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Scroll down for the latest in Australian and worldwide sports nutrition, as well as general sports supplement advice, diet and exercise tips.
Before you join a gym, READ THIS
Australia Supplements has put together some pointers to take with you next time you go to join a gym. Though what I suggest may seem amazingly obvious, be aware that clubs can trick you into joining before you have all the information you need. I suggest making a list of what you want from a club and taking that along to your appointment.
* Location: Is it important that the gym is near your home or work? Again, clubs hire professional sales people to make sure you don't leave their club without opening your wallet. What could start as an innocent look around could cost you hundreds of dollars if the facility isn't convenient.
* Price: Honestly, if you have the cash available and you are serious, pay for the year in advance. You will save hundreds of dollars compared to the debit facility and when it comes to renewal, most clubs offer further discounts. You may also be able to haggle the price with cash.
* Joining fees: NEVER PAY THE JOINING FEE. Unless the club is amazingly exclusive, refuse to pay the joining fee. It is simply a sales tool that gyms use to discount and use for seasonal marketing.
* Direct Debit memberships: Besides being far more expensive than paying your membership in full, direct debit memberships are a convenient and affordable way to budget your gym expense, however, if you do sign up for direct debit, understand the contract. Fitness Centers will call it an 'agreement', but it's a legal contract that you are obliged to honor. It may be convenient to have the $30-$40 debited each two weeks, but understand that if you wish to cancel within your contractual term you will have to pay an early exit fee. These are generally around $150.00. In this instance you may be better off transferring the membership to a friend or family member, where the fee is more likely to be around $50.00. Also, even at the completion of your term you still need to give 30 days advance notice regardless how past the term date you are. Also note that in most states your membership will AUTOMATICALLY RENEW at the end of your term. So don't think that even though your term has expired that the payments will stop. In Australia, different states have different laws, but to the best of my knowledge, South Australia is the only state that legislation states memberships must end on term completion.
* Membership holds/freeze: Find out about suspending your membership if you go away or you're unwell for a period. If you paid in advance the club should tack that time onto the end of your term. If you are using direct debit, most clubs will continue to debit your account while you are away and reimburse you in time once your term is up. It is simple to do and worthwhile.
* Child minding: OK, the club may have child minding, but make sure you see the area and find out who will be watching your child/children. Check the hours of operation etc. Don't take the 'salespersons' advice, they probably don't even have kids.
* Gym pool: Does it have one? Will you use it anyway? Does it cost extra? Most clubs that do have pools lack facilities in other parts of the gym such as cardio equipment and resistance machines, because frankly, pools are big and very expensive to maintain. Consider how often you will use it, if it is once or twice a week, you may be better off going casually to an aquatic center. That way you get the best of both worlds and it is probably cheaper.
* Group Fitness/Aerobics Classes: If group fitness is your thing, STUDY the timetable before you join, are the classes you want in the times you can attend? Are the instructors qualified and professional? Recall there are many gyms now all offering a wide variety of classes so choose wisely.
* Weight Training Area: Is the equipment maintained? Are the dumbbells heavy enough? Are there at least 2 of each dumbbell? (Trust me I've been to gyms where there were missing dumbbells) Are there adequate benches, pull up bars, dip bars? Is there a squat rack? Bodybuilders are NOT a gyms priority 9/10 times when they put together a floor plan. So make sure you look around, get a pass from the club to try it out when you want to train, if they won't give you a pass, pay the $20.00, it could save you hundreds if it isn't up to scratch.
* Initial Assessments: For the less experienced gym goer I 100% recommend you take advantage of the free assessments. Normally you will be paired with an experienced personal trainer even if he/she spends the whole time trying to sell you more personal training sessions. Regardless, have your questions and goals written down. Be specific about injuries or concerns. If you are considering taking on personal training sessions, their ability to acknowledge you initial queries and their general demeanor should give you a clear indication whether they have your best interest in mind. Which brings me too:
* Personal Trainers: To be honest, personal trainers generally aren't rocket scientists. These days you can be qualified to work in a gym in a few weeks. The industry itself is not heavily regulated so there are some 'trainers' out there that frankly couldn't guide you to tie your shoes properly. CHOOSE CAREFULLY. Some ways to pick who are the best trainers are to see who appears to be booked up? Speak to one of their clients that appears to have similar goals to you, check experience and qualifications. There is more to choosing a personal trainer than the one with the best backside. Besides the money, your health and safety are in their hands. I personally have seen personal trainers sending text messages while counting repetitions for their clients. So I say again CHOOSE CAREFULLY!
* Cardio Equipment: Is there enough? Are there machines with 'out of order' signs on them? Is the 'cardio theater' adequate? Again depending on your goals and what you enjoy doing, pay close attention to this area. Have a demonstration while you're being shown around. The beauty of the Cardio area is that this IS a priority for most gyms. This is the make or break area so much of the time this is where a large portion of their equipment budget is spent. All the same, check it out.
Other things to note:
* Do you notice water fountains?
* Does the gym have secure lockers?
* Are the showers clean?
* Does the gym have affiliates or sister clubs that you can use when you travel?
There you go. You had no idea that there was this much to know about joining a gym did you? In my experience, you have to know exactly what you want and what you're prepared to pay for it to truly get the most for your gym experience and of course, your money.
Happy hunting
* Location: Is it important that the gym is near your home or work? Again, clubs hire professional sales people to make sure you don't leave their club without opening your wallet. What could start as an innocent look around could cost you hundreds of dollars if the facility isn't convenient.
* Price: Honestly, if you have the cash available and you are serious, pay for the year in advance. You will save hundreds of dollars compared to the debit facility and when it comes to renewal, most clubs offer further discounts. You may also be able to haggle the price with cash.
* Joining fees: NEVER PAY THE JOINING FEE. Unless the club is amazingly exclusive, refuse to pay the joining fee. It is simply a sales tool that gyms use to discount and use for seasonal marketing.
* Direct Debit memberships: Besides being far more expensive than paying your membership in full, direct debit memberships are a convenient and affordable way to budget your gym expense, however, if you do sign up for direct debit, understand the contract. Fitness Centers will call it an 'agreement', but it's a legal contract that you are obliged to honor. It may be convenient to have the $30-$40 debited each two weeks, but understand that if you wish to cancel within your contractual term you will have to pay an early exit fee. These are generally around $150.00. In this instance you may be better off transferring the membership to a friend or family member, where the fee is more likely to be around $50.00. Also, even at the completion of your term you still need to give 30 days advance notice regardless how past the term date you are. Also note that in most states your membership will AUTOMATICALLY RENEW at the end of your term. So don't think that even though your term has expired that the payments will stop. In Australia, different states have different laws, but to the best of my knowledge, South Australia is the only state that legislation states memberships must end on term completion.
* Membership holds/freeze: Find out about suspending your membership if you go away or you're unwell for a period. If you paid in advance the club should tack that time onto the end of your term. If you are using direct debit, most clubs will continue to debit your account while you are away and reimburse you in time once your term is up. It is simple to do and worthwhile.
* Child minding: OK, the club may have child minding, but make sure you see the area and find out who will be watching your child/children. Check the hours of operation etc. Don't take the 'salespersons' advice, they probably don't even have kids.
* Gym pool: Does it have one? Will you use it anyway? Does it cost extra? Most clubs that do have pools lack facilities in other parts of the gym such as cardio equipment and resistance machines, because frankly, pools are big and very expensive to maintain. Consider how often you will use it, if it is once or twice a week, you may be better off going casually to an aquatic center. That way you get the best of both worlds and it is probably cheaper.
* Group Fitness/Aerobics Classes: If group fitness is your thing, STUDY the timetable before you join, are the classes you want in the times you can attend? Are the instructors qualified and professional? Recall there are many gyms now all offering a wide variety of classes so choose wisely.
* Weight Training Area: Is the equipment maintained? Are the dumbbells heavy enough? Are there at least 2 of each dumbbell? (Trust me I've been to gyms where there were missing dumbbells) Are there adequate benches, pull up bars, dip bars? Is there a squat rack? Bodybuilders are NOT a gyms priority 9/10 times when they put together a floor plan. So make sure you look around, get a pass from the club to try it out when you want to train, if they won't give you a pass, pay the $20.00, it could save you hundreds if it isn't up to scratch.
* Initial Assessments: For the less experienced gym goer I 100% recommend you take advantage of the free assessments. Normally you will be paired with an experienced personal trainer even if he/she spends the whole time trying to sell you more personal training sessions. Regardless, have your questions and goals written down. Be specific about injuries or concerns. If you are considering taking on personal training sessions, their ability to acknowledge you initial queries and their general demeanor should give you a clear indication whether they have your best interest in mind. Which brings me too:
* Personal Trainers: To be honest, personal trainers generally aren't rocket scientists. These days you can be qualified to work in a gym in a few weeks. The industry itself is not heavily regulated so there are some 'trainers' out there that frankly couldn't guide you to tie your shoes properly. CHOOSE CAREFULLY. Some ways to pick who are the best trainers are to see who appears to be booked up? Speak to one of their clients that appears to have similar goals to you, check experience and qualifications. There is more to choosing a personal trainer than the one with the best backside. Besides the money, your health and safety are in their hands. I personally have seen personal trainers sending text messages while counting repetitions for their clients. So I say again CHOOSE CAREFULLY!
* Cardio Equipment: Is there enough? Are there machines with 'out of order' signs on them? Is the 'cardio theater' adequate? Again depending on your goals and what you enjoy doing, pay close attention to this area. Have a demonstration while you're being shown around. The beauty of the Cardio area is that this IS a priority for most gyms. This is the make or break area so much of the time this is where a large portion of their equipment budget is spent. All the same, check it out.
Other things to note:
* Do you notice water fountains?
* Does the gym have secure lockers?
* Are the showers clean?
* Does the gym have affiliates or sister clubs that you can use when you travel?
There you go. You had no idea that there was this much to know about joining a gym did you? In my experience, you have to know exactly what you want and what you're prepared to pay for it to truly get the most for your gym experience and of course, your money.
Happy hunting
BSN N.O Explode
Here are two very different opinions of BSN's N.O Explode:
For those of you who don't know, this product contains 3g of caffeine per serve!! How much is 3 grams?? It's the equivalent of 50 cups of regular strength coffee!!
Caffeine is both a diuretic and restricts blood flow by closing up your vessels. The fact that it's a diuretic means that it dehydrates you by pulling water out of your muscles. It restricts blood flow by tightening up the smooth muscle walls of your veins and arteries, which could possibly cause a rupture or cardiac arrest from sitting still, let alone training! Also, caffeine is simply a stimulant of the central nervous system, so you THINK that you are getting a massive pump, when really you aren't! It's simply your neuro-receptors.
Now, nitric oxide is fantastic stuff, but go for a product that DOESN'T have any caffeine in it! If you value your health you will listen to my advice. I SELL THE STUFF, I KNOW WHATS IN IT! I get sent brochures from the manufacturers all the time!
Hi all the last time I took this supplement was about a year and a half back. I had some really good gains, in terms of strength, energy and pumps.
4 days after discontinuing , in bed with my girl friend I had premature ejaculation for the first time in my life.( in about 4 mins) . I was baffled as never had this problem earlier.
I was not sure if it was due to NO Explode so after 7 days with no improvements, I decided to take a small dose of NO Explode just before going to bed and I was normal again.
Its been a long time since I last had a dose of NO Explode, and I have recovered to some extent from sexual dysfunction. But anyone who is considering to use it must analyze pros and cons thoroughly, I have talked to few other people who is using this product but they did not get a similar problem. So good luck to you guys.
For those of you who don't know, this product contains 3g of caffeine per serve!! How much is 3 grams?? It's the equivalent of 50 cups of regular strength coffee!!
Caffeine is both a diuretic and restricts blood flow by closing up your vessels. The fact that it's a diuretic means that it dehydrates you by pulling water out of your muscles. It restricts blood flow by tightening up the smooth muscle walls of your veins and arteries, which could possibly cause a rupture or cardiac arrest from sitting still, let alone training! Also, caffeine is simply a stimulant of the central nervous system, so you THINK that you are getting a massive pump, when really you aren't! It's simply your neuro-receptors.
Now, nitric oxide is fantastic stuff, but go for a product that DOESN'T have any caffeine in it! If you value your health you will listen to my advice. I SELL THE STUFF, I KNOW WHATS IN IT! I get sent brochures from the manufacturers all the time!
Hi all the last time I took this supplement was about a year and a half back. I had some really good gains, in terms of strength, energy and pumps.
4 days after discontinuing , in bed with my girl friend I had premature ejaculation for the first time in my life.( in about 4 mins) . I was baffled as never had this problem earlier.
I was not sure if it was due to NO Explode so after 7 days with no improvements, I decided to take a small dose of NO Explode just before going to bed and I was normal again.
Its been a long time since I last had a dose of NO Explode, and I have recovered to some extent from sexual dysfunction. But anyone who is considering to use it must analyze pros and cons thoroughly, I have talked to few other people who is using this product but they did not get a similar problem. So good luck to you guys.
