CYPRUS MUSCLE
NOVEMBER 2001
Issue 01-02
Dedication to the Education of Athletic Development.
By Clint Darden
N.C.D. Calloway Continuing Education Ltd.
LA Muscle Shop
Limassol, Cyprus
99987972
clint@cystrongman.com
www.clintdarden.com
www.cystrongman.com
www.callowaycontinuinged.com
Michelle “Miche” Scott
Age: 35
Country: Canada
Height: 5’5” (167 cm)
Off-Season Body Weight: 160 lbs (72 kg)
Contest Body Weight: 135 lbs (61 kg)
Sport: Bodybuilding
Years Training: 7.5
Years Competing: 2
General Training Program:
5 day a week split. Legs are split up into two separate training days, which
gives me a pretty unusual training week but my coach and my nutritionist both
insist on at least 2 off days. Cardio is done after every workout, but in the
off season it's reduced to 20 minutes.
I rotate my training cycles between a strength cycle wherein I do the same exercises for 4 weeks, each workout trying to go heavier. Then for the next 4 weeks I alternate my exercises every week. Regardless which cycle I am on, I include as many compound exercises as I can.
How much cardio do you normally do when getting ready for a contest?
The amount changes the duration of the prep. However I typically start with
25 mins of cardio once a day and by the final week I am doing 45-50 mins of
cardio twice a day
You say that you alternate exercises every week; can you give us an
idea of what exercises that you might alternate? Say over 3-4 weeks.
Take Quads for example. On week one I might front squat, leg press, and do dumbbell step ups. Week two I could squat, hack squat and maybe bb lunges. Week three I would front squat again, leg press again and maybe add single leg extensions. Week 4 I squat, hack and do db lunges.
Contest History:
2006 OPA Ontario National Qualifier (Ontario Naturals): 2nd Place Women's Heavyweight
Class
2006 OPA Ontario National Qualifier (Ontario Naturals): Best Poser
2007 OPA Ontario National Qualifier (Ontario Naturals): 1st Place Women's Heavyweight
Best Poser
2006 OPA Ontario National Qualifier (Ontario Naturals): Overall Winner
Can you give us an idea of what are some of your long-term goals?
I would really love the opportunity to be named to Team Canada and earn a trip
to the IFBB World Championships. As well I would really like to see how much
muscle I can put on my frame and of course how strong I can get. I want to know
what is impossible... what can't I do.
What kind of short and medium-term goals have you set for yourself to help get you on your way?
I like to focus on measurable strength goals in the off season. I figure you
can't really lift heavier weight without putting on muscle mass. Also it helps
me keep from going crazy wondering if I am growing :-)
Current Goals:
Flat Bench 225
Deadlift 315
Squat 315
How do you go about getting named to Team Canada?
Competitors at the CBBF National World qualifier ‘contend for a position on Team Canada’. That is how it is phrased on the CBBF (Canadian Bodybuilding Federation) website.
What weaknesses are you working on right now?
My Calves, Delts and Pec's.
How do you plan to fix these weaknesses?
With my calves I've added dynamic stretching to my routine. I keep the volume high with calves but the stretching has definitely changed things. With my delts I am going very high volume, particularly with regards to my medial delts which I feel is where the balance of my weakness lays. I start all chest and delt work, with sets of lateral raises to failure.
Give us an idea of what your daily/weekly diet is like right now.
I eat 7 meals a day about 2100 calories per day. I usually off season at 2300,
but since my weight is already up at 160 lbs I'm going to stay with 2100 calories.
Each meal has protein, carbs and fat. I train in the evenings most days, so I definitely don't restrict my carbs in the evenings. On training days I also add a PWO shake so on training days I’m taking in 2400 calories.
I generally eat the same things everyday. We've found that my body does not like change. Carb rotation diets, for example do not work well for me. I get one cheat meal a week... which I don't measure and I don't even try to stay within my macros. 2 shakes a day, starting the day with Muscle Milk and ending it with Iso-Stack, the remaining 5 meals are chewed and they are Chicken, Turkey or Eggs.
How will it change when you start getting ready for a show?
The diet will be cleaned up. The Muscle Milk will be shelved till the off season.
I am currently adding some peanut butter to my p.m. shake that will be replaced
with MCT oil. I will become more diligent about measuring my food and the weekly
cheat meal will likely be gone.
How many weeks out will you start dieting?
I like to run a 20 week diet. It allows me the ability to come in slow and steady,
wherein I can hang onto as much muscle mass as I can.
What kind of changes will you make throughout those weeks?
Well that's really George's (my nutritionist) call. But traditionally he usually
likes to make only slight changes to macros and food intake while slowly and
slightly ramping up the cardio.
Is there anything that you do over the last few days that really makes
a difference?
This last prep I chose to do the final week without any sweetener. I don't know
for a fact that doing that, made much of a difference but in my head it did.
I think that bodybuilding is as much a mental game as it is a physical one.
That last week you need to keep your stress levels down as much as possible,
you need to believe that you've done as much as you can. You just need to do
what you’re told and practice, practice, practice.
Do you have an idea of what your ideal contest body weight would be
for the future?
I suspect that I will hold pretty much around 135 lbs. I am adding muscle mass
but each time we dial me in, I seem to be able to achieve better conditioning.
So although my stage weight hasn’t changed much, I’ve been considerably
leaner and with larger muscle bellies.
Can you take us through a normal day of eating right now?
Meal One: Oatmeal in Muscle Milk (Not a full serving of Muscle Milk)
Meal Two: A whole egg scrambled with egg whites, oatmeal and yogurt.
Meal Three: Turkey, Rye Toast and an Apple
Meal Four: Chicken, Brown Rice and a Tossed Salad with MCT Oil
Meal Five: Chicken, Brown Rice and Green Beans with MCT Oil
Meal Six: Chicken, Brown Rice and Broccoli with MCT Oil
Meal Seven: Oatmeal and Iso-Stack (slow digesting protein) with Peanut Butter
:-)
Contrast that with a normal day of diet prep food.
Meal One: Egg Whites and Oatmeal
Meal Two: Egg Whites and Oatmeal
Meal Three: Turkey Breast, Broccoli with MCT Oil
Meal Four: Chicken Breast, Tossed Salad, Green Beans with MCT Oil
Meal Five: Chicken Breast, Broccoli with MCT Oil
Meal Six: Chicken Breast, Green Beans with MCT Oil
Meal Seven/PWO Shake: Iso-Flex Protein Shake with MCT Oil*
What kind of post-workout shake do you like to eat?
Off season I will have a low carb shake but I will add a banana to it. During
prep I will have the shake without the banana.
What do you look for in a post workout meal?
I’m looking for a balanced meal. My off season target is 35% Protein,
35% Carb and 30% Fat. On the weekends when I train earlier in the day my post
workout is made of whole foods. Chicken or turkey as my protein source, brown
rice as my carb and MCT Oil for my fats.
Do you have a goal of how much protein, carbs, and fats that you will
take in during the day?
