
single-digit bodyfat percentage or not worry about onds. It’s vital that you control the descent of the weight, or
a little flab and just go on and get massive? I plan to injury can occur.
compete at about 235 to 240 at 5 percent bodyfat. Protocol 2. Use 120 to 130 percent of your one-rep
A: I am dead against the antiquated concept of bulking max load, and do two to three reps for 10 sets, resting four
up, with weight as the sole goal. Lose the fat first, and then to five minutes between sets. Take eight to 10 seconds
worry about gaining quality muscle. The practice of bulk- for each lowering. On this day, use only one exercise per
ing up may in fact increase bodypart. That will help you retap the high-threshold
the number of fat cells, motor units that were responsible for your big poundages.
which you can later shrink Second, it’s important to use the following nutrients:
only in diameter, not in Vinpocetine, 10 milligrams twice a day. Vinpo-
number. Once the number cetine, extracted from Vinca minor, is an excellent vaso-
of fat cells has increased, dilator and cerebral metabolic enhancer, with apparent
you’re always left with the benefits for vascular-based cognitive dysfunction. I find
potential of being fat. I it very beneficial in restoring muscle memory. I love it as
strongly suggest you get part of any brain stack, as it’s known as the gate opener—it
below 10 percent bodyfat enables other brain nutraceuticals to do their job. For
first. If you train prop- example, it magnifies the effects of any stimulant. Ken
erly, you can do it in seven Proefrock, a professor at the Southwest College of Naturo-
weeks or so. Losing two pathic Medicine in Tempe, Arizona, considers it a far better
pounds of bodyfat a week “gate opener” than the compound hydergine.
is quite realistic, particu- Bacopa, 100 milligrams twice a day. Bacopa is a
larly if you increase your botanical with well-demonstrated anti-anxiety, anti-fatigue
intake of good fats. Also, and memory-strengthening effects.
use a wide array of insulin- L-carnitine, six grams per day. It significantly re-
sensitizing supplements, duces pain, tenderness and CK release after an intense
such as stabilized alpha workout, mainly because of its vasodilatation property,
lipoic acid,
to increase
Increasing your intake your odds of
of good fats can help gaining only
you drop bodyfat. muscle.
Q: I used to
be fairly strong, incline-benching more
than double my bodyweight, but I had to
take a long layoff due to work commit-
ments. I just got back to the gym, and I’m
weak as a kitten. Pretty discouraging.
What, in your opinion, is the fastest way
to get muscle memory working? Mine
seems like it has Alzheimer’s.
A: Both training and nutritional tricks can
help restore muscle memory faster. First, let’s
look at how you should rearrange your train-
Neveux \ Model: Lee and Alexander Lee Apperson
ing. Eccentric training in its various forms will

restore strength faster. You should alternate
between the two types of protocols outlined
below for about six weeks. That’s all it should
take to get your strength back.
Protocol 1: At the end of a conventional
concentric four-to-six-rep-maximum set at 80
to 82 percent of your one-rep max, perform
some additional eccentric work. Add 25 to 30
percent to the poundage on the barbell and
perform additional eccentric-only repeti-
tions. As an alternative, a training partner can Partner-assisted negatives can build strength quickly.

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Smart Training
Thick-bar work can build grip strength and
forearm size, but don’t use the thick bar for all
exercises all the time.
my forearms to grow? They don’t seem to want to
budge, whatever I do. I recently started using thick
grips whenever possible to remedy the problem.
Should I use thick grips on every exercise or vary
the grip from exercise to exercise? Help turn me
into Popeye!
A: You should use thick grips as a source of training
variety. Vary the thickness of the handles the same way you
vary your training parameters—reps, sets, tempo and rest
intervals.
But here’s a trick to trigger more growth in your forearms
when you do wrist curls. Use a low pulley. Do your wrist
curls the way everybody does—forearms on thighs, upper
body leaning over the forearms—and do eight to 12 reps.
Neveux \ Model: Idrise Ward-El

That will recruit the flexor digitorum profondus, but not the
flexor digitorum superficialis. Once you reach muscle fail-
ure, stand up and back away from the low pulley. Now, with
your elbows locked and your upper arm at 45 degrees in
relation to the ground, continue your set of wrist curls. In
the elbow-extended position you’ll be able to better access
the flexor digitorum superficialis, thus creating a greater
overload
on a higher
proportion of
motor units
in your fore-
arms. And
don’t forget
which both improves the metabolism to load up on
of the hypoxic-damaged muscle and the spinach.
enhances washout of algogenic me-
tabolites. Some people report difficulty
Q: I’m a
sleeping when using L-carnitine after
fan of yours
4 p.m. Make sure you spread out your
because
dosages. Also, be sure to take at least
everything
two grams postworkout.
you’ve writ-
Pantethine, 300 milligrams,
ten worked
three times a day. An important nu-
for me. But
traceutical, it will help you regain your
I have one
strength and restore adrenal health in
big prob-
no time. The metabolic activity of pan-
lem: my
tethine is probably due to its role in the
legs. I’m
synthesis of coenzyme A and acyl car-
6’2” tall and
rier proteins. Coenzyme A is a cofactor
weigh 214
in more than 70 enzymatic pathways,
pounds. I’m
including fatty acid oxidation, carbo-
a lifetime
hydrate metabolism, pyruvate degra-
natural ath-
Neveux \ Model: Sebastion Siegel
dation, amino acid catabolism, heme

lete. Even
synthesis and acetylcholine synthesis.
though I
(I have a product that synergistically
have great
combines pantethine and carnitine.
calves, my
You can obtain it via e-mail. Contact
upper-leg
Judith@CharlesPoliquin.com.)
size isn’t
If you combine the nutritional ap-
what it’s
proach with the training strategies, you
supposed to
should return to your best-ever train-
be. I can barely squat 265 pounds for six reps (I can
ing poundages in record time.
bench more than that!). Please help with some kind
Q: Could you give me some advice on how to get of a routine for upper legs because the rest of my

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Smart Training
Neveux \ Model: Jose Raymond

Neveux \ Model: Milos Sarcev
Training all muscles with the same loading B. Leg curls 4 x 5-8; tempo 5/0/1/0
parameters can be a mistake. Some supersetted with
bodyparts may respond better to supersets Romanian deadlifts 4 x 10-12; tempo 3/0/1/0
Rest three to four minutes between supersets
and longer tension times.
That routine should jolt your quads and hams into new
body grows quite well—even better since I’ve tried
growth.
some of your ideas.
A: It’s hard to suggest a routine, since I have no clue Editor’s note: Charles Poliquin is recognized as one
about what your present leg training is. I hope that in the of the world’s most successful strength coaches, having
future readers will include a present routine when submit- coached Olympic
ting these types of questions. medalists in 12 differ-
Keep in mind that what works for one bodypart may not ent sports, including
work for another. French bodybuilding coach Rene Même the U.S. women’s
told me that IFBB pro bodybuilder Francis Benfatto had track-and-field team
problems making his legs grow. Why? Because he was using for the 2000 Olym-
the same loading parameters as for his arms, which were pics. He’s spent years
his strong point. Once he started training his legs com- researching European
pletely differently, they responded. In fact, they grew journals (he’s fluent in
2 1/2 inches in six weeks. Milos Sarcev got his arms to English, French and
finally grow when he actually lowered his reps. Take a seri- German) and speak-
ous look at what you’ve always done, and do the opposite. ing with other coach-
The key to hypertrophy is variation in loading parameters. es and scientists in
Up to a certain point, the more myofibrillar damage, the his quest to optimize
more growth. That’s why the following supersets should training methods. For
create much cellular damage and foster greater growth. more on his books,
seminars and meth-
Bradford
A. Safety bar squats 4 x 5-8; tempo 5/0/1/0 ods, visit www

supersetted with .CharlesPoliquin
Lunges 4 x 10-12; tempo 2/0/X/0 .net. Also, see his ad Charles Poliquin
Rest three to four minutes between supersets on page 223. IM w w w. C h a r l e s P o l i q u i n . n e t

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Train ™ \ JULY 2006 181
EAT TO
NUTRITION SCIENCE
Protein Fact and Fiction

While you need all required nutrients impose on exercising muscles. The
to build muscle and stay healthy, the idea that a high-protein diet can be
nutrient most associated with muscu- dangerous to long-term health persists,
lar growth is protein. Although protein despite evidence to the contrary. An
constitutes only 22 percent of muscle example is the idea that eating “too
tissue, it is the limiting nutritional factor much” protein leads to kidney disease
in muscular size and strength. There’s or even failure—although it’s never been
considerable debate about the opti- proven.
mum protein intake for building muscle. Still, you have to wonder about the tein metabolism? A bodybuilder
Some claim that people already eat fate of athletes who claim to chow who eats more than 500 grams of
more protein than their bodies need. down hundreds of grams of protein protein daily won’t use it all, so what
That, though, applies to sedentary daily. One question that arises is just happens to it? The first thing to consid-
people more than to bodybuilders and how much protein can be absorbed. er is that the body uses protein for far
other athletes, who may need more What happens to the by-prod- more than just building muscle. Many
protein because of the stress they ucts, or waste products, of pro- hormones and other tissues are largely
composed of protein, and much of
what you eat goes to replenishing them.
Some dietitians warn that excess
The protein protein can be converted into bodyfat,
absorption rate but the chances of that happening in
of whole foods any active person are remote. Much ex-
is only about cess protein converts to glucose in the
one to four liver. Whether that imposes a burden
grams per hour. on the liver (the main organ involved in
protein metabolism) depends on liver
efficiency. Protein metabolic by-prod-
ucts can be dangerous if not rapidly
disposed of. An example is ammonia,
which is a by-product of amino acid
metabolism. The liver rapidly degrades
ammonia into urea, where there is a
time limit that affects how much urea is
produced.
What can happen if the urea-produc-
ing rate of the liver is exceeded? Early
American explorers who tried to live
exclusively on meat, which contains
protein and fat but no carbohydrates,
experienced what came to be known
as rabbit starvation. The symptoms
included nausea and diarrhea, often
followed by death in two to three
weeks. The disease was thought to
occur because the rate of protein intake

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GROW
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exceeded the liver’s ability to properly
metabolize the protein. The syndrome
would occur only with a n almost all-
protein diet.
The human body can upregulate its
glucagon in the liver. Glu-
cagon, in turn, promotes
the conversion of stored
liver glycogen into glucose.
The glucose then enters
ability to deal with protein if there’s an the blood, leading to rapid
increase in the activity of protein-me- insulin release. The stimula-
tabolizing enzymes in the liver and a tion of insulin depends on
decreased rate of gastric emptying. In a specific blood concentra-
short, the stomach slows down the ab- tion of amino acids.
sorption of protein to give the liver time A study showed that
to process what it’s already got. providing small doses (6.9
A recent review listed the grams- grams per hour) of whey
per-hour absorption rates of various protein elevated blood
proteins, as follows:1 amino acid levels but didn’t
promote any insulin re-
Protein Type Grams lease. When subjects took
Neveux \ Model: Joe DeAngelis

Per Hour in 30 grams of whey at one
Raw egg 1.3 time, however, a moder-
Pea flour 2.4 ate release of insulin was
Cooked egg 2.8 noted. Whether a protein
Milk protein 3.5 source leads to insulin
Soy protein isolate 3.9 release depends on the
Free amino acids 4.3 amino acids contained in
Casein isolate 6.1 the protein. Amino acids
Free amino acids with are a primary fuel for the liver, and protein for a bodybuilder weigh-
casein’s amino profile 7-7.5 certain of them have a greater effect on ing 175 pounds is 285 grams
Whey isolate 8-10 insulin release than others. per day—far more than the sug-
One reason most bodybuilders gested amount, which is only about
Research shows that rapidly ab- adapt to a low-carb diet after about 118 grams. The authors suggest that
sorbed proteins, such as whey and two weeks is that the body upgrades a getting more protein than that exceeds
amino acids, have a moderate effect process in the liver known as gluconeo- the body’s capacity to properly me-
on inhibiting protein breakdown but genesis, which converts nutrients—in- tabolize protein, though they admit they
a greater effect on promoting muscle cluding amino acids—into glucose. don’t know exactly what that leads to.
protein synthesis, by as much as 68 According to research, that process They further suggest that even though
percent. Casein, a slowly absorbed accounts for the fate of 60 percent of excess protein is converted to glucose
protein, doesn’t promote much protein the body’s glucose production. Glucose in the liver, muscle protein could still
synthesis but blunts protein breakdown production also can indirectly occur as be catabolized if a person doesn’t eat
by an average of 30 percent over a a result of the metabolism of branched- enough carbohydrate. They recom-
seven-hour period. chain amino acids in muscle. In fact, mend a minimum daily intake of
Many amino acids can promote the muscle metabolism of BCAAs helps 120 to 150 grams of carbohy-
insulin release, and insulin helps shuttle ease the burden of excess amino acid drate.
amino acids into tissue, including intake on the liver. —Jerry Brainum
muscle. One study showed that According to the review of
eating fish promoted more insu- protein metabolism mentioned 1 Bilsborough, S., et al. (2006). A
lin release than pasta, which is above, the body can handle 25 review of dietary protein intake in hu-
a carbohydrate. One reason is that percent of its daily calories as mans. Int J Sports Nutr Exer Metab.
amino acids promote the release of protein. The maximum intake of 16:129-52.
www.ironmanmagazine.com \ OCTOBER 2006 51

LIFT BIG TO GET BIG
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Eat to Grow
NUTRITION NOTES
Food Facts
That can affect your
workouts, weight and wellness
Fish oil can
do all kinds of
good things for
you, like reduce
your risk of
cardiovascular
disease, and
the FDA con-
siders up to
three grams
a day to be a
safe dose. Divide that and take it with
food twice a day to minimize fishy
aftertaste and/or stomach upset.
Water can
drown hunger
pangs. The next
time you get
WARRIOR NUTRITION AND EXERCISE a craving for a
snack that’s not
Lactoferrin, the Magic Bullet on your diet,

drink 12 ounces
of water—maybe
squeeze a little
Lactoferrin is a major immune supportive protein in mothers’ milk lemon juice in it
that protects babies from infections. It is abundant in good qual- to make it more
ity colostrums and whey protein, but it rarely appears in commercial refreshing.
dairy protein powders. That’s too bad, because it’s also the best iron
scavenger—and it deposits iron in places where the body really needs Vitamin C may
it. Iron oxidation is a tremendous problem because it feeds the bad prevent heart
attacks. A Brit-
bacteria in your intestinal tract, such as the ones that cause yeast in- ish study found
fections. that inflammation
of blood vessels
Some researchers believe that lactoferrin has cancer-fighting proper-
was much less
ties, and scientists surmise that it contains other healing properties, common in men
including some that may combat chronic diseases such as AIDS and who had the most
vitamin C in their
cancer. While these issues need further research, current data indicate blood.
that lactoferrin could be one of the most promising dairy-derived heal- Nuts keep
ing aids. proving their pulmo-
nary power. A
—Ori Hofmekler Harvard study
showed
Editor’s note: Ori Hofmekler is the author of the books The Warrior that eating
about five
Diet and Maximum Muscle & Minimum Fat, published ounces of
by Dragon Door Publications (www.dragondoor.com). nuts a week
For more information or for a consultation, contact reduced
cardiovascular
him at ori@warriordiet.com, www.warriordiet.com or risk by a whop-
by phone at (866) WAR-DIET. ping 35 percent.
—Becky Holman
www.X-tremeLean.com

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Eat to Grow
PROTEIN
Can Too Much Protein Smother Muscle Gains?

Myostatin is a protein that pre- 2) 25 percent protein
vents gains in muscle size and 3) 35 percent protein
strength. Animals born deficient in The protein was casein, a high-
the enzymes that produce myo- quality milk protein, and each
statin show remarkable muscular group also got fat and carbohy-
size and less bodyfat. It doesn’t drate. After three weeks the rats
take a scientist to realize that in the 35 percent protein group
depressing myostatin production had the highest levels of myostatin
is a good thing for bodybuilding synthesis. The 15 percent protein
purposes. group had the lowest levels, while
A high-protein diet is considered those in the 25 percent group
necessary for building muscle and showed a moderate myostatin in-
strength. Among its other effects crease. Based on that, the authors
is that certain amino acids (the suggest that for building muscle,
elemental ingredients in protein) you shouldn’t take in more than 15
directly turn on genes that dictate to 25 percent of your daily calories
muscle protein synthesis. Most as protein.
Neveux \ Model: David Goodin
notable are the essential amino Before condemning a protein

acids, especially branched-chain intake of 35 percent or greater as
amino acids. having negative effects on muscle
And yet, a recent study sug- growth, though, you need to con-
gests that if you eat too much sider a few issues. For one thing,
protein, you’ll defeat the entire the study used rats as experimen-
purpose of bodybuilding.1 The tal subjects, and the same results
researchers who conducted the may not be applicable to humans,
study say that negative effects of a high-protein diet are although some human studies have indeed shown no ad-
caused by an increase in myostatin that results from higher ditional stimulation of muscular growth if the diet exceeds 15
protein intake. percent protein.
The study featured rats, which were placed into one of Nor did the rats in the study exercise, and past studies
three groups: have shown an interaction between exercise—particularly
1) 15 percent protein weight training—and myostatin release. Most studies show
that lifting weights blunts myostatin synthesis. In fact, a
human study reported at the Experimental Biology 2006
ADDICTION meeting showed results that contradict the rat study.2
Subjects in a control group got 15 percent of total calories
as protein, and a high-protein group had a diet that was 29
Food as Drug Are you a junk-
food junkie?
percent protein. Both groups also engaged in weight training.
After 24 hours of recovery from the exercise both groups had
a 50 percent reduction in myostatin synthesis rates. By the
“He’s just weak 48-hour mark those in the high-protein group showed lower
willed.” You hear that levels of myostatin than the control group. So the authors
comment a lot regard- suggest that a high-protein diet extends the myostatin-blunt-
ing the obese, but that ing activity of weight training, thus promoting more muscular
may not be the case. growth.
Food may be addic- Eating a higher-protein diet without lifting weights may
tive for some people. increase myostatin release, but adding a weight workout
New research found blunts it.
a connection to do- —Jerry Brainum
pamine receptors and
food cravings, which
suggests that perhaps References
anyone who overeats
1 Nakazato, K., et al. (2006). Increased myostatin synthesis
to the point of obesity
may not simply lack self-discipline. It may be a brain thing. in rat gastrocnemius muscles under high protein diet. Int J
In fact, researchers at the University of Michigan found that Sports Nutr Exer Metab. 16:153-165.
2 Pilegaard, H., et al. (2006). Resistance exercise and pro-
cravings for sweets can be switched off with naloxone, an
intravenous drug that’s used to counteract heroin and mor- tein intake downregulate myostatin mRNA in human skeletal
phine overdoses. muscle. Paper presented at the Experimental Biology 2006
—Becky Holman meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experi-
www.X-tremeLean.com mental Biology, in San Francisco, California.

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Eat to Grow
ANABOLIC DRIVE
I Love Leucine The amazing muscle- and power-

building effects of amino acids
Do you remember centrations. Upper-body

HMB? Many years ago power and work signifi-
it was touted as the cantly increased in both
true anabolic metabolite groups after supplemen-
derived from the oh- tation, but power was
so-pedestrian amino significantly greater after
acid leucine. In the past leucine supplementation
decade the indications compared to the placebo.
have become clearer Rowing time significantly
that leucine probably increased and average
exerts myriad effects RPE significantly de-
related to protein anabo- creased with leucine sup-
lism. For instance, during plementation, while the
exercise, muscle protein variables were unchanged
synthesis decreases and with the placebo. Leucine
protein degradation and supplementation had
stimulation of branched- no effect on the plasma
chain amino acid oxida- tryptophan-to-BCAA
tion increase (the BCAAs ratio, HR or anthropomet-
are leucine, valine and ric variables. Six weeks
isoleucine). The decrease of dietary leucine supple-
in protein synthesis is mentation significantly
associated with inhibition improved endurance
of protein factors that performance and upper-
are regulated by intracel- body power in the outrig-
lular insulin signaling and ger canoeists without
Neveux \ Model: Will Harris

leucine concentrations. significant change in their
In essence, both plasma ratio of trypto-
insulin and leucine are phan to BCAA.4
key regulators of muscle So there you have it.
protein synthesis.1 Leu- Leucine regulates muscle
cine by itself increases protein synthesis and
that process.2 By com- improves muscular power
bining it with protein and and endurance.
carbohydrate, you get quite an anabolic supereffect.
For example, in one study eight male subjects were ran-
domly assigned to three trials in which they downed drinks References
containing carbohydrate; carbohydrate and protein; or carbo-
hydrate, protein and free leucine following 45 minutes of resis- 1 Norton, L.E., and Layman, D.K. (2006). Leucine regulates
tance exercise. The researchers discovered that plasma insulin translation initiation of protein synthesis in skeletal muscle after
response was higher in the leucine group than in the other exercise. J Nutr. 136:533S-537S.
two. Whole-body protein breakdown rates were lower, and 2 Lang, C.H. (2006). Elevated plasma free fatty acids de-
whole-body protein synthesis rates were higher in both groups crease basal protein synthesis but not the anabolic effect of
that got protein. Moreover, the addition of leucine resulted in a leucine in skeletal muscle. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab.
lower protein oxidation rate. To top it off, muscle protein syn- [Epub ahead of print].
thesis, measured over a six-hour period of postexercise recov- 3 Koopman, R., et al. (2005). Combined ingestion of protein
ery, was significantly greater in the leucine group.3 and free leucine with carbohydrate increases postexercise
Okay, this study looked mainly at short-term effects. What muscle protein synthesis in vivo in male subjects. Am J Physiol
happens if you supplement with leucine? A recent study Endocrinol Metab. 288:E645-53.
looked at the effects of dietary leucine supplementation on the 4 Crowe, M.J., Weatherson, J.N., and Bowden, B.F. (2005).
exercise performance of outrigger canoeists. Thirteen competi- Effects of dietary leucine supplementation on exercise perfor-
tive outrigger canoeists, 10 female and three male, underwent mance. Eur J Appl Physiol. Published online October 2005.
testing before and after six-week supplementation with cap- 1-9.
sules of either L-leucine or a placebo. Testing included anthro- —Jose Antonio, Ph.D.
pometry, 10-second upper-body power and work and a row
to exhaustion at 70 to 75 of percent maximal aerobic power. Editor’s note: You can listen to Dr. Jose Antonio and
Perceived exertion (RPE), heart rate (HR) and plasma BCAA Carla Sanchez on their radio show Performance Nutrition, Web
and tryptophan concentrations were assessed. and podcast at www.performancenutritionshow.com.
What happened? Leucine supplementation resulted in
significant increases in plasma leucine and total BCAA con-

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Eat to Grow
MACRONUTRIENTS
Fuel the Fire Do carbs

help you train
Since carbo-
hydrates are key
energy nutrients,
sipping on carb
drinks while
training ought to
improve training in-
tensity by decreas-
ing fatigue. That cortisol is associated with
explains why many muscle breakdown, curb-
bodybuilders carry ing cortisol may provide a
drinks in the gym minor anabolic effect.
containing carb Studies have shown
or energy supple- that the older you are, the
Neveux \ Model: Jeff Hammond

ments. Some more cortisol you produce
research shows during weight workouts.
that taking in carbs When men over age
during workouts 40 took carb drinks
may lessen cortisol during their workouts,
response. Since their cortisol release
levels matched those
PSYCHOLOGY
of 20-year-olds. The only negative aspect is that carb
intake blocks the use of fat as fuel during training. It’s a
Food as Destressor moot point, however, since anaerobic training is powered
mainly by circulating blood glucose and muscle glycogen
stores—both of which would be maintained if you had a
Many people eat to counter stress in their lives. It may
have something to do with chemical reactions and/or carb drink during training.
hormones; however, researchers also believe there’s a The question is, Can sipping a carb drink during a
nostalgia connection. “Under stress we crave foods that workout help you train harder? That issue was exam-
we liked as children, a time in our psychological life when ined by researchers from Midwestern State University in
there was little stress,” says John Foreyt, Ph.D., professor Wichita Falls, Texas, who presented their findings at an
of psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston,
annual meeting of the National Strength and Conditioning
Texas. Even animals may cope with stress with food.
A study conducted at the University of California, San Association.
Francisco, found that chronic stress triggered high-calorie Their study featured eight resistance-trained men,
indulgence by rats—specifically food that contained lard average age 23, all of whom were capable of squatting
and sucrose (Reader’s Digest, July ’06). with at least 150 percent of their bodyweight. The subjects
—Becky Holman participated in a seven-day crossover, double-blind study
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in which they were placed in either a carb drink or a pla-
cebo group. One supplement had 0.3 grams of carb per
kilogram (2.2 pounds) of bodyweight and was taken im-
mediately before and after every other set done to exhaus-
tion of back squats. The participants did sets of five reps,
using weights equal to 85 percent of one-rep maximum,
with three minutes of rest between sets.
Performance was measured by the total number of
sets completed, reps and time to exercise failure. There
Neveux \ Model: Tomm Voss
were no significant differences in the two

groups. The researchers concluded that taking
in carbs during high-intensity training has no
ergogenic effect.
—Jerry Brainum

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The biggest mistake many

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Train, Eat,
GROW Muscle-Training Program 84
From the IRONMAN Training & Research Center
by Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson • Photography by Michael Neveux
A
s we write this, we’re about we’re also feeling somewhat deplet- pends on a lot of variables—calo-
one week away from our ed as we cycle down our carbohy- ries, training frequency, daily job
peak-physique date, and drates to prepare for those last few and relationship stress (“Wife,
we’re stoked. In case you’re days of carb cycling—which should please stop with the spending!”),
new to our TEG series, every year we fill out our physiques even more. amount of sleep (“Dog, please stop
schedule a photo shoot with master At least, that’s what’s supposed to with the licking—it’s 2 a.m.!”) and
lensman Michael Neveux. That gives happen. As any competitive body- cardio frequency and intensity. It’s a
us a goal for early to midsummer, builder will tell you, it doesn’t al- constant juggling act.
the perfect time to be in our best ways time out just right, but the past Because X Reps have given us
shape (we do live in a beach town, few years we’ve hit it on the nose. such amazing gains the past two
after all). We’re pretty darned lucky X Reps and X-hybrid techniques years, we can get carried away (yes,
to have Mike in our corner, and real- helped us reach our best conditions even with our 40-plus years of cu-
izing that benefit fuels our motiva- more easily because by activating mulative training experience, we
tion to get into a condition that will more fibers, ramping up continuous still fall prey to the more-is-better
inspire him. That, in turn, inspires tension and intensifying sets, they syndrome). If you’ve visited our
us to keep tweaking our training in enabled us to reduce our volume. training blog at X-Rep.com, you
an attempt to take our physiques Fewer sets with more precise fast- may have noticed that some of our
to the next level (and then you can twitch-fiber attacks (X Reps right at workouts had X Reps or an X-hybrid
learn from our mistakes and suc- the max-force point) left more en- technique on almost every work set.
cesses via this magazine and our ergy for recovery; however, because As we said, rampant enthusiasm can
Model: Jonathan Lawson
Web site). Of course, heightened of the power of X Reps, we had to be cause problems, especially during a
motivation must be controlled, as very careful not to abuse them. The peaking phase—when there’s usu-
you’ll see in a moment. question was always, How much is ally more cardio, more urgency and
At this point in our ripping phase too much? We constantly struggled fewer calories.
we’re excited by our progress, but with that because the answer de- Early in our ripping phase, when

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Train, Eat, Grow / Program 84
Drug-free bodybuilder Skip

La Cour swears by the train-
each-bodypart-once-a-week
strategy.
Model: Skip LaCour
we first clean up our diets, is the along with energy-producing carbs, and provided us with more recov-
time motivational highs are most so we must be careful not to overdo ery time. In case you missed it, at
beneficial. Taking in less sugar, it. That’s easier said than done, so one workout for a bodypart we
saturated fat and alcohol enables us this year we decided to build in a did straight sets with longer rests
to ramp up our intensity and make cutback. between sets. That let us use the
some impressive gains. We can af- Last month we described our heaviest weights possible and gen-
ford excess X Reps, supersets and max-force/extended-tension pro- erate maximum force on every set
so on as our clean eating makes our gram, which we adopted about six in order to more effectively attack
bodies more efficient. As our diets weeks into our ripping phase. It’s a the anaerobic structures of the fast-
progress, however, calories dwindle, version of the heavy/light system twitch fibers.