L Carnatine
If you are more interested in fat burning, the key is to make sure that you keep your metabolism up all day. One way is to gain muscle mass. Another way is to increase blood flow via exercise and intake of specific things. Both green tea and L-Carnitine (L-Tartate) combined will make a decent energy concoction, increasing blood flow. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe green tea is effective at dilating blood vessels while L-Carnitine can raise heart rate and blood pressure.
Also, your metabolism slows down about every hour or so. Just remember to take 5 minute breaks to walk around and get the blood flowing again in your every day life.
L-Carnitine decreases fatigue so that you can go longer working out and stay awake longer. It's also a temporary anti-depressant for some people (including me). When I had the money, I would take it when I woke up and 1/2 before I worked out...along with ginkgo which helps with blood flow too.
As a little forewarning, sometimes my chest would hurt if I didn't take L-Carnitine with Eluthero (not recommended) or Green Tea. I'm not sure why that was, but it might be because those two things promote blood flow in veins...but I have no idea.
Also, your metabolism slows down about every hour or so. Just remember to take 5 minute breaks to walk around and get the blood flowing again in your every day life.
L-Carnitine decreases fatigue so that you can go longer working out and stay awake longer. It's also a temporary anti-depressant for some people (including me). When I had the money, I would take it when I woke up and 1/2 before I worked out...along with ginkgo which helps with blood flow too.
As a little forewarning, sometimes my chest would hurt if I didn't take L-Carnitine with Eluthero (not recommended) or Green Tea. I'm not sure why that was, but it might be because those two things promote blood flow in veins...but I have no idea.
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Golf Australia Blog
Golf Australia Blog
You can find more of these as well as golf avatars and gifs at aussie golfing
Super pump reviews
This is a staple in my supplementation. Seems people are also missing the fact it has 5 grams of creatine in it already. As far as people getting the runs, this is the only place I have heard that. It is full of stimulants so if you dont have a strong stomach then it may not be for you. It is definitely the best NO product I have used. Yes after a while all stimulants lose the effect as the receptors downgrade but still the most effective. Priced very well especially online or at discount supplement stores. Raspberry Lemonade is just like coolaid with extra water.
i have tried nano vapor n.o.xplode and black powder this is by far the best supplement. from creatine to n.o. you just have to know how much to take it said 3 scoops on the bottle and i'm 240 and i couldn't take more then two. the only downside is diarrhea.
Im an ex-bodybuilder who has not trained for 6 years and gained 40 lbs of fat. The only supplement I took while recently loosing 30lbs and getting back into lifting was SuperPump. Having never tried any NOxide supplements I was skeptical... Results? Crazy pumps- looking in the mirror in the gym I look pretty close to what I used to 6 years ago! Of course after the gym it goes away-but I feel like I am fully loaded with creatine and glutamine even though im not. I love this stuff. I only don't give it a 10 because I haven't tried any others. Diarrhea? Ive never had this once! I find the red flavor to be delicious.
I've been taking SuperPump250 for over a year now and it really helps with my pumps. Between taking in more protein and SuperPump I've gained 20 lbs, no roids. Like most there are times when my stomach doesn't agree and I'm in the bathroom for a while that's why I gave it a 9. I've tried most of the flavors and they all seem to have different affects..weird. Fruit punch seems the strongest but upsets my stomach but orange seems the best for me overall. Great pumps!
i have tried nano vapor n.o.xplode and black powder this is by far the best supplement. from creatine to n.o. you just have to know how much to take it said 3 scoops on the bottle and i'm 240 and i couldn't take more then two. the only downside is diarrhea.
Im an ex-bodybuilder who has not trained for 6 years and gained 40 lbs of fat. The only supplement I took while recently loosing 30lbs and getting back into lifting was SuperPump. Having never tried any NOxide supplements I was skeptical... Results? Crazy pumps- looking in the mirror in the gym I look pretty close to what I used to 6 years ago! Of course after the gym it goes away-but I feel like I am fully loaded with creatine and glutamine even though im not. I love this stuff. I only don't give it a 10 because I haven't tried any others. Diarrhea? Ive never had this once! I find the red flavor to be delicious.
I've been taking SuperPump250 for over a year now and it really helps with my pumps. Between taking in more protein and SuperPump I've gained 20 lbs, no roids. Like most there are times when my stomach doesn't agree and I'm in the bathroom for a while that's why I gave it a 9. I've tried most of the flavors and they all seem to have different affects..weird. Fruit punch seems the strongest but upsets my stomach but orange seems the best for me overall. Great pumps!
Australian controlled substances
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is the federally funded Australian watchdog when it comes to sports supplements. The TGA's main role is to ensure products available in Australia are up to an acceptable standard and that Australian's have access to therapeutic advances within a reasonable time. The TGA does this through a variety of assessment and monitoring activities. Most countries have a governing body like the TGA, notably the US Food and Drug Administration or FDA. As a note, the TGA is a different department to Customs.
Here is an alphabetical list of Australian controlled substances for your enjoyment. Note that this list only covers substances that relate to the Sports Industry i.e Anabolic/Androgenic, not narcotics etc.
* Adenocorin
* Aminophenazone
* Anasterone
* Androfurazanol
* Androisoxazole
* Androst-4-ene-3a,17a-diol
* Androst-4-ene-3a,17ß-diol
* Androst-4-ene-3ß,17a-diol
* Androst-5-ene-3a,17a-diol
* Androst-5-ene-3a,17ß-diol
* Androst-5-ene-3ß,17a-diol
* 1,4-androstadiene-3,17-dione
* 1,4-androstadiene-3beta,17bet a -diol
* Androstalone: 17-beta-hydroxy-17-methyl-5-alpha-Androstan- 3 - one; mestanolone
* 5a-Androstan-3-one
* Androstanazole: 17-Methyl-2'H-5.alpha.-androst-2-eno[3, 2 - c]pyrazol-17.beta.-ol; Stanazolol; Stanozolol
* 5a-androstane-3a,17a-diol
* 5a-androstane-3a,17ß-diol
* 5a-androstane-3ß,17a-diol
* 5a-androstane-3ß,17ß-diol
* 1-androstendione
* 1-androstene-3,17-dione
* 4-androstenediol
* Androstenediol
* 1-Androstenediol
* 5-androstenedione
* Androstenedione
* Aphrodisiacs: That is to say, cantharides, cantharidin and yohimbine, preparations containing cantharides, cantharidin or yohimbine, and any other substance or preparation that is, or is likely to be, productive, or is capable of being converted into a substance that is, or is likely to be, productive, of effects substantially of the same character or nature as, or analogousto, those produced by cantharides, cantharidin or yohimbine.
* Atamestane
* Bolandiol
* Bolasterone
* Bolazine
* Boldenone
* Boldione
* Bolenol
* Bolmantalate
* Calusterone
* Chlorandrostenolone
* 4-Chloromethandienone
* Chloroxydienone
* Chloroxymesterone
* Clenbuterol
* Clomiphene
* Clostebol acetate
* Cloxotestosterone
* Cocaine
* Codeine
* Danazol
* Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone
* Dihydrolone
* Dimethazine
* Dimethylandrostanolone
* Drostanolone
* Ecdysone
* Enestebol
* Ephedrine
* epi-dihydrotestosterone
* Epitestosterone
* Epitiostanol
* Ethisterone
* Ethyldienolone
* Ethylestrenol
* Ethylnorgestrienone
* Fluoxymesterone
* Formebolone
* 20-Hydroxyecdysone: Ecdysterone; 2-beta,3-beta,14,20,22,25-Hexahydroxy-5-beta-Cholet-7-en-6-one
* Hydroxystenozole
* 4-Hydroxytestosterone
* Mebolazine
* Mepitiostane
* Mesabolone
* Mestanolone
* Mestenediol
* Mesterolone
* Methandione
* Methandrostenolone
* Methasterone
* Methenolone
* Methyl-1-testosterone
* Methylclostebol
* Methyldienolone
* Methylnortestosterone
* Methyltestosterone
* Methyltrienolone
* Mibolerone
* Nandrostenolone
* 19-Norandrostenedione
* 19-Norandrosterone
* Norbolethone
* Norboletone
* Norclostebol
* Norethandrolone
* 19-Noretiocholanolone
* Normethandrone
* 19-Nortestosterone**
* Ovandrotone
* Oxabolone
* Oxandrolone
* Oxymesterone
* Oxymestrone
* Oxymetholone
* Prasterone: DHEA; Dehydroepiandrosterone; 3-beta-hydroxyandrost-5-en-17-one
* Propetandrol
* Prostanozol
* Roxibolone
* Silandrone
* Somatotrophin
* Somatropin
* Stanazol
* Stanolone
* Stenbolone
* Testolactone
* 1-Testosterone
* Testosterone
* Tetrahydrogestrinone
* Thiomesterone
* Tibolone
* Trenbolone
* Trestolone
* Zearalenone
* Zeranol
* Zilpaterol
That list of course was a lot of fun to make, however for the complete list go here:
Note well that this list is NOT an authority or compiled by a legal body. Any substance that you wish to bring back or into Australia should be checked with customs. What is a supplement in one country could land you a heavy fine or gaol time here.
Here is an alphabetical list of Australian controlled substances for your enjoyment. Note that this list only covers substances that relate to the Sports Industry i.e Anabolic/Androgenic, not narcotics etc.
* Adenocorin
* Aminophenazone
* Anasterone
* Androfurazanol
* Androisoxazole
* Androst-4-ene-3a,17a-diol
* Androst-4-ene-3a,17ß-diol
* Androst-4-ene-3ß,17a-diol
* Androst-5-ene-3a,17a-diol
* Androst-5-ene-3a,17ß-diol
* Androst-5-ene-3ß,17a-diol
* 1,4-androstadiene-3,17-dione
* 1,4-androstadiene-3beta,17bet a -diol
* Androstalone: 17-beta-hydroxy-17-methyl-5-alpha-Androstan- 3 - one; mestanolone
* 5a-Androstan-3-one
* Androstanazole: 17-Methyl-2'H-5.alpha.-androst-2-eno[3, 2 - c]pyrazol-17.beta.-ol; Stanazolol; Stanozolol
* 5a-androstane-3a,17a-diol
* 5a-androstane-3a,17ß-diol
* 5a-androstane-3ß,17a-diol
* 5a-androstane-3ß,17ß-diol
* 1-androstendione
* 1-androstene-3,17-dione
* 4-androstenediol
* Androstenediol
* 1-Androstenediol
* 5-androstenedione
* Androstenedione
* Aphrodisiacs: That is to say, cantharides, cantharidin and yohimbine, preparations containing cantharides, cantharidin or yohimbine, and any other substance or preparation that is, or is likely to be, productive, or is capable of being converted into a substance that is, or is likely to be, productive, of effects substantially of the same character or nature as, or analogousto, those produced by cantharides, cantharidin or yohimbine.
* Atamestane
* Bolandiol
* Bolasterone
* Bolazine
* Boldenone
* Boldione
* Bolenol
* Bolmantalate
* Calusterone
* Chlorandrostenolone
* 4-Chloromethandienone
* Chloroxydienone
* Chloroxymesterone
* Clenbuterol
* Clomiphene
* Clostebol acetate
* Cloxotestosterone
* Cocaine
* Codeine
* Danazol
* Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone
* Dihydrolone
* Dimethazine
* Dimethylandrostanolone
* Drostanolone
* Ecdysone
* Enestebol
* Ephedrine
* epi-dihydrotestosterone
* Epitestosterone
* Epitiostanol
* Ethisterone
* Ethyldienolone
* Ethylestrenol
* Ethylnorgestrienone
* Fluoxymesterone
* Formebolone
* 20-Hydroxyecdysone: Ecdysterone; 2-beta,3-beta,14,20,22,25-Hexahydroxy-5-beta-Cholet-7-en-6-one
* Hydroxystenozole
* 4-Hydroxytestosterone
* Mebolazine
* Mepitiostane
* Mesabolone
* Mestanolone
* Mestenediol
* Mesterolone
* Methandione
* Methandrostenolone
* Methasterone
* Methenolone
* Methyl-1-testosterone
* Methylclostebol
* Methyldienolone
* Methylnortestosterone
* Methyltestosterone
* Methyltrienolone
* Mibolerone
* Nandrostenolone
* 19-Norandrostenedione
* 19-Norandrosterone
* Norbolethone
* Norboletone
* Norclostebol
* Norethandrolone
* 19-Noretiocholanolone
* Normethandrone
* 19-Nortestosterone**
* Ovandrotone
* Oxabolone
* Oxandrolone
* Oxymesterone
* Oxymestrone
* Oxymetholone
* Prasterone: DHEA; Dehydroepiandrosterone; 3-beta-hydroxyandrost-5-en-17-one
* Propetandrol
* Prostanozol
* Roxibolone
* Silandrone
* Somatotrophin
* Somatropin
* Stanazol
* Stanolone
* Stenbolone
* Testolactone
* 1-Testosterone
* Testosterone
* Tetrahydrogestrinone
* Thiomesterone
* Tibolone
* Trenbolone
* Trestolone
* Zearalenone
* Zeranol
* Zilpaterol
That list of course was a lot of fun to make, however for the complete list go here:
Note well that this list is NOT an authority or compiled by a legal body. Any substance that you wish to bring back or into Australia should be checked with customs. What is a supplement in one country could land you a heavy fine or gaol time here.