Absolutely, I’m currently eating 2100 calories and I am aiming to put
in around 175 g of protein and carbs and 70 g of fats. Whereas during the final
weeks of show prep where my diet is closer to 1600 calories the break down was
180 g of protein, 80 g of carbs and 60 g of fat
Do you try to cut your carbs later in the evenings?
Cutting carbs in the evening is really a show prep kind of ploy. Basically in
the off season you’re trying not to use the same tricks you use during
the prep, that way when its ‘go time’ your body is more apt to respond.
During the off season I try to keep my meals equally balanced throughout the
day.
Do you have a favorite cheat meal?
If you promise not to dime me out to my coaches. I will tell you... I have a
weakness for chocolate cake with chocolate icing.
I know that you are not afraid of “training heavy” and
with compound exercises. Can you give me an idea what got you into this mindset
of training styles?
My coach is a firm believer in the basics. He has taught me that we don't stray
away from the basics because simply... they work. I see a lot of different training
styles in my gym, stuff on the stability ball, the bosu ball and whatnot. Now
I don't dispute that they are hard to do but my sport requires muscle mass and
I know that to get what I need I have to lift heavy.
The second part of it is... well frankly I get a huge ego boost out of doing compounds. I just don't get off on going light, in fact when my strength dips during the final weeks and I am forced to lift lighter I tend to get rather pissy about it.
Most women believe that lifting heavy will make them HUGE or “too
big” and even “like a man”. How do you feel about this?
To be honest with you most people believe that, regardless of their gender.
I've had men come up to me in the gym and ask me if I'm not afraid of turning
into a man since I lift so heavy. Since I work at the gym I refrain from asking
them if they aren't afraid they will turn into a woman from lifting so light
:-)
But I have found that you can try to educate people but they are really going to believe what they are going to believe. When I work with my clients I try to explain to them that I do want them to lift heavy to achieve their fitness goals but that I have no intention of turning them into a bodybuilder. I will admit at the very beginning I too was afraid of lifting heavy. I think you have to start on that path and see how truly hard it is to put on muscle to really understand.
Do you have any certain favorite body part to train?
I love training so much that I don't think I have a favorite. I am less excited
about training delts, calves and abs though.
What about a favorite exercise?
Deads, Squats (Front or Back), Stiffs... I can't pick just one.
Do you feel that people often spend too much time “shaping”
muscle before they actually “build” enough muscle to shape?
I do see some ‘lost’ trainees in the gym. They are either convinced
that they have to get into shape first by doing cardio, or they are focusing
on their ‘trouble spots’ and have taken up near permanent residence
in the ab and adductor machines.
Off course I can’t forget the young kids who walk around in the ‘wife beater’ shirts doing every upper body exercise known to man... with special consideration given to machines located in front of the mirrors. They either never do legs or a couple quick sets of leg extensions and hamstring curls.
What kind of rep range do you consider to be “heavy”?
In my world 4-8 reps is heavy 12-15 is moderate and 20 reps is light. I leave
the singles, doubles and triples to you guys :-)
A lot of people fail to reach their goals, short, medium, and long-term.
What kind of mistakes do you see that leave people failing like this?
You have to know exactly what your goal is... and you have to gather as much
knowledge as you can before you start. I constantly see people who are determined
to shortchange their bodies of the nutrients it needs. All the while requiring
their under nourished body to do more and more work. And then they wonder why
they aren't seeing their goals. I see people bouncing from this fad diet to
another and from one fad exercise to another.
Stay on a program long enough to know that it's not working for you, but do not stay on it indefinitely. Life is not a series of fad anything's. You cannot eat Atkins, South Beach, etc... forever and if you do things properly you are going to be on this planet for a while. Learn how to eat. Learn how to train. Cardio is a tool yes... but it's not the only tool!
I notice that in your training videos that I see posted on the internet,
you are always wearing your mp3 player and headphones. What do you normally
listen do when you train?
Since you've seen those videos you've heard the background music playing in
the gym. I am sure you understand why I've got to wear an mp3 player LOL.
Musically I am all over the map. I've got some hip hop in there, some classic rock, r and b, old school rap, alternative... basically music is an energy source that I tap into. I definitely use my music to get into the zone and focus before a lift.
Ok, so what do you do for fun?
What training doesn’t count??? Ride my bike, hang out with my friends,
see the odd movie, I also spend countless hours in front of my computer logged
onto IronTrybe and other forums or chatting to my friends all over the world.
I see that you got a bike not too long ago. Tell me what you got. Ride it everywhere?
What would you like to have?
I’ve got a 1993 Kawasaki EX-500. The 93 EX was, if I remember correctly,
the last production year before the model was renamed the Ninja. The past two
years that I have had the bike have been the best summers ever!
This past bike season I started doing a few more longer distance rides. Silly things like riding 75 kms to sit down, have a cup of coffee, turn around and ride back. There was even an all female sport bike ride which was an awesome time. It was fun to watch the jaws drop when people realized that there were 11 women under all that bike gear.
After I ride this bike into the ground, (I really can’t see me selling this bike... I’ve become too attached to her), then I will likely step up to the Kawasaki ZX-6.
What contests do you have planned over the next year or so?
For the next couple of years at least I will be competing at the World Qualifier,
in my quest for that spot on Team Canada. I also have been toying with the idea
of doing an untested OPA show. Basically the World Qualifier and Team Canada,
if I can make that goal a reality, is the end of the road for the OPA’s
Natural Events. By switching to the untested shows it could allow me more opportunities
to continue to compete. And a whole another tier system to make my way through.
Michelle posts as “Miche” at www.IronTrybe.com with LOTS of videos!!!
October Training Video Contest
Ryan Brown
Age: 34
Country: USA
Height: 6’3” (191 cm)
Off-Season Body Weight: - 240 (109 kg)
Contest Body Weight: - 231 (105 kg)
Sport: Strongman
Years Training: 17
Years Competing: 7
General Training Program:
My general training program is based somewhat on Westside Barbell type concepts. (www.elitefts.com). I love box squats with bands for sets of 2. I have been very consistent with these for years. On upper body I tend mix it up a bit more because I do not have as much success with upper body. I typically train events on the weekend, usually running through about four events for about two runs each. I typically figure out what I plan to do about a week prior. Unless a contest is coming up I often times do the lower body ME type exercise (usually a pull variation) prior to events.
Contest History:
I’ve been competing since around 2000 in Powerlifting and in Strongman since early 2002. Around 2004 I completely phased out of powerlifting and dedicated completely to strongman.