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At age 47, Dave Goodin has

found that he needs more
recovery time if he wants
to progress as a natural
bodybuilder.
Model: David Goodin
At the next workout for that produces more growth in the endur- were less stressful—we had to use
bodypart we did tri-sets, supersets ance components of the fast-twitch lighter weights on most sets.
and/or drop sets to de-emphasize 2A fibers. Because of the rush-to- Of course, we also used X Reps
force and increase muscular tension exhaustion nature of those tech- and X-hybrid techniques during
times on the fast-twitch fibers. That niques, extended-tension workouts both types of workouts—and while
(continued on page 68)

(continued from page 64) we tried not ize that not taking a half step back set much more intense.
to overdo it, motivation can be hard every few weeks can slow progress, We’ve said that X Reps can make
to corral when strength and vascu- not accelerate it, even if you’re using any set two to five times more
larity are increasing at almost every some type of heavy/light program. powerful than a conventional set,
workout. Like most bodybuilders, All of this experimentation and ob- so if we do five sets per bodypart,
we often did the opposite of what servation got us thinking… as dictated by Positions-of-Flexion
we should have. For example, if we Because of the power of X Reps mass-training protocol, and we end
started flattening out and/or feeling and X-hybrid techniques—and our three of them with X Reps or use an
somewhat rundown, the words back addiction to them—we’re consider- X-hybrid technique, by our estima-
off were not in our vocabulary. We’d ing experimenting with training each tion that’s like doing anywhere from
plow ahead, thinking it was all men- bodypart only once a week again. eight to 15 conventional sets. Theo-
tal and that we just needed to wrap Yes, we’ve said many times over the retically that dictates the need for
our heads around getting more in- years that that doesn’t work for us; more recovery time between body-
tense. It’s very hard to back off when however, this time may be different. part hits. Will it require a full seven
you see peak day looming nearer and For one thing, we’ve honed our neu- days? That’s what we aim to find out.
nearer and you’re looking better than romuscular systems with X Reps and A number of drug-free body-
ever; however, in hindsight we real- have the learned ability to make any builders have (continued on page 72)
IRON MAN Training & Research Center Muscle-Training Program 84

Monday: Chest, Calves, Abs Thursday: Quads, Hamstrings
Incline presses (X Reps) 3 x 9-12 Machine hack squats (nonlock; X Reps) 2 x 9-12
Incline flyes (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Leg presses (nonlock) 2 x 10-15
High cable flyes (drop; X Reps) 2 x 9(6) Sissy squats (X Reps) 2 x 10-15
Bench presses (X Reps) 2 x 9-12 Leg extensions (X Reps) 2 x 10-15
Wide-grip dips (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Leg extensions (drop; X Reps) 1 x 10(6)
Flat-bench flyes (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Lunges 1 x 9-12
Low/middle cable flyes (drop; X Reps) 1 x 9(6) Stiff-legged deadlifts (low partials; X Reps) 3 x 10-15
Leg press calf raises (X Reps) 3 x 15-20 Hyperextensions (X Reps) 1 x 9-12
Machine donkey calf raises (X Reps) 2 x 15-20 Leg curls (X Reps) 2 x 9-12
Superset Leg curls (drop; X Reps) 1 x 9(6)
Hack-machine calf raises (X Reps) 2 x 10-15 Low-back machine (X Reps) 1 x 10
Standing calf raises (X Reps) 2 x 10-15
Seated calf raises (X Reps) 2 x 10-20 Friday: Delts, Triceps, Biceps
Superset
Incline kneeups (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 9(5) Rack pulls (X Reps) 2 x 9-12
Flat-bench leg raises (X Reps) 1x8 Dumbbell upright rows or laterals (X Reps) 2 x 9-12
Tri-set Incline one-arm laterals (X Reps) 2 x 9-12
Ab Bench crunches (X Reps) 1x9 Forward-lean laterals (drop; X Reps) 2 x 9(6)
Twisting crunches (X Reps) 1x8 Behind-the-neck presses (X Reps) 2 x 9-12
Bench V-ups 1x8 Bent-over laterals (drop; X Reps) 2 x 9(6)
Dips (X Reps) 2 x 9-12
Decline extensions 2 x 9-12
Tuesday: Back, Forearms Overhead dumbbell extensions (X Reps) 2 x 9-12
Wide-grip pulldowns (X Reps) 2 x 9-12 Pushdowns or kickbacks (drop; X Reps) 2 x 9(6)
Parallel-grip chins (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Preacher curls (X Reps) 2 x 9-12
Undergrip pulldowns (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Cable curls (X Reps) 2 x 9-12
Superset Incline curls (X Reps) 2 x 9-12
Machine pullovers (X Reps) 2 x 9-12 Concentration curls (drop set; X Reps) 2 x 9(6)
Stiff-arm pulldowns or rope rows (X Reps) 2 x 9-12 Cable hammer curls (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 9(6)
Behind-the-neck pulldowns (X Reps) 1 x 9-12
Barbell shrugs (X Reps) 2 x 9-12
Nautilus rows or cable rows (X Reps) 3 x 9-12
One-arm dumbbell rows (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Note: See the X-Blog at www.X-Rep.com for chang-
Bent-arm bent-over laterals (drop; X Reps) 2 x 9(6) es to these workouts.
Reverse wrist curls (X Reps) 3 x 10-15
Wrist curls (X Reps) 2 x 10-15 Note: Where X-Reps are designated, usually only
Superset one set or phase of a drop set is performed with X
Behind-the-back wrist curls 1 x 10-15 Reps or an X-Rep hybrid technique from the Be-
Rockers 1 x 10-15 yond X-Rep Muscle Building e-book. See the X-Blog
at www.X-Rep.com for more workout details.

(continued from page 68) found

that to be the case as they got
more advanced. Dave Goodin,
who was featured in the Sep-
tember IM, is a very successful
natural pro bodybuilder in the
WNBF organization—he won
its Pro Natural Mr. Universe in
1997. He’s 47 and trains only
four days a week precontest,
hitting each bodypart once
every seven days. He trains
three days a week in the off-
Training almost every bodypart season. He says that style of
twice a week with X Reps training helped him pack on
20 pounds of muscle after age
started to take a toll. Because 35 and become a much more
of that we’re adding more successful competitor.

recuperation time, training every Then there’s Skip La Cour,
muscle only once a week. who goes hard and heavy at
every workout, using six or so
work sets per bodypart. He also
adheres to the one-workout-
ITRC Program 84, Abbreviated Home-Gym Routine

Monday: Chest, Calves, Abs Leg extensions or
Incline presses (X Reps) 2-3 x 9-12 old-style hack squats (drop; X Reps) 1 x 9(6)
Incline flyes (low partials; X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Front squats 1 x 9-12
Incline flyes (top squeezes; drop; X Reps) 1 x 9(6) Stiff-legged deadlifts (low partials) 3 x 9-12
Bench presses or decline presses (X Reps) 2 x 9-12 Leg curls (X Reps) 1 x 9-12
Decline flyes (low partials; X Reps) 1 x 9-12 Leg curls (drop; X Reps) 1 x 9(6)
Decline flyes (top squeeze; drop; X Reps) 1 x 9(6)
Donkey calf raises (X Reps) 3 x 15-20 Friday: Delts, Triceps, Biceps
One-leg calf raises (X Reps) 3 x 15-20 Dumbbell upright rows
Seated calf raises (X Reps) 2 x 15-20 or rack pulls (X Reps) 2-3 x 9-12
Tri-set Incline one-arm laterals (X Reps) 2 x 9-12
Incline kneeups 1 x max Seated forward-lean laterals (drop; X Reps) 2 x 9(6)
Bench V-ups 1 x max Dumbbell presses (X Reps) 2 x 9-12
Twisting crunches (X Reps) 1 x 10-12 Decline extensions (X Reps) 2-3 x 9-12
Weighted crunches (drop; X Reps) 1 x 12(8) Overhead extensions (X Reps) 1-2 x 9-12
Kickbacks (drop; X Reps) 2 x 9(6)
Tuesday: Back, Forearms Preacher curls (X Reps) 2-3 x 9-12
Chins (X Reps) 3 x 9-12 Incline curls (X Reps) 1-2 x 9-12
Dumbbell pullovers 1 x 9-12 Concentration curls (drop; X Reps) 2 x 9(6)
Undergrip rows (drop; X Reps) 1 x 9(6) Incline hammer curls (drop; X Reps) 1 x 9(6)
Dumbbell shrugs (X Reps) 1 x 9-12
Bent-over barbell rows 2 x 9-12 Note: Where X-Reps are designated, usually only one
One-arm dumbbell rows (X Reps) 1 x 9-12 set or phase of a drop set is performed with X Reps or
Bent-arm bent-over laterals (drop; X Reps) 2 x 9(6) an X-Rep hybrid technique from the Beyond X-Rep
Bent-over laterals (drop; X Reps) 1 x 9(6) Muscle Building e-book. See the X-Blog at www.X-
Reverse wrist curls (X Reps) 2 x 12-15 Rep.com for more workout details.
Wrist curls (X Reps) 2 x 12-15
Rockers (drop) 1 x 12(8) Note: For drop sets it’s best to have a selectorized
dumbbell set, such as the PowerBlock, if you don’t have
Thursday: Quads, Hams a rack of fixed dumbbells of various weights. If you
don’t have a leg extension machine, do old-style hacks,
Squats 3 x 9-12
nonlock style. Use partner resistance, towel around the
Sissy squats 2 x 10-15
ankles, if you don’t have a leg curl machine.

per-bodypart-per-week strategy— days is going to take our mass to a the target muscle in hopes of forcing
and used that split to win five Team new level? Damn right! We want it the need for seven days of recov-
Universe titles. John Hansen, Mr. to work. We’ve always wanted it to ery time—negatives are supposed
Natural Olympia and IM columnist, work—it just never has. We always to severely damage muscle tissue.
also trains in that manner. felt the muscles start to atrophy Results? No size increase, very small
Does it sound as if we’re trying before they were trained again. A strength blips.
to convince ourselves that training few years ago we even tried incorpo- But now we’ve been using X Reps
each bodypart once every seven rating heavy negatives to overstress for two years, and because of that
we’ve developed heightened neuro-
muscular efficiency, and, we think,
Supplement Intake Update the ability to blast the target muscle
into submission much more effec-
One potent new supplement that we experimented with during the tively. Also, we’re both older (Steve
last part of our ripping phase was beta-alanine. The compound has more is 47, Jonathan is moving into his
than 20 studies to verify its effectiveness, but we found its power to be a mid-30s), which means dwindling
double-edged sword: We kept getting stronger and stronger, even as our hormone levels that, especially in
calories dropped lower and lower. That stoked our motivation so much Steve’s case, may require more re-
that it made it more difficult to back off when we knew it was time (“We’re covery time.
getting stronger and more vascular every workout; full speed ahead!”) So what’s our new experimental
Now that we’re going to work each bodypart only once a week, beta- split?
alanine is going to be an essential player in making that effective. Why?
Because it accumulates in muscle tissue as carnosine, which provides Monday: Chest, Calves, Abs
a buffering effect, allowing for more key growth reps at the end of your
Tuesday: Back, Forearms
work sets. We’ll be able to hit the muscles much harder on every set,
which means more recovery will be necessary. That’s especially important Wednesday: Off
for end-of-set X-Rep partials right at the max-force point, as beta-alanine Thursday: Quads, Hamstrings,
enables you to keep pushing past nervous system failure, extend tension Lower Back
time and get at many more fast-twitch fibers. It has to do with the size Friday: Delts, Triceps, Biceps
principle of fiber recruitment.
During any set to exhaustion you recruit the low-threshold motor units
first, the mediums second and the important high-threshold motor units That gives us only two workouts
last. Those highs are what trigger the most fast-twitch growth. The more in a row before a rest day and mini-
you can continue firing the muscle during high-threshold recruitment— mizes overlap. Yes, arms get hit on
into the so-called pain zone—the more hypertrophic stimulation you’ll Friday after being trained indirectly
get in any one set. Beta-alanine makes that pain zone more bearable—or on Monday, triceps with chest, and
at least more accessible—and every all-out set becomes more anabolic. Tuesday, biceps with back, but there
Combine beta-alanine with creatine’s ATP-boosting power, and you’ve are a lot of days between those
got a super muscle-building smart bomb! workouts—and two days completely
Muscle biopsies have revealed that the biggest bodybuilders have off after the Friday session. Now,
loads of carnosine in their muscles. (Remember, beta-alanine converts to if we start getting smaller and/or
carnosine, which accumulates in muscle tissue.) Scientists surmise that weaker, we may redo our training
because they do so many pain-zone sets, the biggest bodybuilders adapt split to accommodate more indi-
to that training by stockpiling carnosine so they continue the adaptation rect work (for example, quads and
process—get bigger and stronger. If your body is inefficient at that pro- hams on different days and lats and
cess or doesn’t have the raw materials to make it happen—or you lack the midback on different days). The
pain tolerance to force that adaptation—your gains will be much slower. Direct/Indirect programs in The
Taking beta-alanine solves the problem and gets you there much faster— Ultimate Mass Workout e-book are
it automatically increases muscle carnosine, giving you the ability to blast good templates for that type of split.
the muscle into the growth zone more often. That’s our backup plan.
Vince Gironda once said that what sets the champs apart from the We’re excited to give the one-
wanna-be bodybuilders is pain tolerance. Beta-alanine helps you move workout-per-bodypart-per-week
into the champ camp much sooner—you don’t have to tolerate years of split a retry, combining 3D POF and
pain-zone training to build up carnosine levels; you can now take supple- specific X-Rep techniques we’ve
mental beta-alanine. We’re depending on it to help take our physiques to found most effective, as well as
a new level of size and strength. It’s like encapsulated blasting powder for max-force and continuous-tension
our X-Rep mass detonations. tactics. Will all of that add up to big-
—S.H. and J.L. ger and better physiques for both of
us? We’re optimistic. Let the experi-
Editor’s note: Beta-alanine is a patented compound now available in ment begin! (Also see our Supple-
the supplement Red Dragon. Visit www.Home-Gym.com for more infor- ment Intake Update at left for a key
mation, or see the ad that’s included in the section that begins on page compound that is an X-Rep super-
177. charger and mass-building catalyst

that we believe is essential for

X Reps and X-hybrid our new program.)
techniques can make a
Editor’s note: For the
set two to four times more latest on the X-Rep muscle-
powerful. That extra stress building method, including X
may require more time Q&As, X Files (past e-zines),
between bodypart hits. our before and after photos
and the X-Blog training jour-
nal, visit www.X-Rep.com.
For more information on Posi-
tions-of-Flexion training vid-
eos and Size Surge programs,
see the ad section that begins
on page 177 or visit www
.Home-Gym.com. To order the
Positions-of-Flexion training
manual Train, Eat, Grow, call

(800) 447-0008, visit www
.Home-Gym.com, or see the
ad below. IM

Steve Holman’s
Critical Mass
emphasized lower-ab delineation.
Ab-Training To put it another way, your upper rectus abdominis can

work somewhat independently of the lower part of the
muscle; however, when you work the lower portion with
a kneeup exercise, your upper rectus abdominis always
Etching Order comes into play.

So here’s the rule: Always work the lower area first, which
actually brings both upper and lower sections into play—
and activates more muscle fibers.
[Note: For more ab-training observations, such as why
Q: I’ve noticed and read in some of your articles
hanging kneeups are an inferior ab exercise, as well as a
that it’s best to do leg raises first in an ab program.
number of time-sensitive ab-etching programs, see the X-
Why not do crunches first to really isolate and burn
traordinary Abs e-book, available at www.X-traordinaryAbs
the abs before moving to those inferior hip-flexor
.com.]
exercises?
Q: I’ve been told that I need to eat more calories
A: First, most leg raises aren’t inferior to crunches;
because I may be a hardgainer. I’ve been eating
they’re compound moves necessary for fast abdominal de-
more than 2,500 calories a day; however, I notice
velopment. Think of incline leg raises, for example, as an ab
that my abs are gone, and now I have love handles
exercise comparable to squats for your quads. While squats
without any added strength or muscle size. What
involve the glutes and lower back, which synergize with
concerns me is that on a previous higher-volume
the quads, incline leg raises involve the hip flexors, which
lifting program in which I was also running daily
synergize with the abdominals. The crunch is similar to leg
and eating about 2,000 calories (but with more pro-
extensions—more isolated.
tein), I made fantastic strength and muscle gains. (I
If you had to pick only one quad exercise, which would it
may return to that program, but should I include X
be? Squats, of course, as they’re much more effective than
Reps?) I’m having a hard time believing that I need
the more isolated extensions at developing the upper-thigh
that many calories or need to sacrifice cardiovascu-
muscles.
lar exercise to make muscle gains.
So should you skip crunches and just do incline leg rais-
es? No, I think you need them both; however, I do believe A: Metabolisms are different. I think at least a slight calo-
you should do leg-raise-type exercises first. Here’s why: rie surplus is necessary to build the most mass possible,
Studies indicate that most hip-curl exercises, like incline and that usually means blurry abs because you can’t always
kneeups, train the entire rectus abdominis hard, with an hit the exact amount you need. That’s the reason you see
emphasis on the lower section. Crunches and other torso- bodybuilders using the winter months as a building phase
curl exercises, on the other hand, are more isolated and and the summer as more of a muscle-maintenance phase
tend to train less of the muscle, mostly the upper section, as they rip up. Many believe you can’t diet and build muscle
but are necessary because of that upper-area focus. at the same time. (I think it’s possible, but more difficult, as
So if you do full-range crunches first, you’ll fatigue your your eating schedule has to be very precise.)
upper abs, with less total muscle involvement. That means At 2,500 calories and with new love handles, you likely
when you get to your incline leg raises or kneeups, your need to reduce your food intake or do some cardio to make
upper abs will be so fatigued that you won’t be able to do sure you get rid of the excess. If you do go to a higher-vol-
justice to your so-called lower abs. You will have lessened ume approach, you can still use X Reps (or a static X until
the effectiveness of the more important exercise and de- you can do X Reps effectively). Just don’t get carried away.
Hip-curl ab exercises, like incline

kneeups, have muscle synergy and
should come first in your ab routine.
Then you can move to more isolated
movements like Ab Bench crunches.
Neveux \ Model: Joey Gloor

Steve Holman’s
Critical Mass
I usually cycle repeats after that.
recommend If you’re training Monday, Wednesday and Friday with
doing X Reps the split you outlined, train deadlifts with midback work
on only one on Monday (day 1).
set of an
Q: I’m very interested in 30-minute workouts
exercise.
because of my job, but I notice that you still do
Q: I want two sets for each exercise in your latest X-Rep
to know programs, which must take a while. With the effi-
how I can ciency of multiangular POF training and the added
incorpo- superintensity of X Reps, shouldn’t you be able to
rate dead- grow with only one set in each position—midrange,
lifts into stretch and contracted? I get the impression that
my current two sets are more necessary from a psychological,
Neveux \ Model: John Hansen

routine. I’m not physiological, standpoint.
doing delts,
A: Most of the Basic Ultimate Mass workouts in The
midback,
Ultimate Mass Workout e-book are about 30 minutes each.
bi’s and
Our workouts last about 60 minutes (we train on our lunch
forearms
hour). To grow, you don’t have to follow our workouts; in
on day 1;
fact, we’re convinced that you can cover most of the mass-
legs and
building factors in two sets of a big multijoint exercise—
abs on
Deadlifts train a lot of the same muscle partial range for continuous tension for 30 seconds, X Reps
day 2; and
groups as the squat but also heavily for max-force-point overload/semistretch stress, with a
chest, lats
involve the back. That means you want drop set included for endurance-component stimulation
and tri’s on
to work it with legs or on midback day and capillary expansion. We believe if you’re pressed for
day 3. I’m
but not the day following a leg workout. time, you can adapt those basic ultimate-exercise routines
including
to get the mass-building job done (everything is there in
most of the
the UMW programs except the drop sets on the second
ultimate exercises from The Ultimate Mass Work-
set). Obviously, in those routines you need the second set
out e-book and X Reps, of course. Where do I put the
to use as a drop set so you cover the extended-tension
deadlift?
requirement. In our workouts we usually do a second set
A: You didn’t say if you have a day of rest between those on the big exercises because we use the first heavy set as
workouts or if you’re doing them consecutively, with week- an extension of the warmup—to prime the nervous system
ends off—the way that I usually train. to fire optimally on the second set and get the most out of
Keep in mind that the deadlift works a lot of the same X Reps on it. That’s the physiological basis for two sets. We
muscles as the squat, plus the back. So if you’re doing the usually save drop sets for our contracted-position exercise.
workouts you listed three days in a row, then continuing the We have more than 30 minutes to train, so we continue
sequence for two more days, your best bet is to do deadlifts to use full POF bodypart programs rather than going to the
on Friday, at least two days after a leg workout, or with legs. more time-sensitive ultimate-exercise approach described
Let’s outline the sequence week by week so you can get the above. We’ve found that there’s something special about
idea: contracted- and stretch-position movements. They add to
the mass-building effect. Are they necessary? Only if you
Monday: Delts, midback, biceps, forearms
want the absolute fastest possible gains; however, if you’re
Tuesday: Legs, abs
pressed for time, you can get most of the anabolic effects
Wednesday: Chest, lats, triceps
from two sets of the ultimate exercises. I’ll have more on
Thursday: Delts, midback, biceps, forearms
that in a new e-book, 3D Muscle Building.
Friday: Legs (plus deadlifts), abs
Monday: Chest, lats, triceps The sharp black POF T-shirt with the original classic
Tuesday: Delts, midback, biceps, forearms logo emblazoned in gold can give you that muscular
Wednesday: Legs, abs look you’re after (sorry, large size only). See page 235 for
Thursday: Chest, lats, triceps details.
Friday: Delts, midback (plus deadlifts), biceps, forearms
Monday: Legs, abs Editor’s note: Steve Hol-

Tuesday: Chest, lats, triceps man is the author many
Wednesday: Delts, midback, biceps, forearms bodybuilding best-sellers,
Thursday: Legs including Train, Eat, Grow:
Friday: chest, Lats (plus light deadlifts), triceps The Positions-of-Flexion
Muscle-Training Manual (see
Week 1 you train deadlifts with legs on Friday. The next page 76). For information on
week you have only one leg workout, on Wednesday, so the POF videos and Size Surge
you can train deadlifts on Friday instead of or with mid- programs, see the ad section
back. The third week your leg workouts fall on Monday and beginning on page 177. Also
Thursday, so you could take a break from deadlifts that visit www.X-Rep.com. IM
Neveux
week or do a light deadlift workout on Friday with lats. The

Steve Holman
80 OCTOBER 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com ironchief@aol.com
Mr. Natural Olympia John Hansen’s
Naturally Huge
presses; dips; barbell curls; leg presses and stiff-legged
Gain Pains deadlifts can’t be beat for building maximum muscle mass.
If you perform those exercises correctly and with enough
intensity, you can rest assured that you’re using the best
movements for building muscle.
Once you begin using the most effective exercises for
Q: I have a friend who’s 5’11” and 187 pounds. mass building, you need to use the right amount of inten-
He wants to be a muscular 200 to 210, but he just sity to get the muscles to respond. The best formula for
doesn’t seem to be gaining weight. Maybe he’s not building size is six to 10 reps done with heavy weights.
eating enough; he does have a fast metabolism. We’d The more resistance you use for the proper number of
like to know what exactly he can do to increase his reps, the bigger your muscles will get. They have to grow in
weight without taking supplements. He exercises response to the stress imposed on them. If you keep using
about four to five times a week, and he eats a lot of the same resistance and don’t push yourself to get stronger,
protein. the muscles will have no reason to grow. Remember, the
A: I can totally relate to what your friend is going body always prefers to stay the same. If you want to change
through. I went through the same thing when I was in it, you have to use force. It’s not going to change just be-
my teens and early 20s. I was naturally thin and found it cause you want it to.
very difficult to gain muscular size and bodyweight. Even After a proper training program is in place, you’ll need
though I was training hard and consistently along with to improve your nutrition program. The foods you eat are
eating correctly, my progress was extremely slow and frus- an essential component of getting bigger. You have to eat
trating. enough calories to feed the muscles and put the body into
My solution was to use the right exercises, training a growth-producing state. You also have to eat the proper
heavy to get stronger and bigger and eating enough of the amounts of essential macronutrients—protein, carbohy-
right bodybuilding foods. It sounds easy, but applying the drates and fats—to give the muscles the ingredients they
principles is harder than it seems. need to grow.
The first thing is to use the right exercises. I prefer the You mentioned that your friend is eating plenty of pro-
basic exercises with barbells and dumbbells when my goal tein. Protein is obviously very important in building mus-
is to increase muscle mass and get bigger. It’s old-school cle because it’s responsible for muscle growth and repair.
training, but it’s been my experience that those exercises Eating enough high-quality protein throughout the day is
are the best for building size. an essential part of building your body.
Squats; deadlifts; barbell, dumbbell and T-bar rows; flat- Your friend must eat at least six times a day. He should
bench and incline presses; barbell and dumbbell overhead be getting some form of complete protein—eggs, chicken,
fish, steak or protein powder—with each meal. Have him
concentrate on protein foods that contain more fats, such
as beef, eggs and whole milk, since the higher fat content
will also boost his overall calorie intake.
Jay Cutler eats up In addition to protein, your friend needs plenty of com-
to 1,000 grams of plex carbohydrates, such as rice, potatoes, oatmeal, bread
carbohydrates each and pasta. They provide the muscles with plenty of glyco-
day when he’s trying gen to fuel heavy workouts. Carbohydrates also play a key
to get bigger in the role in helping the muscles recuperate and grow following
off-season. an intense workout.
If you and your friend are eating protein with each meal,
you should add one or two servings of complex carbo-
hydrates. Professional bodybuilder Jay Cutler eats 1,000
grams of carbohydrates each day in the off-season trying to
get bigger.
I used to have two huge protein drinks a day. Eating lots
of food six times a day gets tiring after a while. You actually
don’t look forward to chewing all that food. My solution
was to have protein drinks for two of the six meals. I used
two cups of whole milk, two scoops of weight-gain protein
powder, one banana and two scoops of ice cream with
each drink. They were so huge that they’d fill the whole
blender.
I had one of the drinks in the middle of the day, about 90
minutes before I went to the gym, and another right before
I went to bed. Since I was having such a difficult time gain-
Neveux \ Model: Jay Cutler
ing weight, I figured that getting so many calories immedi-

ately before I retired for the night would be beneficial, as I
wouldn’t be burning them.
Speaking of sleep, to gain weight you need a lot. I was
going to a local college at the time, so I was able to take a
one-to-two-hour nap each day in addition to sleeping at