Gym music
Since I bought my new ipod, I've gained 5kgs of muscle! OK, maybe it had a little to do with nutrition and training but you have to agree, good workout music goes a long way.
Most fitness centers in Australia have music videos playing on TV's all around the place, but it's all conservative middle of the road pop chart music that no one really likes, well so my sources tell me!
Here's a list of what my gym thinks will help me bench personal bests:
* Back Street Boys
* Pussy Cat Dolls
* That band that sings that awesome repetitive repetitive song!
Mind you some of the video clips are quite stimulating, but if you're having a hard time getting motivated for the gym or even getting to the gym, buy a new CD or hit the itunes store and get some new music, put it on your mp3 and only listen to it at the gym.
Most fitness centers in Australia have music videos playing on TV's all around the place, but it's all conservative middle of the road pop chart music that no one really likes, well so my sources tell me!
Here's a list of what my gym thinks will help me bench personal bests:
* Back Street Boys
* Pussy Cat Dolls
* That band that sings that awesome repetitive repetitive song!
Mind you some of the video clips are quite stimulating, but if you're having a hard time getting motivated for the gym or even getting to the gym, buy a new CD or hit the itunes store and get some new music, put it on your mp3 and only listen to it at the gym.
Wii Fit
The Nintendo Wii fit is a revolutionary new interactive gaming machine that makes you work out while your playing a video game. It uses a unique platform peripheral called the Wii Balance Board that can measure the gamers weight and their center of gravity. It can also calculate your body mass index BMI, after putting your height into the software.
There are about 40 games and activities that you can play, including yoga, push-up type exercises as well as balance games like ski Jumping and slalom.
Wii was an immediate hit, selling over a quarter of a million copies in its first week in Japan, before even being released to the rest of the world. In the US stock was sold out before it even arrived on the shores.
The Wii has a place for all fitness levels as it concentrates on balance and core strength as well as basic body weight exercises. That being said, don't expect to grow 20 inch arms with this one. But it sounds like a lot of fun all the same. Wii Fit has been available in Australia since early May.
The Wii Fit in action!
There are about 40 games and activities that you can play, including yoga, push-up type exercises as well as balance games like ski Jumping and slalom.
Wii was an immediate hit, selling over a quarter of a million copies in its first week in Japan, before even being released to the rest of the world. In the US stock was sold out before it even arrived on the shores.
The Wii has a place for all fitness levels as it concentrates on balance and core strength as well as basic body weight exercises. That being said, don't expect to grow 20 inch arms with this one. But it sounds like a lot of fun all the same. Wii Fit has been available in Australia since early May.
The Wii Fit in action!
Weight loss tips
Arguably, one of the most contested topics between infomercials on Australian TV is weight loss. Magic pills, super powders, supplements, new machines, creams, even clothing that is suppose to aid in losing fat.
Is there a simple, truthful way to lose fat? You'd be surprised to know that there is. Storing fat is simply your bodies natural response to poor eating habits and well, over eating. And here's some good news, if working out is not your thing then simply changing the way you eat will help you to start losing weight immediately.
Here is the secret that no TV commercial wants you to hear. To lose weight, all you have to do is eat less calories than you burn. You're probably asking yourself, 'Yes, but how many calories do I need? How many am I burning?
Let me introduce the Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR. This is the minimum amount of calories your body requires to subsist. That means doing absolutely nothing and by absolutely nothing I mean that, like laying in bed ALL day. The average man needs about 1800-2200 calories and a woman about 1200-1500 calories. This does not represent age, level of activity, height or weight, it is simply an average.
There is no exact amount for each person. I personally have a fast metabolism and require closer to 3000 calories a day just to stay a certain weight, if I throw in strenuous activities I could probably take that to 3500. That's eating reasonably healthy. However someone with a slower metabolism could easily survive on 2500 calories including working, and other activities. The BMR can only offer a ballpark for you to experiment with. That being said, 2500 to 3000 calories of whole foods, meaning good quality, low fat, low sugar, is quite a lot of food.
You can find a Calorie counter here to try.
The important thing is to be patient and experiment. Obviously working out will speed up your results. There are also some products on the market that again can assist, but nothing beats consistency and hard work. Notice how you feel, use the mirror and a tape measure over the scales, play with the number of calories you consume. There is no right or wrong on the amount it is just trial and error.
Good luck
Is there a simple, truthful way to lose fat? You'd be surprised to know that there is. Storing fat is simply your bodies natural response to poor eating habits and well, over eating. And here's some good news, if working out is not your thing then simply changing the way you eat will help you to start losing weight immediately.
Here is the secret that no TV commercial wants you to hear. To lose weight, all you have to do is eat less calories than you burn. You're probably asking yourself, 'Yes, but how many calories do I need? How many am I burning?
Let me introduce the Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR. This is the minimum amount of calories your body requires to subsist. That means doing absolutely nothing and by absolutely nothing I mean that, like laying in bed ALL day. The average man needs about 1800-2200 calories and a woman about 1200-1500 calories. This does not represent age, level of activity, height or weight, it is simply an average.
There is no exact amount for each person. I personally have a fast metabolism and require closer to 3000 calories a day just to stay a certain weight, if I throw in strenuous activities I could probably take that to 3500. That's eating reasonably healthy. However someone with a slower metabolism could easily survive on 2500 calories including working, and other activities. The BMR can only offer a ballpark for you to experiment with. That being said, 2500 to 3000 calories of whole foods, meaning good quality, low fat, low sugar, is quite a lot of food.
You can find a Calorie counter here to try.
The important thing is to be patient and experiment. Obviously working out will speed up your results. There are also some products on the market that again can assist, but nothing beats consistency and hard work. Notice how you feel, use the mirror and a tape measure over the scales, play with the number of calories you consume. There is no right or wrong on the amount it is just trial and error.
Good luck
Glutamine
What is Glutamine?
Glutamine is an amino acid. Amino acids are the building blocks to protein. Glutamine is not just any amino acid, it is the most abundant amino acid in our body - and highly concentrated in our muscles. Glutamine has recently been re-classified as a conditionally essential amino acid. This means that while the body can make glutamine, there are times when the body's need for glutamine is greater than its ability to produce glutamine.
What can Glutamine do for me?
Studies have shown that glutamine supplementation can do the following:
* Increase Protein synthesis (which leads to increased muscle mass)
* Increase nitrogen retention
* Decrease muscle breakdown
* Decrease recovery time needed after a workout
* Enhance immune functions
How does Glutamine produce all these positive effects?
In order to answer this question we first need to review how our body builds muscles. The key to building muscle mass is protein metabolism (to learn more about protein click here). Interestingly, our body does not make muscles while we workout, it is during the recovery time after we workout that muscles are made. Our body goes through a constant cycle of catabolism and anabolism. Or, in simpler terms - we are constantly going through cycles of protein synthesis and protein breakdown (remember, protein is the building block for muscles). During the stage of muscle catabolism we lose nitrogen and glutamine is stripped from our muscles. You see, our body needs glutamine for many other critical functions such as the immune system, and these functions take precedence over the building of muscles. Without any glutamine in the muscles we can not build muscle mass and in fact the muscles can start to breakdown.
The more stress our body is under the more glutamine that is pulled away from the muscles. And guess what- working out puts a lot of stress on the muscles. Ironically, when we work out we are really putting our body into a catabolic state and losing the glutamine that is essential to protein synthesis (which is how muscles are built). Now, if we supplement our body with glutamine before an intense workout we allow our body to keep a high supply of glutamine in the muscles and stop the muscle catabolism. This means the body can use the glutamine in the muscles to synthesize protein and build muscle mass. In addition, because there is enough glutamine for the whole body - the other critical functions such as the immune system have enough glutamine to perform their necessary functions.
An interesting side note, for years high levels of glutamine have been used in Emergency Rooms for patients that have been involved in a high trauma accident. When a person is in a car accident, their body is put into a stressful situation and begins to enter a catabolic state. The muscles start to breakdown as the body quickly starts to pull glutamine from the muscles to deal with other more serious problems. Doctors have found that giving patients a high dosage of glutamine is very effective in preventing the muscle breakdown. To a much smaller scale the same theory holds true when you work out - if you keep a high level of free glutamine, your body will not need to pull glutamine out of the muscles when the stress begins.
Who should take glutamine supplements?
If you perform any type of serious workout you should consider taking a glutamine supplement. In addition, if you are going through any type of stressful event or just trying to fight off the cold or flu - glutamine can be very helpful.
The following people should NOT take glutamine:
- People with kidney problems
- People with cirrhosis of the liver
- People with Reye's syndrome
- Pregnant women
- Women who are breast feeding
If you are on any medications or have a medical condition, you should always consult with your Doctor before taking any dietary supplement.
How much glutamine should I take?
The amount of Glutamine you take really depends on the amount you work out and your diet. Glutamine is found in raw parsley and spinach - so if you eat a lot of these foods you don't need as much glutamine. We recommend that you take between 5 - 10 grams per day. Other people say to take 20-25 grams a day, but we think it makes sense to start with a low amount such as 5 grams and then adjust higher if you feel it is necessary.
Can I take glutamine with other sports supplements?
Yes. We recommend taking a combination of glutamine, creatine and whey protein. These three supplements really work well together to increase muscle mass and speed recovery time. Think of it this way - creatine gives you the energy to build muscle mass and glutamine and whey protein give the raw materials to make the muscles.
Is glutamine a safe supplement?
Yes. Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in our body - so we all live with a great deal of glutamine already in our system. Unlike other sports supplements, glutamine does not play with the hormone levels in our body. As long as you stay within the recommended dosage, there should not be any negative side effects to glutamine supplementation for body building.
Popular high protein, high fat diet
Here is an example of a diet plan put together by Top level National Bodybuilder, and competition prep adviser Dave Palumbo. It doesn't appear to be a lot of food, a lot of peanut butter but not as daunting a meal plan as I've seen around the place. That being said his theory has proven very popular and some of his clients including IFBB pro Troy Alves swear by it. Dave has actually completed 3 years medical training also, which in my opinion certainly gives any theories he prepares worthy of a try. Take a look for yourself:
Meal 1 (after Cardio):
Protein pancakes
5 whole omega-3 eggs
4 egg whites
Meal 2:
40-50 grams of Isolated whey protein
Tablespoon of peanut butter
Meal 3:
7 oz of chicken
Asparagus spears
1/3 cup of dry cashews
Meal 4:
40-50 grams Protein
Tablespoon of peanut butter
Meal 5:
7 or 8 oz. of tilapia/steak
Vegetables
Meal 6:
4 whole boiled eggs
Yum
Whey Protein
What is whey protein?
Whey protein is derived from dairy, more specifically; whey is a byproduct of cheese manufacturing. It would also be the highest selling sports supplement in the market. We're lucky in Australia to have arguably the worlds best protein produced right here by Australian dairy farmers.
Whey protein is the highest bio available source of protein available and is easily digested, however can be denatured by heat. Hence cooking with whey protein is not only nutritionally pointless, but a waste of money.
Whey protein generally comes in three forms; Concentrate, Isolate and Hydrolyzed.
Concentrate protein is the most nutritionally sound of the three, however, contains higher sugar levels by way of lactose. Concentrate's are between 29-85% protein.
Isolate protein is filtered even further to remove lactose and fats. It is faster to absorb than concentrate, however lacks nutritional compounds found in the aforementioned. Isolates are 90+% protein.
Hydrolyzed protein is a predigested protein, therefore it has a higher bio-availability than isolate. Having a higher bio-availability would suggest hydrolysates were the best post workout source. This comes at a cost though so expect to pay more for these.
Whey protein supplementation is an inexpensive way to ensure your body is receiving adequate levels for recovery and growth. However, whey protein alone is not a meal replacement and like any other supplement should be consumed in conjunction with a balanced meal plan for optimum health.
Whey protein is derived from dairy, more specifically; whey is a byproduct of cheese manufacturing. It would also be the highest selling sports supplement in the market. We're lucky in Australia to have arguably the worlds best protein produced right here by Australian dairy farmers.
Whey protein is the highest bio available source of protein available and is easily digested, however can be denatured by heat. Hence cooking with whey protein is not only nutritionally pointless, but a waste of money.
Whey protein generally comes in three forms; Concentrate, Isolate and Hydrolyzed.
Concentrate protein is the most nutritionally sound of the three, however, contains higher sugar levels by way of lactose. Concentrate's are between 29-85% protein.
Isolate protein is filtered even further to remove lactose and fats. It is faster to absorb than concentrate, however lacks nutritional compounds found in the aforementioned. Isolates are 90+% protein.
Hydrolyzed protein is a predigested protein, therefore it has a higher bio-availability than isolate. Having a higher bio-availability would suggest hydrolysates were the best post workout source. This comes at a cost though so expect to pay more for these.
Whey protein supplementation is an inexpensive way to ensure your body is receiving adequate levels for recovery and growth. However, whey protein alone is not a meal replacement and like any other supplement should be consumed in conjunction with a balanced meal plan for optimum health.
Bodypart Exercise log
In order to create a challenging and interesting resistance program it helps to mix up the exercises from time to time. Here is a list of bodypart exercises which Ive arranged from largest bodypart to smallest bodypart.