Strongman contests that I recall
Tennessee Terror Strongman Challenge New Tazwell, TN
2nd
2006 TN Team Contest Tennessee 2nd
Fit Expo 2006 Las Angeles, CA 2nd
PFI Maxivision Strongman Showdown Clearwater, FLA 12/10/2005
1st
United Strongman Series Edmonton, Canada 9/10/2005 7th
2005 Northeast Wisconsin Strongman Challenge Pro-Am New London, Wi 8/20/2005
1st
2005 Mountaineer Pro-Am Weirton, WV 3rd
2005 Central USA Pro-Am Kokomo, IN 3rd
2005 Monsters of the Midwest St. Louis, MO 3rd
2005 Snowman Challenge Pro-Am IL 6th
2004 North American Strongman Nationals Atlanta, GA 2nd
2004 Bluegrass Strongman Kentucky 1st
2004 Xtreme Strongman Showdown Boston 5th
2003 Monsters of the Midwest St. Louis, MO 6th
2003 North American Strongman Nationals Myrtle Beach, SC 4th
2003 Central USA Kokomo, IN 4th
2003 Missouri's Strongest Man St. Louis, MO 1st
2003 Xtreme Strongman Showdown Boston 2nd
2002 North American Strongman Nationals St. Louis, MO 6th
2002 Tennessee Strongest Man Tennessee 1st
2002 Midwest Strongman Challenge St. Louis, MO 6th
The powerlifting meets were more local in nature in Tennessee and Alabama. I did total over Elite at my last couple of meets. That was one of my main goals in powerlifting and once I achieved it I lost a lot of my interest in powerlifting.
Can you give us an idea of what are some of your long-term goals?
My long term goals are to be healthy and to have fun with my training. I am also trying to find a balance where I can be a very fit and strong person, but not have Strongman dominate my life. It is tough sometimes to mix it in with my life with a wife and two kids and a demanding job.
What kind of short and medium-term goals have you set for yourself to
help get you on your way?
Short term goal is to go pro as a 231 strongman. It would
be nice to do this by winning LW nationals this year. This is just a goal I
have because only a couple of other guys have earned a heavyweight and a lightweight
pro card. I’m not sure I will compete that often as a 231, but I do want
to compete about two times per year for the next few years. I think I may have
the potential to go farther as a lw competitor than I did as a heavyweight competitor
because I was always a little small for a heavyweight competitor.
What weaknesses are you working on right now?
OHP has always been my weakness and it still is. On most all of the other events I feel that I am at a high level for a lw, but I am continuing to improve.
How do you plan to fix these weaknesses?
I am training it two times per week now and I’m trying to be patient with it. My technique is improving. As a tall light weight I know that I need all the help I can get. Using sub maximal weights of about 75% for many sets of three is allowing me to become very comfortable with the 12” log. I am already fairly comfortable with the axle. I have also added in some Kettle bell training for something different.
I continue to also stay the course with my strong events by training hard and training smart. I have become pretty good about not training beyond what I can recover from.
Give us an idea of what your daily/weekly diet is like right now.
It is probably about 4,000 calories per day. During the week it is usually fairly clean and fairly consistent. No fast food and most of the food is food I eat at home. My office is 5 minutes from my house so I eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at home on most days. Breakfast is typically a big bowl of oatmeal—not the instant kind. I also don’t cook it. This makes it stay with me longer and I like it that way better. I also have about 45 grams of whey protein shake, often in soy milk. I also like to have a fruit drink consisting of about three carrots and an apple ground up. I always have Udo’s choice oil also.
Lunch I like to eat a lot of beans oddly enough. I have adapted to the high fiber and they do not gas me up now. I also like organic peanut butter or almond butter with homemade blueberry preserves with some high quality bread. I typically have another whey shake and some vegetables.
Dinner is typically divided pre-workout and post workout. I get off at 5:00 so I workout about 5:30 usually. When I get home I may have some oats, some protein shake and maybe some juice. Then I workout for about 1.5 hours at my home gym, which typically includes some cardio (various programs on my treadmill). During the workout I will have Gatorade. Post workout I have Virtago followed by some protein shake about twenty minutes later. Then I have some more substantive food like chicken breast, vegetables or whatever my wife may have cooked.
For other supplements I am big on Liv52 after seeing the stress my hard workouts were putting on my liver. I also like Beverly anti-oxidants and some multivitamins. I like fish oil also and take about two capsules of this with each meal.
How will it change when you start getting ready for a show?
My diet does not really change for a contest. For health reasons I have decided to try to stay relatively lean and within ten pounds or so of my contest weight of 231. The week of the contest I cut back on carbohydrates some to cut water for the weigh-in, but there is no drastic change. In the old days when I was getting ready for a lightweight contest I may go as high as 260 lbs in the off season. This seems counter-productive and I think it is not great for your health to always be going up and down. It also plays havoc with my wardrobe.
How many weeks out will you start really focusing on a show?
Really it depends on how important the contest is to me and how good I think I am at the events. Generally I will start training for the specific events so that I run through the contest events about four times prior to the contest so about five weeks out. I do stones at almost every event day. The main consideration is whether or not there is a deadlift or squat event. For instance, Nationals this year is almost all speed oriented so that is my focus. For the five weeks prior to that contest I have not done ME deadlift prior to events.
What kind of changes will you make throughout those weeks?
Basically I will try to increase the intensity and weight over each week. For instance in getting ready for Nationals I started my stone workout by doing a set of five with a 308 stone to a 54” box. I have gradually moved up and at the next workout I plan to go beyond the contest requirements and hit a set of 8 or so with the 332 stone to 54”. I do similar on the other events and try to exceed the contest weights by about 10% to give me lots of confidence. On the week prior to the contest I will do a run through with the contest weights paying particular attention to the specific rules at the contest. For instance I will make sure on the last two weeks that I have my partners give me the official start command and keep my time with a stop watch. I try to pretend I have only one go at it and iron out any issues that are spotted.
Is there anything that you do over the last few days that really makes a difference with your performance?
Nothing really. I just try to rest and relax. At that point I am as ready as I can get and the only thing that can hurt me is to get overly anxious and not sleep well. I try to keep the protein high as I am usually limiting calories some to make weight.
Do you have any certain favorite events?
I have lots of favorites. What is my favorite varies from time to time. Right now I’m really liking Yoke and Stones. I’ve always like tire flip also. I do not really like farmers (too painful), but it is something that I am usually good at doing. I also love to squat. I do not love to deadlift, but it is something I am good at doing. I basically like all of the events. I even like log press even though I am not good at it.
A lot of people fail to reach their goals, short, medium, and long-term. What kind of mistakes do you see that leave people failing like this?
One problem I see is people not paying attention to recovery. If you don’t recover by sleeping and eating correctly then you are wasting your time. Another problem is not sticking with a program. There are many ways to skin the cat, but you have to stick with a valid program long enough to see results. My squat workout template is essentially identical now to what it was 7 years ago.
But the biggest issue I see is that you have to want it. Some people say they want it, but they really don’t. The reason I know they don’t is because they allow things to prevent them from recovering, prevent them from making their workouts, etc. Many people are quick to see a successful strongman and say—he is a freak or he is on drugs. In some cases one or both of these may be true. But if the strongman is successful it is probably in large part due to his serious dedication beyond what any outsider would know. I am almost embarrassed sometimes about how much time I have spent thinking about or training for strongman.
Going from being a Heavyweight at near 290 lbs to a competitive athlete at 231, what big changes did you make?