Mr. Natural Olympia John Hansen’s
Naturally Huge
least eight hours a night. Sleeping more and drastically I notice that you’re eating a full-jacket potato for lunch and
cutting back on other activities really helped me slow down a full bag of rice for dinner. Although potatoes and rice are
my metabolism and put on some weight. When you have good sources of complex carbs, getting too many at one
a superfast metabolism, you have to do everything pos- time will cause the excess calories to be stored as fat.
sible to turn it around so you add muscle to your frame. If Here’s a a diet you could follow to lose bodyfat while you
your friend follows all of these guidelines, he should have maintain or build muscle tissue:
no problem adding size and bodyweight. You have to be as
consistent with your eating program as you are with your Meal 1: 2 whole eggs, 3 egg whites, 1 cup oatmeal or
training. Think big, and you’ll get big! porridge
Meal 2: 2 scoops Pro-Fusion protein powder in water
with 1 tablespoon flaxseed oil
Q: I’m 16 years
Meal 3: 6-ounce chicken breast with small potato and
old. Could you
broccoli
please tell me
how to drop
Meal 5: 1 can tuna with green beans or asparagus
bodyfat and get a
tight, flat midsec-
with 1 tablespoon flaxseed oil
tion? Also, any
tips on how to
Of course, in addition to a good fat-loss diet, you need to
flatten the lower
train hard to add more lean muscle to your physique. The
stomach, as mine
weight training will stimulate more muscle growth, which
protrudes? My
will help increase your metabolism because muscle re-
diet is extremely
quires more calories than fat. I recommend that you train
clean, and I eat
at least three days a week, concentrating on using the basic
three meals a
exercises with enough resistance to limit you to six to 10
day: 1) breakfast:
reps per set.
1 cup of porridge
For your abdominals, you should choose exercises that
with natural
work the upper and lower abs. If you really want to concen-
peanut butter; 2)
trate on this area of your body, use two upper-ab exercises
lunch: full-jacket
and two lower-ab exercises, and perform the workout
potato with two
twice a week. To make the abdominal routine even harder,
cans of tuna in
Supersetting a lower-ab move with superset an upper-ab exercise with a lower-ab one. Here’s
mayo; 3) dinner:
an upper-ab exercise is a good a good ab routine that you could follow two to three times
three chicken
midsection-training strategy. a week:
breasts, a full bag
of whole-grain Superset
rice and a bag of microwaveable vegetables. Hanging knee raises 3 x max
Kneeling cable crunches 3 x max
A: The first thing we need to do is fix your diet. I think
you’d make much more progress by eating six small meals Superset
a day instead of three large ones, as that makes digestion Seated knee raises 2-3 x max
and assimilation much more efficient, and you increase Crunches 2-3 x max
your metabolism every time you eat.
The best diet is high in protein and moderate in carbo- Editor’s note: John Hansen has won the Natural Mr.
hydrates and fats. That will enable you to build or maintain Olympia and is a two-time Natural Mr. Universe winner.
muscle mass while simultaneously reducing your bodyfat. Visit his Web site
One of the reasons eating six times a day is so benefi- at www.natural
cial is that you can eat the amount of protein and other olympia.com.
nutrients that you need without stuffing yourself at one You can write to
sitting. If you weigh 160 pounds and you wish to get bigger, him at P.O. Box
you should be eating 1.25 to 1.5 grams of protein for each 3003, Darien,
pound of bodyweight. In this example you’d be aiming for IL 60561, or
a daily protein intake of 200 to 240 grams. If you ate six call toll-free
meals a day, that would average out to 33 to 40 grams of (800) 900-UNIV
protein at each meal. It’s very difficult to eat and digest that (8648). His new
much protein if you eat only three meals a day. book, Natural
Eating smaller amounts of carbohydrate over six meals Bodybuilding,
will help you reduce your bodyfat. When you eat too and new train-
many carbohydrates at one sitting, the body releases large ing DVD, “Real
amounts of insulin to shuttle the excess carbs out of the Muscle,” are
bloodstream and transports them straight to the fat cells now available
for storage. Not a good situation if you’re trying to get from Home Gym
Neveux
leaner. Warehouse, (800)

The solution is to eat smaller amounts of carbohydrates 447-0008 or www John Hansen
with each meal so you don’t cause a large insulin reaction. .Home-Gym.com. IM
John@NaturalOlympia.com
Ready, Set,
Part 2
An Interview With Muscle-Training Researcher Rob Thoburn on
His Controversial Rest-Only-Briefly Mass-Building Method
by Jim Kimbrell, Ph.D. • Photography by Michael Neveux
art 1 of this
P interview
ended with
Thoburn’s discussion
of X Reps. This
month he picks up
with cardio training
and why it maynot
be necessary to
do it in order
to lose
bodyfat.
Model: David Goodin

Ready, Set, GROW!
“Every skeletal
muscle can be
characterized by
its own unique
fiber alignment
pattern.”
JK: When do you do cardio

with the ROB method?
“Muscle cells
RT: I don’t do cardio. But if you
decide that you want to, then I rec- may adapt to
ommend doing it on a separate day endurance training
from weights. Do your cardio on by decreasing in
one day, then do your weights the diameter.”
next day, and so on. Is that the best
way? I don’t know, but it makes the
most sense.
JK: So you do no cardio at all?

Ever? How come?
RT: Never. My wife, Joy, and I
turned our living room into a gym.
Instead of a table or a couch, we
have a Life Fitness treadmill, a
Parabody combination Smith ma-
chine and power rack, and a bench
press station. Joy runs on the tread-
mill 12 to 15 miles every day. I never
touch the thing except to turn it off
when Joy forgets.
Cardio, or endurance, training
can be beneficial for your heart, and
it obviously burns calories. I love the
feeling I get from running—it’s defi-
Model: Dan Decker
nitely a more intense high than you

get from weights—however, I prefer
to keep my bodyfat low by lifting
weights and strictly monitoring my
food intake.

Ready, Set, GROW!
There’s another important reason

“I’ve noticed I avoid cardio. Muscle cells may
that the better adapt to endurance training by
a bodybuilder decreasing in diameter. It’s called
is genetically, atrophy. The smaller the diameter of
the less he or a muscle cell, the smaller its “meta-
bolic gradient,” as physiologists
she tends to say. That makes it easier to take up
experiment in oxygen and nutrients and get rid of
the gym.” metabolic waste products like lactic
acid—all good news for endurance.
Of course, when you lift weights,
you’re usually trying to increase the
diameter of your muscle cells—i.e.,
hypertrophy. I’m a hardgainer as
it is. I don’t want to be tugging my
muscle cells in the opposite direct-
ing by doing endurance exercise.
For years I used to run or ride my
bike in addition to lifting weights. It
always seemed to slow my muscle
gains. But everyone is different.
Balik \ Model: Ronnie Coleman

Some people actually gain muscle
from doing endurance exercise.
JK: What do you think of drop

sets?
RT: Drop sets can work well. I
guess you could say it’s just a varia-
tion of ROB. [IRON MAN Editor in
Chief] Steve Holman recently asked
me about Dante’s Doggcrap train-
ing. As I understand it, it’s similar to
drop sets. That may be why people
get good results with it. I also like
standard rest/pause training. For
instance, I may lift 85 to 95 percent
of my one-rep max for a single rep.
Then I’ll rest, or “pause,” as long as I
need—say, eight to 20 seconds—in
order to perform another rep. Then
I’ll pause again, and so on, for six to
eight reps. I use the same weight on
each rep. After that I’ll move to an-
other muscle group. I find that this
technique can give your muscles a
hard, dense look in as little as 24 to
48 hours. When I use it, I’ll hit each
muscle group two, or even three,
times a week. My strength goes up
like crazy.
JK: What kind of supplements

do you recommend for maxi-
mizing training results?
RT: I think beginners can get
reliably good results by breaking
“Most people
Model: Ronnie Coleman
supplementation down into three

take the power components—pretraining “igni-
of rest periods tion,” post-training “activation” and
for granted.” vasomuscular “volumization.”
Pretraining ignition just means
setting your mind and muscles

Ready, Set, GROW!
ablaze with energy and focus be-

fore your workout. You may be able
to achieve it by drinking a cup of
coffee 30 minutes before you train,
or you may want to invest in a pre-
training igniter formula. Whatever
floats your boat, really.
Post-training activation is where
you amplify the muscle-building
processes set in motion by your
workouts. There are post-training
glutamine- and creatine-contain-
ing supplements to help with that.
Those ingredients may help hy-
drate your tired muscle cells and
promote the synthesis of glyco-
gen—and possibly protein as well.
The third component is vascular
and muscle volumization. Many
“There bodybuilders claim that their mus-
appears to be cles look fuller and shapelier when
size-building they use a nitric oxid–supporting
benefit to vasomuscular volumizer through-
shifting the out the day.
Of course, it’s no coincidence
leverage that BSN [the company that Tho-
point, as in burn and Kimbrell work for] sells
Model: Sagi Kalev

Positions- products designed to target those
of-Flexion three components, but I’d be an
training.” idiot to say that you can’t use
someone else’s products!
JK: Let’s go back to train-

“Most people don’t ing, specifically Positions of
realize how powerful Flexion, or POF, which Holman
developed and most IRON
an effect shortening or
MAN readers are familiar with.
lenthening rest periods Can that be incorporated into
can have on muscles.” ROB?
RT: I see no reason why not.
The thing I like about Holman’s
POF training concept is that it may
explain why bodybuilders tend to
perform several—usually three in
the case of POF—different exer-
cises per bodypart. The POF is the
point where your muscles have to
flex the hardest; i.e., generate the
most tension. By choosing differ-
ent exercises, you can sometimes
shift the location of the POF. With
regards to stimulating muscle
hypertrophy, there appears to be
size-building benefit to this. It may
have to do with shifting the lever-
age point. [Editor’s note: A sample
POF biceps routine would be
preacher curls for midrange work,
Model: Joey Gloor
incline curls for stretch work and

concentration curls for contracted,
or tension, work; see page 76 for
information on Train, Eat, Grow,
the POF manual.]

Ready, Set, GROW!
1) Pick a weight that you can
The ROB method perform 10 reps with using a
prescribes only 10 natural cadence, meaning that
seconds of rest your reps are neither purposely
between sets. fast or slow.
2) Do as many reps as you can
with that weight.
3) Rest 10 seconds.
4) Go back to step 2, and repeat
steps 2 and 3 until you can only
get one rep.
5) That’s it. Move on to another
muscle.
JK: Before we bring this in-
terview to a close, I want to ask
if you have any preferences in
terms of selecting exercises.
RT: I recommend that you per-
form exercises that you like. What
Model: David Yeung

a novel concept, huh? Despite my
horrendous lower-back problems,
I love barbell squats for thighs. I do
mostly barbell bench presses for
chest. In short, I tend to stick with
the basics—the compound move-
JK: Having observed famous sessed with my workouts is that I ments that tackle a lot of muscle at
athletes from Team BSN and spend all day sitting behind a desk. once. They just feel good.
elsewhere, what have you It’s hard to fathom not working out at Years ago I spent some time
learned about training? all for three months, but it obviously studying anatomy textbooks. In par-
RT: One thing I’ve noticed is that works wonders for Ronnie. For years ticular I looked at photographs of
the better a bodybuilder’s genet- I used to train for three, four or even cadavers that had been dissected to
ics, the less he or she tends to ex- five hours at a crack, seven days a reveal the underlying muscle struc-
periment with training and diet. For week. More recently I’ve been train- tures. It occurred to me that every
instance, Ronnie Coleman pretty ing a lot less. It certainly hasn’t hurt. skeletal muscle can be characterized
much sticks with the same ap- I almost never train more than one by its own unique fiber alignment
proach all the time. It works for him, hour anymore, and often my work- pattern, or FAP, as I call it. The FAP
so why try anything else? outs are completed in 45 minutes or allows the muscle to develop ten-
Our most recent addition to Team less. I usually take at least one or two sion and shorten through a certain
BSN is mixed martial arts and fit- days off from training each week. range of motion. The FAP of your
ness expert Julien Greaux. He is to- I think the most important les- pectoralis major, for instance, allows
tally shredded 365 days of the year. son I’ve learned in watching other your upper arms to be flexed across
Julien trains at a pretty fast pace. As people train is that most people take your chest from an outstretched
far as I know, he has always trained the power of rest periods for granted. position. That is best harnessed by
like that. That is, they don’t realize how power- the cable crossover exercise and to
Being a hardgainer, I’ve kind of ful an effect shortening or lengthen- a lesser extent the wide-grip dip. My
been forced to experiment. Right ing your rest periods can have on theory was that you should choose
from the start I experienced few your muscles. The tendency is to rest exercises that best harness the FAP
gains, so I needed to change things too long. The body seems to have a of the muscle being trained.
up. I learn more from people like natural aversion to training quick- If you study the FAP of the lats,
Ronnie by actually watching them ly—to resting only briefly (ROB) be- you’ll see that the most appropri-
train or eat as opposed to asking for tween sets—as it should, I suppose. ate exercise for them might be the
the rationale behind their methods. Do yourself a favor. For two weeks lat pulldown behind the head. Will
I’ve also learned that it pays to try ROB on one muscle group—your applying the FAP principle to your
rest. After the Mr. Olympia, Ronnie thighs or back, say. Keep training workouts make a difference? It’s
takes about three months off from every other muscle group as you very possible.
training. He doesn’t train at all. I normally would. See what hap- Editor’s note: Rob Thoburn is
once asked him if he ever gets the pens. If you don’t like it, then at least the Senior Marketing Executive and
urge to lift a weight during his time you’ve learned something. Nothing Scientific Advisor at Bio-Engineered
off. After all, he’s got a great gym in ventured, nothing gained, as they Supplements & Nutrition (BSN), Inc.
the back of his house. He said no! say. To review the ROB procedure: You can see more of his articles at
One of the reasons I’m so ob- www.BSNonline.net. IM

An
Ap p l e A
Can Keep the Doctor Away by Building Your

Day
Health—and Workout Prowess
by Jerry Brainum
n ancient Greece a man signaled of apples to entice occurred in the

his interest in a woman by tossing fabled Garden of Eden, when Adam
her an apple. If she caught it, that and Eve were warned not to eat from
indicated receptivity. In medieval the tree of the knowledge of good
Germany men ate apples drenched and evil. The fruit was too tempting
Neveux \ Model: Tommi Thorvildsen
in the perspiration of the object to resist, however, which guaranteed

of their affections. Just how those eviction from paradise. Contrary to
apples got sweat all over them is a popular belief, it may not have been
story lost to time. An even earlier use an apple.

In modern times various health apple contains a
effects are often attributed to eating mere 80 calories. It
apples, many of which have direct also supplies 170
relevance to bodybuilding progress, milligrams of potas-
not to mention health maintenance. sium, 22 grams of
Apples can ensure satiety, thus mak- carbohydrate, no
ing dieting not quite as arduous as fat and five grams of
usual. Oxidation that exercise pro- fiber, of which 50 per-
duces is linked to delayed muscle cent is the highly protec-
recovery as well as increased post- tive soluble form. Like most fruits
training muscle soreness. Apples are
high on the list of antioxidant-rich
foods. One study found that they Apples may help preserve
were second to cranberries in block-
ing oxidant effects, and apples have
brain function by offsetting
the significant advantage of being a buildup of beta-amyloid,
more portable and accessible than
cranberries. a protein associated with The Protective
Many bodybuilding diets have a Ingredients in
dearth of fruits and vegetables. The degenerative brain disease. Apples
usual recommended minimum is
five servings a day; the optimum is Numerous studies have
nine to 11 servings. Fruits and veg- and vegetables, apples are primarily linked a generous intake of fruits
etables are rich in phytonutrients. water—about 80 percent. and vegetables with prevention of
Thousands of such chemicals exist,
and the majority are not available
in supplemental form. So chemicals
found in fruits and vegetables are
Bodybuilders avoid fruit in

the mistaken notion that
eating it promotes bodyfat
or inhibits fat loss.
a major source of protection from

degenerative diseases ranging from
cancer to cardiovascular disease to
age-related loss of brain function.
Yet bodybuilders and athletes
avoid them in the mistaken notion
that they promote bodyfat or inhibit
fat loss. They think, for example,
that fruit is high in fructose, a natu-
ral sugar. True, most fruits contain
small amounts of fructose, but
they also contain elements, such as
soluble fiber, that interact with fruc-
An Apple A Day
tose. Besides, the fructose in fruit

isn’t the problem. The bad guy is
the processed form, devoid of fiber
and chock full of additional simple
sugars, such as glucose. You get that
Neveux \ Model: John Cowgill
combo in high-fructose corn syrup.

Abominations like that are a far cry
from the natural sugars found in
apples.
You’d have to eat a heck of a lot
of apples to get fat. One medium

Research has shown that types of
apples also vary in their overall
antioxidant content.
noid intake was positively tract. Proliferation of the cancer was
linked to lower mortality inhibited when they were exposed
levels. Not only are apples to the apple extract, and cancer cells
rich sources of phenolic treated with 50 milligrams of apple
compounds, but they also extract (from the peel) were inhib-
contain the highest levels ited by 43 percent. The apple flesh
of free phenolics, the most extract inhibited the cancer by 29
active forms. Many other percent.
phenolic compounds bond In another study rats were ex-
to other substances and posed to a known carcinogen and
must be released in the then fed the human equivalent of
body to become active. So one, three or six apples a day over 24
apples are a rapidly acting weeks. Those rats proved 44 percent
antioxidant. less likely to have breast tumors.
Several studies have Since excess oxidation plays a
killer diseases, mainly because of specifically associated apple intake major role in cardiovascular disease,
the polyphenols and other active with reduced cancer risk, particu- it’s not surprising that fruits such as
ingredients. Protective compounds larly lung cancer, the number one apples also offer protection in that
include carotenoids, such as beta- cause of cancer deaths. One study arena. A study of 40,000 women
carotene; isoflavonoids, found in of 77,000 women and 47,000 men found that those who ate foods
soy; and phenolic acids, which pro- found a 21 percent reduced risk of rich in flavonoids showed a 35 per-
tect against the damage to cellular cancer in women (but not men) cent reduced risk of cardiovascular
DNA that leads to mutations and who had a high fruit and vegetable disease. Women who ate apples
cancer. intake—and that was on one apple showed a 13 to 22 percent decrease
Flavonoids function as potent each day. in cardiovascular disease.
antioxidants in the body. That’s In Hawaii scientists found that Back in Finland, research subjects
significant because out-of-con- apples offered protective effects who ate the most apples showed a
trol oxidation produces free radi- against cancer in both sexes. That significantly reduced risk of stroke
cals—unpaired electrons that attach study showed a 40 to 50 percent compared to those who didn’t
themselves to stable electrons in lowered risk of lung cancer in sub- eat apples. Apples and wine also
cellular membranes, compromising jects having the highest intake of protected against cardiovascular
the structural integrity of mem- apples, onions and white grapefruit. disease in a study of 35,000 Iowa
branes and opening the door to It found no protective effects from women, mainly because of the poly-
toxins and carcinogens. Flavonoids red wine or black or green tea. phenol compounds catechin and
neutralize free radicals, often by A study published in the journal epicatechin. Also found in teas, the
contributing an electron and thus Nature described the treatment of polyphenols in apples may be more
stabilizing cell structure. colon cancer cells with apple ex- easily ab- (continued on page 116)
Americans get 22 percent of their
phenolics from the apples they eat.
Unfortunately, they eat an average
of 19 pounds of apples per year,
compared to the typical European
intake of 46 pounds. A Finnish study
of 10,000 people showed that flavo-
An Apple A Day
When aged rats

were given apples
or apple juice, their
performance in
navigating mazes
improved.

protection against such engaged in intense training, since
inflammatory diseases more efficient breathing can delay
as asthma. Australian fatigue. Several studies show that
researchers found that eating apples not only aids weight
apples and pears of- and fat loss but can offset diseases
fered protection against linked to obesity, such as type 2
asthma and bronchial diabetes. Among the 10,000 people
hypersensitivity, while in the Finnish study, there was de-
other fruits and vegeta- creased incidence of diabetes in
bles tested did not. Nor those who regularly ate apples. A
did specific antioxidant particular apple flavonoid, quer-
nutrients, such as vita- cetin, was also associated with this
mins C, E, A or beta-caro- aspect.
tene. A study of 13,000 A study of 400 overweight, mid-
adults in the Netherlands dle-aged women in Brazil compared
found that eating apples eating oatmeal cookies to eating
positively affected lung apples and pears, three times a day
function. Those who ate for 12 weeks. Those on the fruits
five or more apples daily showed a significant weight loss
had a significantly higher after 12 weeks, while those on the
rate of lung function—a cookies had zero weight loss. The
clear benefit to anyone fruit eaters also had lower blood
glucose levels than the cookie eat-
ers.
A study showed that
compared to pears Antioxidant Activity
and peaches, apples of Apples
(continued from page 112) sorbed in were superior at Most of an apple’s antioxidant
the body. activity comes from its peel. One
The protective nutrients in lowering elevated medium apple with the peel intact
apples tend to lower excessive in- blood cholesterol. equals the antioxidant activity of
flammatory reactions in the body, 1,500 milligrams of vitamin C.
which means eating apples offers Yet the average apple con-
tains only 5.7 milligrams of
vitamin C, which accounts
for only 0.4 percent of its
total antioxidant activity.
That high antioxidant
activity accounts for its
protective effects against
the growth of tumors.
Both apples and apple
juice help prevent car-
diovascular disease by
inhibiting the oxidation
Neveux \ Model: Robert Sager
of low-density-lipopro-
tein cholesterol, the
primary type circulating
in the blood. LDL is haz-
ardous only when oxi-
Both apples and apple juice

help prevent cardiovascular
disease by inhibiting the
oxidation of low-density-
lipoprotein cholesterol.
Among the protective
compounds in apples are
procyandins—one type may
prevent male-pattern baldness.
dized: Apple peels
showed 34 percent
inhibition of LDL
oxidation, and the
pulp produced a
21 percent inhibi-
tion, pointing to
the greater level
of antioxidants
found in the peel.
One study used
a type of lab rat bred for its propen- other study showed that compared The polyphenols epicatechin and
sity for obesity. The subjects got 20 to pears and peaches, apples were procyandin B2 contribute the great-
percent dried apple extract as part superior in lowering elevated blood est antioxidant activity, with procy-
of their diet, which led to a 22 per- cholesterol. andins accounting for 60 percent of
cent drop in total cholesterol levels, Apples may also help preserve the antioxidant activity in the peel
along with a whopping 70 percent brain function, as shown in a re- and 56 percent in the pulp.
decrease in LDL levels and an in- cent study. When aged rats were Research has shown that types
crease in protective high-density given apples or apple juice, their of apples also vary in their overall
lipoprotein. The rats also showed performance in navigating mazes antioxidant content, with Rome
decreased accumulation of fat in improved, a sign of improved brain Beauty, Fuji and Red Delicious the
their hearts and livers, lowered oxi- function. The antioxidant activity of most noteworthy. As Cornell Uni-
dative effects and improved kidney apples also offsets a buildup of beta- versity apple researcher R.H. Liu
function. The authors noted that al- amyloid, a protein associated with notes, “Eating fruits and vegetables
though the apple extract was rich in degenerative brain disease. The rats’ is better than taking a vitamin pill.
fiber, which helps lower blood fats, dietary intake was equivalent to a You can obtain enough antioxidants
the other improvements were more human’s intake of two to three cups from food without worrying about
likely related to the polyphenol con- a day of apple juice or two to four toxicity. The combination of phy-
tent of the apples. The rats did show apples a day. tochemicals plays a very important
increased cholesterol excretion Among the protective com- role in antioxidant and anticancer
after eating the apple extract. An- pounds in apples are procyandins activity, and the real benefits come
(one type may prevent male-pattern from a phytochemical mixture.”
baldness), catechin, epicatechin, Flavonoids are hard for the body
phloridzin and quercetin conju- to absorb. Yet apples and other fruits
gates. The quercetin compound ex- show undeniable health benefits.
ists only in the peel and may explain When researchers from the Linus
the higher antioxidant activity of Pauling Institute in Oregon did a
the peel than the pulp. In fact, apple series of experiments to isolate the
peels contain two to six times more protective factor in apples, they
phenolic compounds than pulp. found that the natural fructose in
apples increases plasma levels of
uric acid, a natural antioxidant.
Most of an apple’s While excessive uric acid levels are
linked to (continued on page 122)
antioxidant
An Apple A Day
activity comes
from its peel.
Apples are
also low on the
glycemic index.

(continued from page 118) cardiovas- release that would increase hunger. 132:1969-1976.
cular disease and gout, the plasma These days, tossing an apple at 3 Ortiz, D., et al. (2004). Apple
levels of uric acid induced by eating a girl you like would probably earn juice prevents oxidative stress in-
apples did not reach pathological either a slap or an arrest. Better to duced by amyloid-beta in culture. J
levels but did offer significant anti- eat that apple and garner its con- Alzheimer’s Dis. 6:27-30. IM
oxidant protection. Other scientists siderable health and bodybuilding
still think that the active ingredients benefits.
in apples are the flavonoids and
polyphenols.
Apples can help with dieting References
because they’re are a low-glyce-
mic-index fruit (38 G.I.), probably 1 Oliveira, M.C., et al. (2003).
because of their high fiber content. Weight loss associated with a daily
The soluble fiber in apples, which is intake of three apples or three pears
20 percent pectin, slows the absorp- among overweight women. Nutri-
tion of fast-acting carbs. That reduction. 19:253-56.
es insulin release, with the net effect 2 Aprikian, O., et al. (2002). Lyo-
of increasing satiety while prevent- philized apple counteracts the de-

ing rapid drops in blood glucose velopment of hypercholesterolemia,
from excess oxidative stress, and renal dysfunc-
insulin tion in obese Zucker rats. J Nutr.
The soluble fiber in apples This article is dedicated to the

slows the absorption of fast- memory of Annie, my little angel,
and the best friend a guy could
acting carbs. ever have. —J.B.
An Apple A Day

A Bodybuilder
Is Born Welcome to the Real World

by Ron Harris
Photography by Michael Neveux Episode 15
ids these days seem to linger why they can’t show their lady friends
K
around the house a lot longer where they live (“Uh, I’m having a new
than previous generations marble floor put in this week, baby—let’s
before striking out on their just go to your place”). It’s most definitely
own. Not so long ago young Randy’s generation, and he fit the profile
adults couldn’t wait to escape exactly—at least until a couple of months
the rules and privacy intrusions imposed ago.
on them by Mom and Pop. The whole Randy turned 23 back in July, and that’s
idea was to cut the umbilical cord and when his parents decided it was time for
begin the transformation into a mature, his buffed butt to find his own place. After
responsible grown-up who could care looking into how much it costs to rent a
for him- or herself. Back then, admitting one-bedroom apartment in Massachu-
you still lived at home was like confessing setts, which for some reason has the high-
you had never kissed a girl—unless your est rental rates of any state in the union
cousin counted. Maybe it’s because rent- (must be our spectacular fall foliage), the
ing a house or apartment costs roughly as young buck realized he needed a higher-
much as open-heart surgery these days, paying job. A friend of his had been doing
but the number of empty nests sure has very well earning commissions as a new-
gone down. car salesman and had convinced Randy
I’ve known many young people who to give it a shot at the same dealership. As
lived at home long into their 20s and in he’s an outgoing guy and not bad looking,
some cases even their 30s, and not all it turned out to be a good fit, and he was
of them were regular attendees of “Star now making enough dough to support
Trek” conventions who had chronic himself in his very first apartment. Great
halitosis and visible nose hair. Many of news, right? I thought so too until Randy
them were just too greedy to leave home. started bitching during a back workout a
Instead of plunking down 80 percent of few days ago. Until he gets himself a wife,
their paychecks on food and rent, they I have to listen to him whine.
could simply throw the parental units “This job is killing my gains!” he
Model: Eric Sternlicht, Ph.D.
some cash here and there and use the rest groused after dropping from the chinup
to lease flashy sports cars and buy clothes bar after a set. “I had no idea the hours
with designer labels. would be this long. The worst thing is that
I suppose all those guys must have to I am missing meals like crazy. I’ll be with a
come up with some crazy excuses as to customer for two or three hours at a time,

A Bodybuilder Is Born
Mark Dugdale is one pro

bodybuilder who has a job
outside bodybuilding and
supports a family.
and there’s no way I can drop ev- look like a skeleton and I can’t even ground. “Let’s hear what you would
erything and have them wait while I bench-press 40 pounds anymore?” do if you were doing my job.”
sneak off to eat. If I do that, I could “No, all I’m saying is that you I pondered a moment, finding it
lose the sale, and I need those sales have to do what every other body- challenging to envision myself with
right now.” builder who isn’t fortunate enough such a high-pressure occupation as
“Yes, I know you no longer have to work at home has to do—be cre- pursuading people to blow a year’s
Mommy and Daddy’s refrigerator ative and come up with ways to get salary over the course of a five-year
to raid for your growing muscles. access to the nutrients you need.” loan on the car I was selling, rather
Meat ain’t cheap, is it? You may Randy jumped up and did his last than the car the guy at the dealer-
even have to wash all those stinky set of chinups. I had weaned him off ship across the turnpike was selling.
sweat-soaked gym clothes yourself. of using wrist straps for them, and Cars are starting to look alike now
Welcome to the real world of being a now his formerly spindly forearms anyway. Plus, if I had a real job like
grown-up, Sparky.” had a little meat on them. that, which could possibly tie up my
“So what? You’re saying I have “I’m listening,” said Randy with day from eight in the morning until
to just keep missing meals until I a hint of sarcasm after he hit the six or eight at night, I would have

Your job may sometimes

make it impossible to get
in your workouts, but there
are creative ways to cope.