Bodypart:
Legs - Quads
Squats executed with a barbell
Front Squats - Squats done with the barbell held on the shoulders in the front
Leg-press machine
Uni-Lateral Leg presses (One leg at a time)
Lunges executed with a barbell
Lunges executed with a dumbbell.
Leg Extensions. These can be done uni lateral.
Hack Squat
Legs - Hams
Deadlifts. There are several ways to execute deadlifts, Stiff Leg, Sumo, Bent knee. You can also use variations with either a barbell or dumbbells.
Hamstring Curl (Standing, lying)
Wide feet leg press puts more emphasis on the hams and glutes.
Legs - Calves
Standing Calf Raise
Donkey Press
Seated Calf raise
Toe press on Leg press machine (Uni or together)
Bodypart:
Back
Chins, behind the neck with a wide grip
Chins, wide grip bar to the chest
Chins, close grip bar to the chest
Machine Pull-downs
Barbell Rows
Reverse grip Bar rows
T-bar Rows
One arm dumbbell Row
Cable Rows
Pull overs
Deadlift
Seated Row
Lower back exercises:
Back extensions
Lower back bows
Bodypart:
Chest
Barbell bench press. Flat, incline or decline
Dumbbell Presses. Flat, incline or decline
Wide grip Dips with elbows pointing away from the body
Dumbbell Fly's. Flat, incline or decline
Cable crossovers; These can be done standing, lying down, uni-lateral etc.
Pull-Overs
There are many variations on chest exercises through machine presses.
Push-ups
Bodypart:
Shoulders
PRESSES:
Shoulder presses
Shoulder presses executed in the front (military style)
Shoulder presses using a machine or smith machine
Dumbbell shoulder presses
Shoulder presses a.k.a Arnold press
Clean and press exercise
RAISES:
Frontal dumbbell raises
Side/Lateral raises while standing
Cross cable lateral raises with one arm
Side cable lateral raises with one arm
Cross cable lateral raises while seated (with one arm)
Cable laterals executed bent over while standing
Dumbbell laterals with palms turned outwards (standing)
Bodypart:
Traps
Dumbbell/barbell Shrugs
You can do these uni laterally with DB's with the bar you can have the bar in front of the body or behind. The trick is not to 'roll' your shoulders, Just up and down in a variety of angles works best.
Bodypart:
Arms
Biceps/Brachialis
Barbell curls
Preacher Curls
Platoon curls
Seated Dumbbell Curls
Hammer Curls
Alternate Dumbbell Curls
Concentration Curls
Cable Curls
Reverse Grip Curls
Triceps
Triceps press-downs. Straight bar, rope etc.
Presses done while sitting
Skull crushers or French Press
Close grip bench press
Kick Backs
Dumbbell overhead triceps extensions
Dips with elbows by your side
Forearms
Curls done with a barbell sitting down (wristcurls)
Alternate wristcurls with dumbbells
Curls done behind the back with a barbell (wristcurls)
Barbell wristcurls with an overhand grip
Dumbbell wristcurls with an overhand grip
Bodypart:
Abdominal (Abs)
Simple crunches
Crunches done twisting the torso
Crunches done on a vertical bench
Reverse Crunches done while hanging
Bent knee reverse crunches
Kneeling crunches done with cables
Leg tucks on a horizontal bench
Oblique exercises:
Twists while seated (Be sure to use an unweighted aid for this like a broomstick)
Twists while bent over
Straight leg leg-raises done on a horizontal bench
Leg-raises done on a horizontal bench with bent knees
Leg-raises done on a vertical bench with bent knees
Bent-knee leg-raises twisting and hanging off a bar
Additional abdominal exercises:
Sit ups on the roman chair
Leg-raises done sideways
Kicking back on a horizontal bench
Drawing the belly in, for a vacuum
Aerobics
A simple theory is that 'any exercise is better than no exercise'. Whether that's walking in the park, playing catch or jumping up and down in a super hero type costume. Which brings me to the next topic, Aerobics. Aerobics; or air row bix gained popularity in the 70's, but I think it had more to do with the fluorescent spandex outfits and dance choreography than actually working out. The word ‘aerobic’ means “with oxygen”.
People tell me that doing aerobics classes are simply a great way to get better at doing aerobics classes, but how can millions of people be wrong?
After doing some research I discovered that an American physician named Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper from the San Antonio Air Force Hospital in Texas, devised a form of exercise, initially invented for astronauts which carefully monitored pulse rate and oxygen consumption. He called this system Aerobics.
In 1969 Dr Cooper published a book called 'Aerobics' and included exercise programs that incorporated swimming, running, bicycling etc. The book was a huge success. Over the next 20 years, aerobics in various forms spread throughout the United States and into other countries and from 1978 to 1987, aerobics class participation went from 6 million to 22 million.
Thanks to films like 'Fame' and 'Perfect' during the mid 80's aerobics went from strength to strength and today most progressive fitness centres have at least two aerobics rooms, as well as spinning and pilates.
The term 'aerobics' is rarely used these days within the Australian Fitness Industry, preferring the label 'Group Fitness' or 'Group Exercise'. This came about due to the ever expanding and differentiating types of classes being devised. With classes ranging from yoga, bar resistance, water aerobics, boxing style classes, individual bodypart style classes, like abs and butt, even stripper style workouts known as 'Pole dancing classes'.
Aerobics will continue to grow and develop due to the convenience and variety it offers class participants. In fact, it is the biggest selling point a fitness center can offer to potential female members.
Some potential benefits to Aerobics:
Benefits of aerobics:
* Strengthen the heart muscle
* Weight management
* Can reduce the risk of cardio vascular diseases and diabetes
* Manage cholesterol
* Increases endorphins.
* Improves muscle strength and flexibility.
* Can aid in better sleeping patterns
* Can aid in reducing depression, stress and anxiety.
* Aerobics may assist in reducing blood pressure.
People tell me that doing aerobics classes are simply a great way to get better at doing aerobics classes, but how can millions of people be wrong?
After doing some research I discovered that an American physician named Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper from the San Antonio Air Force Hospital in Texas, devised a form of exercise, initially invented for astronauts which carefully monitored pulse rate and oxygen consumption. He called this system Aerobics.
In 1969 Dr Cooper published a book called 'Aerobics' and included exercise programs that incorporated swimming, running, bicycling etc. The book was a huge success. Over the next 20 years, aerobics in various forms spread throughout the United States and into other countries and from 1978 to 1987, aerobics class participation went from 6 million to 22 million.
Thanks to films like 'Fame' and 'Perfect' during the mid 80's aerobics went from strength to strength and today most progressive fitness centres have at least two aerobics rooms, as well as spinning and pilates.
The term 'aerobics' is rarely used these days within the Australian Fitness Industry, preferring the label 'Group Fitness' or 'Group Exercise'. This came about due to the ever expanding and differentiating types of classes being devised. With classes ranging from yoga, bar resistance, water aerobics, boxing style classes, individual bodypart style classes, like abs and butt, even stripper style workouts known as 'Pole dancing classes'.
Aerobics will continue to grow and develop due to the convenience and variety it offers class participants. In fact, it is the biggest selling point a fitness center can offer to potential female members.
Some potential benefits to Aerobics:
Benefits of aerobics:
* Strengthen the heart muscle
* Weight management
* Can reduce the risk of cardio vascular diseases and diabetes
* Manage cholesterol
* Increases endorphins.
* Improves muscle strength and flexibility.
* Can aid in better sleeping patterns
* Can aid in reducing depression, stress and anxiety.
* Aerobics may assist in reducing blood pressure.
DCT (Dogg Crap Training)
Doggcrap training (originally written by Doggcrap aka Dante)
"It is so tough to talk about training when I am not in front of someone. In real life or at my gym people will see me or someone I train and be convinced that my system (Doggcrap)works very well. And in person I can explain how it all fits together. But for some reason giving an opinion on training online offends a lot of bodybuilders. It is like a blow to their ego as if your putting them down or telling them they don’t know how to train. And then you get every HIT, periodization, and brainwashed Wieder principle disciple arguing with me why their method is the best and I am wrong.
People get pissed if they think what they might be doing training wise is wrong or not the most productive. It's human nature. I can continually turn 170lb guys (who go along with me 100%) into 260lb plus monsters over and over but I cannot help guys who are 190-230lbs who are stuck in their ways. Those guys can continue to take the long road or never get there.
In the past months since I’ve put my methods out there to view, I continue to hear different arguments against my way of training. Hey it’s radically different than the norm and like I said people can’t stand to think what they are presently doing training wise isn't the best! So far I’ve heard the usual gamut (over training, under training, under volume, CNS saturation). One guy who said "not enough stimulation per workout"-sadly he has confused volume to equal gains. WRONG!!! If volume = gains go head and do 100 hard sets per body part and do each body part once every 3 weeks. Please tell me what incredible gains you get.
To me all this is an egotistical way to debunk a radically different method because you don’t want to believe what your presently doing is incorrect or 'slower gaining'. No one is over training or under training that I train. Every bodybuilder that I have rained has gained at least 47lbs! This sport is full of fragile egos, pseudo-experts, armchair bicep curlers. I am a very advanced bodybuilder but the only thing I am conceited about is I truly believe I could take anybody reading this and turn them inta 4.0lbs per inch bodybuilder. I love taking a humble bodybuilder who doubts his genetics and making him the largest guy in his gym. That is so fun for me. I love the people who whisper in the corners that "he must be loaded to the hilt" yet he is on thsame things they are. I love hearing the petty jealousy and anger that comes over other bodybuilders now that the guy I trained is the big boy on the block.
I’m not pushing my methods on anyone. I want you to decide for yourself with deductive reasoning but if you have been lifting for 4-5 years and people aren't commenting, stating or asking questions about you being a bodybuilder on a daily basis-I think that’s embarrassing and you might want to question if what you are doing training wise has merit it. I only train hardcore bodybuilders (and some fitness girls) down here in So Cal. (its not my main job--I turn down about 90% of people due to my own personal reasons--which are mostly after interviewing them I feel they wont do what I say 100%)
I am very, very good at turning normal people into the biggest bodybuilders in their area. I’ve trained 7 people bodybuilding wise in the last 4 years (5 used super supplements 2 were clean). Every one of those people gained at least 47lbs on their body weight roughly the same or less body fat.
1)188 to 260(2.5 years)
2)172 to 254 (3 years)
3)208 to 261(clean! genetic mesomorph 1 year)
4)218 to 275 (cut his juice in half, doubled his protein, showed him how to train correctly-2 years)
I don’t like to comment on others training philosophies directly because they get so offended if you don’t agree with them. I believe when you make something too complicated or hard people don’t want to follow it. I believe the baseline training protocol for bodybuilding is "progression" and whatever training is needed to get stronger (and therefore bigger). Here is my personal opinion on volume training...it’s a way for people who cannot generate inhuman intensity during a set to make gains. If that sets like a "putdown" so be it, I am sorry. Volume training to me is the long way to achieve trauma whereas there are shorter more productive ways of going about it.
If you were a world class sprinter with a time a couple tenths off the world record what would you do to break the mark? Would you run 5k races and repeated sprints at 60% intensity for hours at a time? Would that make you any faster? Or would you push e intensity limits with a wind bearing running parachute and do explosive sprints as hard as you can? You tell me.
I say 60% intensity with volume training because I know this: You cannot do 20 sets for a body part at a balls to the wall all out intensity-it’s impossible. I know this about myself, if I truly squat with everything I have (where its rep or death), within extremely heavy weight and at 12reps I want to quit.....but somehow, someway I make myself do 13, then the 14th, the 15th--my face is now beet red and I’m breathing like a locomotive yet I 'will' myself to do another rep, another, another---with two me reps to go till 20, I feel faint but I am going to ****ing do it because "I am not driving my car home thinking how I pussed out and didn’t make it"....19.....and 20 goes up agonizing slow and I am thinking to myself "oh please, please go up"----done!en minutes later I couldn’t even attempt to try to duplicate that. Not even close. I bet I would make it to maybe 14 reps tops. If you could duplicate that same set you are a robot.
Ninety percent of people in gyms around the world are doing some form of volume training but besides the rare genetically elite and heavy steroid users, why does everyone stay the same size year after year? (With volume training you see a lot of over training, joint injuries and people who are burning up all their energy stores) If you can't train at above normal intensity levels I feel volume training is beneficial to cause trauma (hey it works for genetic freaks like Flex Wheeler and Paul Dillett--two half-ass 60% trainers if that). Too bad with their incredible genetics that they don’t have the hardcore mindset of a Yates or Coleman who bypass them by force of willpower and effort.
Personally I like the shortest route at the shortest time possible to t someplace. Do I think my way of training is the best? For myself and the people I train-yes. I have no way to gauge others intensity levels online. Someone training at 90% intensity for 6 sets is going to get more out of it than Joe Blow who is doing sets per body part at forty percent. In the simplest terms, no matter what way you train-if you are way stronger than last year, 6 months ago, 3 months ago, last month, last week you are getting continually bigger no doubt about it. A lot of modern day gaining has been evolved pretty much from what Arnold and bodybuilders of the 60's did---and Arnold just winged it--there was no thought provoking science there. I want people to think their training out.