I just stopped working out altogether. When I did that I just ate like a normal person. My body is not meant to be 290 lbs so it naturally just dropped back down to 225 or so. A lot of the bodyweight loss was muscle, but a lot was fat also.
What prompted the big change?
Many things. For one, like I said I kind of needed a break. I had hit it hard for 5+ years and was somewhat burned out. But it was also the fact that my training crew kind of fell apart. For years I had a great crew and we trained very hard—often times taking six or more hours on Saturdays to train. Part of the reason I got up to 290 was to hang with another training partner who weighed 370. He was injured and had to stop training. Another dedicated partner went away to school. I was also changing jobs during this period and trying to sell my house. When I put my house on the market I put all of my strongman stuff into storage.
I don’t regret taking the time off. I essentially accomplished my goal as a HW—to earn my pro card and compete in a few pro contests. I felt my best test was in Florida in 2005. At that contest I won as a pro and would have again earned my pro card had I not already earned it in Wisconsin. This kind of validated it as legitimate to me and to some others. At that contest I beat a lot of top competitors, many of which were then or are now pro. I didn’t really have the desire to go to the next level of WSM. Part of it was that I acknowledged in my own mind that it would not be possible for me without either taking performance enhancing drugs or gaining more weight than I wanted to gain.
I know that you are a big believer of being “drug-free”. Can you give us an idea your philosophy behind this?
It’s actually a little hard to put my finger on it. I guess there are a number of reasons that all kind of combine to make me sure it is not the right choice for me.
Legality. Part of it is certainly that in the USA these drugs are illegal and I don’t want to break the law.
Health reasons. I am by no means an expert on the side effects of performance enhancing drugs, but I am convinced that at least some of them are very dangerous to a person’s health.
Religious reasons. I don’t bring this up that much, but I am a Christian so I make it a goal of mine to try to be like Jesus. I do not get this right many times of course. But on the question of drugs I think I have it right. When I ask the question what would Jesus do, I have to answer that I do not think he would take drugs to increase his lifts. Of course he may not even lift weights, but that’s another issue.
Competitive Spirit. I think that there is something to be said for lifting as much as you can with the body that you are given. I know that my lifts are the result of my hard work. I do not know what drugs would do for me and I do not know what they have done for other people, but I feel good knowing that my lifts are 100% the result of my training and not the result of any drugs.
Perspective. Could I lift more on drugs? I would assume yes. But what would be different? Right now I can go out and put a weight on the bar that is a challenge for me and have fun lifting it and seeing progress from lifting it. If I were taking performance enhancing substances I would probably be doing the exact same thing—just with 50-100 more lbs on the bar. In the grand scheme of things weight lifting is all about the challenge of seeing if I can lift more next week than I did this week. It is not about the exact amount of weight I can lift. If I could squat 2,000 lbs I would want to squat 2010 lbs. I don’t think that taking any drugs would increase the enjoyment I have when I lift weights; it would just change the amount of weight I put on the bar.
One should note that you have been VERY successful being clean. Do you feel that this is something that everyone can achieve? Do you feel that you are “genetically gifted”?
Unfortunately, I do not think that everyone can be as successful with strongman as I have whether or not they are clean. People just have different talents. One of mine happens to be that I respond well to training. I have beaten many guys who are clean and many guys who are not clean. I do feel I am genetically gifted in some areas, but not in others. I can definitely appreciate what it is like to be a hard-gainer by seeing how my upper body lifts go. On upper body I am weaker than your average amateur strongman competitor. These lifts just do not go up for me as easily as lower body lifts. On the lower body strongman events they seem to come very easily to me.
I do think everyone can be successful being clean. Successful in my book is laying it on the line and giving it all you have got. Strength sports are about increasing your personal abilities. Everyone can do this. I am just as proud of myself when I hit a 230 log for five reps on OHP as I am when I move a 700 lb yoke 80 feet in less than ten seconds. Both are my best at this point in time at this bodyweight. It just so happens that one of those is not that competitive, and the other is very competitive as compared to other people.
I will say that many people use genetics as an excuse for their lack of desire. Great strength athletes are not flashes in the pan. They last. They have a thirst for the weights that lasts for years—maybe a lifetime. To someone that doesn’t get it, it is not explainable. To a fellow strongman, it doesn’t need any explanation. I have read about everything I can get my hands on about training. This has been a focus of mine for about 17 years. Many people just want the quick and easy answer. I have learned that if they are not willing to go dig into it and find it, they don’t want it enough and they would quickly burn out even if I were to lay it all out for them.
Ryan posts as “LLG” at www.IronTrybe.com, look for LOTS of his training videos on the Training Forum!!!
Look for more interviews with Ryan Brown soon…
October Training Video Contest
Chest Training
According to Dorian Yates
“Blood and Guts”
Barbell Bench Press
Incline Press – barbell, dumbbell, or Smith Machine
Dumbbell Flye
Bench Press:
1. My personal favorite is to bench press on a slight decline. I feel this shifts
more emphasis to the pectorals, with les on the front delts and pec tendons.
This tendon is vulnerable to injury when using the conventional flat bench press.
2. I prefer using a medium grip with hands about shoulder width apart. This helps ensure that my forearms are parallel with each other at the bottom of the movement. I also prefer not to put my thumbs around the bar. I find that this help take the emphasis away from my arms and allows me to focus more on my pecs. If you choose this type of grip, make sure you have a good spotter.
3. Perform the lowering or negative part of the movement slowly and under control. Think of your pecs on springs being compressed. When the bar touches the chest, release the spring and perform the positive movement powerfully and quickly as possible. Never bounce the weight of your chest. Always control the weight.
4. After reaching the point of muscular failure, have your training partner or spotter help you do one or two forced reps. Or after reaching failure with six to eight reps, put the weight back into the rack and rest-pause for 10 seconds, then take the same weight again and do another one or to reps.
5. A competent spotter is essential for safety when handling heavy weights. Never bench press alone.
I believe decline barbell presses are superior for mid to low chest development. Declines are also safer. Occasionally I’ll do flat bench pressing. However, I’m very careful since the majority o pec tears occur from flat bench pressing. Barbell, dumbbell, or Smith machine inclines are the best for upper chest development. It’s important not to have too much incline. Using an angle of no higher than 30 degrees is ideal. Anything higher than that tends to put more stress on the font delts and joints and takes much of the work off of the chest.
Staggered Grips: Another intensity-producing principle I use is something I call “staggered grips”. It is a subtle technique but it really works! Let’s say I’m doing an incline bench press with a wide grip on the bar. After I’ve done five or six reps with my hands wide, I rack the weight and reposition my hands four or five inches closer to the middle. I do another five or six reps. I rack the weight one more time and move my hands about eight inches apart from each other – like doing a close grip bench press – and do five or six more reps.
I feel this all over my chest because I’m essentially hitting different areas of the pec simply by moving my grip. The wider my grip, the more I hit the outer pec. The loser my grip, the more I hit the inner pec. I allow myself only a few seconds rest to change grip and I’m back hitting it for more reps.