Being able to eat frequently

is a bodybuilding
requirement. Protein
shakes in your coffee mug
may be a solution.
to start training either very early or around with shake bottles all day, housewives ferrying kids to soccer
very late, as Randy now did. Because but I bet you can get away with practice relies on a steady infusion
of that we were only training to- holding a coffee mug. You know, of caffeine to help keep them awake
gether on Friday, the one day of the one of those nice stainless-steel and alert. I suppose if we took it
week he had off. Since a big part of ones. Keep a little cooler behind away from them, we’d be faced with
what I do as a bodybuilding writer is your desk with two or three of these. an epidemic of narcolepsy. Since
finding ways for the average person You can have protein shakes in the last thing I want is to be on the
to make gains no matter what his or them. And,” I added with a flash of road when the driver of the car in
her schedule, I concentrated extra inspiration, “you could even mix front of me slumps over the wheel
hard until I got a brain blast like that in a little real coffee so your breath snoring, I am not about to chal-
big-headed Jimmy Neutron charac- gives off that pungent java aroma lenge the widespread addiction to
ter on Nickelodeon. and your customers don’t suspect the coffee bean.
“Coffee mugs,” I said. there’s a musclehead slurping away “Yeah, that might work.” Randy
“Coffee mugs?” Randy asked as on protein under the three-piece was now nodding. “We already have
he loaded up the T-bar row. “What suit.” one guy who must go through 20
the hell does that have to do with It was a great idea. In Massa- cups of coffee a day at the dealer-
anything?” chusetts there’s a Dunkin’ Donuts ship, and he sips at them constantly,
“That’s how you’re going to make franchise about every two blocks, even with his customers.”
sure you never miss out on the pro- and coffee is the unofficial fifth food “I hope his prostate gland is in
tein and carbs you need. I know you group for most adults here. Every- good shape because that sounds
would come off like a dork walking one from police officers to harried like a whole lot of bathroom breaks

“You need to set a time

that you will train every
day and stick to it so
your body clock gets
Model: Derik Farnsworth

acclimated to performing
at that particular time.”
to me.” Randy didn’t quite get that

one. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing you
need to think about—for about 15 or
20 years, at least.”
“Okay, but I’m still having trouble
with my workouts. If I train before
work, I don’t feel like I’m really awake
yet and am kind of weak. If I train
after work, I’m usually tired and feel
weak too.”
“You need to set a time that you
will train every day and stick to it so “It’s all about time manage- fellow Yankees sure do love their
your body clock gets acclimated to ment. You know you need to sleep coffee, and hundreds of thousands
performing at that particular time. I a good eight hours a night to grow, of them think nothing of spend-
think you’re much better off training and it’s up to you to stay on top ing three or four dollars every day
in the early morning before work. It’s of that. I also recommend you on some sugary concoction like a
only going to be rough for a week or make absolutely sure you get a Coolata or a Dunkachino. I know,
two at most. Then you’ll get used to it good breakfast, lunch and dinner because I’ve downed more than a
and you’ll be just as strong as usual. if everything else is going to be few of them myself.
Unless—” shakes.” “I’m in the wrong business,” I
“Unless what?” Randy demanded Randy agreed and promised to mused to no one in particular. I
to know. follow through on all of it, and we sniffed the air. The girl at the front
“Unless you stay up all night with finished the workout. desk had a huge Styrofoam cup
one of your little girlfriends, Junior. I looked across the street of some chocolaty-smelling cof-
Nobody gets a good workout on two from the gym, where there was a fee. My hand moved to my wallet
hours of sleep.” Dunkin’ Donuts with a line of cars as the coffee joint drew me like a
“Well,” he said, actually starting to stretching from the drive-through magnet. “I can quit any time I want
blush, “I have been staying up past my window all the way around the to,” I lied to myself, as any addict
bedtime more often since I left home.” building to the other side. Yes, my will. IM

20 Pounds
of Muscle In
Two Months!
How Mike Semanoff Packed On More Mass
With Proper Diet and Basic Training With X Reps
by David Young Photography by Michael Neveux
I featured Mike Semanoff and his wife, Holly, last year

after they won the 2005 Fit Couple competition at the
IRON MAN FitExpo in Pasadena, California. They entered
the show on a whim, and the next thing they knew, they got
a call on their cell phone saying they’d made the finals.
I contacted Mike to see how his career was going and
learned he’d just packed on 20 pounds of muscle in two
months. I thought to myself, “If it’s legit, the guys reading
IRON MAN will want to know how he did it. Let’s find out.
DY: Mike, what improvements have you made to
your physique in the past year?
MS: Well, on December 1 of last year I set out to prove I could put on 20
pounds of lean body mass in two months. I wanted to show that I could do it
100 percent natural, relying on high-intensity-training techniques and work-
outs and a solid diet.
DY: That’s an impressive weight gain, but how can you be certain that
it was all muscle?
MS: Justin Dees, a well-known and very experienced trainer and competi-
tor living in Utah, monitored me from beginning to end. I started at 7.8 per-
cent bodyfat, weighing 198.5 pounds in the morning before breakfast. I ended
on January 31 at 6.5 percent bodyfat and weighing 217 in the morning be-
fore breakfast. After running the numbers through the computer we got 19.5
pounds of lean body mass.
20 Pounds
of Muscle
Meal 3 was six weeks pregnant. Apparently,
DY: Inquiring minds want 6 ounces chicken breast pregnant women have a very keen
to know what your daily diet 1 tablespoon Smart Balance and sometimes particular sense
looked like during those two 16 ounces sweet potato of smell, so there were times that
months. chicken was off the menu. We just
MS: I ate six meals a day, every Meal 4 substituted another lean meat.
day, no exceptions, for a total of Shake DY: I know a lot of guys think
4,750 calories, 395 grams of protein, 1 cup blueberries they can get away with skipping
552 grams of carbs and 110 grams of 1.5 cups 2% milk meals once in a while, but it just
fat. Here’s my schedule: .75 cups of oatmeal doesn’t work. Did you use any
2 scoops whey protein special training techniques?
Meal 1 MS: I’ve been training for a long
1.5 cups 2% milk Meal 5 time, so I knew that I had to do
2 scoops whey protein Same as meal 4 something drastically different if I
1 apple was going to attain such dramatic
2 cups oatmeal Meal 6 gains. First, I started doing some re-
6 ounces fish search on the relationship between
Meal 2 1.6 cups brown rice testosterone and growth hormone.
1.6 cups brown rice 1 cup mixed veggies Through my research I found that
1.5 cups broccoli 1 tablespoon Smart Balance these hormone levels in my body
1.8 tablespoons Smart Balance are almost directly proportional to
1 apple My wife did a very good job of the intensity level of my workout.
6 ounces chicken breast keeping my eating schedule on So I knew that if I could keep my
track—even after we found out she intensity maxed out for 45 minutes
“I had to provide my
muscles with a unique
stimulus to really kick-
start growth.”

20 Pounds
of Muscle

“Once I got the MS: I start every Monday with
a different muscle group. I trained
hang of X Reps, five days a week, taking Thursday
and Sunday off. I always gave myself
three solid days to recover between
I started adding muscle groups. I’ll give you a quick
example.
poundage fast Generally I do three to four sets of
every exercise. On heavy days I will
and incorporating do eight to 10 reps, and on light days

I do 10 to 14 reps. I try to do some-
thing slightly different with every
the technique on set. I believe every variation works
the muscle group slightly differently,
almost every set. which enables me to get more sym-
metrical development. I also allow
myself some freedom to listen to
Like clockwork, what my body wants. Sometimes
one variation feels better than an-
the gains just other, so I go with it. I figure there is
more than one way to an end result,
so if something is uncomfortable, I
kept coming.” do something that is comfortable.
I’ll give you a typical three-day
cycle.
to an hour, I would be maximizing Monday: Legs

a key element of my body’s natural Five-minute warmup on the bike
growth mechanism. Back extensions (warmup)
Second, I had to provide my mus- Superset
cles with a unique stimulus to really Leg extensions
kick-start growth. I found my an- Leg curls
swer when I started reading about X Superset
Reps in IRON MAN and at X-Rep Stiff-legged deadlifts
.com. I was very intrigued by the Lunges (three variations)
concept and started thinking of how Squats
I would incorporate these end-of- Superset
set power partials into my workout. Abductor pushes
The whole concept of attacking the Adductor pulls
semistretched point of the muscle Calf raises
really opened up a new world of
training potential. The fun thing Tuesday: Pull Its complete
about X Reps is the creativity I could Superset
use within my workout to really hit Pulldowns
the max-force point and overload Cable laterals (two variations) power has
the target muscle. Superset
DY: How did you incorporate Close-grip pulldowns remained dormant,
them into your training? Cable uncrossovers
MS: Intensity and X Reps really Superset but something
go hand in hand. I did a lot of super- Seated rows
sets, keeping my time between sets Cable pullovers
around 30 seconds to a minute. I Superset
has awoken it...
would take my last superset to mus- Upright rows
cular failure and add X Reps. Cable curls or dumbbell curls
Once I got the hang of X Reps, I
started adding poundage fast and Wednesday: Push
incorporating the technique on al- (Note: One week he starts with
most every set. Like clockwork, the chest; the next week he starts Turn the page
gains just kept coming. with shoulders.) to get shredded
DY: The intensity sounds bru- Flat-bench dumbbell presses
tal. What does your training Incline dumbbell presses
plan look like? Dumbbell shoulder presses

“I knew that if I
could keep my
intensity maxed
out for 45 minutes
to an hour, I would
be maximizing
a key element
of my body’s
natural growth
mechanism.”

20 Pounds
of Muscle
Superset MS: I started out using Tahitian
High cable flyes Noni and Costco protein. One
Machine presses month into it I ended up traveling a
Superset lot for work and found it difficult to
Middle cable flyes get the calories I needed, so I re-
Overhead triceps extensions introduced Cytosport Muscle Milk
Superset into the diet.
Low cable flyes DY: What do you find the ben-
Cable kickbacks or hands-close efits of those supplements to
pushups be?
MS: I’ve been taking Tahitian
Thursday Noni juice a few times a day for
Recovery day about four years. I found through
track-and-field, triathlon train-
Friday ing and bodybuilding that it really
Cycle begins again speeds up recovery time between
DY: What supplements did workouts, supports my immune sys-
you use on a daily basis during tem and helps provide sustainable
those two months? energy throughout the day.
... and it’s going to

set off an eruption
of fat-burning fury.
Turn the page

to get shredded

20 Pounds
of Muscle “Intensity and
X Reps really go
hand in hand. I did
a lot of supersets,
keeping my time
between sets
around 30 seconds
to a minute.”
I’ve been taking Costco Pro Rated

whey protein because it’s simple,
low calorie and inexpensive. My
wife makes her special oatmeal and
protein bars with it.
I’ve had good experience using
Muscle Milk. I feel it gives me what
I need to increase size and strength
while enabling my body to efficient-
ly burn fat in the process. I travel
a ton for work, and Muscle Milk is
very convenient to travel with.
DY: What does the future hold
for you in competition?
MS: Well, I just won the heavy-
weight division at the Mr. Utah, and
I took the overall at the Northwest
Regional Natural Bodybuilding
Championships. So until next spring
I’ll probably get back into the tri-
athlon circuit around Utah and start
racing again. I’ve been debating set-
ting a goal to eventually make it to
the Mr. Natural Olympia or Natural
Universe, but doing triathlons isn’t
going to make that very practical.
In the meantime I’m going to enjoy
my new son and whatever else life
throws at me.
One more thing before we end
this. I’m always interested in sug-
gestions or answering any specific
question. So readers can feel free to
write to me at mike@semanoff.com
or check out Holly and me at www
.Semanoff.com.
Editor’s note: For more on X-

Rep training, visit www.X-Rep.com.
IM

Top 10 Secrets

Top
Secrets
of the Best Drug-Free
Bodybuilders
by Skip La Cour, Five-Time Team Universe Champion
Photography by Michael Neveux
F
or more than 15 years I’ve competed against,
traveled with and interviewed some of the very best
drug-free bodybuilders in the world. In addition to
what I’ve discovered en route to winning six national
drug-free bodybuilding championships, I’ve learned
from their insights. Putting it all together, I’ve created
a list of the most common winning strategies for packing on the
most drug-free muscle in the shortest time possible.
You don’t have to be a competitive bodybuilder to benefit from
what I’ve learned. All of us in the gym—whatever our goals and
Model: Skip La Cour
level of experience—are after the same things: We want to build

more muscle and lose bodyfat—and feel good about what we’re
doing.
there’s room for improvement
in their habits and disci-
pline—but not much!
The best drug-free body-
builders have found the deli-
cate balance between being
too hard and too easy on
themselves. If you’re too hard,
you’ll eventually become frus-
trated. Too easy, and you’ll fall
far short of your full genetic
potential.
The best of the best under-
stand that, whatever they’ve
accomplished in the past,
they can always improve a bit
more, whether it’s by adding a
couple of pounds of rock-solid
muscle within the next year,
becoming one percentage
point leaner in body composi-
tion over the next couple of
months, adding five pounds to
their bench press at their next
workout or pumping out one
more rep with their maximum
weight on their very next set.
Many people are under the il-
lusion that they’ve come close
to topping out on their full
genetic potential. They claim
to be trapped at plateaus.
If you want to emulate what
the top drug-free bodybuild-
ers have done with their phy-
siques, you’ll need to emulate
the way they think. You first
If you want to emulate what must believe that it is indeed
possible to create some amaz-
the top drug-free bodybuilders ing things with your physique
without drugs. You must
have done with their physiques, believe there’s a way to ac-
Model: Skip La Cour
you’ll need to emulate the way complish still more with your
physique. Don’t believe the
they think. people in your gym who al-
ways tell you that “you’ll never
look like that” unless you use
steroids or other illegal drugs.
becoming the best they can be, Separate yourself from them.
Being Drug-Free Isn’t spending their time and energy I don’t deny that there are some
an Obstacle for Elite comparing what they are doing now limitations when you train without
to what they could be doing to im- the aid of steroids and other illegal
Natural Bodybuilders prove and what they could look like drugs. Most bodybuilders, how-
The success of the best drug-free in the future. ever, are settling for far less than
bodybuilders has a lot to do with the “You gotta be the best you can be” they could accomplish. The nega-
way they think. They perceive the is now almost a meaningless cliché tive people have given up looking
events around them much differ- in the bodybuilding world. Never- for the most effective strategies,
ently from many of the people who theless, dealing with many people sincerely believing that they don’t
train in your local gym. For example, trying to improve their physiques exist and not understanding what
they don’t view being natural, or has convinced me that the majority the human body can achieve if
drug free, as an insurmountable believe they’re already doing every- you’re focused, hardworking, com-
obstacle to developing an outstand- thing they possibly can to become mitted and consistent.
ing physique. They focus only on their very best. Sure, they’ll admit (continued on page 148)

your next meal is eaten on time.
He doesn’t force pizza down
your throat. He doesn’t keep
you from going to the gym for
your scheduled workout after
you’ve had an argument with
your girlfriend. He doesn’t
prevent you from doing all of
your cardiovascular training or
control how much intensity you
put into it.
Inside the gym and out, it’s
common to believe the other
person always has it easier than
you. Natural bodybuilders who
are obsessed with who they
think is on drugs become bitter,
jealous and, most important,
distracted.
Those who spend a lot of
time worrying about what other
people are doing are taking the
pressure of failing off them-
selves. They create a ready-
made excuse in the event they
don’t succeed in their body-
building efforts. If you don’t put
enough pressure on yourself,
you’ll stop looking at yourself
honestly in the mirror.
Is there anything else you
could be doing to reach your
bodybuilding goals? Could you
be a little bit more focused,
more disciplined? A person
won’t dig deeply within him-
self to honestly answer those
questions when he feels other
people have an easier time than
he does building muscle and
losing bodyfat.
The best drug-free Don’t get me wrong: The
bodybuilders are proud best drug-free bodybuilders
of the fact that they are proud of the fact that they
don’t use steroids or other drugs
don’t use steroids but but don’t seem to spend a lot of
Model: David Goodin
don’t seem to spend time thinking about it. Nor do

a lot of time thinking they waste time or energy pass-
ing judgment on those who do
about it. use drugs. Rather, they attack
(continued from page 144) the totally consuming task of
one else is using drugs, they need developing their own physiques to
The Most Successful to focus on themselves. Drugs are outrageous levels.
Drug-Free irrelevant. The battle to become As for judging the drug users,
the best you can be is always the champs would rather lead
Bodybuilders Don’t against yourself. Elite drug-free by example—showing everyone
Worry About Who’s champions have the ability to put
their full attention on striving for
what they can do without drugs.
Whether someone else is using
Taking Drugs and a higher level of achievement. A drugs should have no bearing on
Who’s Not person on the other side of the
gym, town or country who uses
what you can and can’t accomplish
with your own physique. Don’t let
Stars of natural bodybuilding steroids doesn’t control your life. other people’s choices derail your
realize that, whether or not some- His actions won’t determine if mission.

The best natural
bodybuilders
are simply more
patient than their
less successful or
chemically assisted

counterparts.
much easier route to achieving their they’re confident that the years of
Outstanding Natural goals than the one they’re on. The awesome training habits they’ve
Bodybuilders Are best of them are simply much more
patient than their less successful or
assembled will eventually get them
the results they want. They view
Extraordinarily Patient chemically assisted counterparts. their eating habits from the same
They’re more willing to put in their perspective.
Face reality: Steroids and other time in the gym. Many of the best If you want to reach your full ge-
physique-enhancing drugs help natural bodybuilders are in their 30s netic potential without using drugs,
their users get significant results and 40s and are still going strong in look at your bodybuilding endeav-
from work in the gym and at the their efforts to improve their phy- ors the way elite drug-free body-
dinner table faster than natural siques. builders do. Consider them as a
bodybuilders. Today’s quick-fix so- The champs concentrate on hav- series of long-term lifestyle choices.
ciety conditions us to expect every- ing one great workout at a time. Instead of setting only short-term
thing we want now. It’s obvious why They turn a series of great workouts goals like seeing how huge you can
some people choose to use drugs; into a great training week, under- get by next summer, create a clear
they work. standing that several great weeks of vision of what you want to look like
The top drug-free bodybuilders training will turn into an outstand- after five more years of living a dis-
fully understand that drugs are a ing month. One month at a time, ciplined bodybuilding regimen.

The best drug-free
bodybuilders believe
in what they do.
Model: Skip La Cour

Top-10 Secrets of
the Best Natural
Bodybuilders
1) Don’t think of being drug
free as an insurmountable
obstacle preventing you
from building a great phy-
sique.
2) Don’t worry about who’s
taking drugs and who’s not;
the battle to become your
very best is always against
yourself—not anyone who’s
using drugs.
3) Be patient; look at your
bodybuilding efforts as a
series of long-term lifestyle
choices.
4) Develop certainty and
confidence in the train-
ing and eating habits you
choose.
5) Be persistent—even
though you train without
Model: John Hansen
drugs, become relentless

in your pursuit of finding
effective strategies that will
help you reach your body-
building goals.
fidence. Many people have difficul-
The Best Natural ty believing in the training routine 6) Train with intensity,
Bodybuilders Have an they’ve adopted and the nutritional which means giving 100
program they have in place. In fact, percent of your mind, body
Unbelievable Amount they’re often confused by what they and soul to every exercise,
of Certainty and perceive as conflicting information every set, every repetition
in bodybuilding and fitness maga- and every workout—it’s not
Confidence zines. They jump from strategy to the same as training hard.
Even though the top drug-free strategy without ever really giving
bodybuilders have many different one their best effort. Unfortunately, 7) Train hard all year long—
approaches to their training and they don’t realize they shouldn’t and eat the right foods all
eating habits, they all get outstand- blame the chosen strategy. The year long—if you really
ing results. How can that be? How fault is in how they’ve implemented want to reach your ambi-
do the best naturals make amaz- it. They usually blame the fact that tious goals.
ing gains when the average guy they don’t have steroids or other
using the very same strategies only drugs assisting them. 8) Keep the number of calo-
achieves mediocre ones? Whatever strategy you choose, ries you eat relatively high
Because the best drug-free don’t even begin unless you feel to control your metabo-
bodybuilders believe in what they 100 percent confident in it. When lism.
do. Because of their certainty and evaluating a workout or eating
confidence, they get the most out of plan, look to one of the drug-free 9) Stay relatively lean all
everything they do—regardless of bodybuilders you admire most for year long.
how. They get the most out of every guidance. That way, you’ll begin
workout, set and rep. They stick with a little more certainty and look 10) Place a heavy emphasis
to their nutritional plans because a little bit more closely at your level on protein intake.
they’re confident they’ll get the of commitment if things don’t work
results they want from them. as quickly as you’d like.
Most people don’t have that con-

think can add quality
muscle to, say, your
legs? When you con-
sider the number of
exercises you could
possibly perform, the
number of sets and
reps, the amount of
weight and the many
different types of
machines available,
you can easily see
how many routes you
have to choose from.
When you factor in
the speed on each
exercise, the exer-
cise sequence, your
degree of mental
focus, the frequency
with which you train
that muscle group,
the number of years
you’ve been training,
etc., the number of
variables is stagger-
ing. Now think of
training efficiency,
consistency and
longevity with sound
Keep searching for nutrition and supple-
the right answers. mentation; there
must be thousands
Keep trying different of different combina-
strategies—but give tions that could build
you awesome legs.
them fair trials. How many of those
combinations and
variables will people
actually implement
before they start
believing that it’s
impossible to build
great legs because
they don’t take drugs?
I’d say the majority of
us have tried a maxi-
mum of only 10 dif-
ferent approaches.
Too many of us
settle for a lot less.
Be like the elite drug-
free bodybuilders,
Model: Tamer Elshahat
and keep searching

for the right answers.
Hang in there, kid.
Keep trying different
strategies—but give
Successful Drug-Free “I’ve tried everything to improve!” them fair trials. Maybe the
many drug-free lifters complain. next one you try will launch
Bodybuilders Are Well, that’s simply not true. How you into a new level of mas-
Incredibly Persistent many different training methods,
philosophies or strategies do you
sive growth.

The Drug-Free builders use lower reps (like four ing 100 percent
to six) rather than higher (like 12 to of your mind,
Bodybuilding Stars 15)? Why do some natural champi- body and soul
ons train with heavy weight while to every exer-
Train With Amazing others use moderate or lighter cise, every set,
Intensity weight? every repetition and
They all train with amazing in- every workout. Intensity means
Why do some of the best drug- tensity! pounding the weights in a way
free bodybuilders train each body- Let me explain what I mean be- that is so darn taxing that every
part two or three times a week while fore you start screaming, “Hey! I single set ends in absolute failure.
others train each bodypart only train hard too!” Training hard isn’t In other words, you have abso-
once a week? How is it that some the same as training with intensity, lutely nothing in reserve when the
can build slabs of muscle doing as and it’s not a good way to measure set is completed—not a half rep,
many as 12 sets for each bodypart or even define your training in- a quarter rep or even an eighth of
while others do just as well with tensity. Training with intensity is a a rep more. Intensity is maintain-
considerably less training volume? mind-set. ing that standard throughout an
Why do some great drug-free body- Intensity can be described as giv- entire workout.
Training with intensity

is a mind-set. It’s
giving 100 percent of
your mind, body and
Model: Jose Raymond
soul to every exercise,

every set, every
repetition and every
workout.