1)If you train a body part every day you will over train and not get larger
2)If you train a body part once a month you will not over train but you will only be growing 12 times a year besides the atrophy between workouts (pretty much a snails pace)
3)If you train with 30 sets a bodypart it will take you a great deal of time to recover from that besides using up a great deal of energy and protein resources doing it (and maybe even muscle catabolism will take place)
4)If you train one set for a very easy 8 reps per bodypart you could train that bodypart more often but you didn’t tax yourself to get larger.So what is the answer? I’ll tell you the answer! The answer is doing the least amount of heavy intense training that makes you dramatically stronger (bigger) so you can recover and train that bodypart the most times in a year (frequency). If you can tra/recover/GROW, train/recover/GROW, train/recover/GROW as many times as possible in a years time--you will be essentially gaining twice as fast as the bodybuilders around you.
Ok back to my training concepts—I’ve stated how my whole goal is to continually get stronger on key exercises which equals getting continually bigger. I will state this, the method I am about to describe to you is what I have found that makes people groat the absolutely fastest rate possible and why I am being inundated down in this area to train people. It’s going to go against the grain but I'm making people grow about 2 times as fast the normal rate so bear with me.
A typical workout for the masses is (lets use chest for an example) doing a bodypart once every 7 days and sometimes even once every 9 days or more. This concept came to the front due to recovery reasoning and I agree with most typical workouts your goito need a great deal of recovery. Here’s the problem, lets say you train chest once a week for a year and you hypothetically gain 1/64 of an inch in pectoral thickness from each workout. At the end of the year you should be at 52/64 (or 13/16 ). Almostn inch of thickness (pretty good). To build muscle we are trying to lift at a high enough intensity and load to grow muscle but with enough recovery so the muscle remodels and grows. The problem is everyone is loading up on the volume end of training and its taking away from the recovery part of it.
Incredible strength GAINS will equal incredible size GAINS. And you sure as hell don’t need to do 3-5 exercises and 10-20 sets per bodypart to do that! In actuality you really don’t need to do much to grow. As long as your training weights continue to rocket upward you will always be gaining muscle. If you go in and do squats using your ultimate effort with 405lbs for 20 reps are you going to say you’re not going to grow from that? If you went all out on that effort, I'm sorry but throwing has, leg press, leg extensions and lunges into that same workout is going to do nothing but royally lengthen your recovery process when you were already going to grow in the first place. You can train in a way so you can train a bodypart 3 times every nine to fourteen days and you will recover and grow faster than ever before. If you train chest 3 times in 9-14 days you are now doing chest roughly 91-136 times a year! So instead of 40-5growth phases with regular once a week training you are now getting 91-136 growth phases a year. I personally would rather grow 91-136 times a year than 40-52 times a year. At a hypothetical 1/64th of an inch per workout you are now at 136/64 (or roughl2.1 inches of thickness). So now you’re growing at roughly two times as fast as normal people who are doing modern day workouts are. Most people train chest with 3 to 4 exercises and wait the 7-9 days to recover and that is one growth phase. I use the se three exercises in that same 9-14 days but do chest 3 times during that (instead of once) and get 3 growth phases.
How? Super heavy weights for low low volume so you can recover and train that bodypart again as quickly as possible.Everyone knows a muscle either contracts or doesn’t, you cannot isolate a certain part of it (you can get into positions that present better mechanical advantages though that puts a focus on certain deep muscle fibers)--for example incline presses vs flpresses. One huge mistake beginning bodybuilders make is they have a "must" principle instilled in them. They feel they "must" do this exercise and that exercise or they won’t grow.
This is how I set bodybuilders workouts up. I have them pick either their 3 favorite exercises for each bodypart or better yet the exercises they feel will bring up their weaknesses the most. For me my chest exercises are high incline smith machine press hammer seated flat press and slight incline smith press with hands very, very wide----this is because I look at my physique and I feel my problem area is upper and outer pecs---that is my focus. What you do is take these three exercises and rotate them using only one per chest workout. I would do high incline smith on my first chest day, then 3-4 days later I would do hammer seated flat press on my second chest day. Three to four days after that wide grip slight incline smith press would be done and tn the whole cycle is repeated again in 3-4 days.Whenever I train someone new I have them do the following --4 times training in 8 days---with straight sets. Sometimes with rest pause sets but we have to gauge the recovery ability first.
Day one would be Monday and would be:
Chest
shoulders
triceps
back width
back thickness
Day two would be Wednesday and would be
biceps
forearms
calves
hams
quads
Day three would be Friday and would be the same as day one but with different exercises
chest
shoulders
triceps
back width back
thickness
(sat+sun off)
Day four would be the following Monday and would be the same as day two but with different exercises
biceps
forearms
calves
hams
quads and so on Wednesday, Friday, Monday, Wednesday etc.
You’re hitting every bodypart twice in 8 days. The volume on everything is simply as many warmup sets as you need to do- to be ready for your ONE work set. That can be two warmup sets for a small muscle group or five warm up sets for a large muscle group heavy exercise like rack deadlifts. The ONE work set is either a straight set or a rest pause set (depending on your recovery abilities again). For people on the lowest scale of recovery its just that one straight set---next up is a straight set with statics for people with slightly better than that recovery----next up is rest pausing (on many of the of movements) with statics for people with middle of the road recovery on up. As you progress as a bodybuilder you need to take even more rest time and recovery time.
READ THAT AGAIN PLEASE AS YOU PROGRESS AS A BODYBUILDER IN SIZE AND STRENGTH YOU NEED TO TAKE EVEN MORE REST AND RECOVERY TIME. EXAMPLE: My recovery ability is probably slightly better now than when I started lifting 13 years ago but only slightly...but back then I was benching 135lbs and squatting 155lbs in my first months of lifting. Now I am far and away the strongest person in my gym using poundage's three to six times greater than when I first started lifting. With my recovery ability being what it is both then and now, do you think I need more time to recover from a 155lb squat for 8 reps or a 500LB squat for 8 reps? Obviously the answer is NO! Yet remember this-the more times you can train a bodypart in a years time and recover will mean the fastest growth possible!
I’ve done the training a bodypart every 10 days system in the past and while recovering from that--the gains were so slow over time I got frustrated and realized the frequency of growth phases(for me)was to low. I want to gain upwards of 104 times a year instead of 52--the fastest rate that I can accumulate muscle (YET AGAIN WITHIN ONES RECOVERY ABILITY-I CANT SAY THAT ENOUGH) I have been slowly changing my philosophies of training over the past 13 years to where I am now. I’ve been gaining so fast the last couple of years it’s been pretty amazing. I’ve got my training down to extremely low volume (a rest pause set or ONE straight set) with extreme stretching, and with recovery issues always in the back of my mind.
I realize the number one problem in this sport that will make or break a bodybuilder is overtraining. Simply as this--you overtrain your done as a bodybuiler. Kaput. Zip. A waste of valuable time. But I also think there is a problem with under frequency (only if you can train hardcore enough with extremely low volume to recover). I skirt right along the line of over training--I am right there...I’ve done everything in my power (Stretching, glutamine, "super supplements", sleep)to keep me on this side of the line and its worked for me. I believe everyone has different recovery abilities--the job of a bodybuilder is to find out what their individual recovery ability is and do the least amount of hardcore training to grow so they can train that bodypart as frequently as possible. For anyone who wants to follow my lead that would mean starting out with straight sets training 4 times in 8 days and strictly gauge yourself recovery wise with every step up you take (statics, rest pauses)--I would rather you wait until my next article comes out to go over the details of this kind of training before you attempt it--as its important to me that everyone who wants too this does it correctly.
Bodybuilding as a whole is extreme and you must go to extreme lengths to be an out of the ordinary bodybuilder in this activity. The human body in no way wants to be 270 to 330 lbs of extreme muscularity. It wants to be a comfortable 155 to 180 lbs and will do a lot to keep a person at that homeostasis level. Jon Parillo was on the right track years ago when he was trying to make bodybuilders into food processing factories. It takes extreme amounts of food (protein), extremely heavy weights, sometimes extreme supplementation, (the choice) of extreme drugs, and other extreme situations to take a person who by evolution and genetics should be 180 pounds and make him into a hardcore 3 hundred pounds.
OK first I have to go over some principles I believe in garding training and I’ll hit more on training details later on.
a) I believe he who makes the greatest strength gains (in a controlled fashion) as a bodybuilder, makes the greatest muscle gains. Note: I said strength gains--everyone knows someone naturally strong who can bench 400 yet isn't that big. Going from a benning 375 bench to 400 isn't that great of a strength gain and won’t result in much of a muscle gain. But if I show you someone who went from 150 to 400 on a bench press, that guy will have about 2.5 inches more of muscle thickness on his pecs. That is incredible strength gain and will equal out into an incredible muscle gain. Ninety-nine percent of bodybuilders are brainwashed that they must go for a blood pump and are striving for that effect--(go up and down on your calves 500 times and tell me if our calves got any bigger). And those same 99% in a gym stay the same year after year. It's because they have no plan, they go in, get a pump and leave. They give the body no reason to change. Power bodybuilders and powerlifters plan to continually get stronger and stronger on key movements. The body protects itself from ever increasing loads by getting muscularly bigger=adaption. I’M going to repeat this and hammer it home because of its importance: THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE THE GREATEST STRENGTH GAINS OVER TIMEWILL MAKE THE GREATEST SIZE GAINS OVER TIME ACCORDING TO THEIR GENETIC POTENTIAL. If you reading this never get anywhere close to your ultimate strength levels (AT WHATEVER REP RANGE) you will never get to your utmost level of potential size.
b) I haven't seen a guy who can squat 500 for 20 reps, bench press 500 for 15 and deadlift 500 for 15 who was small yet ---but I have seen a lot and I mean a lot of people in the gym and on these Internet forums that are a buck 65 or two and change, shouting that you don't have to lift heavy to get big (in rare cases you will see a naturally strong powerlifter who has to curb calories to stay in a weight class and that is the reason he doesn't get bigger).
c) Training is all about adaption. In simple terms you lia weight and your muscle has one of 2 choices, either tear completely under the load (which is incredibly rare and what we don't want) or the muscle lifts the weight and protects itself by remodeling and getting bigger to protect itself against the load(next time). If the weight gets heavier, the muscle has to again remodel and get bigger again to handle it. You can superset, superslow, giant set, pre exhaust all day long but the infinite adaption is load---meaning heavier and heavier weights is the oy infinite thing you can do in your training. Intensity is finite. Volume is finite (or infinite if you want to do 9000 sets per bodypart)...everything else is finite. The Load is infinite and heavier and heavier weights used (I DON'T GIVE A CRAP WHAT SE BUCK 58 POUND WRITER FROM FLEX MAGAZINE SAYS) will make the biggest bodybuilder (add high protein, glutamine and drugs to the mix and you have one large person).
d) The largest pro bodybuilders in the last 10 years (outside of Paul Dillett who is a getic alien and I think could grow off of mowing lawns) are also the very strongest (Kovacs, Prince, Coleman, Yates, Francois, Nasser (although he trains lighter now). For anyone who argues that they have seen so and so pro bodybuilder and he trains light-well I will bet you he isn't gaining rapid size anymore and that his greatest size increases were when he was training **** heavy going for his pro card. Of course he will convince himself and others that he is "making the best gains of his career" though because no one likes to think what they are presently doing isn't working and they are running in place. Sadly heavy drug use can make up for a lot of training fallacies and leave people still uninformed on how they became massive. Ronnie Coleman is definitively in an elite class of muscle building genetically yet do you see him doing isolation exercises with light weights to be the most massive bodybuilder on this planet? NOPE! Ever see his video? 805 deadlifts for 2 reps, 765 for 6 reps deadlifts, front sets with 600LBS for 6, 200LB dumbbells being thrown all over the place for chest, military presses 315 for 12 and a double with 405. I believe Coleman was clean or close to it when he was power lifting and when he was an amateur bodybuilder. He won the Natural Team Universe and got his pro card at roughly 220-230LBS shredded to the bone and if that was natural or close to it--that's about 270LBS off season and would be a huge natural bodybuilder. Since that time he has hooked up with Chad Nichols and blasted (with juice) up to his current 265LBS contest weight and 320LBS offseason. He trains heavier now than he ever did! The man has used extremely heavy weights and powerlifting fundamentals (even with his superior genetics for muscle size) to become the mt impressive bodybuilder walking the globe.