Squats
Arnold Schwarzenegger
“Arnold on Squats” Flex Classic
Special Issue No. 1, 1994
When I was first learning how to train, I used to do full squats. I did them exclusively for the thighs. I labored under the belief that if I did my full squats faithfully on a firm reps and set basis, I would get everything I needed in the way of thighs. Over the years, my thinking has changed considerably.
Everybody does squats: weightlifters, bodybuilders, football players, track athletes and even ballet dancers. The squat increases the power speed and spring of the legs. It develops endurance. It increases the size of the thigh. When practiced with heavy breathing, it permanently expands the rib cage. It can help you gain weight. It can help you lose weight. With these multiple benefits, the squat goes on record as the best all-around exercise.
Well, if it could do all these things, why would I even bother to change my style of squatting? My business is bodybuilding, first of all. It’s nice to have all the capabilities of the athlete, and I’ll accept them as a side-effect of doing squats. However, I am more directly concerned with defining and shaping my thighs for the purposes of muscle competition and exhibition. Therefore, I’ll describe some things from my standpoint, and other things from yours, which I think everybody should know.
The full squat, all the way down and all the way up, has the advantage of working a lot of other body parts besides the thighs, like back, glute, and chest. They certainly developed the lumbar muscles of my lower back. That was a terrific advantage. The disadvantage was that 50% of the effort worked my thighs, and at least 30% worked my glutes. I found that the first third of the movement of coming up from a full squat worked my glutes. The final two-thirds of the movement worked the entire thigh, but no particular part. So, what happened was my rear got big, and my thighs got bulky and shapeless. Neither of these two effects served my purpose for bodybuilding.
There are several ways to do squats. The most conventional of these remains the regular squat with the barbell resting on the shoulders behind the neck and a movement consisting of a full deep knee bend with a return to the fully erect position. There is the half squat – halfway down and all the way up – that may also be done astride a bench for protection against going too deep. Another is the tension squat where you don’t lock out your knees at the top. You drop three-quarters of the way down and return three-quarters of the way up. The movement is performed through the middle half of the entire range of motion. There is the jump squat which is excellent for weightlifters and other athletes interested in getting extra spring and starting power. Front squats, where the weight is held across the chest, is done with a straight back. The sissy squat involves only the front quadriceps and is done with the hips held forward, dipping low using knee flexion only. The hack squat is done with the barbell held behind the legs, or on the specially designed hack machine. The one-legged squat rounds out the basic list of the most familiar forms of the squat.
For me, the only advantage of the full squat was that it built my back along with my thighs, as a result I was able to deadlift 700 pounds. If you want power, the full squat is the way to get it. If it is shape and size that you want, then there are several different and better ways, such as I have described.
Position of the feet exerts different pressures and enables concentration on different areas of the thighs. For instance, when you put your feet close together and parallel, all the effort of the squat goes into the quadriceps and gives the thigh a front sweep look. It should be done with a block under the heels for better balance. A friend of mine, Karl Schranz, world champion skier for many years, worked his legs that way using as much as 400 pounds. Skiers everywhere are now doing this exercise.
With the feet a normal width apart, say, about 18 inches, every area of the thigh – outside, middle, and inside – is worked in the regular squat movement. With the feet farther apart and toes pointed out, the effect of the squat is mainly felt on the inside of the thigh. The heels may also be moved closer together with the toes still pointed out, and the inside thigh continues to be affected. The position of the feet largely determines which part of the thigh will be worked.
I have converted to using the vertical sliding machine for my squats. This
machine enables me to concentrate on my legs. I can place my feet forward of
the vertical line of my body and I can’t fall back like I would using
a barbell. Thus, with my back straight, feet about 10 inches apart, and my knees
straight ahead, I do tension squats, going three-quarters of the way down and
coming up to a position a quarter of the way from the top. The movement gives
my thighs an incredible burn and gets the more lateral muscles. I always do
this one before a contest. I burn out as many reps as I can, never completing
a movement. If you lock out, you give your muscles a chance to rest, and that’s
not what you want. You have to torture the muscle with unusual training so that
it will respond.
I used to do a lot of weight on the squat. Not any more. I find now that concentration
lends its own form of resistance. By thinking, I can direct the effort. I can
make every movement count, not only the sets. By doing the sliding squat on
the sliding machine and the hack squat on the sliding hack machine, I am able
to concentrate using less weight. I direct my attention to what the thighs are
doing. I literally think the definition into them. The pleasure of my thought
overrides the pain. The positive aspects of cuts and veins and shape spur me
on, and the whole thing becomes a labor of love.
I would always have a beginner start with the parallel squat, five sets, starting with 20 reps and decreasing the number on subsequent sets, finishing with six reps. For the beginner, I would increase the amount of weight only as I perceived his increased muscle size. I wouldn’t try to rush his strength. I would experiment with him, varying his squatting position, try to find what was best for him. People have different structures, therefore they must utilize the Weider Instinctive Training Technique. A great bodybuilder like Frank Zane squats narrow, while another great one like Ken Waller squats much wider, and both of them have sensational thighs. Everybody, beginner, intermediate and advanced alike, should all experiment with various foot positions to determine what favors them.
I prefer to start out with leg extensions. I get more definition when they precede squats. By the time I get to the squat, my legs feel numb, like I couldn’t use another pound on anything. But after my first couple of squat sets, the numbness goes away. The lingering transition makes my squats doubly effective in definition.
For the squats themselves, I usually warm up with 135 pounds, 30 reps. I drop to 20 reps on my second set, then down to 15 and 10 for the others. As I go down in reps, I go up in weight, peaking at about 400 pounds for 8 reps.
I wear a lifting belt fro squats, but not tight. For guys who are afraid of getting sore, or who can’t walk or exercise fro a couple of days following leg work, I suggest they go into the sauna or steam room and let the heat penetrate them. That usually relaxes and dissipates any soreness.
I personally like the pain from training because it indicates I’ve worked hard enough for things to grow. It’s a great satisfaction.
Some bodybuilders like to squat without a mirror in front of them. I like the mirror. It helps me keep in the groove. In order to see myself in it, I have to keep my head up. That forces me to come up with my back more vertical, which shifts the weight all to my legs. A mirror allows me to see if I am twisting to the side, which is a bad habit to get into because of the questionable pressures it puts on the spine.
You can guess by now that I have gotten away from using monstrous poundages on squats of any kind. My needs have forced me to find ways of doing leg work that develop cuts and definition along with size. I am still experimenting. Just remember, you have to apply the Weider technique of quality training to your legs the same as the rest of your body. That means more sustained tension, shorter rests between sets, no rest between repetitions and finally, total concentration. Do that, and you’ll end up with great legs.
Don’t have a squat rack?
Click here…
THE SQUAT 7.1 MB Clip
Anabolic Interview
Part 1
In this interview we will be talking with four different individuals involved in different sports, all at a very high level. I will ask their opinion and get exclusive answers in their utmost honesty.