Top 10 Secrets
Model: Skip La Cour
(continued from page 155)

down only two or three months How you train and eat seven
The Best Natural before the event. That’s usually months before a show is just as
much too late—especially if you important as how you train and
Bodybuilders Train want to achieve the same results eat seven weeks—or even seven
Hard All Year Long as the elite natural stars. Some
of the better drug-assisted body-
days—before. If you wait until
three months before a contest, you
Bodybuilding is a lifestyle. The builders may be able to get by are losing a lot of precious time.
very best drug-free bodybuilders with inconsistent habits; a suc- If you’re a noncompetitive body-
live it all year long. cessful natural bodybuilder can- builder striving for mind-blowing
Some natural bodybuilders not. The elite natural bodybuilders muscle gains, consistent training
make the mistake of being terribly must work harder and for longer and eating habits are just as impor-
inconsistent. When they prepare periods to achieve their druglike tant to you as well.
for a contest, they start bearing results. (continued on page 162)

The elite natural
bodybuilders must work
harder to achieve their
druglike results.
Model: Paul Jean-Guillaume

The very best drug-free
bodybuilders keep their
metabolisms running
efficiently all year long.
Model: Joey Gloor

dense calories, they literally force a consistent cardiovascular train-
The Elite Drug- their metabolisms to gear up to a ing program? Couldn’t they just eat
Free Bodybuilders higher level of efficiency—instead
of gearing down as they normally
fewer calories?
Sure, eating 2,500 calories a
Keep Their Calories would with a calorie-restriced diet. day and doing no cardiovascular
Relatively High Your body will either speed up its training whatsoever nets out to be
metabolism and supply you with the same as eating 3,500 calories
Metabolism consists of the more energy or slow it down to con- a day and burning 1,000 calories
chemical changes, procedures and serve what little energy it has left, doing cardio. For the drug-free
processes that the nutrients in depending on how efficiently you bodybuilder who is really working
your food go through in your body. eat. It simply will not let you run it hard for druglike gains, however,
Those nutrients will be absorbed into the ground. If your body isn’t the two methods are not the same
and become part of the body, used supplied with a steady stream of at all. The best naturals already
for energy or excreted through nutrients that it can easily convert understand that and train and eat
waste. into energy, your metabolism will accordingly.
The very best drug-free body- start slowing down. Your body will Awesome drug-free bodybuilders
builders keep their metabolisms give you less energy to work with who have faster metabolisms don’t
running efficiently all year long by because it isn’t going to let you kill need to do as much cardiovascular
keeping their nutrient-dense calo- yourself. training; however, they must be ex-
rie intake relatively high. They get Outstanding natural bodybuild- tremely disciplined and committed
their metabolisms to run smoother ers who have average to slow me- to eating a lot of food. They must
and hotter for longer periods of tabolisms eat more calories but do whatever they can to keep their
time. That enables them to ef- maintain a consistent cardiovascu- metabolisms running even hotter.
ficiently pack on more muscle, lar training program to keep from That explains how the very best
preserve their hard-earned muscle getting fat. of them get extremely lean at con-
when they are dieting and lose The most common theory of test time—and still maintain a lot of
more bodyfat. weight management is that the dense muscle.
The best naturals realize they calories you eat each day must be Reducing calories is an absolute
must manipulate their metabolisms at or below the number of calories must for successful contest prepa-
to achieve outstanding results. They you burn each day to keep your ration, but, because they’re eating
don’t have steroids to help build weight from getting out of control. more calories when they start diet-
muscle, preserve muscle and shed If that’s true, why would drug-free ing, they’re still eating a significant
bodyfat. bodybuilders who have average to amount.
By eating more clean, nutrient- slow metabolisms need to maintain

The best naturals stay
relatively lean all year long.
The Most Successful 15 pounds of lean weight or, if you

compete, your lean contest condi-
cess. The best naturals find a good
balance with their weight and stay
Drug-Free tion. relatively lean all year long.
Bodybuilders Stay Efficient training, adequate re- If you do decide to carry a little
cuperation and consistently eating extra weight, be sure not to get too
Relatively Lean All Year high-quality protein are what build far from reasonably good condition.
rock-solid muscle mass without If you get behind schedule and need
Long drugs—not excess bodyfat. The only to drastically reduce your calories
While some bodybuilders swear things extra food and excess bodyfat to be ready for your contest in time,
it is better to bulk up for added can do for you is prevent your body you’ll undoubtedly sacrifice pre-
muscle growth, the best naturals from ever using its precious muscle cious muscle in the process, negat-
stay relatively lean all year long. The as an energy source and give you ing the reason you bulked up in the
theory is that if you consistently eat more energy to train heavier in the first place. As a drug-free bodybuild-
high-quality protein and train ef- gym. The extra mass can also serve er, you don’t have any chemicals to
ficiently, it is not necessary to put on as a more solid foundation that en- help you save muscle. You must be
excess weight to gain muscle. The ables you to train heavier in the gym intelligent and disciplined.
additional bodyfat does not pack on and possibly prevent injuries. In the off-season, eating efficient-
more muscle. The more fat you put Some people feel that if you limit ly is what will build muscle. Do not
on, the harder you’ll need to work the amount of weight you can gain, eat to get fat. Do not eat to stay lean.
to melt it off. That’s why elite drug- you will also limit the amount of Eat to build muscle.
free bodybuilders stay within 10 to muscle you can build in the pro-

Model: Skip La Cour

Top 10 Secrets
Protein is the most important

nutrient for building muscle.
You must maintain a positive
nitrogen balance.
Protein is the most important nu-

trient for building muscle. Without
enough high-quality protein, you’re
not going to grow at the rate you
deserve to grow however hard you
train in the gym.
It’s important for you to maintain
a positive balance in the flow of
nitrogen. By that I mean you abso-
lutely must consume more nitro-
gen than you excrete. High-quality
protein is the key to keeping your
body in a positive-protein-accrual
environment.
Editor’s note: Visit Skip La

Cour’s Web site at www.SkipLaCour
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Angle Attack
Build a Bigger, Broader Back With
the Lines-of-Force Concept
by Jerry Robinson
B
ack training can be the bodybuilder’s
scourge. Not that there’s any lack of
exercises for that bodypart, but many
lifters find that, despite their most determined
efforts to create an effective upper-back
routine, they get mediocre results. (“I just
don’t have enough thickness.” “No matter
how I train, I just build mass right under my
armpits. I can’t seem to develop that great lat
sweep that starts at my waist.”)
Model: Derik Farnsworth
Let’s take a look at some of the principles

that underlie effective upper-back training—
and lay the groundwork for making some
solid gains.
Back-to-Back
The biceps are called straight muscles because all their
fibers run in the same direction. Back Training and
Lines of Force
Muscles come in several con-
figurations. The two most common
are “straight” and “fan-shaped.”
Straight muscles are so called be-
cause all their fibers run in the same
direction. The biceps are straight
muscles; so are the hamstrings and
a number of others.
Because the fibers all run in one
direction, straight muscles can pull
in only one direction. A more exact
way of saying this is that straight
muscles pull along only one line,
called the line of force.
Fan-shaped muscles are so called
because their fibers begin at a point
and then fan out, usually attaching
along the edge of a bone or bones.
The pecs are fan-shaped muscles.
Each starts at a point on the upper
arm and fans out to attach along
the clavicle (collarbone) and ster-
num (breastbone). Because the
Model: Idrise Ward El

fibers of fan-shaped muscles run
in more than one direction, fan-
shaped muscles have more than
one line of force.
Now, most exercises provide
resistance against a single line of
The pecs, on force. Since fan-shaped muscles
the other hand, have more than one line of force, it
are fan-shaped follows that you can’t fully develop
muscles that them with only one exercise. The
have more than most common example: the pecs,
one line of force. which require separate exercises
for the “upper” pec (incline-bench
press), “middle” pec (supine-bench
press) and “lower” pec (decline-
bench press) to achieve full devel-
opment.
And the upper back? The upper
back contains several fan-shaped
muscles, the largest of which are
the lats. Being fan-shaped muscles,
they have a series of lines of force.
The easiest way to visualize those
lines is to picture yourself sitting on
Since fan-shaped
muscles have more
than one line of force,
It follows that you can’t
Model: Berry Kabov
fully develop them with

only one exercise.

Model: Quincy Taylor
The lats and traps Simply doing exercises for the

lats’ two extreme lines of force
are both fan-shaped (straight across the upper back
muscles with many lines and down along the sides) is not
sufficient for maximum gains. You
of force. must include at least one exercise
for the middle section, whose line of
a lat pulldown machine and think of force lies between the two extremes
all the angles your body can assume mentioned above. That exercise can
while doing the pulldown move- be any pulldown or pullup move-
ment, from sitting upright to lying ment where the torso is angled back
back. about 45 degrees and the bar is
Each angle involves a slightly dif- pulled down to the chest (wide-grip
ferent line of force through the lats pulldowns to the chest; close-grip
and, therefore, a slightly different pullups to the chest, etc.).
group of muscle fibers. When you Another option ensuring full de-
are upright, you stress primarily the velopment of the body of the lats is
longer fibers running from the arms to modify a pulldown movement to
down to the waist. If you lie back address more than one line of force.
just a little, you shift the line of force This is easy. If you begin a pulldown
up slightly and stress those fibers movement sitting erect and then
just above the ones that are running slowly lie back as you pull the lat
from the arms down to the waist. bar (or close-grip bar) toward your
As you lie back even more, the line sternum, you fan the stress across
of force continues to move up until most of the lats’ fibers.
finally, when you are lying all the (Yes, people will think you’re
way back, the line of force is straight cheating. Don’t worry about it. Let
across your upper back, and the them do the exercise the conven-
fibers involved are those that run tional way. You’ll be getting twice as
straight across your upper back. much benefit from it as they will.)

Back-to-Back
Angling your torso

Back-to-Back
at 45 degrees during
pulldowns will train
more of the middle
section of the lats.
Back-to-Back
Back-to-Back
Back-to-Back
Back-to-Back
Back-to-Back

Keeping your
torso vertical on
chins stresses
primarily the
longer fibers
running from
the arms down
to the waist.
pullups or pulldowns, two exercises

Back Training and whose performance is often limited
the Interdependency by biceps endurance even if the
biceps aren’t tired to begin with!
Principle Interdependency problems dur-
ing upper-back training require a
The interdependency principle three-part solution.
states that muscles never act alone. First, you need to find a way to
Because of that, it’s possible for the begin your upper-back workout
fatigue of one muscle to interfere by tiring your upper back without
with the training of another. tiring your biceps. A preexhausted
For example, since most pec exer- upper back will increase the effec-
cises also involve the triceps and an- tiveness of all the exercises in your
terior delts, it’s possible for triceps upper-back routine.
and anterior-delt fatigue to interfere One way to accomplish that is
with pec training. Say you’re doing with the scapular roll, an exercise in
bench presses, which target the pecs which you repeatedly do the begin-
but also make demands on the tri- ning part of a pulldown—bringing
ceps and anterior delts. If either of your shoulders down and back
those helping muscles is tired before and then letting them up so the
you attempt to bench, their fatigue, lats are fully (continued on page 174)
not that of the pecs, can become the
limiting factor in your performance
of the bench, decreasing the effec-
tiveness of your pec workout. The interdependency
The same sort of interdependen-
cy exists between the upper back
principle states that
and the biceps, and the same sort muscles never act
of problems can occur. They can be
especially severe during wide-grip alone.

Back-to-Back
The line of force on

Back-to-Back
one-arm rows runs

straight across your
upper back—so
the fibers involved
are those that run
straight across your
upper back.
Back-to-Back
Back-to-Back
Back-to-Back
Back-to-Back
Back-to-Back
Model: Steve McLeod

(continued from page 171) stretched— supersetting the scapular roll with Pulldown and pullup
without ever appreciably bending sets of close-grip pulldowns that
your elbows or completing the pull- have been modified to fan the stress movements where your
down movement. You can also do across the fibers of the lats, as de- body is erect—not lying
the scapular roll while hanging from scribed in the section on lines of
a chinup bar, but the lat machine force. The scap roll is not effective as back—tend to make
version is better because you’ll soon a stand-alone exercise. heavy biceps demands.
be able to do it with a lot of weight, The second part of the solution is
more than is practical to hang on a to sequence the remaining exercises
chinup/dip belt. in your upper-back routine to avoid demands on the biceps after the
Whichever way you do it, try doing an exercise that makes heavy other two exercises that are biceps
heavy. Pulldown and pullup move-
ments where your body is erect—
Building a big, not lying back—tend to make heavy
broad back requires biceps demands; bent-over and
attacking it from a few other rowing movements do not.
different angles to get Finally, you need to leave be-
total stimulation. hind-the-neck pulldowns or pullups
until last, and, in accordance with
the rule on sequence above, make
sure the second-to-the-last exercise
doesn’t make heavy demands on the
biceps. Behind-the-neck pullups
and pulldowns are so much more
effective when done with already
tired lats immediately after a non-
biceps-heavy upper-back exercise
that it’s just plain silly to do them at
any other time.
Editor’s note: Jerry Robinson

is the co-author of The 7-Minute
Model: Tony Pearson
Rotator Cuff Solution, available for

$29.95 from www.Home-Gym.com,
or call (800) 447-0008. IM

Moe-
Moe El Moussawi’s
Moe-Muscle Arm
Program
Biceps
Dumbbell curls 2 x 30-40
2 x 8-10
Concentration curls 3 x 15
Barbell curls (starting with
Muscle
bottom half reps) 4 x 12-15
Cable curls 4 x 15
Triceps
One-arm kickbacks 2 x 30-40
2 x 10-12
Arm A
Overhead extensions 4-5 x 10
One-arm or two-arm
pushdowns 3 x 10-15
Narrow-grip bench
presses 4-5 x 12-15
Dips (bodyweight) 2 x max
few months ago a rather
Training
innocuous poll attached
to the GraphicMuscle.com
forums asked who had the
best biceps in bodybuilding. Noth-
ing special about that question,
really; it’s probably been asked by
thousands of bodybuilding fans a
thousand times before. The top two
vote getters probably won’t startle
you much either. Leading the way in
How Moe El Moussawi Is Building the poll were eight-time Mr. Olym-
pia Ronnie Coleman and the “Blond
the Best Arms in Bodybuilding Myth,” Lee Priest. But what if I told
you the number-three vote getter
in that poll was Moe El Moussawi?
What would your reaction be then?
by Cory Crow “Who?”

In a recent poll, with
thousands of physique
fans responding,
Moe El Moussawi’s
biceps were voted
the third-best in
bodybuilding, behind
only Ronnie Coleman
and Lee Priest.

tor.
Moe competed in the United
States in the NPC for 10 years,
from 1991 to 2001, finishing as
high as sixth in the heavyweight
class at the ’01 USA, before mov-
ing to New Zealand. From there
he won the ’04 Mediterranean
Championships to earn his IFBB
pro card.
After returning to America,
Moe established a supplement
company, ProFight Supplements
(www.GoProFight.com), which
built on his knowledge of the
industry gained as the owner of
Moe’s Muscles Xtreme Nutrition
in New Zealand.
When I talked with Moe, he was
back in New Zealand on business
because, as he put it, “Without the
company, there is no bodybuild-
er.” Moe is one of those athletes
who train for the pure love of the
sport. His arm routine wasn’t built
on the idea of winning the next
big paycheck but on building the
best set of guns possible. Moe’s
bodybuilding dream is to one
day stand on the Olympia stage,
a dream that’s led him to take the
rest of the year off and focus on
the ’07 IRON MAN Pro.
For now he’s content to focus
on his business and improve his
physique. As he said: “Improve-
ments don’t happen in a couple of
months. They take time. So I will
work to improve so I can do well
at the IRON MAN and then, hope-
fully, the Arnold.”
When you talk with Moe about
training arms, the first thing that
comes across is how fully devel-
oped his training philosophy is
Besides having some after more than 15 years of com-
peting. There’s no hesitation in
of the best developed in America drops off fairly rapidly his voice when he tells you that he
arms in the game, Moe is when you move away from the looks to keep his arms under con-
cyber-savvy bodybuilding fan. tinuous tension, that he focuses on
also well known for his Besides having some of the both positive and negative contrac-
balanced physique. best developed arms in the game, tions or that he uses each workout
though, Moe is also well known for to attain a different developmental
his balanced physique, with beau- goal. It’s evident that this is a man
Not that you’d be alone. The truth tiful lines and well-proportioned whose training is not a hodge-
is Moe is not a guy who gets lots of muscles that have good transitions podge of ill-conceived exercises.
print space in the major bodybuild- and nice flow. After the ’06 IRON Rather, it’s a well-developed plan
ing publications every month. He’s MAN Pro competition, where he that works toward a specific goal:
a fairly well-known bodybuilder in finished 14th, Internet fan-zine the complete development of an
Europe and in his home country Muscletime pronounced Moe the outstanding set of arms.
of New Zealand. His public profile show’s “most overlooked” competi-

The Workout also concerned about overdevelop- Biceps
ing his forearms lest they detract
Moe typically trains biceps and from the size of his upper-arm Dumbbell curls. The first bi-
triceps together—and on their own. development. ceps movement in Moe’s routine is
He lets around 72 hours pass before “Bodybuilding is about illusions,” always dumbbell curls. For the first
hitting his arms again to give them he said, and his goal of creating two sets he uses a relatively light
time for a full recovery. Like most those illusions is well focused. Here weight and shoots for a very high
bodybuilders Moe doesn’t focus on are the main exercises that Moe rep range—in the 30s or 40s. Those
forearms because he believes they performs and some of his com- two sets are primarily warmups that
get enough work during the course ments regarding them: prepare the muscle to be shocked
of training other bodyparts. He’s in sets three and four, where he
Moe typically trains biceps

and triceps together—and
on their own—then waits at
least 72 hours before hitting
arms again.

raises the weight to hit
failure somewhere in the
eight-to-10-rep range. He
keeps the muscle under
continuous tension by
focusing on both the posi-
tive and negative contrac-
tion and by not letting
the muscle lose tension
throughout the duration
of the set.
Concentration curls
(seated, on the knee). For
this exercise Moe chooses
a lighter weight and in-
creases the rep count to
around 15. The focus here
is not so much on blow-
ing out the biceps heads
with heavy weight as on
achieving a full range of
motion and giving the
muscle the best possible
squeeze on the top of the
curl. Again he focuses on
continuous tension by
emphasizing the stretch
on the descending arc
of the curl, being sure to
keep the muscle tensed
throughout the set. The
squeeze at the top of the
curl is the key to this ex-
ercise, as it engorges the
muscle with blood and
nutrients.
Barbell curls (half

and full reps). He starts
with the bottom half of
the barbell curl, which he
feels targets the bottom
portion of the biceps bet-
ter than the full curl. One
thing Moe said about the
GraphicMuscle.com poll:
“I was glad fans noticed
my arm development as
being complete. The arm
is more than just the bi-
ceps and the triceps; each
muscle has multiple heads
that must be targeted for
“I was glad fans noticed my arm development complete development.”
By focusing on the bottom
as being complete. The arm is more than just half of the curl initially,
the biceps and the triceps; each muscle has Moe puts those words into
action. He performs four
multiple heads that must be targeted for complete sets, keeping the rep range
in the 12-to-15 area with
development.” the main focus on placing

Moe likes
standing
cable curls
as a finishing
movement,
going for 15
reps per set.

the biceps under continuous ten- blood to the muscle.
sion throughout the entire range of
every rep. Overhead extensions. As
opposed to the kickbacks, the
Standing cable curls. As a goal of this exercise is to use
finishing move Moe performs four heavy weight and focus on the
sets of 15 reps, which he explains as stretch at the bottom of the
being akin to “posing practice.” lift. Moe feels that max stretch
point provides the best rush of
Triceps blood to feed muscle growth.
He does four to five sets of
Dumbbell kickbacks (one around 10 reps each.
arm). The focus here is more on the Pushdowns. For variety
lock and the squeeze than on lifting he switches between two-
heavy weight. As with the dumbbell and one-arm pushdowns.
curls for biceps, the first two sets of
these are performed with a lighter
weight for very high reps, their He begins triceps
function being primarily to warm
up the target muscle for the work- with kickbacks
ing sets to come. On these, how- for squeeze, then
ever, he doesn’t go as heavy on the
work sets. He keeps the rep range moves to overhead
at 10 to 12 most of the time, and he extensions for
focuses on the squeeze, which Moe
feels does a superior job of rushing stretch.

He switches between two- and one- The one-arm version increases the
pressure on each arm. Moe’s key
arm pushdowns. Whichever version he focus here is not so much on heavy
weight as on ensuring that he works
uses, he strives for getting as much the full range of motion while trying
continuous tension as possible. not to lose continuous tension. He
does three sets of 10 to 15 reps.

Moe’s arms are
a testament to
hard work and a
focused training
routine carefully
thought out with
a specific goal in
mind.
Narrow-grip bench presses. sets of maximum reps. in his arms has made them one
The next exercise returns to Moe’s I asked Moe if his routine of his favorite bodyparts to train.
mantra of “complete arm develop- changes depending on the proxim- Or, as he put it, “When you have
ment” by using an old standby to ity of a contest, and he said that worked and worked to develop a re-
target the outside of the triceps. He it doesn’t: “My intensity stays the ally great bodypart, you love to train
performs four to five sets of 12 to 15 same whether I am off-season or it—you really feel it.”
reps, again with continuous tension two weeks from a show; most of my In Moe’s case it feels really good.
and a squeeze at the top. [fat] weight is lost through changes
in food and cardio.” Editor’s note: Moe El Moussawi
Dips (either machine or free). One last thing: You’d think he was is an IFBB pro and the owner of
To finish his arm workout, Moe genetically gifted with fast-grow- ProFight supplements, www
does another old standard: dips. He ing arms, like Lee Priest. He wasn’t. .GoProFight.com. To inquire about
goes to failure with his bodyweight, Moe’s arms are a testament to hard guest posings and appearances,
around 260 pounds off-season, and work and a focused training routine write to moemuscles@yahoo.com.
uses the machine if he’s feeling too that was carefully thought out with IM
much fatigue. He does two or three a specific goal in mind. The growth

Heavy
DutyQuestions & Answers From the
Mentzer Camp by John Little
Low-Carb Problems I could have (and certainly now

have the temptation) gone out and
: About three weeks ago I eaten two quarts of ice cream and
went on a low-calorie/low- a large pizza all by myself and been
carbohydrate diet to get ready no further behind. I’m trying my
for a contest. The first week on the hardest not to binge, but the lack
diet I was over the moon; I lost more of results and constant craving for
than 10 pounds. The second week carbs is causing me to weaken my
I lost only four pounds. Last week resolve. I don’t want to regain all
on the same diet I not only failed the weight I’ve lost. I’ve only got five
to lose weight but actually gained weeks left before the contest. What
two pounds. I just can’t believe it! should I do? (continued on page 214)

Balik

Heavy Duty
(continued from page 210) A: What think that the temptation to binge ing for the deficiency.”
happened on your low-carb diet is is the result of any shortcoming on My advice regarding dieting for
not at all unusual. As Mike Mentzer your part. Binges are an inevitable a contest would be the same as
pointed out years ago, the most by-product of low-calorie and/or Mike’s: Stay on your diet, and don’t
bodyfat that you can hope to lose in low-carb diets. When the body is drop below 1,200 calories a day. Cut
a week is two to three pounds: deprived too long of any essential back on everything—protein, fats
“You tend to lose a lot of water on nutrient, such as carbohydrates, and carbs—proportionately, below
a low-carb diet, and water comes eventually an overwhelming need your maintenance need of calories.
primarily from your muscle tissue, will manifest itself and, like it or not, A balanced diet is not only more
which is made up of 76 percent you’ll begin eating everything in healthful but also helps prevent
water. If you’re losing more than sight as a means of overcompensat- binges.
two to three pounds a week, it’s
predominantly water—not fat—that
you’re losing. By the third week on a
low-carb diet, your hypothalamus,
Don’t get depressed.

Safe, real bodyfat
losses occur at a rate
of about two to three
pounds per week.
located at the base of the brain, be-
gins to register the continued water
loss. Becoming alarmed, it attempts
to compensate by sending a signal
to the pituitary to secrete antidiuret-
ic hormone. The ADH, which staves
off dehydration, causes your body to
begin to retain water.”
I believe that’s what happened to
you. A professional check of your
body composition—rather than
your scale—would have revealed
that you were storing water, not
regaining fat. So don’t become
discouraged, as the weight regain
is typical of low-calorie diets, espe-
cially low-carbohydrate ones. You
Neveux \ Model: Tomm Voss
eventually will lose the water and

continue to lose fat. Regarding the
temptation to binge during periods
of heavy dieting, don’t worry. As
Mike once pointed out:
“Don’t

Heavy Duty
•Persistent soreness and stiffness •Fatigue and sluggishness

Symptoms of in the muscles, joints and ten-
•Loss of weight
Overtraining dons; heavy-leggedness
•Loss of interest in training; de- •Swelling of lymph nodes in the
Q: I found your books writ- neck, groin and armpits
pression (“I don’t care” attitude)
ten with Mike (High Intensity
Training The Mike Mentzer •Nervousness and inability to •Constipation or diarrhea
Way and The Wisdom of Mike relax •Absence of menstruation
Mentzer), along with your •A drop in academic or work
Nautilus North Study (IRON performance
MAN, December ’05) on opti- Mike mentioned another method
mal training frequency to be •Headache used by coaches for years to detect
fascinating. I’m wondering if overtraining: When you open your
•Loss of appetite
Mike had any rules of thumb
or a chart of symptoms that he
looked for in his clients to de-
TAP INTO YOUR

tect if they were overtraining.
A: Thanks for the kind words. The

simplest rule of thumb that Mike
BODY’S POTENTIAL
employed for detecting overtrain-
ing was a slowdown or cessation of
progress. A client whose strength
failed to increase on any exercise on
a per-workout basis had
not allowed sufficient
time to elapse for Demand
full recovery and
overcompensa- Real Science.
tion to take
place. Remem-
Get Real
ber, muscle Results.™
growth doesn’t
just “happen”
and it certainly
doesn’t happen in
24 hours (unless you’re taking an
anabolic agent). It takes time for the
process to complete itself, depend-
ing on the severity of the training
stimulus—upwards of 14 days for
many people. Training before the
process has completed itself will
only short-circuit your progress shy
of the maximum amount possible.
If you’re growing stronger, you’ll
also be growing bigger. Because
fibers thicken, or hypertrophy, at
a slow rate, it will take many such
strength increases to produce a
demonstrable increase in mass. Un-
less you’re using very sophisticated
body composition tracking methods
(such as hydrostatic weighing or
Bod Pod air displacement tracking),
then going by “size” and “weight”
increases on your body is not an
accurate or reliable indicator of
muscle growth. Both are gross esti-
mates, which could well be fat in-
www.muscle-link.com
creases. As for resources Mike used,
he once cited Dr. Gabe Mirkin, who
Visit for the weekly super special!
authored The Sportsmedicine Book:

ml-com_halpgNEW.indd 1 7/31/06 2:54:50 PM
Heavy Duty
eyes in the morning, take your pulse

for 60 seconds. If it turns out to be
more than seven beats per minute
faster than usual, stop training for a
couple of days.
Lengthening the
You can’t lengthen
Muscles
muscles with Q: I recently went to
exercise. The only a massage therapist
way is via surgery, who told me that he was
going to “lengthen” my
which is not a muscles by aggressively
realistic option. rubbing them and having
me stretch. Is it possible
to actually lengthen a
muscle by excessively
stretching it? If so, can a
high biceps or short calf
be made longer that way?
A: While massage therapists
(along with a few strength coaches)
Mike Mentzer was

Neveux \ Model: Todd Smith
genetically gifted,
with long muscle
bellies. That makes
packing on mass
more feasible.
Balik

High calves? Sorry,
there’s not much you
can do except train
them hard and hope
for the best. Seated
calf raises can build
the underlying soleus
muscles, which may
help create a lower-
calf illusion.
use that nomenclature all the time, Arnold’s, forget about it and develop
there’s absolutely zero evidence that the best physique you can.”
you can lengthen muscles to any
appreciable degree by stretching Editor’s note: For a complete
them. As Mike pointed out: presentation of Mike Mentzer’s
“Muscles are attached to bones Heavy Duty training system, consult
by tendons, so the only way to his books Heavy Duty II, High Inten-
lengthen the muscle would be to sity Training the Mike Mentzer Way
surgically cut the tendons and and the newest book, The Wisdom of
reattach them farther down the Mike Mentzer, all of which are avail-
bone. Obviously, that’s not practical. able from Mentzer’s official Web site,
Preacher curls may indeed stretch www.MikeMentzer.com.
or hyperextend the lower part of John Little is available for phone
the biceps, but Franco Columbu consultation on Mike Mentzer’s
did the exercise until it was coming Heavy Duty training system. For
out of his ears, yet his biceps rates and information, contact
remained short and knotty. And Joanne Sharkey at (310) 316-4519 or
look at the number of bodybuilders at www.MikeMentzer.com, or see
who have spent hours and hours the ad on the opposite page.
stretching their short calves—all Article copyright © 2006, John
to no avail. Muscle length is one of Little. All rights reserved. Mike Ment-
those genetic traits not subject to zer quotations provided courtesy
alteration. So if your biceps aren’t as of Joanne Sharkey and used with
long as Larry Scott’s or as peaked as permission. IM

Jerry Brainum’s
Bodybuilding Pharmacology
’Roid Rage
was injected once a week with testosterone enanthate at
a dose of 3.5 milligrams per kilogram of bodyweight. That
amounts to just over 300 milligrams a week of testoster-
one—more than the dose for hormone replacement ther-
Research
apy but only about one-third the weekly average “athletic”
dose. Those in the placebo group received a saline injec-
tion.
Psychometric tests measured the subjects’ personal-
ity changes. Initially, the groups showed no difference in
Many people claim that a user may undergo a Jekyll- anger, depression, tension or confusion. The testosterone
and-Hyde personality change after starting a cycle of group did show a slight increase in vigor, coupled with a
steroids. Yet studies examining the psychological effects decrease in fatigue, starting at the two-week mark. The
of anabolic steroids have been inconclusive. Some have major differences between the groups occurred in mea-
shown increases in aggression and depression, the lat- sures of sensitivity, with the testosterone group showing
ter effect most commonly seen when the drug use ends. lower levels as the study went on.
While there’s little doubt that hormones such as testoster- Based on that finding, the authors suggest that “this
one do affect brain function, the major debate is whether dosage of testosterone may influence the ability to be
they do so beyond the active control of the individual. In empathetic, thus reducing sensitivity to other people’s
short, is steroid use just an excuse for bad behavior? considerations, which may explain the apparent aggres-
Some studies show that, contrary to popular belief, men sive behavior observed in anabolic steroid users.”
with the lowest levels of testosterone are often the angri-
est. Other studies show that testosterone exerts little effect How Quickly Do Steroids Provide
on day-to-day mental function. The latest study to ex-
amine the effects of anabolic steroids on personality was Athletic Benefits?
presented at the 2006 meeting of the American College of The same group of researchers presented another
Sports Medicine in late May. steroid study at the meeting that used the same group of
It was conducted by a group of researchers from Aus- healthy young men as subjects.2 Noting that an athlete’s
tralia and featured 18 men, average age 25, who were average steroid cycle lasts eight to 12 weeks, the scientists
randomly assigned to a steroid or placebo group for six wished to determine whether smaller doses of steroids
weeks.1 The subjects trained during the course of the than are commonly used can produce benefits when used
study on similar workout programs. The steroid group for less time, specifically three to six weeks. Again, the
Initially, the groups

showed no difference
in anger, depression,
tension or confusion.
The major differences
occurred in measures of
sensitivity.