Well, if the man with some of the best genetics to build muscle out there is using back breaking weights trying to get bigger isn't that more of a reason the mere mortals of genetics in this sport should maybe take note? There are other pros out there with genetics on par with Coleman and using the same amount of drugs yet aren't pushing the limits with poundage's in training as does Coleman. You figure it out then, why is he absolutely crushing everyone on stage, out muscling them if all things besides training are equal?
e) Who is the last incredibly massive bodybuilder you have seen (juice or not) who couldn't incline 405, squat 550, deadlift 550. I am talking freak-massive ALA Dorian, Kovacs, Francois, etc...there are slew of guys in gyms using mega amounts of steroids on par with pros who are no where close to a pro's size, some with mediocre genetics, yet some with superb genetics. But the pro's using weights that are up there in the stratosphere are band large the most freakish. These are pros we are talking about, who all have superior genetics for muscle accumulation. Do you think Yates, Francois, Cormier etc all just had natural genetics for incredible strength, not ever having to work for it? JePaul Guilliame is the only clean professional bodybuilder I ever trusted to be truly natural. The man is a smaller pro training without the juice yet trains incredibly heavy for his size--405LB squats rock bottom for up to 20 reps and his wheels are inedible. Flex Wheeler and Cris Cormier are the same height, the drugs are equal, Flex trains light, Cormier trains heavy. Cormier outweighs Wheeler onstage by 30LBS! Genetically, Wheeler is unsurpassed in pro bodybuilding, I think you already know the answer to this one--case closed. I usually don't like to use pro bodybuilders for examples but in these cases, my points are proven.For those training clean-if you got guys doing massive amounts of steroids in gyms around America, who are not putting on appreciable size because they train with light weights, what in your right mind could make you think you will gain appreciable amous of muscle mass as a natural training light?!?! One million people in the United States have admitted to using steroids--1 million!!! That is one out of every 300 people walking around. How many big people do you see out there? Not many. It sure isn't ose to 1 million---- because 98% of bodybuilders have no clue what needs to be done training and eating wise to become elite.
f) Please think of the times when you made the best size gains---the first time is in the first 2 years of lifting WHEN YOU MAKE YOUR BEST STRENGTH GAINS TOO! Then things start to slow down.. What's the next time?--You start using steroids and boom what happens? YOUR TRAINING WEIGHTS GO FLYING UP. And you get dramatically bigger! (I’M taking into effect protein assimilation, recovery etc also). The greatest strength gains you make will result in also the most rapid size gains (if you’re taking in the protein requirements of a 12 year old girl scout then you can discount yourself from the above group).
g) I believe in Powerbuilding, not bodybuilding--using techniques that build the most strength gains in the fastest time possible while using the most effective exercises for that person. I am positive I could take 2 twins--have the first one do his own thing training wise, but using the same drugs, supplements and nutrition as the twin I train......come back a year later and the twin I trained would have 25LBS more muscle.
h) I've seen powerlifters (who catch a lot of guff from bodybuilders for being "fat") diet down and come in and destroy bodybuilders in bodybuilding shows time and time again. Over and over. Powerlifters and Powerbodybuilders are by far the thickest guys onstage when and if they decide to enter bodybuilding shows.
i) Heavy is relative--it doesn't mean 3 reps --- it means as heavy as you can go on that exercise no matter if it is 5 reps or 50 reps. I personally like to do hack squats for 20 reps but I use about 6 plates on each side rock bottom--that's as heavy ascan go on that exercise for 20 reps. I could do sets of 6 and probably use maybe 8 or 9 plates a side but my legs (and most people I train) grow best from heavy and 8-50 reps. The day you can squat 400LBS for 20 deep reps will be the day you are no lonr complaining about your leg size.
j) No matter what the method someone uses to gain super strength gains-it’s imperative they do so. Again if you put someone out on a deserted island with 135LBS of weights he can superset, giant set, high rep, super slow etc etc squats, deadlifts and benches to his hearts delight...the sad story is his gains will quickly come to a halt because his limiting factor is the amount of strength he will gain. He has 135LBS to work with. You take that same guy on a deserted island and give him squats deadlifts, and benches and an unlimited weight supply that he constantly pushes, in 5 years I'll show you a big Gilligan.
k) I think the biggest fallacy in bodybuilding is "changing up" "keeping the body off balance"--you can keep the body off balance by always using techniques or methods that give your body a reason to get bigger=strength. If you don't write down your weights and every time you enter the gym you go by feel and do a different workout (like 98% of the gym members who never change do now) what has that done? Lets say Mr. Hypothetical gym member does 235 for 9 on the bench press this week, "tries to keep his dy guessing" by doing 80LBS for 13 on flyes next week, 205 for 11 on inclines the week after, 245 on hammer press for 12 the week after that --and so on and so on---there is only a limited number of exercises you can do. Two months later when he does bench presses again and does 235 for 8 or 9 has he gained anything? Absolutely NOT! Four months later he does hammer presses for 245 for 11 (again) do you think he has given his body any reason to change? Take 2 twins and have one do a max squat for 20 respond the other twin giant set 4 leg exercises with the same weight. All year long have the first twin blast away until he brings his squat with 20 reps from 185LBS to 400LBS. Have the second twin giant set four exercises every workout with the same weight used in his first workout all year long. Believe me he is always going to be sore and he will be shocking the body every time but the sad truth is he will not gain **** after about the third leg workout because the load didn't change. There is no reason for his legs to grow in size due to the strength demand presented. The first twin who can now squat 400 for 20 is going to have some incredible wheels.
l) I use a certain method in my training because in my opinion it is the utmost method to rapidly gastrength. More on that later. Others might like a different method, that's up to them, doesn't matter as long as they are rapidly gaining strength. If you’re gaining appreciable strength on an exercise with a certain method I think the ABSOLUTELY WORSEHING YOU CAN DO is to change up right then. Take that exercise and method to its strength limit and when you get there, then change to a different exercise and get strong as hell on that exercise too.
m) For the next few months take note of the people you see in the gym that never change. They will be the ones using the same weight time after time on exercises whenever they are in the gym. These are the people who use 135, 185, 225 on the bench everyime its chest day. Your best friends in the gym are the 2.5LB plates--your very best buds!!! You put those 2.5LB plates on that bar every time you bench press for 52 weeks and now your bench is 250LBS more at the end of the year! That would equal out tonother inch to inch + half thickness on your chest. Can it be done? Probably not at that rate but TRYING TO DO IT will get you a lot bigger than doing what 98% of the people in the gym do. Unless you are gifted genetically to build muscle at a dizzying te (most people aren't), the largest people in your gym will also be the ones heaving up the heaviest weights.
Do you think they started out that way? No, they were probably 175 lb guys who bulldozed their way up to that level. A perfect example are male strippers. These guys use a boatload of drugs on par with hardcore competitive bodybuilders. After an initial phase where they grow off of steroids like everyone else--their growth stops (like forever). Why? Because they aren't eating 500 grams of protea day and don't fight and claw their way to 500LB bench presses and 700LB squats and deadlifts. They stay on the drugs for years and years while stripping but don't go beyond that 200 to 220LB range. So much for juice being the total equalizer. I don't know why pseudo experts try to make training such an elite science when in actuality it’s pretty cut and dry. If you keep a training log and note your weights used for the next 5 years and find they are still the same you will pretty much look "still the same" in 5 years. If you double all your poundage's in the next five years in everything, your going to be one thick person .....If someone ever took a ratio of people who don't make gains to people who do, it would be pitiful. I
would venture to say tha95% of people in gyms across this country aren't gaining muscle and are wasting their time. The absolutely best advice I could ever give a guy starting out lifting is "go train with an established powerlifter" and learn all the principles he trains with there would be a lot more happy bodybuilders out there.So now you guys know I believe in the heaviest training possible (safely)---I think I hammered that home, I needed to do that because so many bodybuilders are lost on how to get from A to Z.....it’s all part of my quest to make the biggest heavy slag weightlifting, high protein eating, stretching and recuperating massive bodybuilders I can.-- till next time-DOGG
Now to get into specifics regarding training. Stay with me here. You are only doing one exercise per muscle group per day. You are doing your first favorite exercise for chest on day one, you're doing your second favorite exercise for chest the next time chest training rolls around and then your third favorite exercise for chest the time after that when chest training rolls around. Then you repeat the entire sequence again.
You're doing the same exercises you would be doing anyway in a 7-14 days time and training chest 3 times in that same period with minimal sets so you can recover. You cannot do a 3-5 exercise, 10-20 set chest workout and recover to train chest again 3-4 days later. It's absolutely impossible!! But you can come in and do 2-5 warmup set up to your heaviest set and then do ONE working set (either straight set or rest paused) all out on that exercise then recover and grow and be ready again 3-4 days later.
This kind of training will have you growing as fast as humanly possible. Again the simple equation is "the most times per year you can train a body part incredibly heavy, with major strength gains, and recover will equal out to the fastest accumulation of muscle mass possible". Why don't most pros do this kind of training? Why don't y?!?! Because every form of training has been taught to someone, passed down from the magazines for decades with no thought out rhyme or reasons.
Every form of modern day training stems from what the guys in the 60's and Arnold was doing. Finally Yates asome others got people thinking about what truly is working when it comes to training. If you think about it-it's ridiculous some of these recommended routines in the magazines. Most training comes from peoples egos. People are so driven and desperate get big that they believe they MUST do this and MUST do that every workout. Thirty sets here, with multiple exercises to hit every angle there. You know what that does? It dramatically cuts into your recovery ability (never mind amino acid pools and glycogen stores) so you cannot train that body part again in a couple days time. That defeats the purpose of rapid accumulation of muscle mass.
I'll state this as a matter of fact because I believe it's true. I believe if you, the person reading this, train the way I am recommending, you will be 20-40lbs of muscle larger in 3 years than if you kept training the way you are presently training. If that offends you or seems ballsy to state-SO BE IT!!! I've done enough studying and real life experimentation on aspiring bodybuilders to state that.
To start-Three key exercises are picked for each body part. USING ONLY ONE OF THOSE EXERCISES PER WORKOUT you rotate these in order and take that exercise to it's ultimate strength limit (where at that certain point u change the exercise to a new one and get brutally strong on that new movement too). That can happen in 4 weeks or that can happen 2 years later but it will happen some time (You cannot continually gain strength to where you are eventually bench pressi905 for reps obviously) Sometime later when you come back to that original exercise you will start slightly lower than your previous high and then soar past it without fail.
Some principles I believe in:
A) I believe rest pausing is the most productive way of training ever. I've never seen a way to faster strength gains than what comes from rest pausing. I'll use an incline smith bench with a hypothetical weight to show you my recommended way of rest pausing. Warm ups would be 135x12, 185x10, 250x 6, 3154 (none of these are taxing--they are just getting me warmed up for my all out rest pause set) MAIN REST PAUSE SET-375x8 reps (total failure) rack the weight, then 15 deep breathes and 375x 2 to 4 reps (total failure) rack the weight, then 15 deep breaths and 375x 1 to 2 reps. I personally do a static right after that but I'll explain that later. Remember every time you go to failure you always finish on the negative portion and have your training partner help you or rack the weight yourself. To explain further on my first rest pause above I struggled with every iota of my strength to get that 8th rep up. At that point instead of racking the weight up top I brought the weight down to my chest again slowly (6 seconds) and had my training partner quickly help me lift the weight back up to the top to rack it. That "always finishing on the negative rep" will accrue more cellular damage over time and allow for even greater gains.
B) Every exercise is done with a controlled but explosive positive and a true 8 second negative phase. The science is there just read it. Almost every study states an explosive positive motion is the priming phase and the negative portion of an exercise should be done controlled and slowly. I have the mindset that I hope you guysevelop. I try so hard to get the weight up only for the sole reason I can lower it slowly to cause eccentric phase cellular damage.
C) Extreme Stretching: it must be done, it's imperative. It stretches fascia and helps recovery immensely. It will dramatically change your physique in a short amount of time if done right, trust me on that. I hit on it in the first article of this series. OK you guys have to use some deductive reasoning here. If I do a 375 or so LB smith incline press rest paused for 10-15eps with statics on Monday morning (which is the time of day I lift) by that same Monday night, 12 hours later I am viscously sore. By Tuesday morning I am still pretty sore but to a lesser degree. By Tuesday night I have very little soreness. By Wednesday morning I have absolutely no soreness and Wednesday night the same, so I could probably train chest again on Thursday no problem but I currently wait till Friday and train chest again. If your training chest on Monday and on Thursday your still pretty sore, a couple things are happening--either you're training with more volume than I recommend, or you're not extreme stretching (as recommended in my first article for AE), or more likely your recovery ability is not your greatest asset. If the last one true you are going to have to take note of that and broaden the workout days between body parts hit. Most of you reading this (90%) will be able to go the Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Monday again route hitting bodyparts twice in 8 days. A chosen few mht be able to go Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday especially if they really work their extreme stretching and get the proper rest. That's very rare though that someone can recover that quickly even from one working set per bodypart. My recommendations e to start out Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Monday first and gauge how that goes. I am currently seeing that most people go best with that protocol. I know some of you want to train a bodypart as many times as possible in a weeks time, hell I would love to be able to train a bodypart 4 times a week and grow but it can't be done. So this is something I can't help you on.....you need to check yourself and find out where you are recovering and then work with that. I can do a 20 plate leg press for reps and be sore for the next day and a half and feel fresh and ready to go on my next leg day. High dose glutamine has been a godsend to my recovery ability as has extreme stretching. My training weights continue to rocket upward on everything. What I cannot do is leg exercises for multiple sets in a workout session and recover 3-4 days later to do legs again. I think you're begging for injury if you are still very, very sore the next time a body part comes up. Example Day one
First exercise smith incline presses (I'll use the weights I use for example) 135 for warmup for 12185 for 8 warmup250 for 6 warmup315 for 4 warm up then all out with 375 for 8 reps to total absolute failure (then 12-15 deep breaths) 375 for 2-4 reps to total absolute failure (then 12-15 deep breaths) 375 for 1-3 reps to absolute total failure (then a 20-30 second static hold) DONE!-that's it 375lbsor 8+4+3= 375 for 15 reps rest paused..... next week I go for 385 (again rest paused)-----directly after that rest pause set I go to extreme stretching flyes as described earlier and then that's it for chest and on to shoulders, triceps and back. The netime I come in to do chest I would do hammer flat presses in the same rest paused manner (and then extreme stretching again)---the time after that I come in to do chest I would do my third favorite exercise rest paused/stretched and then the cycle repes.