I: Powerlifter: European Champion in Open weight class (140+kg).
II: Bodybuilder: European Competitor in 95+ kg class
III: Strongman: European Competitor in Heavyweight class.
IV: Football-Soccer: European Athlete, 85 kg
1) How many years have you been involved in your sport and how many
years have you been involved with anabolic use?
I: 14 years in sport in one way or another. 8-9 years with anabolics.
II: 8 years in sport and 5-6 years with anabolics.
III: 15 years in training, 6 years in sport, 8 years in anabolics.
IV: Almost all my life in sport (20-28 years old) and 3-4 years in anabolics.
2) What anabolics have you used in the past?
I: I think that I have used almost everything out there at one point or another.
II: Tests (all blends), nandrolones, anadrol, dbol, winny, trenbolone, almost
everything that I can think of.
III: Mostly only testosterones, nandrolones, winny, trenbolone.
IV: Testosterone, nandrolones, winstrol.
3) What anabolics do you avoid? Why?
I: I made the mistake once of combining too many orals once and found that my blood pressure was too much for me to handle and I also do not like to mix large amounts of orals with boldenone (equipoise) because it also gave me a very fast heart rate. At times it feels like Winstrol has bothered my knees and some of my other joints which are not a good thing for powerlifting.
II: In the off season I will use a lot of longer acting tests and anadrol but I try to avoid them as I get closer to a contest so it will help me get the water out of my body.
III: Winstrol hurts my joints very badly if I use it for very many weeks or in a very large dose. Trenbolone works very well for me but I have to be careful that I keep my blood pressure low when using it because it will make me have very bad dreams or problems sleeping.
IV: I don’t use very large amounts of anything (I tried for a while to use large doses) so I try to keep a good ratio of things to keep my body recovering properly. Recovery and not getting hurt is the most important thing to me. I even try to stay away from ephedrine and caffeine unless I really need them for a match.
4) Can you tell me what your first cycle was like?
I: I did not know what I was doing so I used everything incorrectly and lost almost everything when I was finished. I took what most of the top guys that I was training with at the time were using and thought that their doses would be good for me as well. I was about 125 kgs (275 pounds) at the time and I think it was 1,500mg of testosterone, 600mg of nandrolone decanoate, and 50 mg of dianabol a day. My blood pressure was very high and I had very much water in my face and all over my body. With this I used it for 10 weeks and I did get stronger but mostly just had the negative side-effects that one would expect. High blood pressure, water in my skin, skin acne, etc…
1,500mg Testosterone
600mg Nandrolone Decanoate
50mg Dianabol
II: My first cycle was pretty light and it was what a lot of my friends were using at the time. 500mg testosterone sustanon, 150 mg nandrolone decanoate, and I only have a few ampoules of parabolan so I used this as well. I did gain some size from it and felt good with my gains, but I did not know how to eat and train very well at this time so I feel that I wasted my progress mostly.
500 mg Testosterone Sustanon
150mg Nandrolone Decanoate
Small amounts of Parabolan
III: In the beginning I had some testosterone cypionate so I used 200-400mg of this every week, 150 mg nandrolone decanoate, and 30 mg of dianabol. My training was pretty good at the time but I was not eating like I should have been, clean or not. I made very good gains with this cycle but when I stopped I did feel that I lost quite a bit of my progress.
200-400mg Testosterone Cypionate
150 mg Nandrolone Decanoate
30 mg Dianabol
IV: I mostly just used what was available to me and what some of the better guys on the team(s) were telling me that they were using. I had some muscles that were injured and I needed to gain about 3-5 kg to be a better and stronger player on the field. My friends had suggested that I use nandrolone decanoate to help with recovery so my first cycle was with 150 mg of this every week. My results I am not for sure of because it was so expensive at the time and I was very afraid of taking the injections. For healing my injury I think that maybe it did help it a little to recover. I did have problems with my “sexual drive” which I later found out could have been solved by just adding in a little testosterone with it.
150 mg Nandrolone Decanoate
5) What did you change for your next couple of cycles?
I: Over the next few years I tried different things at different times and
to be honest different things have worked at different times in my training.
When I am training with a very heavy training program I learned that nandrolone
can help me a lot with my joint pains and that I would try to only take a total
amount (in mg) per week, depending on my training and recovery. A top-level
powerlifter friend told me to take your body weight in kilograms and from there
you could determine your total mg/per week that you should be taking.
Light training would be: bodyweight in kg x 10
Medium training would be: bodyweight in kg x 15
Heavy training would be: bodyweight in kg x 20-25, depending on your level.
Examples:
75kg man
Light: 750 mg total
Medium: 1125 mg total
Heavy: 1500 mg
140 kg man
Light: 1,400mg
Medium: 2,100
Heavy: 2,800
II: My next couple of cycles I had new friends and we were interested in trying some new things. I used some trenbolone (parabolan they said it was), some winstrol, some primobolan, anavar, and several other things that were going to help me with my shape. Mostly these things only helped to make my pocket smaller because they were so expensive and did not give me the gains that I wanted. Winstrol did help me with some really good size, strength, and getting very hard muscles but everything else was so expensive that I could not use much of it. My diet was improving so this really helped me a lot.
III: Most of my friends were still bigger than I was so I wanted to really put on some size. We were entering some powerlifting competitions in our country so we mostly used larger doses of testosterone, winstrol, and dianabol. We did not have a good way to get nandrolone decanoate and we were all too afraid to try anadrol at this time. My strength improved a lot with these cycles that we did that year and I did gain a lot of body weight as well but still was not maximizing what I could have been doing. Because my friends were thinking about using large weights in the gym we also were almost in a competition over everything from how much we were injecting to how much we were eating as well.
IV: As I said before, I added in some testosterone at a dose of 250-500mg a week and it made a big difference in my performance as well as the bad side-effects that I was getting without it.
6) Can you give me an idea of what your heaviest cycles were like?
I: Well, I have experimented with some pretty stupid things now that I look back at it. My progress and gains were amazing during that time but I think that I could have done the same thing with less stress on my body had I used less and trained and ate better. From what I can remember, my heaviest cycle was with about 2,500mg of Testosterone a week, 900 mg of Nandrolone Decanoate a week, 200mg of anadrol a day, 450 mg of drostenolone proproniate a week (masteron), and I want to say that I also used another oral from time to time like winny at the beginning of my cycle and halotest towards the peak of my strength cycle. Wow, I guess that gave me about 5,250mg TOTAL per week of anabolic in me but because the Testosterone and Nandrolone were both very long acting compounds and only partially absorbed, it was about 1,000mg less per week at a body weight of about 145 kgs.