dose of testosterone was 3.5 milligrams per kilogram
of bodyweight. As in the previous study, one group
used actual testosterone enanthate, while the other
injected saline solution, though neither the subjects
nor the researchers knew which was which.
The testosterone (T) group had an increase in one-
rep-max bench press and total work during a cycle
sprint by the third week. No changes occurred in the
placebo group, and there were no significant differ-
ences in lower-body strength between groups, based
on leg press and peak power tests. By the sixth week
body mass had improved by 7 percent over baseline in
the steroid group, but not in the placebo group.
Despite the evident improvements, 44 percent
showed a testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio of
less than 4, meaning that they would have passed a
drug test. The T-to-E ratios in the testosterone group
ranged from 2 to 37, while the ratios for the placebo
group didn’t change. The results suggest that signifi-
cant improvement from even a conservative dose of
anabolic steroids can occur in only three weeks, and
that level will likely not be detectable with present
drug-testing procedures.
New research suggests that significant size and
How Important Is Testosterone in strength improvements can occur in only three
Building Muscle Mass? weeks from even conservative steroid doses.
Neveux
In muscle, testosterone is known to work with other

factors, collectively known as myogenic regulating
factors, to build muscle during a strength-training pro- Is DHEA Anabolic in Older People Who
gram. What happens if you suppress testosterone produc-
tion in the body but continue to train?
Lift Weights?
To answer that question, researchers from Denmark de- Dehydroepiandrosterone is the predominant steroid
signed a study that was presented at the 2006 ACSM meet- circulating in the blood. It’s synthesized in the adrenal
ing.3 Twenty-two young men with no strength-training glands and can be converted into other steroids, such
experience were randomly assigned to one of two groups. as testosterone and estrogen. Various studies show that
The subjects in the first group were given an injection of in women, DHEA most often converts into testosterone,
Zoladex, which is a gonadotropin-releasing-hormone ana- while in men it takes the estrogen pathway. That’s particu-
logue, 3.6 milligrams every four weeks for a period of 12 larly true in those under 40. DHEA levels begin to decline
weeks. The placebo group got a saline injection. Zoladex in the late 20s, reaching a nadir by the 60s in most people.
suppresses testosterone production. Some studies show that when DHEA supplements are
The strength training began three weeks after the sub- provided to older people who show low blood levels of the
jects received the injections. The workout program used hormone, various health benefits ensue. Much of that is
by both groups emphasized leg training, with three to four attributed to decreased insulin resistance and increased
sets per exercise and six to 10 reps per set. They trained levels of insulinlike growth factor 1 (IGF-1), which main-
three times a week. Various body composition and muscle tains body tissues, including muscle.
biopsies were done. After eight weeks those in the placebo Since many older people are deficient in DHEA and
group showed an increase in isometric muscle strength, muscle weakness is common with advanced age, what
while the Zoladex group showed no strength increase. would happen if you provided supplemental DHEA to
Lean mass increased in both groups but more in the pla- older people engaged in a weight-training program? That
cebo group. was the focus of a study presented at the ACSM meeting
Based on those findings, the researchers concluded that by researchers from the University of Colorado.4
suppressing natural testosterone production results in less One hundred forty adults over age 60 who had low
muscle size gain and no strength increase. levels of DHEA were randomly assigned to a DHEA group
Various studies show that in women, DHEA most

often converts into testosterone, while in men it
takes the estrogen pathway. That’s particularly
true in those under 40.
Neveux

Jerry Brainum’s
Bodybuilding Pharmacology
Caffeine was shown to increase
bench press power in one study and References
reduce muscle damage in another. 1 Coutts, R.A., et al. (2006). Effect of
short-term use of testosterone en-
minutes after they got caf- anthate on personality and mood in
feine or a placebo. healthy young males. Med Sci Sports
Those in the caffeine Exerc. 38(5):S409.
group lifted more on the 2 Deakin, G., et al. (2006). Perfor-
bench press than those mance enhancement and urinary
in the placebo group. No detection after short-term testoster-
differences occurred on one enanthate use. Med Sci Sports
the leg press between the Exer. 38:S405.
groups, but the caffeine 3 Kvorning, T., et al. (2006). The sig-
group showed more peak nificance of endogenous testosterone
power during the Wingate, on the adaptation to strength train-
which is a high-intensity ing.Med Sci Sports Exeric. 38:S53.
cycling test. Those in the 4 Jankowski, C., et al. (2006). Does
caffeine group also had dehydroepiandrosterone replacement
higher postexercise levels augment gains in lean mass with re-
of cortisol, glucose and sistance training in older adults? Med
insulin. The findings indi- Sci Sports Exerc. 38:S53.
cate that caffeine is a defi- 5 Bidwell,W., et al. (2006). Effect of
that got 50 milligrams daily or a pla- nite ergogenic aid for those engaged caffeine as an ergogenic aid on an-
cebo group for one year, during which in weight training.
time they engaged in a weight pro- The second study
gram. Eighteen of the subjects who looked at the effects
had never lifted weights stayed on the that five milligrams
DHEA and trained for an additional of caffeine per kilo-
six months. gram of bodyweight
Those in the DHEA group showed (same dose used in
higher blood levels of DHEA and IGF- the previous study)
1 than the placebo group. The DHEA had on delayed-onset
group also made greater gains in lean muscle soreness.6 The
muscle mass. soreness was induced
The authors suggest that DHEA by 64 eccentric, or
may provide anabolic effects medi- negative, muscle con-
ated by a rise in IGF-1 in older people. tractions of the thigh
That in turn would promote an in- muscles that were
crease in muscle size and strength. produced by electrical
The result would not be applicable muscle stimulation
to those who are younger or not defi- machines. Nine young
cient in DHEA. women took either
caffeine or a placebo
Ergogenic Effects of 24 and 48 hours fol-
lowing the muscular
Caffeine contractions.
Two new studies presented at the Delayed-onset
2006 ACSM meeting confirm the muscle soreness
benefits of caffeine for those who lift is considered the
weights. One study noted that most most acute form of
of the performance-enhancing effects muscle soreness, and
of caffeine are shown during aerobic it worsens with the
activity, such as increased use of fat as passing hours after a
an energy source.5 The study exam- workout. The major
ined whether caffeine would also aid cause is muscle dam-
those engaged in anaerobic exercise, age induced by heavy
such as weight training. eccentric, or negative, muscle con- aerobic performance in highly trained
Eighteen highly trained athletes, tractions. athletes. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 38:
average age 24, were placed in either In those who got caffeine after a S174.
a caffeine or a placebo group. Vari- workout known to induce DOMS, 6 Maridakis, V., et al. (2006). Caf-
ous tests measured glucose, cortisol, there was a large decrease in post- feine attenuates delayed-onset mus-
lactate and insulin. The groups per- workout pain. That’s isn’t surprising, cle pain following eccentric exercise.
formed three tests—leg press, bench since caffeine is known to provide Med Sci Sports Exerc. 38:S175. IM
press and the Wingate power test—60 analgesic (pain-reducing) effects.

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.Fitness-Model-Advice.com
Since becoming involved in the fitness and bodybuilding industry,
I’ve discovered a few absolute truths. The first is, whatever weight a
guy tells you that he can bench-press is about 50 pounds more than
he actually can. The second is, Ronnie Coleman is not human but an
alien from a planet of mutant, overly muscular freaks called Mesomor-
phia. And the third is, fitness models are hot! Damn hot! So with this
third absolute truth in mind I present a site devoted to helping more
women realize their dream of becoming damn hot—er, I mean, fitness
models! It’s a very simple-looking site, but it contains a lot of great in-
formation. The best part is that there are about three dozen interviews
with gals who have already made it in the fitness industry, among
them Carmen Garcia, Christina Lindley, Jen Hendershott and Pauline
Nordin. Each talks about her training, diet and supplementation—and
provides tips for girls who wish to follow in her footsteps. There are
also several very helpful articles by such experts as Will Brink and
Tom Venuto. In fact, Will actually took a break from the science and
nutrition stuff and wrote an article titled, “So You Wanna Be a Fitness
Model.” Little does everyone know that Will looks quite stunning in a
bikini and high heels. Okay, I’m kidding. Will neither owns a bikini nor
Neveux \ Model: Jen Hendershott
wears high heels, but he did write a very comprehensive piece on the
ins and outs of what it takes to make it as a fitness model. And for the
guys, there are some very hot pics. Finally, if you already are a fitness
model yourself and want more exposure, you can submit your own
interview and photo to be considered for inclusion on the site.

>www.MikesArmGallery.com >www.SportsInjury
Sometimes the most inter- Clinic.net
esting and/or entertaining
If you’re passionate about your work-
fitness sites don’t belong to
outs, then one day you’re bound to incur
pro bodybuilders, personal
some type of injury. Even if you use
trainers or nutrition gurus
but to regular people who
meticulous form, the simple wear and
just like to lift weights and tear on joints, tendons, ligaments and
share their experience. This muscles will eventually lead to a strain,
one is billed as “A site for pull or tear—none of which are major,
regular guys (whatever that let’s hope. When an injury does occur,
means).” On it you’ll find few of us run right out to a doctor. We
pages and pages of arm-flex- either ignore it (not smart) or attempt to
ing photos sent in by, well, regular guys. In fact, Mike asks right home treat—smart only if you’re armed
on the home page that no models, personal trainers (unless they with the right information and the prob-
offer free training tips) or steroid-using bodybuilders submit lem isn’t serious. The site can aid you in
photos. He further explains that you don’t have to be big, just diagnosing your problem, inform you of
proud of your bodybuilding accomplishments. And apparently, the right treatment and help you deter-
a lot of proud people are out there, as you’ll find dozens and
dozens of photos of guys hitting biceps shots, triceps shots, side
chest shots and most musculars, all with arms listed between 14
and 19 inches. Many of those who have submitted photos have
also provided their personal arm programs. There’s even a chart
that describes what it means to have arms of a particular size.
Check it out and find out how you rate!
>www.RonnieColeman.net/home.html
“Ain’t nothin’ but a peanut!” “Yeah,
buddy!” “Everyone wants to be a
bodybuilder, but no one wants to lift
heavy-ass weights!” If you’re familiar
with these sayings, then there’s a
pretty good chance you’re a fan of
eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Cole-
man. Yes, Ronnie has a unique way of mine whether you need medical atten-
expressing himself—and one helluva tion. It lists dozens of injuries that are
physique! If you appreciate the not-of- common among bodybuilders and ath-
this-earth body that Ronnie has mas- letes and describes in detail the symp-
terfully constructed, you’re definitely toms and how to possibly prevent such
going to want to visit his site, where a problem from occurring again. My
you’ll find one of the most complete Ronnie galleries anywhere on the
favorite feature is the “Virtual Therapist,”
Web—everything from pics of each of his Olympia victories to training
shots to magazine covers. You’ll even see a few photos of him when he which enables you to pinpoint your pain
was very young (no, Ronnie did not emerge from his mother with 20- on an image of the human body and
inch guns). Click on the Profile link to find out some interesting tidbits then asks you what symptoms you’re
about “the Big Nasty,” such as the fact that he feels the hardest job he feeling in order to determine what the
ever had was working at Domino’s or that if he were only allowed one nature of your injury might be. Almost
last meal it would be pizza (hmm, wonder if it would be from Domino’s?). as good as a doctor who makes house
When Ronnie was asked what actor would play him in a movie made
calls but without the inflated bill! This is
about his life, he answered: “Ain’t no one big enough!” Of course, you
can also read about his training and nutrition philosophies and purchase
definitely another one to add to your fa-
DVDs, photos, caps, posters and even a Ronnie Coleman bobble-head vorites list, but let’s hope you don’t need
doll that constantly screams, “Yeah, buddy!” Okay, it doesn’t really to visit very often. Ouch! IM
scream anything, but its head does bobble. Cool!
Lonnie Teper’s
NEWS & ViEWS

IFBB Happenings
Long on
Enthusiasm
Don Hopes to Return to the Long with Bill Wilmore in 2006.
Stage in A.C.
It’s early July as I write this, and Don Long wants people to not judge
him until they know all the facts. That he’s been undergoing a new type of
treatment, called nocturnal dialysis. That he did not receive a transplanted
kidney from his sister. That he’s off just about all of his medications. That
he’s feeling great and says he can train everybody at his gym into the
ground. And that he wants to be an inspiration to people, just as Lance
At the
Armstrong and Alonzo Mourning have been. ’99 IM Pro.
Additionally, if things continue to go well, he will get back on a pro
bodybuilding stage for the first time since March ’99.
Long took the overall at the ’95 NPC Nationals and then made a
big splash in his pro debut at the ’96 Night of Champions, finishing
right behind a couple of guys named Flex Wheeler and Ronnie
Coleman. I named him “King Kong Long” after that showing.
Three years later kidney disease put him on dialysis and out of
bodybuilding. In 2002 he underwent a kidney transplant. Rumors to
the contrary, the kidney did not come from his sister. His sister did
donate a kidney, which moved him up on the waiting list, but he got
his new organ from a stranger. It didn’t take, and Long was back on
dialysis, three times a week, four hours a shot.
The new procedure, which he self-administers, has made an
amazing difference. Don says he’s never felt better. In fact, he feels
good enough to make plans to shoot a training video and to compete
for the first time in seven years at the Atlantic City Pro in September.
Say what?
“Before people judge what I’m doing, they need to know the
facts,” says Long. “Nocturnal dialysis is done
at night, while you’re sleeping, six days a
week, eight hours a day. I went through six
weeks of training to learn how to give myself
the treatment. I set up the whole machine,
stick myself twice, take care of all the ban-
dages.
“I’m 262 pounds right now and feel
great; I want to show people that if you can
Junior Cal
keep striving for something, you can reach winners
Photography by Bill Comstock
it. What were people saying about Lance (clockwise

Armstrong, when he first came back from from
cancer, or Alonzo Mourning, when he had above):
Telfair,
his kidney transplant?” Venegas,
Long, 39, has no illusions about his body- Roberts,
building future. “I’ve always had a dream Rickerd
of competing again, and I hope to do that and Abell.
in Atlantic City,” he says. “But this will be a
one-time thing; I will not push the issue.

POSERS— WOMEN— TEASE—
Twin sons What did Cathy In case you
of different finally figure out? wondered what
mothers? Pages 230 and this column is
Pages 230 231 all about.
and 231 Pages 229 to
233
Bukovi. Hunter.
“I just want to make a good showing. I think I’ll be
around 245 on stage, but I don’t know how my body will
respond. For those who are concerned about health is-
sues, the major problem with all contests is diuretics, and
I won’t be on any. I will undergo a treatment on Friday,
when I get to Atlantic City, and all of the water will be out
of me. I will be under a nurse’s care, and a doctor will be
checking me.
“Jim Manion has given me the okay to compete—if
I get approval from the doctor and if all legal materials
necessary are completed. Trust me, I’ll be in better health
than most of the guys there.”
Don hopes that the decision to allow him to flex again
will not be based on what people think of his choices but
on the state of his health on the day of the show.
Long is available for guest posings, seminars and moti-
vational speaking “at a cheap price,” he says, and that
work done for the benefit of children or the disabled will be gratis. To
contact him, go to www.DonLongNutrition.com.
As you can see, it’s hard to keep a champion down.
Junior Cal: Happy Returns

DARREN DAZZLES AFTER A 10-
YEAR HIATUS—Continuing with the theme of
comebacks, we come to the Junior California
Championships, which I promoted at Sexson
Auditorium on the campus of Pasadena City
College on June 3. There must be something
about the Junior Cal that makes retired competi-
tors want to don their posing trunks again. Last
year Chris Snell returned to the stage after a
seven-year absence to win three overall
crowns: novice, collegiate and unlimited
men. He also took home the men’s Most
Muscular and Best Poser awards.
This time around it was Darren Tel-
fair who made a triumphant return to
the stage. The 6’2”, 217-pounder from
Azusa, California, who hadn’t competed
in a decade, took the heavyweight and
Clockwise from overall titles. He led the way in the larg-
above: Pinto, Salcido, est lineup in the contest’s eight-year
Vargas, L.T. with
Vasquez and Guzman history, for which 65 competitors and
and the masters around 1,000 fans showed up.
over-50 lineup. The 39-year-old Telfair, one of seven
competitors out of World Gym, West
Covina, works as a quality engineer. Born and raised on Long Island
(he earned a degree in aviation maintenance technology at SUNY
Farmingdale), he moved to California in 2003 for “a change of pace—
and to get out of the snow.”
His name sounded familiar when he first called about the event. The
minute I saw him, I knew our paths had crossed before. As it turned
out, I had been the emcee at Telfair’s last contest, the ’96 Junior
Nationals, where he finished ninth in the heavyweight class as a 248-
pounder.
He retired at that point and came back to the stage 10 years later

only because he’d been challenged by a Junior Cal competitor
from World Gym, Jose Venegas. Telfair trained with Kenny
Rickerd, 20 years his junior, who “pushed me like my old
training partner from New York,” he said. (Kenny won the col-
legiate lightweight class and took fifth in the novice division.)
Although he showed up 30 pounds lighter than he hoped (“I
overdieted to make sure I was ripped enough to beat Jose”),
Telfair defeated an outstanding crew of class champs—includ-
ing Carlos Pinto (light heavyweight), Darren Roberts
(middleweight) and Dan Abell (lightweight)—to nab the top
prize.
Venegas ended up as a light heavyweight, so his battle with
Telfair never materialized, but the 23-year-old showed great
promise with a third-place finish in an exceptional division.
Guntermania
reigns!
COLLEGIATES—Another lad who had
a grand night was Mike Salcido, 22, who
placed second behind Carlos Pinto in the
men’s light heavies before taking novice mid-
dleweight and overall honors as well as the
collegiate heavyweight and overall trophies.
Salcido, a 5’7”, 186-pounder, did his best to
Liberman
match the eight trophies Chris Snell, who
was also named Most Muscular, earned last
year. Oh, well. Five ain’t too shabby, Michael.
Justin Hunter, one of the most promis-
Linda Reho (center) with Katie,
ing teens I’ve seen in years, made it three June Monroe and Amy Peters.
victories in seven days with a win in the teen
division. Hunter was coming off victories at
the California Championships and the Mus-
cle Beach contest the previous weekend;
the 19-year-old from Yucaipa, California,
also finished in the collegiate-heavyweight
class. Yesiree, you need to keep an eye on
this 5’11”, 198-pounder, who at press time
was prepping for the Collegiate and Teen
Nationals.
Clean Gene Bukovi, who has domi-
nated 40-and-over action in So Cal shows
for a while, decided to do likewise at the
Junior Cal in that division, as well as finish-
ing second to Darren Telfair in the open.
Vincent Cablayan followed in Clean
Gene’s footsteps in a 50-and-over class that
featured a real doctor, Ron Lewis, and the
oldest, but one of the spryest, competitors in Derik the giant killer. Cathy
the show, 73-year-old Jim Arrington. brings
When I asked Jungle Jim why he’d it.
jumped in against the kids (and how
he’s managed to keep all of his hair),
he quickly retorted, “I want my picture
in IRON MAN.” Your wish is my com-
mand, kid. Both Dr. Lewis and runner-
up David Woerner were trained by
former IFBB star Jean-Pierre Fux,
who was in attendance.
I was flattered that Javier Vargas,
another of those World Gym, West
Covina, folks, picked the Junior Cal to
make his bodybuilding debut at 35.
And he didn’t do too shabbily, taking
second in the novice middleweights
and fourth in his class in the open, as well as earning the moniker “Hip The teen division blows it out.
Hop” after his slick gyrations brought him the Best Poser trophy.
One of the many highlights of the contest, which again featured

Feather.
Richens.
Bodybuilding.com as title sponsor (Russ DeLuca made
his first-ever appearance at the show!), was the guest-pos-
ing challenge of Derik Farnsworth, a 5’2”, 165-pound pro
whose photo often appears in IM, who decided he was big
enough to take on featured star Gunter Schlierkamp.
The German Giant, fourth in last year’s Mr. Olympia, told the
crowd he was tipping the scales at “anywhere from 322 to 335
pounds” on his 6’1 1/2” frame. Derik waited until Gunter had
done his routine and gone into the audience to give the fans an
up-close look. When the German Giant got back onstage, the
New Age Giant Killer went after him. At one point the pushy
promoter-emcee asked Gunter who was going to win the 2006
Mr. O. Gunter looked out into the audience and said, “G.S.”
Hear that, Ronnie and Jay?
Cathy LeFrancois, who looked so good at her usual post
at the Gaspari Nutrition booth that I talked her into getting into
Abraminko.
her posing suit and strutting her stuff at the finals, announced
a career change onstage. The former Ms. International Light-
weight champ left bodybuilding for figure two years ago but
was contemplating a return to the former.
Malloy. When I asked the fans which division
Cathy should choose, the informal poll
was overwhelmingly in favor of bodybuild-
ing. Cathy says she’ll be in the lineup at
the Atlantic City Pro a week before the
Olympia.
ADD TEEN DIVISION—The young-

est competitor in the event was 17-year-
old Philip Vasquez, a high school junior
who left quite an impression after the 6’1”,
165-pounder shredded his way to a third-
place finish in a six-man lineup. Vasquez
and buddy Walter Guzman paired up
to train for the show, with Walter being
rewarded with a fifth-place trophy.
Roy’s
Baranda. joy. WOMEN’S HIT PARADE—At the California Championships a week
before the Junior Cal, Sherlyn Roy took the fitness crown and came in
second to overall champ Mona Liza Reyes in figure. A week later the
5’2”, 100-pound former San Francisco 49ers cheerleader—yes, Sherlyn
does own a Super Bowl ring (from Super Bowl XXIX)—was crowned the
overall figure champ as she bested B-class winner Christine Baranda
and C-class titlist Michelle Abraminko.
Raised in Sunnyvale, California, and now living in Los Angeles,
Roy is the chief female consultant at Mike O’Hearn’s Signature
Belt man Fitness (a chain of gyms owned by the popular bodybuilder-
Abasta. powerlifter-model) and is a part-time trainer at the Sports Club
LA. Sherlyn is also a student at Santa Monica College and told
me—after I busted her for not entering the collegiate division as
well—that she hopes to be a television broadcaster someday.
The sleek Abraminko was making her first appearance onstage
after moving to San Diego from the East Coast. Baranda is the
women’s counterpart to Darren Telfair, coming out of a six-year
retirement to take the masters-35-and-over title as well as the
open class.
An occupational therapist specializing in brain trauma patients,
Liberman
Baranda had stopped training due to a shoulder injury. The

5’3 1/2”, 115-pounder decided 16 weeks out to get onstage again
and was happy she did. Look for all three ladies at national-level
shows down the road.
Other winners included Diana Feather in women’s bodybuild-
Coreas.
ing, Ariane Richens in the 45-and-over figure division, Sylvia
Coreas in collegiate figure and Dallas Malloy in collegiate

Junior Cal Sponsors
Photography by
Dave Liberman and Ron Avidan
bodybuilding—four women who have intriguing
stories. Feather is a 42-year-old mother of five
who was making her first appearance in body-
building after being told she was too muscular
for figure. She won the Best Poser award in the
women’s division. Richens is a 45-year-old mother
of two who was a competitive runner before she
decided to give figure a try.
Coreas is a 24-year-old from Citrus College
who served a year in Iraq as part of her United
States Army Reserve duty. She dropped 50
pounds for the competition under the guidance
of local trainer and NPC competitor Hugo “Boss”
Rivas.
Malloy, 29, fell in love with bodybuilding
when she saw Linda Hamilton in “Termina-
tor 2” and patterns herself after Bev Fran-
cis. Elsewhere on the sports scene she made
amateur boxing history when, at 15, she filed
a dis-
crimina-
tion suit
against
the Unit-
ed States
Boxing
Federa-
tion that
eventually
forced the
alliance to
set up a
women’s
division.
Dallas actually played herself in
one of the opening sequences in
“Jerry Maguire.” At the Junior Cal
she also picked up second-place
honors behind Feather in the open
women’s division.
Special mention goes to Cyn-
thia Bridges-Satalowich and
her Team Flex Appeal. The 44-
year-old Cynthia, who’s perhaps
the oldest fitness pro still willing
to flip and leap all over the stage,
recruited five ladies from her Simi Val-
ley, California, private-training facility to
compete for the first time. Four of them
did. The fifth, Christine Garza, 31,
had to drop out when she discovered
that she was pregnant, but she was
there to support the group.
And the gals did darn well too. Patty
Spencer, 47, placed second in the
45-and-over class, while Tina John-
son, 55, finished third, and Jeannette Clockwise from upper left: Mo Mohsen of Dream Tan; the bustling lobby at Sexson Au-
Martinez, 47, landed in fifth. The kid of ditorium; Max Muscle, corporate and Pasadena, in the house; Guillermo Escalante of
the group, 37-year-old Kelley Fox, fin- World Gym, West Covina; L.T. with Bodybuilding.com’s Russ DeLuca; Brian Andrews of
EFX; Timea Majorova; Mike Morris and Nick Volpe of MPH; Abbas Moussawi and Jessie of
ished fourth in the 35-and-over division Pro Fight; Allison Kote of Labrada Nutrition; and Pete Ciccone and Meriza Goncalves of
Instone.
and fifth in the open B-class. “Kelly jumped
onboard Team Flex Appeal just three weeks
prior to the contest and now has the figure
bug and her eye on a pro card!” said a proud
Bridges-Satalowich.
If you’re interested in gaining Cynthia’s ex-
pert guidance and you live in the Simi Valley
area, contact her at Cynbfit@yahoo.com.
CROSS-COUN-
TRY TOUR—If I gave
an award for the com-
petitor who trekked the
farthest to enter the
show, it would have
gone to Linda Reho,
who came all the way
out from Mentor, Ohio,
to compete in figure.
Jim Paliungas \ Palimor Studios

Linda also got to do a
photo shoot with IRON
MAN’s Jerry Fred-
rick at Gold’s Gym,
Venice, during her trip
to Southern California,
while her boyfriend,
Dave Liberman,
contributed to the Junior Cal festivities by snapping pics of all the
sponsors.
A standout on the East Coast—and coming off an overall victo-
ry at the ’06 NPC Natural Grand Prix in Michigan—Linda finished
second in the B-class.
B third-placer Kathy Fehringer flew in from Pocatello,
Idaho; and figure competitors Danesa Robles and Nikki
Browner came from Arizona and Nevada, respectively. Let’s not
leave out teen contender Bryce Mesa, who drove in from St.
George, Utah. Hope the long trip was worth it, gang.
Krossbelts
Once again a slew of sponsors ensured the show’s success.
One of the most creative was Chris Abasta and his company,
Krossbelts. Chris, who lives in California, has been a serious
bodybuilder since the age of 18. He’s a
licensed professional psychiatric technician
and has worked full-time in a forensic hos-
pital for the mentally ill since 1991. When
I heard that, I knew he’d be a welcome
addition to the industry, since most of us
involved have been accused of being more
than a bit wacky.
Neveux
In his spare time Chris creates hand-

Clockwise from upper left: Cathy some, custom-engraved leather lifting
LeFrancois of Gaspari Nutrition; To contact Lonnie
Ron Avidan for Champion Nutri-
belts that feature double latches and stitch- Teper about material
tion/Cytosport; Hollywood Bert ing and are padded for comfort. He offers possibly pertinent to
Perry; Team Satalovitch; Gunter hundreds of writing styles, and you can News & Views, write
Schlierkamp of Weider with fian- also put pictures on them. to 1613 Chelsea
cée Kim Lyons; Ryan and Janine
Hornbuckle of Gerstner; the
As part of his sponsorship efforts, Road, #266, San
ladies from Hollywood Tans; L.T. Abasta donated specially engraved belts Marino, CA 91108;
and the beautiful Elsa Escobar; for the overall winners. Chris does good fax to (626) 289-7949;
Mary Jo Cooke of Vyo-Tech; and work—check it out at www.Krossbelts or send e-mail to
John Scott and Maura Berger of tepernews@aol.com.
John Scott’s Nitro.
.com. IM

’06 Mr. Olympia
PREVIEW In Record Time?
Ronnie Coleman Looks To

Own the Record Book With
a Ninth Olympia Win
by Lonnie Teper
Fans of the Mr. Olympia won’t

have to wait as long this year to
see if Ronnie Coleman can make
it a record nine straight. The
latest version of the Big Dance
will take place a month earlier
than in the past few years, on
September 29 and 30, at the
Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

Can the Big Nasty,
nearly five months
after his 42nd birth-
day, claim outright the
record he currently
shares with Lee Haney?
Will he be the man who
has captured the most
Olympia victories ever?