In simple terms I am using techniques with extreme high intensity(rest pause) which I feel make a persons strength go up as quickly as possible + low volume so I can (recover) as quickly as possible with as many growth phases (damage/remodel/recover) I n do in a years time.Some exercises involving legs and some back rowing exercises don't allow themselves to rest pause too well. A sample couple of days for me would be the following (I'm not including warm up sets--just working sets).
Workout 1
CHEST: smith incline 375 x 15 reps rest pause (RP) and a 30 second static rep at the end (then stretches)
SHOULDERS: front smith press-330 x 13 RP and 30 second static (then stretches)
TRICEPS: reverse grip bench press 315 for 15-20 reps RP-no static (then stretches)
BACK WIDTH: rear pulldowns to back of head 300 x 18 RP (20 second static at end)
BACK THICKNESS: floor deadlifts straight set of 8-20 reps (then stretches for back)
The information below is from Peter O'Hanrahan's "Body Types, Part 1". It is a brief and incomplete description of the mesomorph's temperament.
Workout 2 BICEPS: preacher bench barbell curl RP for 14 reps and 30 second static FOREARMS: hammer curls straight set for 15 reps (then stretches for biceps)
CALVES: on hack squat straight set for 12 reps but with a 20 second negative phase
HAMSTRINGS: Cybex hamstring press (pressing with heels up top) RP for 20 reps
QUADS: hack squat straight set of 6 plates each side for 20 reps (of course after warming up) Then stretches for quads and hams. The absolutely most important thing of any of this is I write down all weights and reps done from the working set on a notepad. So every time I go into the gym I have to continually look back and beat the previous times reps/weight or both. If I can't or I don't beat it, no matter if I love doing the exercise or not, I have to change to a new exercise.
Believe me this adds seriousness, a clutch performance or imperative to a workout! I have exercises I love to do and knowing I will lose them if I don't beat the previous stats sucks! But there is a method to this madness because when you get to that sticking point of strength (AND YOU WILL, THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN HACK SQUAT UP TO 50 PLATES A SIDE) that is when your muscle=strength gains will stop. At that point you must turn to a different exercise and then get brutally strong on that one. Then someday you will peak out on that one too.
You can always come back to that loved exercise in the future and you'll start somewhat lower and build up to a peak again--and trust me that peak will be far more than the previous one. Some exercises you'll stay with and gain strength at for almost up to a year and some exercises you'll be at the limit in 4 weeks and lose them but its all in the plan. For example-- I love reverse grip bench presses, knowing that I have to beat 315 for 17 reps RP or else I have to change to maybe do next time puts a serious sense of urgency into workouts. I either have to beat it by doing something to the effect of 320 for 15 RP or if I stick with 315, I have to get at least 19 reps RP or so.
If I'm feeling crappy or having an off day I might give myself a little leeway and allow myself another go at it next time around but that's it. The notepad is your intensity level, how badly you want to keep doing an exercise will be how hard you push to beat the previous. Looking at that piece of paper knowing what you have to do to beat it will bring out the best in you. Again, it's all in the plan to make you the strongest bodybuilder possible which will equal out into the biggest bodybuilder possible.
I find myself irritated now when people look at me and say "genetics" or something to that effect--its amazing to me that at 19 I was 6 foot and 137lbs (yes 137) and eating 6 meals a day and people would chuckle at me the stick boy trying to be a bodybuilder. I seriously did not miss a meal for my first 3 and a half years, I would set my alarm at 2am and wake up and eat scrambled eggs and pancakes if I missed a meal during the day. Two years later I looked "normal" at 196lbs or so.
Two years just to look like a normal person! I kept bombing away, eating and not taking no as an answer and now I am up at 300lbs and people say "you must have always been big" and genetics. That's tough for me to hear thinking how psyched I was to weigh more than 170 at one point. I've only trained one true mesomorph. Mesomorphs don't need trainers usually. I train ectomorphs and endomorphs. The last 3 people I've trained have been a pudgy Mexican who was 172 (now 258lbs hard)--a skinny marine, and a guy stuck at 188lbs for many years (now 260).
These people all thought the same thing seeing how my workouts were set up-"am I doing enough?"--If you can show someone how to train so hard that they realize they were holding back tremendously during their 8-20 set workouts, that's half the battle. The other half is making them realize how impossible it is to do 8-20 sets per bodypart if you truly, truly train balls to the wall hard.
Personally, if I do a 20 rep hack squat with slag iron heavy weights....at 10 reps I am seriously doubting I am going to make it---at 14 reps I'm seeing stars---at 17 reps I'm asking God for help--and the last 3 reps are life, death, or rigor mortise---I know for a fact that there is no way in hell I could do another 4-5 sets of hacks like that. I gave everything I had right there on that set. If I can do another 4-5 sets like that I'm cruising at 70% at the most.
If all you get out of my articles is the mindset of heavy weights, low volume, stretching, and frequency of body parts trained-I would be very happy because then I would have you on the right patht o get you where you want to be.
Doggcrap is presently training people online with daily emails to them and an A to Z approach with diet supplementation training and recovery. He is expensive but he wants to be because he doesn't want to train a lot of people at once (Four at once is his lit). His first client has been lifting for 3 years with limited success but in 7 weeks with Doggcrap has gone from 183lbs at 7.5% body fat to 205lbs at 7.7% body fat. At the end of 10 weeks he should be around 216lbs or so and onward. Doggcrap is also online training 2 super heavyweight national competitors who came to him to put on pro size muscle. They will make an even bigger splash than what they already have accomplished. His flat fee is 400 dollars for everything designed (diet, training, supplementation) and then constant emails to you for at least 2 months monitoring and adjusting your progress. He does a strict interview first to see if you have the makeup and mindset of the person he wants to train. He turns away people who he doesn't believe will go at or listen to him 100 percent. If 400 dollars equals out to the 40-60lbs of muscle Doggcrap puts on people repeatedly to you-- then you can contact him at Doggcrapp@ziplip.com"
HIT Training Protocol
Today bodybuilding and weightlifting routines commonly extend into 4, 5, 6, or even 7-day fests of isolation and compound movements. These often use many sets, 'scientific' methodology, and if what can be seen in most gyms is taken as evidence, provide little results. This hasn't always been the case, and if we look back to turn of the century strongmen we can see that they focused on short, hard workouts utilising basic movements and heavy weights. Don't take my word for it, here are some examples of what people did before steroids and supplements came to the mainstream:
* Hermann Goerner deadlifted 734 ½ lbs with one hand on October 8th 1920, at a bodyweight of no more than 290lbs (he also had a 1 rep max two handed deadlift of 830lbs, less than 100lbs off the current world record and his was accomplished without support gear or drug use).
* John Davis, two-time Olympic champion competing between 1937 and 1956, capable of squatting 500lbs fully for 10 reps, deadlifting 705lbs, strict curling 215lbs, and overhead pressing 375lbs. All without support gear or drugs.
* Paul Anderson, possibly the strongest man who ever lived, squatted 1206lbs, push pressed 600lbs, and still holds the all time record for heaviest weight lifted by a human, of 6270lbs in the backlift (check in the Guinness Book of records if you don't believe me).
* Reg Park, won the NABBA Mr. Universe title three times in 1951, 1958 and 1965 as well as many other bodybuilding awards from the 1940's to 1960's. The second person ever to bench press 500lbs, regularly squatted and deadlifted with 600lbs, and behind the neck pressed a 1 rep max of 300lbs. He was Arnold Schwarzenegger's hero, and was also British! How long did he train for? About 3 times a week, for about an hour.
There are many more examples if you're willing to look into the iron game's illustrious past.
During the mid 1960s and 1970s the influence of anabolic steroids became more prevalent in bodybuilding - they had been present before from about the 1950s, but took some time to take off as even into the late '60's, many lifters had great worries about the potential for ill health as a result of taking them. It is, if we look back, about this time that routines began to change and evolve into what we see today where a typical workout may consist of 25 sets, attempting to work each muscle independently and without thought to the body's own biochemical reactions. In my mind not only is this type of training counterproductive for the great majority of trainees, but also makes it impossible to put forth the level of hard work that is essential for muscular growth and physical advancement. Let us look at it this way, we have two people, one of whom trains 20 sets in a chest and triceps workout, he spends about an hour and a half in the gym, in which time doing 4 sets of flat bench, 4 sets of incline, 4 sets of cable cross-overs, 4 sets of skull-crushers on the ez-bar, and 4 sets of cable push downs. He feels his workout has been productive, takes a shower, and goes on his way.
On the other hand we have a guy who trains twice a week for less than an hour each time. He does cardio twice a week also and is in good shape, but lifts only on Monday and Thursday. His Monday workout consists of squats, to at least parallel, bench presses on a flat bench, bent over rows, barbell curls and sit-ups. Starting with squats he warms up then proceeds to a working weight of 300lbs for 20 reps, he always goes to the point where he has to drop the weight on the support bars of the squat rack, which means some weeks he gets 18 reps, some 24. If he gets 19 or better he moves the weight up 5lbs next week. Going to failure on hard squatting has the addition effect of occasionally meaning he has to sit down for 10 minutes afterward, or run to the toilet and puke - both sure signs of hard work, the type of hard work that is a prerequisite to solid muscle building. After the squats he moves on to bench presses. He sees no need to do incline, decline, flyes, cross-overs and endless other accessory movements for he already benches 250lbs for 8 full and smooth reps, and has a chest measurement of 45 inches with little body fat (not amazing, but easily a 300lb single and better than most of the people reading this I'd wager, and also better that the vast majority of people you've seen training in your gym!). Each set here is taken to muscular failure, where the spotter must take the weight from him on the last rep. Our lifter does not do forced reps, he doesn't see that need to pretend he lifts more than he does, and knows it can lead to over-training. The spotter only interferes with the set if the lifter asks and can't do anymore.
Bent over rows come next, 2 hard sets with 240lbs (far too many people have benching strength massively in excess of their pulling strength, and it is this kind of stupidity in training that helps lead to the multitude of shoulder injuries that are seen today). After this again, 2 sets of curls hard and to failure, and then 1 set of sit-ups for 50 reps. Sometimes he does these holding a disc on his stomach and going to failure, but today felt like simply repping it out.
The lifter above did just 8 sets, who has worked harder? Let me give you a test, if you don't believe that 2 short workouts each week can work, go to the gym and do this:
1) Take your ten rep squatting poundage and squat it for 30. If you fail and have to drop it on the squat rack pins, unload it then put it back up, load it again and keep going until you reach 30 repetitions!
2) Move on to deadlifts, take your 10-rep poundage and do the same, keeping your back flat and your form good.
3) Do one set of overhead presses to failure.
Do this and then come back and say you had an easy workout.
The basis of High Intensity Training
Arthur Jones created HIT back in the 1970's as an alternative to the high volume routines that often gave its gym followers little results. He scientifically tested his methods in order to convince others in the training industry, and also to help sell his machines. They became popular and Nautilus centres sprung up all over the United States. Mike Mentzer and others that he trained took what they learnt from Jones and created their own twists to the system, which at the time was heavily based on pre-exhaust techniques and sometimes negatives. In some cases they improved it, sometimes they didn't. The most influential spokespersons for modern day HIT training would likely be people like Dr Ken Liestner, the sadly departed Mike Mentzer, Stuart McRobert, and others who you'll no-doubt find if you do a simple internet search (or alternatively go to www.cyberpump.com, commonly referred to as the HIT mother ship).
A basic HIT workout in its modern guise would look something like this,
Day 1
Bench press or weighted dips 2x8
Squats 1x20
Bent over rows 2x8
Day 2
Overhead press 2x8
Deadlifts or straight leg deadlifts 1x15
Chins 2x8
Abs done on both days for 1 or 2 sets, and all sets taken to failure.
This workout runs on the same principles that Bob Whelan (trainer, powerlifter, and respected iron writer) espouses in his programs (see www.naturalstrength.com) - you're doing squats, some form of deadlift, a vertical pull/push, and a horizontal pull/push, in so doing, working all the available musculature of the body.
Here's a split of how it works:
Legs and lower back (the most important muscle groups for any accomplished bodybuilder or weightlifter) - deadlifts, squats
Back and biceps - rows, chins
Chest, shoulders and triceps - Bench press or dips, overhead press
Abs - sit-ups or crunches done on both sessions.
Forearms - deadlifts, rows, chins
With these exercises you keep in mind poundage targets that are hard but achievable, and when you accomplish them, raise the stakes and set new ones. "Ah", you say, "but I'm a bodybuilder! Unconcerned with strength, I merely want big arms and bulging pecs, big enough to make the girls drool over my Adonis like body!"