II: Maybe this depends on what you mean by “heavy” for a cycle. One off-season I did use 2,500 mg of Testosterone Enanthate a week, 150 mg of anadrol a day, 75 mg winstrol every other day with injection, 600mg a week of nandrolone decanoate, and 600mg trenbolone enanthate and it really helped me to put on some size, but I also had a lot of problems sleeping during that time. Those cycles don’t seem to bother me as much as my cutting cycles do though when I am getting ready for a contest, but that could just be the lack of food and contest stress. For a couple of contests I have used testosterone enanthate, nandrolone decanoate, anadrol, and trenbolone enanthate at the beginning and then I would taper down as the contest got closer to testosterone propionate and suspension, nandrolone phenylpropionate, trenbolone acetate, halotest, and insulin. Of course I would also use lasix before the show and some anti-estrogens as well.
III: One year I was getting ready for a big contest and I decided to use 3,000 mg of testosterone cypionate, 450 mg nandrolone decanoate, 450 mg masteron, and 450 mg trenbolone acetate. I felt so bad that I could hardly train and because most of what I was taking was “long-acting” I couldn’t make any big changes for a couple of weeks even if I stopped. More was not better for me then.
IV: I haven’t really used anything “heavy” I don’t think. One year I decided to try some winstrol with my normal cycle and it helped me gain some weight and for a month I also added it in with some anadrol (with my nandrolone decanoate and testosterone) and it helped me to hold onto my gains through a hard part of the season.
MORE TO COME NEXT MONTH!!!!!
Nutrition Notes
WI Universal 12 Week Bodybuilding Course
Nutrition
An extremely important aspect of bodybuilding is proper nutrition. We always
urge our students to stay away from junk foods like white bread, sugary cereals,
rice, potatoes, pastries and other foods containing excessive starch. No bodybuilder
can go wrong with protein foods like meat, eggs, fish and cheese. We recommend
different diet programs for different people. If you are underweight, we offer
a diet plan containing bulk foods as well as large amounts of protein. If you
are overweight we can help you with a diet plan containing lean but wholesome
protein foods. And we have a diet plan for all you “normals” as
well. Generally, we advise our students to substitute meat, cheese, eggs, fruits
and vegetables for those sugary snacks you normally consume. We recommend that
you eat light, well-balanced meals, and depend on nutritious snacks for extra
energy during the day. Do NOT skip meals!
Nutrition
You will find the rest of this lesson devoted to a very important part of bodybuilding,
NUTRITION!
Exercising alone cannot give you the body you desire. A proper diet is an essential
aspect of bodybuilding. Read carefully the articles on Protein, Weight Gain
and Weight Loss. To assist you in your choice of foods for a specific diet we
have included a Protein Guide. This is not for the purpose of adding up every
gram of protein and calorie you eat, but only to give you an idea of which foods
have the highest protein content and the lowest caloric content.
What? Eat 6 meals a day?
Yes, we recommend that you eat six small meals a day rather than three large
meals. Some of you may find it difficult to eat six meals a day due to school
or work schedules. Work your meals around your schedule. It is important to
get those meals and snacks in. Without them your gains won’t be as good.
If you have to wait until after school or work to eat then eat as soon you get
home.
Rather than having three large meals a day, we recommend having six small
meals. Eating smaller meals will help your body to utilize all the protein.
Also,
eating small meals will help shrink your stomach. Below is a sample diet. Be
sure to eat medium portions in all foods. The rule of thumb for losing weight
is to
eat 800-1000 calories less than what is need to maintain your perfect weight.
You need about 15 calories per pound everyday to maintain your steady weight.
Consume less calories and you lose weight, consume more and you will gain
weight.
Counting Calories to Gain Weight
Watching your calories seems to be the number one ingredient in almost all diets
to lose weight, and is also significant if you are trying to gain weight.
What exactly is a calorie? A calorie is the measuring unit for heat and energy
in the body. You need calories to create energy for any physical activity, even
just sitting there. The more calories you consume the more energy you are storing
for physical activities. If you use up all the calories through physical activity
then you will start to slim down. If you take in more calories and release less
energy, those calories build up and you gain weight. It’s that easy.
How many calories is enough? Every diet book is usually supplied with a chart,
which shows you exactly how many calories you should consume a day. However,
you are different, you are a bodybuilder. Your calorie intake cannot be determined
by a chart, because, a body builder has totally different requirements.
If you are having problems gaining the weight you desire, keep an accurate diary
of what you consume through the day. List everything, and at the end of the
day add up the calories and record the number. This should be done for one week.
Divide this by seven at the end of the week to come out with your daily average
caloric intake. Now, multiply the weight you would like to be, by 15 and the
weight you are by 15, subtract the two figures, and the difference is the
additional amount of calories you need to consume.
For example:
If your present weight is 200 pounds, you multiply that 15. 200 lbs. X 15 =
3000 calories
Your desired weight is 250 pounds, multiply that by 15. 250 lbs. X 15 = 3,750
calories
Subtract 3000 from 3750, you come out with an additional 750 calories more
than what you are currently eating, which you need to consume, in order to gain
weight.
Whey Protein
Personal Training Program, Bodybuilding.com
What is Whey Protein? Whey protein is a by-product from cheese manufacturing
and is the most preferred form of protein available.
What does it do? After whey protein is broken down, it supplies your body with
branched chain amino acids, which are the building blocks of muscle.
Who should take whey protein?Everyone should take this supplement. It promotes
the overall health of your body.
Whey protein has the highest biological value of any protein. The higher the biological value, the more protein that can be used by the body. It has a biological value of 100 (100 being the maximum), the highest of any protein. I highly recommend using this supplement because your body needs protein to build muscle. It is also good for adding into fruit smoothies, pancake mix, or really anything that is mixed.
How whey protein helps:
Whey protein isolate is the highest quality of protein, providing you body with
essential amino acids such as branched chain amino acids that are needed for
your body to recover from your workouts. Whey protein is also extremely low
in fat and lactose.
Best time to take protein:
The best time to take protein is at night and in the morning. Your body naturally
breaks down protein at night when you are resting. To help prevent the loss
of this protein when you rest it is a good idea to have a protein shake an hour
before you go to bed or first thing in the morning.
Meal Replacements:
What are meal replacements? Pretty self explanatory, they are small packets,
usually shakes, that provide your body with all of the nutrients that you would
essentially get if you had eaten a meal.
Do you need them? Meal replacements are for people who are always on the run,
but remember you still need actual meals to provide you body with minerals and
nutrients.
Have you ever tried eating six meals a day? This is where meal replacements can help. It would be virtually impossible to prepare six meals everyday, unless you are a chef where you cook and eat all day. It has been proven by every credible bodybuilding expert that consuming a high of amount of small frequent meals increases your metabolism, energy levels, and exposes the anabolic affects of insulin. I personally consume one meal replacement everyday and I recommend you should do the same.
These low fat high calorie meal replacements can help you get the calories that you need while keeping you waistline trim. They also help you get your daily vitamins and minerals so you don’t have to take a handful of pills everyday. Meal replacements can be a vital part of your success.
Planning:
To make this program work for you, it is going to take planning and dedication.
No one said it was going to be easy, but if you have some sort of direction
you will end up achieving your goals, whatever they may be.