Can Jay Cutler, after earning four being Mr. Olympia? What about best? Will Markus Ruhl show up at
second-place finishes and showing Branch Warren, who’s coming off a all? Even more intriguing, will Chris
tremendous improvement in his strong 2006 after finishing eighth in Cormier, now 39 and training in Eu-
back detail in 2005, finally break his Olympia debut? Is Phil Heath re- rope, win in Atlantic City the week
through? Can Gustavo Badell still ally going to pass up the O to add a before the Olympia and return as a
be a good candidate for the title bit of size before tackling the early- title threat, as promised?
now that the challenge round, after season shows in ’07? At this point, Those are just a few of the in-
being challenged by me and a host that’s a definite yes. teresting questions that present
of others, has been canned? And can Will Victor Martinez, the man themselves as we move closer to the
Dexter Jackson, another guy with a Coleman himself says is his heir AMI-produced event. Here’s a look
pretty good bod, who’ll be onstage apparent, finally
despite rumors earlier in the year show up at his
that he’d
be passing
on the O to
concentrate
on defend-
ing his Ar-
nold Classic
crown next
year, push
ahead at
Mr. Olympia Preview
last?
Will this
be the year
Gunter
Schlierkamp
fulfills his
lifelong
dream of
Victor Martinez Gunter Schlierkamp
Branch Warren
240 OCTOBER 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com Coleman and Markus Ruhl
Mr. Olympia Preview

Can Coleman, at age
42, carry 285 pounds
on his 5’11” frame
with the same quality
as in past years?

at the combatants who will chal- from normal when it comes to ge- came in at a sharp 264 pounds, has
lenge for a top-10 finish: netics and drive. I won’t bet against been as focused as ever in his off-
Ronnie, even in his fourth decade. season and precontest training and
The Champ says Coleman’s string of victories
Ronnie Coleman. More ques-

The Top Challengers will end at eight. I won’t bet against
Ronnie, but I might not want to bet
tions arise: Will the Big Nasty still be Jay Cutler, Dexter Jackson, Gus- against the Ultimate Beef, either.
big and nasty at his advanced age, tavo Badell, Gunter Schlierkamp, Jackson is back after sitting out
and can he carry 285 pounds on his Victor Martinez. last year’s bash and is coming off
5’11” frame with the same quality as Cutler has heard all the talk about back-to-back Arnold Classic vic-
in years past? Or will injuries he has how he’s destined for a runner-up tories, having gotten plenty of rest
allegedly incurred in his shoulder slot as long as Coleman continues between shows. At 5’6 1/2” and
and elbow play a role in the finished to put on his posing trunks. Jay is a about 210 to 215 pounds, Jackson
product? Normally, I’d say a man ze- great champion, and great cham- has one of the classiest physiques
roing in on his 43rd birthday would pions never think they don’t have a in the industry and has proven time
have no chance of winning the Mr. shot at the title. He was happy with and time again that he can hold his
Olympia title, but Coleman is far his improvements last year, when he own against the bigger boys in the
Cutler came in at a
sharp 264 pounds last
year. Don’t bet against
the Ultimate Beef.

Mr. Olympia Preview
Schlierkamp is
a 6’2” goliath
capable of
coming in ripped
at near 300
pounds.

Mr. Olympia Preview
Badell was third
in ’05, so he’s
got a Nasty
upset in mind.

Mr. Olympia Preview
Cormier was 13th

last time, so he’s got
something to prove.

You Can Get
sport.
Like Cutler, Badell doesn’t believe
whose initials are G.S. will emerge
as the new Olympia conqueror. Bigger,
he can’t beat Ronnie and nab the
crown. And it’s understandable that
Martinez was one slot behind
Gunter at the ’05 O, and based on Stronger
he would think that. Love the chal-
lenge round or not, it did enable the
his third-place finish at this season’s
Arnold Classic, he can be a top and Leaner
Freakin’ Rican to best both Coleman contender if he shows up in spot-
and Cutler at last year’s Olympia en on condition. As mentioned above,
Faster Than Ever
route to a third-place finish overall. the 5’9” 245-pound New Yorker was Before!
Having scored another victory at named by Coleman himself as the
the San Francisco Pro, Badell says man most likely to fill his shoes You don’t have to burn hard-earned muscle
as you melt away fat. Now you can actually
he’ll be badder than ever this time when he calls it quits, and now build more muscle size and strength as your
around. would be the perfect time for Victor abs get razor sharp and you get ripped.
That’s the attention-grabbing look you want
Schlierkamp, who finished one to prove that Mr. O is pretty sharp in now, and the new Fat to Muscle 2 shows you
slot behind Badell last year, was car- the prediction department too. how. You’ll discover:
rying 323 pounds on his 6’2” frame •eatPrecise nutrition guidelines and diets—
when he guest-posed at my Junior
California Championships on June
Top-Six Contenders to max out your muscle mass as pounds
of ugly bodyfat disappear. (Learn the Carb-
Stacking strategy that can transform mus-
2 and told the crowd that the man Branch Warren, Melvin Anthony, cle size and stoke the fat-burning furnace.)
(continued on page 254) • Which substance—found in almost any
kitchen—is the ultimate aid for energy,
Smaller men like Dexter Jackson will have to better muscular response and fat burning.
• How dairy can help you burn fat—
yogurt, cheese and milk can get you leaner.
out-condition Coleman with shredded beef. • 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
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Warren has one
of the freakiest
physiques in the
pro ranks. If he’s
ripped, he should
be battling in the
top six.
Mr. Olympia Preview

Jackson sat out the ’05
O, and he’s coming off
of back-to-back Arnold
Classic victories. He’s
got a legitimate shot
at upsetting Ronnie’s
apple cart.
Mr. Olympia Preview

Mr. Olympia Preview
James was sixth

last year. He
needs to nail his
condition to at
least duplicate
that placing.

Anthony’s small
waist and impressive
posing should keep
his placing high.
last year and came back to

earn a fifth-place finish at the
Arnold in March and keep his
name in play as a candidate
for a top-six landing at the O.
Marvelous will never be the
biggest man on the stage, but
he usually has the smallest
waist and presents the most
impressive posing routine.
At press time Ruhl had not
qualified, so it’s just a guess
that the 5’11”, 280-pounder
will earn his place on the
Olympia stage by the time all
Mr. Olympia Preview
the qualifiers are completed.

Markus and Cormier were
the biggest disappointments
at last year’s O (Cormier was
13th, Ruhl 15th), and both
need to prove that they still
deserve to be included in the
top-contender category.
James was sixth last year
but could only come up with a
fourth place finish at the New
York Pro in May. At his best the
5’8”, 250-pounder has about
as much muscle, pound for
pound, as anyone in the game,
but Dennis needs to nail his
conditioning to duplicate his
performance of 2005.
Darrem Charles

Markus Ruhl, Dennis
James, Chris Cormier.
Warren’s is one of the
freakiest physiques in the
industry, and after runner-
up finishes at the Arnold
and S.F. Pro, the 5’6 1/2”,
245-pounder out of Texas
will be taking dead aim at
the leaders of the pack in
Vegas. Branch’s showings
earlier in the year prove
his strong finish in his first
Olympia was certainly no
fluke.
Johnnie Jackson
Anthony was seventh

Mr. Olympia Preview
David Henry

freaky thighs, and he’s already O because the top three—Badell,
Top-10 Contenders proved he can be a top-10 guy— Warren and Anthony—were already
David Henry, Mustafa Moham- cause 10th is where he finished last Olympia bound.
mad, Johnnie Jackson, Ronny Rock- year. His best showing to date this Johnnie Jackson might have been
el. Darrem Charles would be listed year was a fourth-place finish in San the most overlooked fella at last
here, but rumor has it that the daz- Francisco, where he qualified for the year’s bash where, at his all-time
zling one will also be sitting this one
out. If he competes, place Darrem in
the top 10, for sure.
The 5’5”, 190-pound Henry
moved up in the standings this year
when he finished second at the
IRON MAN in February and third
at the Colorado and New York Pro
shows in May. With his great balance
and conditioning, he keeps getting
better and better and will be tough
to keep out of the top 10.
Mohammad is a huge man with
Mustafa Mohammad
has already proved
himself as a top-10
guy. He was 10th
in ’05. Can he move
higher in ’06?

best, he was placed in 11th by the top six-contender, but he has opted
judging panel. I’m assuming he’ll out for the new Pro Division Inc.
try to requalify at the Europa Pro in And as for Heath, even though it’s a
August and that he’ll be successful sound plan for him to pass on the
and will be able to make another Olympia and concentrate on the
appearance on the Orleans Arena early shows in ’07, he could well
stage. have been a top-six contender.
Rockel upset Lee Priest at the Editors’ note: This article was
Australian Pro and has one of the written in late June and focuses on
most symmetrical bodies in body- the competitors who were qualified
building. Priest would have been a at that point. IM
Coleman
says he’ll be
unbeatable in
’06. Bring it
on!

NPC SHOWS
PROS
Wild Ride
On the physique-go-round
The Absolute Bomb
Regiane blows a kiss. They

love that kind of stuff in
Vegas.
Comstock
Also on July 8 and deeper into the South
Ain’t technology something else? I just watched the 45-second
mandatory routines from the IFBB All Star Pro Fitness contest, which
Chad Nicholls and Kim Chizevsky produced in Little Rock in
conjunction with their NPC Arkansas Championships, on YouTube
.com via a link at MuscleMayhem.com. The video was crude, but it
got the point across: Tanji Johnson kicked it high to score her third
pro win, despite some nipping-at-her-heels action from ’04 National
champ Deana Lee, who was making her pro debut. It was a one-
Heat waves rolled through the United States point squeaker: Johnson won the aforementioned mandatories as well
from coast to coast in July, and with them as the two-piece-swimsuit comparisons; Lee got the nod in the one-
came a monthlong streak of hot physique
competition, starting in the east with the piece round and was second in both routine rounds. Having missed
monster Bodyrock Bodybuilding and Figure her breakthrough performances at the Nationals and this show, I look
Championships and Monica Brant Fitness
Classic in Fairfax, Virginia, on July 8, where forward to catching Deana’s act in Las Vegas, at the O.
Alicia Marie (careful readers will recognize As evident in the too-cool view from YouTube, Germany’s Regiane
her as the former Alicia Denson) took the
overall figure title. A week later, at the Fig- Da Silva, a world champ who got her foot in the pro door with an
ure Nationals in New York, she came in fifth eighth-place finish at the Fitness International, firmly established herself
in the tallest-of-the-tall class.
on the scene by beating the entire 13-woman lineup in the glitz round,
a.k.a. the fitness routines, to land in third overall at the top-three Olym-
J U S T B E C AU S E pia qualifier. Other interesting notes coming out of this contest:
New York •Colorado’s Jessica Booth, who earned her pro card in fitness
Pro Figure and figure on the same day last year, made a big leap from her 12th-
runner-up place posing-for-prize-money debut at the New York Pro Fitness last
Jennifer April to take fourth here, thanks to her physique scores.
Searles •Julie Lohre, as predicted in this column a couple of months ago,
looks so was only too happy to switch back to fitness ASAP after doing four
good in this figure competitions while she was rehabbing from an ACL tear. Her
shot, we top-five finish was icing on the cake and promise of sweeter things to
included it come.
to make up •Angela Semsch was sixth, while another world champ, ’02
for the one short-class winner Laurence Sarrazin of France, who was last seen
on page landing in the basement at the ’05 Southwest Pro, finished fourth in
262. the routines to move up to seventh overall.

MEGA EVENTS T. U. F I T N E S S
Tribeca Trio More July heat Reaching

The annual Team Universe For the stars
Bodybuilding and Fitness
Championships/National Hollie
Stewart.
Figure Championships/IFBB
Pro Figure Championship
hit the schedule a little early
this year—July 14 and 15
instead of the first week in
August—and as always they
made for one whirling week-
end of bodacious bodies at
the Tribeca Performing Arts
Center in Manhattan. From
Comstock
the weigh-in on Thursday
evening to the wee hours
of Sunday morning at the
after party and beyond, IM’s I recently interviewed fitness pro Tanji
crack GraphicMuscle.com Johnson about her campaign to save
team was on the job, with fitness (catch the audio at Graphic
fast coverage and thousands Muscle.com). With shows like this,
of contest pics. Catch my though, it’s almost hard to believe that
audio report and interviews the sport needs saving. If the Team Uni-
with all the overall winners— verse Fitness lineup was high octane in
men’s champ Michael 2005—and it was—the ’06 version was
Lockett, fitness phenom jet-fuel propelled, launching into the pros
Hollie Stewart, pro figure three class winners who could possibly
sensation Jessica Pax- do some damage.
son, new Figure National Newcomer Hollie Stewart of Cal-
Comstock
champ Sonia Adcock and houn, Georgia, flew right to the top with
T.U. Women’s Bodybuilding her total-package physique and enter-
champ Stepha- taining jungle-themed routine, winning
History lesson. For those who don’t know where the name nie Kessler— the A-class and overall titles. B-class
comes from, it’s called the Team Universe because it’s the at GM. And on winner Karen Patten of Anchorage,
contest to pick the teams that will represent the United
States at the IFBB World Amateur Championships, which the following Alaska, dropped from a handstand to a
was at one time known as the amateur Mr. Universe. (An- pages, behold an straddle hold and rose to the pros from a
other organization owns the rights to that title.) Whatever Iron Woman’s- last-place finish here—and fourth at the
you call it, men’s champ Michael Lockett says he’s ready eye view of the Nationals—last year. And in the C-class,
to take on the world—and activate the pro card he earned.
The former boxer from Cleveland says he put on 30 pounds NPC’s version the tall gals, Laticia “Action” Jackson
of muscle—and went from light heavy to heavyweight— of the New York of Pensacola, Florida, celebrated her re-
since he stopped boxing and starting bodybuilding seri- Marathon. turn to competition after recovering from
ously. And he’s only in his early 20s. Can you say potential? a dislocated elbow with an even more
action-packed routine than the one I
loved at the ’04 USA. All three earned pro
cards, along with their worthy runners-up,
Christy Green (A), Susan Groshek
(B) and Leslie Rae Newton (C).
Photography by Ruth Silverman
Comstock
Jackson in action in New York. Mind-bending, ain’t it? At

right: Two New York institutions, T.U. co-promoter Bev Fran-
cis and figure vet Gracie Riviera.

MORE NPC
T.U.: The Women

Kessler
killed.
Tracie
Tucker.
contest—21 altogether—but
they kicked up the competi-
tion a couple of notches from
last year. Middleweight winner
Comstock
Malea Johnson had the best
conditioning in her lineup and
was the only one of the class
champs to earn a perfect score.
Hendricks (above) came close, while TNT was
dynamite.
In the lightweights Tracie
“TNT” Tucker was in the driv-
er’s seat once again after sitting
the Women’s World Amateur Cham- out a couple of seasons due to injuries.
pionships, which are scheduled for Running into the ’02 T.U. Lightweight
Roland Balik
Spain in September. Her 151-pound champ at the weigh-in, I could see she
package was the thickest and hardest was a good bet for a return trip to the
we’ve ever seen it, with back, ham- Worlds. Onstage she displayed her
Stephanie Kessler has been tak- strings and horseshoe triceps among all-time-best package to make that goal
ing second at the T.U. since 2003, and her notable bodyparts. a reality, despite a serious challenge by
she was bound to be tired of it. Second Still, it was a close call in the class the aesthetic lines and shredded delts
to Debbie Patton in the ’03 middle- battle, with a challenge coming from of runner-up Cynthia Anderson.
weights, to Colette Nelson in the ’04 former fitness competitor Theresa Backstage, Kessler couldn’t stop the
heavyweights, to Patton (again) in the Hendricks, who was last seen taking tears-of-joy flow. “I’m super ecstatic!”
’05 heavies. Bor-ing. fifth in the tall class at the ’05 Nationals. exclaimed the one-time gymnast. “My
Not this time. With a year to refine In addition to some swift moves, Hen- family is coming to Spain for the World
the size she’d put on—and Patton dricks had the best lines in the division Championships, and I’m going to do
and Nelson safely out of the amateur and enough tight, rock-hard muscle for my best to honor this country as a
ranks—Stephanie came to New York the panel to place her in second by a heavyweight.” Good luck with that,
ready to claim her spot at the top, and single point. Steph. They say the T.U. is like Kid-
claim it she did, earning overall honors It was another small lineup for the dieland compared to the roller-coaster
and a pro card in addition to a trip to NPC’s highest-ranking drug-tested you’ll be riding in Spain.
BACKSTAGE COVERUP Joel Barham

recently
Back home returned to the
in Phoenix, bodybuilding
A.J. Jarrell stage after
pro
trains with more than a
bodybuilder decade. A high
Troy Alves. school English
The 198- teacher and
an
pounder is childhood friend
“all-natural of pro flexer
”
vegetarian, Mark Dugdale,
he said, but Barham made
make no his mark in the
mistake. “I sport this year
ith
can hang w as the director
Troy.” At his of Dugdale’s new
l
first nationa DVD, “Driven.”
show he took
of
seventh out heavyweight class
ht n the Team Universe
17 in the lig Dietrich Horsey wo to set tle for fourth.
s tim e had
heavies. last year but thi

BABES M O R E PAT T E N
N.Y. Pro Figure Report Harrowing

Guess they really meant it Journey
The word in the seats on
both the pro and amateur
figure events in New York was
that Sandy Ranalli was back
on the panel and the hard look
was O-U-T. Not sure what that
was about. The hard look was
also O-U-T two weeks later at
the USA, where Ranalli did not
serve as head women’s judge.
(She was too busy prepping
for her July 30 wedding to
longtime sweetie Ted Wil-
liamson, former NPC chair
in Southern California.) So the
effort to get serious about the
20-percent-less-muscle advi- Why fitness keeps going and going. B-
sory that the IFBB and NPC class champ Karen Patten (right) joins
put out in 2005 was a group fellow Emerald Cup alums Michelle
Mayberry and Safiya Johnson for a
one. The fruits of that labor? A
backstage interview.
first pro win for the lovely Jes-
Paxson with Petra Merti. Petra was lost in sica Paxon, a 23-year-old
the also-rans at a couple of shows earlier in newcomer who won her pro When Karen Patten popped onstage
the season, but when she made her entrance
on the Tribeca stage, something about the card at the ’05 Junior Nation- and performed her fitness routine at the
angle or the lighting or whatever caused als and got an Olympia invite judging on Friday night, you’d never have
her to look a little like Jenny Lynn. I thought in her pro debut at the Pitts- known that her journey to the show hadn’t
I was seeing things, but then the guy who burgh, in May. been smooth sailing. The 5’3 1/2” Alaskan
was sitting next to me exclaimed, “Wow, she
looks like Jenny Lynn!” Six points separated Paxson was en route from Anchorage to Atlanta
So, was it the panel’s preference for from second-placer Jen- when “somewhere over Canada a wind-
softer physiques or Petra’s Lynn-like nifer Searles, who got her shield in the plane’s cockpit busted,” she
presence that earned her an early callout— Big-O qualification last year said. An emergency landing in Edmonton,
and the opportunity to climb out of the
basement? at this show. Third went to Alberta, followed by a 12-hour layover while
We’ll never know. Tara Scotti, who capped the a new windshield was ordered and installed,
evening by throwing a swingin’ followed by a night on the floor at the At-
after party for the second year in a row. lanta airport and an early-morning arrival in
Michelle Flake and Jeanette Freed rounded out the top five (a first New York left her a little tired come routine
winner’s circle finish for Jeanette), with Tammy Pies, Elizabeth Lamm, time, she admitted, but by Saturday night,
Kate Shelby, Celeste Leandro Gonzales and Petra Merti also taking with a little sleep and first callouts under her
top-10 spots in the 23-woman lineup. belt, she was raring to go.
“I’m just an old guy Speaking of women who finish MORE

trying to impress second. Fitness veteran Viko FITNESS
women,” declared Paul Newman, one of a large contingent
Coates (far right) shortly of fit fillies from Washington State
before he scored a who made the cross-country
unanimous win in the trek, recently came back to
bantamweight class. A competition after a break because
smooth mover on and her 40th birthday was staring her
off the posing platform, in the face. Though she wasn’t
the 39-year-old had expecting a top-five finish, the
impressed the heck ’05 Washington Ironman winner
out of his girlfriend, correctly predicted that Karen
Erica Yost, the night Patten would earn her pro card.
before by proposing to How did she know? In the past,
her on her birthday. His said Newman, people she placed
buddy, middleweight second to tended to go pro. The
runner-up Jeff list included Tanji Johnson and
Rodriguez, also made Sandi Ward, and, well, earlier in
a lasting impression. the season she’d been runner-up
Look for more on the to Patten at the Emerald Cup. It’s
U.C. Davis student at nice to know that there are some
GraphicMuscle.com. things in fitness you can really
count on.

TA R A S C O T T I ’ S T E A M U N I V E R S E A F T E R PA R TAY AT S A L O N, N Y C
P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y R U T H S I LV E R M A N
Guest D.J. Rob Lopez

is in the house.
“They’re not really naked.
They’ve got pasties on.” Bob
Bonham introduces Israeli figure
At 1:45 a.m. the room is groovin’. champ Ari Mayan to the nuances
Whatever Tara and Jen are discuss- of downtown nightlife.
ing, it’s not the score sheet.
Jodi and
Jen plan Now, there’s a famil-
their USA iar face. Dina says,
strategy. “I’m back,” and
she’s threatening
to compete—soon.
Woo. We’re scared.
Pro Tan chic

as
Nicky and Ca
rla
cut loose af
ter a
hard day of
slath- Batman and Robin crash the fes-
ering.
tivities disguised as paparazzi
It’s
good to
see old
friends.
As
usual,
Brian is
watch- 3:15 a.m. Weary revel-
ing… Just a couple of Georgia girls. lers flag a limo for the Manion
watch- Annie and Melissa demonstrate ride back to the hotel.
ing. the stiff-figure-babe deadlift. Only in New York.
Next month: More T.U., more fig-

F I G U R E N AT ’ S ure, plus USA, Masters Nationals
and whatever else comes along,
as the long, steamy summer of
hot physique contests continues.
You can contact

Ruth Silverman,
fitness reporter
and Pump & Cir-
Neveux
cumstance scribe,
Comstock
in care of
IRON MAN, 1701 Ives Ave.,
’06 Figure National champs from A to F; that is, short to tall: Sonia Ad- Oxnard, CA 93033; or via e-mail at
cock, Kristi Tauti, Corry Matthews, Nina DiTommaso Morgan, Elisha Ar-
chibald and Cheri Lewis. Adcock won the overall. Pro cards went to class ironwman@aol.com.
second-placers as well. Find all the bods at www.GraphicMuscle.com.
Only the Strong Shall Survive
More Pop
at the Top
How to Turn Dynamic Pulling
Exercises Into Dynamite
by Bill Starr
Weightlifting photography by Randall J. Strossen
All serious strength athletes include Naturally, lots of other factors were never fast enough. The weight
at least one dynamic pulling are involved in the execution of a would drop like an angry guillotine,
exercise in their routines. They heavy clean or snatch, either power leaving them crumpled into
understand that by handling heavy or full—body positioning during the frustrated rag dolls on the platform.
weights in an explosive fashion, movement, timing, coordination In contrast, a number of lifters
they build much stronger and more and the ability to move under the didn’t appear to be pulling the
functional muscles. Of course, weight quickly. Bottom line: If you bar high enough to succeed with
some sports require more powerful don’t pull the bar high enough and it their snatches or cleans, but they
back, hip, leg and shoulder muscles doesn’t leap at the top, your odds of did because they provided such a
than others. Those who participate making that lift at max weight aren’t powerful finish that they had ample
in contact sports absolutely must good. time to set themselves under the
prepare their entire bodies for When I competed in Olympic bar. Bob Bednarski had such a
stress on the playing field, and lifting on the East Coast, a team strong final pull in the clean that
Olympic-style weightlifting is all from an unnamed gym in a major the bar always crashed down on
about developing the muscles and city would often show up. They were him in the bottom position. Most
attachments used in pulling big all extremely strong and always did coaches don’t want that, since the
numbers in the snatch and clean. especially well in the press. They descending bar frequently rebounds
If you do power cleans, power thrived on brute strength and took out of the rack. Yet Barski developed
snatches, full cleans and full big leads into the snatch. Even his technique around the falling bar.
snatches, you have to be aggressive though they were stronger than the He would get extremely tight in the
in the final segment of the pulling majority of their competitors, they bottom and be ready for the weight
portion of the lift. The bar needs didn’t do well in either the snatch when it arrived. In my mind, it’s
to jump at the conclusion of the or clean. It wasn’t because of poor better to overpull a weight than to
pull. If it doesn’t, you won’t have body mechanics, foot speed or underpull it.
sufficient time to rack the bar on timing. Rather, none of them had That’s why I want to concentrate
your shoulders in the full or power any pop at the finish. The bar would on improving the top pull—not
clean or lock it out solidly in the be pulled plenty high—sometimes just to make it higher but also to
full or power snatch. Those lifts all much higher than necessary add some pop at the top. I should
have to be pulled to a certain height to order to make the lift—but mention that the exercises I’m
with a strong finish. While height is it seemed to be moving in slow recommending to help develop a
certainly critical, so is the velocity of motion. So no matter how fast they more explosive finish are beneficial
the bar at the very top. tried to move under the bar, they to anyone interested in improving
Reyhan
Arabaciouglu of
Turkey flies under
a 446-pound
clean while
lifting in the 77-
kilogram (169-
pound) class at
the ’03 European
Weightlifting
Championships in
Loutraki, Greece.