Nope. The reason why poundage targets are used is that for the beginner at least, and in most cases for everyone that isn't a top-flight professional bodybuilder, is that poundage targets are not only the simplest indicators of progress, but also the best. There may not be a linear relationship between size and strength, but one does exist and if today you can curl 80lbs for 4 repetitions, yet in 6 months you manage 140lbs in the same fashion, your arms will undoubtedly be bigger. Focus on getting stronger in the "big basics" and your body will develop much better than it would by measuring yourself each week, using trial and error to work out "what sort of pump benefits me?" Plus, in my own meagre opinion, poundage targets are manlier!
Here are some good targets to work to over the medium to long term, once you reach these you will have surpassed 99% of all weight trainers all over the world, and will likely be one of the stronger guys in your gym,
Squats to at least parallel: 300lbs or 1.5xbodyweightx20, 400lbsx1
Deadlifts: 350lbsx20, 500lbsx1
Bench press: 240lbsx8, 300lbsx1
Standing shoulder press: 180lbsx6
Bent over rows: 220lbsx8
Lifting these poundage's at 200lbs bodyweight (14lbs in a stone), would roughly equate to an arm of over 16 inches, and a chest of over 45 inches. Do these sound small? Arnold Schwarzenegger's arms were 19 inches, he may have claimed otherwise but at his peak they were measured by Arthur Jones in what most believe to have been fair and controlled conditions. Nowadays bodybuilders still claim measurements that are far in excess of what they truly are, and if I were you I would take those (and their poundage claims) with a pinch of salt. Part of their business is the business of disinformation in order to sell supplements, so bare that in mind the next time you read of a 675lbs incline press.
The other HIT conditions for growth
In brief,
1) Hard work. Not long work, but hard work. You must work harder than you have ever done at any point in your life. If you do not put every ounce of effort you possibly can into each and every set, then you will not get the results that you could. This is especially true of squats and deadlifts, as the very big moves have a much greater carry-over effect to total body development than any other.
2) Good nutrition. Eat well. You must have an adequate intake of all the essential vitamins and minerals your body requires each day, as well as fats, the essential fatty acids. You must also take in adequate calories each day, if you're eating 2000 calories a day as a fully grown adult male, the chances are you are eating far too little to grow your body or to maximise the benefits that weight training can bring. Adjust your calories by eating more if you want to grow, and less if you want to cut body fat, and make sure to take in adequate protein, fresh vegetables, and fresh fruit. There's much more on bodybuilding/weight training nutrition elsewhere on www.MuscleTalk.co.uk, so go there and learn, as it's not my personal area of expertise.
3) Include cardio-vascular work. This is not just for health - though that is it's most important benefit - but also to allow you to grow better in the long run. A healthy body is an adaptable body, and ultimately, by doing just something along the lines of 2 cardio sessions a week for 30 minutes or so will help keep fat off and aid recovery times between weights workouts.
4) Rest. If you aren't getting at least 7-8 hours sleep each night your body will find it much more difficult to repair and progress. There's no way I can believe someone without the benefit of drugs or incredible genetics would reach notable levels of muscularity and fitness without adequate sleep and recuperation. You grow when you sleep, end of message.
Conclusion
If at the end of this article you take nothing more away from it than the message of consistent progressive training, then the article will have been a success. There's no use in using the greatest routine ever devised, if you only workout one week in three, or working harder than anyone else in the gym, if you never increase your poundage's. Work on getting to good numbers in the big lifts, in good form with a good range of motion, setting both long and short term goals, and keep at it. To sum up, squat hard, deadlift hard, eat, rest and grow - the secret's out, good luck!
* Hermann Goerner deadlifted 734 ½ lbs with one hand on October 8th 1920, at a bodyweight of no more than 290lbs (he also had a 1 rep max two handed deadlift of 830lbs, less than 100lbs off the current world record and his was accomplished without support gear or drug use).
* John Davis, two-time Olympic champion competing between 1937 and 1956, capable of squatting 500lbs fully for 10 reps, deadlifting 705lbs, strict curling 215lbs, and overhead pressing 375lbs. All without support gear or drugs.
* Paul Anderson, possibly the strongest man who ever lived, squatted 1206lbs, push pressed 600lbs, and still holds the all time record for heaviest weight lifted by a human, of 6270lbs in the backlift (check in the Guinness Book of records if you don't believe me).
* Reg Park, won the NABBA Mr. Universe title three times in 1951, 1958 and 1965 as well as many other bodybuilding awards from the 1940's to 1960's. The second person ever to bench press 500lbs, regularly squatted and deadlifted with 600lbs, and behind the neck pressed a 1 rep max of 300lbs. He was Arnold Schwarzenegger's hero, and was also British! How long did he train for? About 3 times a week, for about an hour.
There are many more examples if you're willing to look into the iron game's illustrious past.
During the mid 1960s and 1970s the influence of anabolic steroids became more prevalent in bodybuilding - they had been present before from about the 1950s, but took some time to take off as even into the late '60's, many lifters had great worries about the potential for ill health as a result of taking them. It is, if we look back, about this time that routines began to change and evolve into what we see today where a typical workout may consist of 25 sets, attempting to work each muscle independently and without thought to the body's own biochemical reactions. In my mind not only is this type of training counterproductive for the great majority of trainees, but also makes it impossible to put forth the level of hard work that is essential for muscular growth and physical advancement. Let us look at it this way, we have two people, one of whom trains 20 sets in a chest and triceps workout, he spends about an hour and a half in the gym, in which time doing 4 sets of flat bench, 4 sets of incline, 4 sets of cable cross-overs, 4 sets of skull-crushers on the ez-bar, and 4 sets of cable push downs. He feels his workout has been productive, takes a shower, and goes on his way.
On the other hand we have a guy who trains twice a week for less than an hour each time. He does cardio twice a week also and is in good shape, but lifts only on Monday and Thursday. His Monday workout consists of squats, to at least parallel, bench presses on a flat bench, bent over rows, barbell curls and sit-ups. Starting with squats he warms up then proceeds to a working weight of 300lbs for 20 reps, he always goes to the point where he has to drop the weight on the support bars of the squat rack, which means some weeks he gets 18 reps, some 24. If he gets 19 or better he moves the weight up 5lbs next week. Going to failure on hard squatting has the addition effect of occasionally meaning he has to sit down for 10 minutes afterward, or run to the toilet and puke - both sure signs of hard work, the type of hard work that is a prerequisite to solid muscle building. After the squats he moves on to bench presses. He sees no need to do incline, decline, flyes, cross-overs and endless other accessory movements for he already benches 250lbs for 8 full and smooth reps, and has a chest measurement of 45 inches with little body fat (not amazing, but easily a 300lb single and better than most of the people reading this I'd wager, and also better that the vast majority of people you've seen training in your gym!). Each set here is taken to muscular failure, where the spotter must take the weight from him on the last rep. Our lifter does not do forced reps, he doesn't see that need to pretend he lifts more than he does, and knows it can lead to over-training. The spotter only interferes with the set if the lifter asks and can't do anymore.
Bent over rows come next, 2 hard sets with 240lbs (far too many people have benching strength massively in excess of their pulling strength, and it is this kind of stupidity in training that helps lead to the multitude of shoulder injuries that are seen today). After this again, 2 sets of curls hard and to failure, and then 1 set of sit-ups for 50 reps. Sometimes he does these holding a disc on his stomach and going to failure, but today felt like simply repping it out.
The lifter above did just 8 sets, who has worked harder? Let me give you a test, if you don't believe that 2 short workouts each week can work, go to the gym and do this:
1) Take your ten rep squatting poundage and squat it for 30. If you fail and have to drop it on the squat rack pins, unload it then put it back up, load it again and keep going until you reach 30 repetitions!
2) Move on to deadlifts, take your 10-rep poundage and do the same, keeping your back flat and your form good.
3) Do one set of overhead presses to failure.
Do this and then come back and say you had an easy workout.
The basis of High Intensity Training
Arthur Jones created HIT back in the 1970's as an alternative to the high volume routines that often gave its gym followers little results. He scientifically tested his methods in order to convince others in the training industry, and also to help sell his machines. They became popular and Nautilus centres sprung up all over the United States. Mike Mentzer and others that he trained took what they learnt from Jones and created their own twists to the system, which at the time was heavily based on pre-exhaust techniques and sometimes negatives. In some cases they improved it, sometimes they didn't. The most influential spokespersons for modern day HIT training would likely be people like Dr Ken Liestner, the sadly departed Mike Mentzer, Stuart McRobert, and others who you'll no-doubt find if you do a simple internet search (or alternatively go to www.cyberpump.com, commonly referred to as the HIT mother ship).
A basic HIT workout in its modern guise would look something like this,
Day 1
Bench press or weighted dips 2x8
Squats 1x20
Bent over rows 2x8
Day 2
Overhead press 2x8
Deadlifts or straight leg deadlifts 1x15
Chins 2x8
Abs done on both days for 1 or 2 sets, and all sets taken to failure.
This workout runs on the same principles that Bob Whelan (trainer, powerlifter, and respected iron writer) espouses in his programs (see www.naturalstrength.com) - you're doing squats, some form of deadlift, a vertical pull/push, and a horizontal pull/push, in so doing, working all the available musculature of the body.
Here's a split of how it works:
Legs and lower back (the most important muscle groups for any accomplished bodybuilder or weightlifter) - deadlifts, squats
Back and biceps - rows, chins
Chest, shoulders and triceps - Bench press or dips, overhead press
Abs - sit-ups or crunches done on both sessions.
Forearms - deadlifts, rows, chins
With these exercises you keep in mind poundage targets that are hard but achievable, and when you accomplish them, raise the stakes and set new ones. "Ah", you say, "but I'm a bodybuilder! Unconcerned with strength, I merely want big arms and bulging pecs, big enough to make the girls drool over my Adonis like body!"
Nope. The reason why poundage targets are used is that for the beginner at least, and in most cases for everyone that isn't a top-flight professional bodybuilder, is that poundage targets are not only the simplest indicators of progress, but also the best. There may not be a linear relationship between size and strength, but one does exist and if today you can curl 80lbs for 4 repetitions, yet in 6 months you manage 140lbs in the same fashion, your arms will undoubtedly be bigger. Focus on getting stronger in the "big basics" and your body will develop much better than it would by measuring yourself each week, using trial and error to work out "what sort of pump benefits me?" Plus, in my own meagre opinion, poundage targets are manlier!
Here are some good targets to work to over the medium to long term, once you reach these you will have surpassed 99% of all weight trainers all over the world, and will likely be one of the stronger guys in your gym,
Squats to at least parallel: 300lbs or 1.5xbodyweightx20, 400lbsx1
Deadlifts: 350lbsx20, 500lbsx1
Bench press: 240lbsx8, 300lbsx1
Standing shoulder press: 180lbsx6
Bent over rows: 220lbsx8
Lifting these poundage's at 200lbs bodyweight (14lbs in a stone), would roughly equate to an arm of over 16 inches, and a chest of over 45 inches. Do these sound small? Arnold Schwarzenegger's arms were 19 inches, he may have claimed otherwise but at his peak they were measured by Arthur Jones in what most believe to have been fair and controlled conditions. Nowadays bodybuilders still claim measurements that are far in excess of what they truly are, and if I were you I would take those (and their poundage claims) with a pinch of salt. Part of their business is the business of disinformation in order to sell supplements, so bare that in mind the next time you read of a 675lbs incline press.
The other HIT conditions for growth
In brief,
1) Hard work. Not long work, but hard work. You must work harder than you have ever done at any point in your life. If you do not put every ounce of effort you possibly can into each and every set, then you will not get the results that you could. This is especially true of squats and deadlifts, as the very big moves have a much greater carry-over effect to total body development than any other.
2) Good nutrition. Eat well. You must have an adequate intake of all the essential vitamins and minerals your body requires each day, as well as fats, the essential fatty acids. You must also take in adequate calories each day, if you're eating 2000 calories a day as a fully grown adult male, the chances are you are eating far too little to grow your body or to maximise the benefits that weight training can bring. Adjust your calories by eating more if you want to grow, and less if you want to cut body fat, and make sure to take in adequate protein, fresh vegetables, and fresh fruit. There's much more on bodybuilding/weight training nutrition elsewhere on www.MuscleTalk.co.uk, so go there and learn, as it's not my personal area of expertise.
3) Include cardio-vascular work. This is not just for health - though that is it's most important benefit - but also to allow you to grow better in the long run. A healthy body is an adaptable body, and ultimately, by doing just something along the lines of 2 cardio sessions a week for 30 minutes or so will help keep fat off and aid recovery times between weights workouts.
4) Rest. If you aren't getting at least 7-8 hours sleep each night your body will find it much more difficult to repair and progress. There's no way I can believe someone without the benefit of drugs or incredible genetics would reach notable levels of muscularity and fitness without adequate sleep and recuperation. You grow when you sleep, end of message.
Conclusion
If at the end of this article you take nothing more away from it than the message of consistent progressive training, then the article will have been a success. There's no use in using the greatest routine ever devised, if you only workout one week in three, or working harder than anyone else in the gym, if you never increase your poundage's. Work on getting to good numbers in the big lifts, in good form with a good range of motion, setting both long and short term goals, and keep at it. To sum up, squat hard, deadlift hard, eat, rest and grow - the secret's out, good luck!
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