Every week on Sunday I look in my refrigerator and see what foods I need. I go through the next seven days in my mind and write down the food I need in the chart I have created. HHHmmm, lets see what am I going to eat this week:
Monday for my first meal I am going to have an omelet so I need some eggs and
vegetables. Then I am going to have a tuna sandwich for my next meal. For meal
three I will have a grilled chicken sandwich. The meal after that is easy, I
will drink a myoplex shake. When I get home I will cook some low fat burger
and make a hamburger. Then before bed I will have some peaches and cottage cheese.
So when I go shopping I will need to get these items:
Eggs & vegetables for my omelet
Tuna fish and whole grain bread for my sandwich
Fresh chicken for my sandwich
Box of Myoplex
Low fat hamburger meat (I will buy 8% lean ground beef)
Peaches and cottage cheese
Now when I go to the store I know what I am going to buy, well at least for
the first day of the week. So I will have to plan for six more days (Five more
days of dieting and my free day). Sundays are my favorite because I eat donuts
and fried chicken all day, but that’s just me, you can eat whatever you
want on your free day.
Have your meals ready when you need them
I have heard this same phrase from many people: .I just don’t have time
to do all of this, I work all day.. That’s fine; everybody has a job of
some sort. We all have different breaks in our day or work different hours,
but we have to plan ahead so we can make sure we get what our bodies need. If
it were easy to eat six meals a day and exercise, then everyone would have a
great body. But its not, so we must do more than the average person because
we do not want to look average.
Almost every job in America has a break time now. I went to the post office
today and I couldn’t send out my mail because the line was so long. There
was only one person working because the other two employees had to take a 15-minute
break.
So take advantage of these breaks and eat your planned meals at these times.
LA Muscle Supplements That Fit Into These Categories
LA Whey:
Chocolate, Strawberry, Vanilla
2.2 kg (5 lbs)
48 grams of high quality, good tasting, whey protein per serving (2 scoops)
LA Aminos:
Tablets, great to take between meals or during training
Made from our Whey Protein Powder
Platinum:
Chocolate, Strawberry, Vanilla
Contains Whey, Glutamine, ALA, Vitamins and Minerals
Gain Muscle Not Fat
Don’t forget your FREE DISCOUNT CARD!!!
I am always making special offers for my regular customers!!!
Call, come by, sit down, and let’s make a plan that fits YOUR needs!!!
Testing Your Body Fat Percentage
Free Tests at LA Muscle Shop (Limassol)
Body Fat Testing Table is inside the Hard-Copy of Cyprus Muscle
Skin Fold Measuring Sites: Measurement Results
Upper Chest
Inside Right Tricep
Right Bicep
Suprailiac
Kidney
Subscapular
Stomach
Right Calf
Right Thigh
Sum of Measurements
Your Body Weight (lbs)
(Measurements/BW) x 27 = your bodyfat %
Lean Body Mass (BW – Lbs of Fat) =
After you enter all of your measurements into the table, add them all up and
place that number in the .Sum of Measurements. column. In the column below that,
weigh yourself and place the bodyweight measurement there.
To find your body fat percentage, get a drum roll going; take the sum of the
measurements divide it by your body weight and then multiply that number by
27. This is your body fat percentage.
*Note: This will be a number like 15.9, this is the actual percentage 15.9%.
Now if you want to see how many pounds of fat you have, multiply your body weight
and your body fat percentage. Take the number you get from that and divide it
by 100. This is how many pounds of fat you have in your body. To find your LBM
(lean Body Mass) -or- the pounds of muscle you have, subtract your pounds of
body fat from your body weight.
So what do these numbers mean? Let’s take a look at some averages and
see where you fall in:
Charts and Diagrams available with Hard Copy Edition
of Cyprus Muscle
Abdominal Exercises
WI Universal 12 Week Bodybuilding Course
Pictures and Diagrams of Every Exercise Included in Hard Copy
Sit-ups
This is one of the best exercises for the waist. To make it easier to perform,
place your feet under a bed or a dresser. With each repetition, your upper body
should come as close as possible to your thighs. Do one set of as many reps
as you can.
4 Different Arm Positions while performing sit-ups:
1. Arms at side. Touch fingers to your toes
2. Arms folded across chest. Touch head to knees
3. Hands behind head. Touch elbows to knees, no twisting.
4. Hands above head. Touch fingers to toes.
- -
Leg-Raises
This exercise will take the fat off your lower waist. From position A raise
your legs as high as you can, then slowly lower your legs, making sure your
heels do not touch the floor until you've completed one set of as many reps
as you can.
LEG PUSH-OUT
From a sitting position, extend your legs straight out. Then pull your knees
back to your chest. Tighten your abdominal muscles as you perform this exercise.
Do as many reps as you can.
ALTERNATE LEG KICKS
Lean back and support yourself for this exercise. Alternately kick each foot
as high as you can. When performed properly, you'll feel it in your waist. Try
to kick higher with each repetition, doing as many reps as you can.
Side Bends
This exercise is excellent for taking fat off the sides. Hold a book or any
light weight in one hand, and bend over as far as you can to the side holding
the weight. Do as many reps as possible, transfer the weight to the other hand
and do the same number of reps on the other side.
Twisting
Place a broom or bar across your shoulders. Twist as far as you can on each
side. This exercise will help remove that roll of fat all around your waist.
Perform as many reps as you can on each side.
Sit-Up/Leg Raise
From position A, raise your upper body and your legs off the floor at the same
time. Bring your body to position B, with only your buttocks resting on the
floor.
Hold that position for two or three seconds, and then slowly lower your body
and legs back to the floor. HOWEVER, do not touch the floor with either your
back or your legs, keep the tension for fast results. Do as many reps as possible.
WHAT’S NEW
AT THE LA MUSCLE SHOP!!!
NEW Training DVD’s are here. We have DVD’s of bodybuilding, Powerlifting,
Strongman, How to increase you Bench Press, etc… Come and check out our
specials!!!
FREE Body Fat Tests!!!
CEE!!! Creatine Ethyl Ester Tablets are here!!! Same price as the Explosive Creatine without the loading dose or the water that often comes with other creatine products.
Buy a Whey Protein and any Creatine…and get a FREE LA Muscle Gym Bag!!!
New shipment of Energy drinks for November!!! Add these to 500ml Water and it is like a couple of Energy Drinks that you normally get at the market. Mix in some creatine and have a super charged workout!!!
Check out the HARD-CORE Training Videos over at www.IronTrybe.com on the Training Forum!!!
Planning several Amateur and Pro Strongman contests for 2008. Let me know if you are interested in training, competing, or helping!!! All in good fun!!!
FOR DECEMBER
More interviews with Pro and Amateur Bodybuilders…
How to set-up your diet to get lean…
Making your supplements work for you…
Savvas Sofocleous / Body Support Gym Centre (25661566)
and how to stay in the game…
Functional Training for Athletes…
More Anabolic Interviews…
For more information…contact me at clint@cystrongman.com
99987972
LA Muscle Shop
75 C Omonia Ave
Limassol, Cyprus, 3052
Check Out Some New Video Links