overall strength, even if
you’re not interested in
doing any version of cleans
or snatches. They will
build powerful upper-back
muscles and attachments,
which are extremely
useful in any athletic
endeavor, competitive
or recreational—indeed
any physical activity, such
as planting a garden,
changing a tire or mowing
the lawn.
A strong upper back
helps stabilize the
shoulder girdle and
enables you to do a wide
range of exercises that
involve those muscle
groups. Having a sturdy
set of traps that climb high
up the back of your neck
is an invaluable asset.
Many lives and spines Superheavyweight
have been saved by extra Alexander
powerful upper backs,
which means the exercises
Kurlovich of
are beneficial even if Belarus snatches
you’re not interested in 429 pounds.
Olympic lifting or planing
to participate in a sports
activity.
In many instances
athletes aren’t applying
a snappy finish to their
snatches or cleans simply
because the muscles
and corresponding
attachments responsible
for the action aren’t yet
developed to the extent
that they can provide the
necessary power at the
end of the pull. That’s the
case for beginners, who
are trying their best to
make the bar jump at the
top. It’s just that their traps
aren’t yet ready. They will
be over time, though, and
the emphasis should be on
pulling every single rep as
high as possible.
In most cases the
lack of a strong finish
comes down to improper
technique, such as cutting
the pull way too early, As
a result, muscle groups
that make the bar climb
higher aren’t brought into
play. It happens when you
Neveux
Having a sturdy set of traps that climb high up

the back of your neck is an invaluable asset.
key to move under Tommy Suggs and Barski noticed

the bar too soon. it immediately, though. After I
You might believe learned to key a fraction higher
you’re pulling plenty than I’d been doing, my snatches
long, but you’re not. started to improve. It was a mistake
Those who train in technique rather than a lack of
alone or don’t have strength. The trap strength was
the benefit of a there; I just wasn’t using it.
coach fall into that Whenever I see an athlete cutting
trap. his pull or not getting much of a
Which was exactly pop at the finish, I start him on
what I was doing high pulls. He does both snatch
prior to moving and clean high pulls because each
to York. While I version works the various back
really thought I muscles a bit differently. When done
was pulling to full correctly, high pulls enable you to
extension on my feel the pulling movement with
snatches, it turned heavy weights more than full cleans
out I wasn’t. Since or snatches. While the exercise
I was the coach at is dynamic, you do the first and
the Marion YMCA, second phases relatively slowly. That
none of the other lets you learn proper mechanics
lifters picked up more easily than a faster lift does.
on my form flaw. Proper mechanics will teach you

A strong upper
back helps
stabilize the
shoulder girdle.
Neveux
the right line of pull, sequence and better—largely a matter of practice. your traps up forcefully, instantly
extension so that the final portion Many get into the habit of letting bending your arms afterward.
of your lift will be explosive. The bar their elbows turn backward way too When the sequence is coordinated
must stay close to your body from soon, and they have to concentrate perfectly, the bar will jump and
start to finish, If it strays too far out on making the change. provide you with a strong finish.
front, you won’t have the leverage Sequence is critical to pulling Even when you feel the bar leap
to apply the necessary force at the weights really high and is perhaps upward, continue to put pressure on
end to make it climb higher. So the the most troublesome aspect of it. That will cause it to climb higher.
bar starts against your shins, glides high pulling. Keep in mind that a Another common mistake is to
up your legs, brushes your abs and high pull is no more than a deadlift let your back round during high
ends up touching your chest. followed by a shrug. The transition pulls. That takes you out of the
There’s a tendency to lower between the two moves, however, optimum pulling position and will
your chest to meet the bar once has to be done smoothly. There can’t hurt your finish. To help maintain a
the weights get demanding. Don’t be any hitching or hesitation. It’s flat back, lock your shoulder blades
do that. Instead, extend your one long, continuous, fluid motion. together. If you do that yet still end
chest upward at the finish. At the The bar comes off the floor slowly, up rounding, use less weight. It’s
conclusion of the high pull, you picks up speed through the middle more productive to do your sets
should be up on your toes with and becomes a soaring image at the using correct form than to knock
your body in a vertical position top. out some with heavy weights using
and your elbows up and out—not The hardest part of the sequence sloppy technique.
down and back. Once your elbows to master is waiting until you’ve Just where you set your hips
turn backward, you’re no longer fully contracted your traps before prior to initiating the pull isn’t that
able to provide upward thrust bending your arms. When you bend important, but it’s crucial that they
with your traps. All you have left is your arms too early, your traps can’t elevate at the same rate as the bar.
momentum, and that’s not always contract nearly as well, and that When they come up faster than the
sufficient to complete a snatch negatively affects the finish. Keep bar, you move out of the proper
or clean. Remember, the longer your elbows locked, and once the position for a strong top pull.
you can keep your elbows up, the bar passes your belly button, jam From the very first rep on the

American Robin
Byrd-Goad on her
way to becoming
world champion in
Istanbul at the ’94
World Weightlifting
Championships. The
50-kilogram (110-
pound) lifter snatches
176 pounds with
perfect form.

high pull, pull the bar as high as you
possibly can. On the first couple of
warmup sets the bar may climb up
over your head. Good. That’s what
you want. Once you get the long
pulling pattern ingrained in your
head, you’ll be much better able Bending the
to extend up after the weights get arms at the
heavy.
By the way, use straps when end of a shrug
doing high pulls. They’ll let you strengthens
concentrate on your technique and a lot more
not worry about holding onto the muscles and
bar. They’ll also help you handle
more weight, which translates to
attachments—
greater strength. Seat belts from and that’s a
the rear seat of old cars make long- good thing.
lasting straps. Run them through the
wash a half dozen times to soften
them, and they’ll last forever. Well,
almost.
I’ve found that most lifters can
pull a bit higher than they think
they can if they have a tangible goal
to shoot for. When they don’t get
feedback, athletes believe they’re
putting out 100 percent, but there’s
still room for improvement. I hold
out a stick a few inches higher than
where they pulled the last rep and
tell them to keep extending until
they hit the stick. It usually takes
them a few attempts to figure out
how they can gain those extra
inches, but they always do. Tapping
that stick has a Pavlovian effect.
The sound of hitting the stick is
an instant reward. I continue to
elevate the stick as long as they keep
Neveux \ Model: Jonathan Lawson
hitting it. Quite often, they end up

pulling the final reps six or eight
inches higher than they did the first
couple. Once they get the feel of full
extension, they can use it on all of
their other pulling exercises.
I usually alternate snatch and
clean high pulls in the program for
the sake of variety. As I mentioned, five followed by three to four sets When the bar starts dragging up
the two versions work the back of three. You can either work up to your body and resembles a limit
somewhat differently, and by doing one max set or select a poundage deadlift, lower the resistance.
them both, you achieve more that’s tough yet still enables you to While a steady diet of high pulls
complete development. You can maintain correct form and knock will improve the top pull, at some
do high pulls right behind another out two or three sets. How much point you need to overload your
pulling exercise, such as power weight to use? As a rule of thumb, 75 upper back even more.
snatches or power cleans, or as the pounds over your best power clean Enter shrugs done with a snatch
primary back exercise for that day. for clean high pulls and the same and clean grip (plus straps, of
When you do them in conjunction for power snatches and snatch high course). They build greater upper-
with another exercise, do only three pulls. You may not be able to handle back strength because so much
sets of three, and then slowly add to that much in the beginning. That’s more weight can be handled than in
those when you’re able to recover fine. As your form improves on the the high pulls. Athletes who use 350
from that amount of workload. high pulls, so will the numbers, in the clean high pull will have no
If you decide to do high pulls Remember, technique is more trouble shrugging 500 for reps.
only, use this formula: two sets of important than the weight you use. I realize that some coaches teach

Pull the bar as high

as you possibly can.
On the first couple of
warmup sets, the bar
may climb up over
your head.
Neveux
their athletes to shrug with locked take a brief moment to make certain stick trick to help obtain your goal
elbows, I don’t. I want the shrug to that all your body mechanics are or set a pin loosely at a height you
duplicate the final motion of the correct: bar tucked in tight against want to hit. Don’t make the mistake
clean and snatch where the arms your legs, front deltoids out in front of locking in a top pin, though, or
play a significant role. Bending of the bar, back locked and flat. If you’ll end up jarring your eyeteeth
the arms at the end of a shrug the holes in your power rack let you, loose. Remember, every inch higher
strengthens a lot more muscles start the shrugs at midthigh. That you shrug the weight, the greater
and attachments, and in my mind will let your hips elevate the bar the strength gains.
that’s a good thing. Besides, the from the pins before transferring In order for clean or snatch
arms certainly bend at the finish of the action to your back and arms. shrugs to be beneficial, you must
a snatch or clean, so why not in the Set the bar too low, and the start will pull in the same line as you clean,
shrug? be awkward, causing your back to snatch or high pull. If you pull
And since I’m seeking height, round. Set it too high, and you won’t back too far or glide the bar up the
it only makes sense to utilize the have the benefit of your hips. rack railings, you’re defeating the
arms at the finish. A strong arm Your first thought should be to purpose of the exercise.
contraction right behind the traps push your feet down through the After you have the form down
jamming upward will cause the floor or rack platform. That will pat, alternate shrugging inside the
bar to leap upward. Several of my ensure that you start with a solid rack with the same move outside
athletes who used the straight-arm base. Any muscle group that relaxes the rack. Those moves are more
method of shrugging tried it with a the slightest bit during the lift will difficult. I call them Hawaiian
violent bending of their arms at the severely affect the height of the pull. shrugs because for two years at
top. At the following workout they So you need to keep your entire the University of Hawaii we didn’t
reported that their traps and arms body so tight that you’re almost have a power rack. The athletes
got sore to the touch. Soreness is the cramping. Use your hips and legs took the bar off pins from the rear
strength athlete’s friend. to provide the initial thrust, and of the squat rack and shrugged.
Until you’re comfortable with the then bring that power into the bar Action outside the rack requires
form on shrugs, stay inside a power up through your back, shoulders so much more control and a more
rack. After each rep lower the bar to and arms. Attempt to pull every rep precise line than when it’s done
the pins in a controlled manner, and higher and higher. You can use the inside the rack. If you let the bar
You can use
dumbbells every so
muscles involved in the top of the
often for a different snatch pull is to set the bar in that
angle of pull on same high position described, but
your traps. instead of locking it up against
another set of pins, hold it off the
pins for an eight to 12 count. That’s
a static hold and as tough as or
tougher than the isotonic-isometric
contraction.
Very quickly you’ll understand
the importance of keeping your
elbows up and out and extending
high on your toes. Once your elbows
start turning back and down, the
bar will fall to the pins. The same
goes for your calves. When they
give out, you can’t extend enough
to keep the bar off the pins. It’s a
terrific exercise for helping you feel
where your body needs to be at the
apex of the snatch pull. It’s also one
of the few exercises that hit the rear
deltoids directly. They’re difficult
to strengthen, and you’ll become
aware of them contracting while you
hold the bar off the pins or lock it up
against the higher pins.
Be warned: You’re not going to
be able to use very much weight in
either of the exercises for the snatch
top pull. Typically, most handle 100
pounds less than they can snatch
or 50 pounds lower than what they
power-snatch. In the beginning the
disparity may be even wider. One
of the great things about strength
training is that it doesn’t matter in
the least how much you use when
Neveux
you start doing a new exercise.

It’s how much you progress over
crash downward, it will proceed to close to the lower ones as your rack the ensuing weeks and months.
the floor. Pull back or forward, and permits. Strap on, climb up on your Increase either or both of these
you’ll lose your balance and end up toes with your body vertical, extend exercises by 15 or 20 pounds, and
dumping the weight. your elbows up and out, elevate the your newly acquired strength
Since Hawaiian shrugs are so bar up against the pins smoothly, will convert directly to all of your
demanding, you use less weight, lock it in and hold for a maximum snatching movements.
and I sometimes lower the reps contraction for eight to 12 seconds. You can do isos or static holds
from five to three. The dynamic That’s the isotonic-isometric several times a week. It’s best not to
action at the top is what you’re after. procedure. In pure isometrics the do them on the same day you high-
Some only like to shrug outside the bar doesn’t move at all. Both work, pull or shrug. Do them at the end
rack once a month. That’s fine, just although I believe the isotonic- of your workout. If a power rack is
so you do it occasionally. The two isometrics are more productive. available, slip in a set of clean and
forms of shrugging complement To improve strength in the top snatch isos on your nontraining
each other nicely. Five sets of five of the snatch, you can proceed in days. When it comes to pulling for
reps are what I recommend for any two ways. The first is just to copy the snatch or clean, the sky’s the
type of shrugging. what you do on the clean. Set the limit.
Lastly, you can use pure lower pins above the base of your
isometrics or isotonic-isometrics breastbone, right at your nipples Editor’s note: Bill Starr was a
to strengthen the muscles and (higher if you can manage), and do strength and conditioning coach
attachments used in the top pull. an isotonic-isometric hold. One set at Johns Hopkins University from
For the clean, set the bar midway held for eight to 12 seconds will do 1989 to 2000. He’s the author of The
between your belly button and the job. It’s very concentrated work. Strongest Shall Survive and Defying
breastbone. Place the higher pins as The other way to strengthen the Gravity. IM

Mind
Fine Lines
IRONMIND
Decision pains and making gains
C
hances are good that when you first started training, do. For example, about the only type of training decision you
life was simple: Your workouts were based on three- had to make was whether you’d add five or 10 pounds to the
days-a week whole-body routines, your diet consisted bar when you made all your reps—or you might work out on
of a lot of nutritious food with some basic supplements, and, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday instead of Monday, Wednes-
best of all, your gains were pretty consistent. Not only were day and Friday. On the diet side, perhaps you had to decide
you moving forward, but you were also armed with the reas- whether it would be steak or chicken for dinner. Your world
suring sense of knowing exactly what you were supposed to was nice and simple.
It would have been very comfortable if things had remained
that way, but they didn’t. For starters, your zeal inspired you
You need to to read everything you could find about training and to talk
walk the fine to everyone who might have an opinion. At worst, it created
line between a sense of confusion that paralyzed your training or sent you
undertraining backward. At best, it created a sense of complexity that forced
and overtraining. you to actively make decisions about what to do next, and
some of those decisions were just plain tough. We’re going to
take a look at the toughest class of decisions—the ones that
involve fine lines.
You’ve reached territory that you have to cross to go be-
yond the intermediate class in terms of strength and develop-
ment, so the quicker you learn to manage those decisions, the
quicker you can make your next round of gains. To illustrate
what we’re talking about, let’s use two examples: training
frequency and drugs.
One of the most common questions we get at IronMind
Enterprises involves training frequency: People are constantly
asking whether we think, for example, that they really can
squat heavy twice a week. We usually tell them that most
people can actually squat heavy at least three times a week,
and this typically produces a thundering silence on the other
end of the phone. The issue, we explain, is that while the
dangers of overtraining are real, there’s also a very real down-
side associated with undertraining. Sure, we explain, you can
make progress if you train only once per week, but by doing
that, you’re probably going to move forward at an artificially
slow pace—for each two steps your training might have taken
you forward, you’ll slide backward one because your body
started “detraining” during the long rest in between workouts.
Neveux \ Model: Michael Semanoff
Then we add that some of the world’s top Olympic lifters squat
every single day and sometimes have more than one squat
workout per day. Any way you slice it, there’s a lot of room
between those two extreme points, and chances are your op-
timum training frequency is going to be someplace in between.
But where?
Our advice in situations like that is to aim high and come to
grips with the need to walk the fine line between undertraining

Body
and overtraining. If you go too far to either side, the results will
be the same: Your progress slows down. That forces you to
become somewhat flexible in your thinking about how often
to train and to understand that anyone who tells you that you
must do this or that is probably an armchair expert at best.
How about drugs? It used to be simple. “Drugs” in the
bodybuilding and lifting world pretty much meant anabolic
steroids and amphetamines—everyone knew that Dianabol
was a drug but Blair’s protein wasn’t. Today the range of hard
drugs available is staggering, but what’s also happened is
that the simple question of what constitutes drug use is no
longer as clear-cut. I know a powerlifter who gets really irked
because so many competitors in one of the major “drug-free”
organizations head for cigarettes and beer right after the con-
test. “Aren’t nicotine and alcohol drugs?” he asks. The bigger
issue involves the new class of supplements—supplements
that edge ever closer to what the world once considered the
province of drugs.
Once upon a time food supplements were concentrated
food: Wheat-germ oil contained “the essence of wheat”;
protein supplements were built around milk, egg, meat or soy
protein sources, and so forth. Now you can buy, for example,
melatonin or DHEA—outright hormones—not from a shadowy
figure in a furtive drug deal but from a mainstream supple-
Neveux \ Model: Will Harris
ment company in a chain drugstore in Anytown. Just to make

things really slippery, some of those high-tech supplements
are on IOC banned-substance lists, even though they’re not
only readily available but also touted to the general public as
being good for your health. Go figure out that one.
That’s the whole point: You have to go figure out a lot of
things for yourself. If you’re beyond the beginner stage in your To make maximum progress, it will help to be
training, you have to start to make a series of decisions about a little crazy—but not at the risk of being a
what to do next, and many of them involve confusing choices. fanatic.
Tougher still, if you decide that you’re not a lemming and not
content to blindly follow the dictates of some authority, you’ll ing with your parking brake on; you’ll have to make your own
often find that you’re either standing alone or you’re not 100 decisions about what a drug and what a food supplement
percent sure you’re doing the right thing. You’ll find tremen- are. You’ll have to walk a fine line, knowing that the rewards
dous social pressure to conform, and you need to know that of accepting the challenge are continued progress and a clear
most people are inclined to follow the herd, no matter what conscience.
they say to the contrary. —Randall Strossen, Ph.D.
Some of the most shocking research in the history of ex-
perimental social psychology delivered convincing evidence Editor’s note: Randall Strossen, Ph.D., edits the quar-
that most people blindly obey authority figures, to the point of terly magazine MILO. He’s also the author of IronMind: Stron-
inflicting pain and injury on innocent people. Not a comforting ger Minds, Stronger Bodies; Super Squats: How to Gain 30
thought but one that should alert you to the level of challenge Pounds of Muscle in 6 Weeks and Paul Anderson: The Mighti-
you face. est Minister. For more information call IronMind Enterprises
To make maximum progress, you might have to be a little Inc. at (530) 265-6725 or Home Gym Warehouse at (800)
crazy—but not at the risk of being a fanatic. You’ll have to 447-0008, ext. 1. Visit the IronMind Web site at www
flirt with overtraining, knowing that undertraining is like rac- .IronMind.com.

Bomber Blast MIND/BODY
More Bomber Q&As Questions from the Bomber ranks

Q: I’ve been in shape and practice more and look to yourself
a regular gym rat until a year (you, your own personal trainer) for
ago. My third beautiful child, the way to go. More fun, smarter,
now 18 months old, sorta did wiser, more direct, more fulfilling.
me in. I’m now what they call Q: I have a repaired her-
obese. Ugh! I’m going back niated disk that’s recover-
to the gym this week and ing nicely. I need to hit the
was wondering if I should do weights again in the most
only cardio to lose the first determined way. Please give
50 pounds and then add the me some advice. I need to get
weights. What do you think? back on the path that I let go a
A: Any and all efforts will be of year and half ago.
value at this point. The key is to con- A: Sorry for your dilemma. Get
sistently reapply—rededicate—your over the lost time and go from here.
training knowledge and experience I can only tell you what I’d do.
to your life today. Things are differ- After assessing the pain and as-
ent—age, body chemistry, hormonal similating the doctor’s input, I’d go to
balance, viewpoint, conditioning— the gym and begin an overall training
but one thing is the same: what must regimen that suited my condition. I’d
be done. Doing what must be done, spend one or two workouts testing
however, will achieve your goals. Lifting various movements to determine
Typically, the first weeks are hard, is more which ones I could and could not do,
but we endure. The continued weeks important how to improvise equipment and ex-
Neveux \ Model: Federica Belli

are harder because disappointments than ercise grooves and where my limita-
and despair tend to take us down; cardio tions were and how to approach and
we want results now and doubt they when it exceed them.
will, in fact, ever take place. Truth is, comes Some exercises will be wrong—
they are and will continue, and we to losing standing presses and curls, bent-
must be stronger than everyone else, weight. over barbell rows, squats, heavy
stronger than before. deadlifts, heaving dumbbells into
The trick is to establish confidence place for flat or incline presses or
and an attitude of gratitude for knowing your needs and the pullovers. They fall into the red zone.
way to go, and the ability and willingness to go that way. Invest Machine movements will be more doable—machine dips,
the time and effort—the payoffs are guaranteed for life. Tough pulldown variations, torso-supported press and lat machines,
being tough. leg press and extensions—some lightweight, high-rep lying
I wrote a book, Your Body Revival—Straight Talk for the dumbbell presses with feet up, various incline- and flat-bench
Overweight, that deals with your dilemma. Pick up a copy curls.
at the library or our online store. Scuffed copies are dis- Specific stretching and back-flexing movements strengthen
counted. It’s the best book on the market for the determined the damaged region, and some ab work you can finesse.
overweight: direct, motivational, routines for all levels, eating Application of any of these exercises in a favorable routine
schemes and tips and hints we need to digest. will begin whole-body and mind development. It will pull you
Cardio is important; building muscle is far more important. out of the hole and put you on top. It takes an injury (hard-
Hit the streets walking or the stationary bike for starters, along ship) to gain our attention and reright our priorities and stir our
with mild weight training with an eye on more aggressive gratitude. An injury is a valuable tool to teach us training focus
weight training as soon as next week. The solution to your and true exercise performance.
weight problem is made of iron. Forget the big bench and your previous facilities. They’re
Dump the sugar and snacks, up the protein instead. Eat there, strengths in your chemistry and will, yet need to be
regularly, eat enough, and eat wisely. restored. Go with what you have and are today—wiser, most
Q: I have just read a popular training book determined, more appreciative and RTG: ready to go!
that advises against training to failure. This goes Q: I’m 19 years old and have been training for
against everything I’ve been told about weightlift- three years. This year I focused on leg training and
ing and bodybuilding. What do you recommend? made great gains, but progress has stopped. I find
A: We’re all different—different needs, desires, require- it hard to squat with the same weight I did a year
ments, thoughts, expectations and conclusions. Here’s where ago. It seems my progress actually went backward!
you come in: Think for yourself. Push hard and with good What’s up?
form, go to 95 percent but not failure, love it and don’t hate it. A: Happens to the best of us, and we all hate it. Back
Failure has its dark side. Also, what is failure to one might be off squats—the legs (and your head) need a change. Hit leg
good-and-hard to another. Some trainers and writers exag- presses moderate to heavy for a month and bring on the reps
gerate their input. All that you read isn’t accurate, and you (five sets x 20-25 reps). The action and muscle recruitment are
must glean your readings to seek the truth that applies to you. different enough to permit necessary repair and promote fresh
Confusing? That’s why I suggest you read less and train and growth in newly engaged regions of the quads and hams. Turn

your attention toward some favorite upper-
body movements—deadlifts, forearms, bent-
over rows—something productive to gain your
attention, sooth the frustration of stalled leg
growth and bolster your confidence.
Pack in the red-meat protein and go!
—Dave Draper
Editor’s note: For more from Dave Drap-

er, visit www.davedraper.com and sign up for
his free newsletter. You can also check out his
amazing Top Squat training tool, classic pho-
tos, workout Q&A and forum.
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watch this column or go to In essence, competing can keep you young, whether with yourself in
www.IronManMagazine.com the gym or with others onstage or on the track.
www.TheFitExpo.com —Becky Holman
or www.bodybuilding.com www.X-tremeLean.com
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Older and Bolder MIND/BODY
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The baby boomers are
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with that comes injuries.
For those of us born
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sports injuries have be-
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ducted by National Ambulatory Medical Care.
A lot of that is due to a fountain-of-youth pursuit,
some of it a direct result of the high divorce rate. You
must look good to attract a new mate.
The lesson here is that if you’re over 40, you can’t do
what you did when you were 20. Don’t overdo it at the
gym, on the court or in the pool. Exercise is supposed
to improve your quality of life, not increase your number
of doctor visits. —Becky Holman
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IRON MAN MAGAZINE PROUDLY PRESENTS:
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Mark Ritter
Weight: 165
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Factoid: “I have a two-year-
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Evan Centopani
Weight: 237
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Occupation: Title searcher
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Factoid: “I was always
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Readers Write
Timeless Terminator ing around IRON MAN magazine in our high school weight
room. The articles are great, and the advice is priceless. We
practice what we read. Keep up the excellent work, and we
will too.
Dominic Centonze
ELCO high school teacher
via Internet
Editor’s note: With the epidemic of childhood obesity

on the rise, it’s always refreshing to see kids get hooked on
weights instead of video games. Keep pumping, Gary!
Killer Coverage!
Your contest coverage with all the full-page photos is
spectacular! I didn’t realize how inferior previous reports
were with the small photos till you began featuring large
pics. The ladies are especially fetching. I loved the Figure
International photos of Mary Elizabeth Lado and Monica
Brant-Peckham [July ’06], but how about a few pics of each
competitor instead of just one?
Edward Scolero
Boston, MA
Editor’s note: Well, we have only so many pages in the
magazine, but space is practically infinite on the Web. For
thousands and thousands of contest shots, past and pres-
ent, visit www.GraphicMuscle.com.
Biceps Blasting
The “Sleeve-
Busting Biceps” Lawson’s
Your Arnold cover [August ’06] was simply stunning. It’s article that fea- 19-plus-
a reminder of just how great his physique was and how tured X Reps was inch arm.
distorted most pro bodybuilders’ bodies are today. Arnold unreal. That’s
had the best double-biceps pose of all time, and he could exactly the kind
still terminate any of the top men today with it. There are of info I’m look-
no weak points, his symmetry is perfect, and his legs aren’t ing for, and I put
bulbous, unathletic gobs of overpumped beef. Long live the the program into
king. my workouts im-
Sam Reynolds mediately. My bi-
via Internet ceps have already
taken on new
Thank you, John Balik, for being there and capturing shape, and I’ve
Arnold in his prime. Your collection of Venice Beach photos put a solid quar-
of the Oak is priceless, and I’m sure IRON MAN readers ap- ter inch on my
preciate your sharing them in all their full-page glory. The arms already. I’m
shots of his Olympia comeback were nice to see, too, but thinking about getting one of those “Get Your Tickets to the
the beach photos were tops. Gun Show” T-shirts (just kidding). More X-Rep articles from
Bill Simon Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman, please! Jonathan’s 19-
via Internet plus-inch arm-measurement photo was very inspiring.
Dan Wilson
Editor’s note: John has more shots of Arnold that we Atlanta, GA
will feature in a future issue. Stay tuned—and subscribe (see
page 145). Editor’s note: To get more information on X Reps, as
well as more photos of Jonathan’s drug-free physique, visit
www.X-Rep.com. IM
Young Upstart
Vol. 65, No. 10: IRON MAN (ISSN #0047-1496) is published monthly by IRON MAN Pub-
I’m including a pic of 140- lishing, 1701 Ives Ave., Oxnard, CA 93033. Periodical Mail is paid at Oxnard, CA, and at
pound Gary Mease of Myers- additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to IRON MAN, 1701 Ives
Ave., Oxnard, CA 93033. Please allow six to eight weeks for change to take effect. Subscrip-
town, Pennsylvania. He began tion rates—U.S. and its possessions: new 12-issue subscription, $29.97. Canada, Mexico and
serious lifting in late January other foreign subscriptions: 12 issues, $49.97 sent Second Class. Foreign orders must be in
as a very small, thin kid but U.S. dollars. Send subscriptions to IRON MAN, 1701 Ives Ave., Oxnard, CA 93033. Or call
has since made remarkable 1-800-570-4766. Copyright © 2006. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be
progress. We’re always pass- reproduced in any manner without written permission from the publisher. Printed in the USA.
Gary Mease.

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Big Mr. Olympia Preview: Full-Page Eye-Popping Pics!

OCTOBER 2006 / IRON MAN MAGAZINE—WE KNOW TRAINING™

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258 PUMP & CIRCUMSTANCE

276 MIND/BODY CONNECTION

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