Muscle Science Roundup

17 INCREDIBLE MR.
OLYMPIA MINI-POSTERS INSIDE
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JANUARY 2006 / IRON MAN—REAL BODYBUILDING TRAINING, NUTRITION & SUPPLEMENTATION
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www.ironmanmagazine.com \ APRIL 2006 261

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150 DECEMBER 2009 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

January 2006 Vol. 65, No. 1
Mr. Olympia,
page 200 ™
Real Bodybuilding Training, Nutrition & Supplementation
FEATURES
78 TRAIN, EAT, GROW 75
The TEG men talk results—how theirs, and yours, can be
better—and they dissect X Fade, the contracted-position
X-hybrid technique that can ignite a mass X-plosion.
96 A BODYBUILDER IS BORN 6
Ron Harris attempts to rescue his young bodybuilding
protégé from the dark side—steroid use. Fulfill your natural
potential first, or ’roids could ruin you.
108 BODY GOT BACK

Eric Broser gives you the Rx to go from XL to XXXL—with
a wicked V-taper and a back filled with rugged terrain.
Four complete big-back-building routines included.
126 MUSCLE-SCIENCE ROUNDUP

An introspective look at 12 research reports that can
jump-start your muscle growth and fat loss—from nutrient
nitro to de-catabolizing your cardio
to spot reduction to speed moves
for fast mass. Whew! Lots of good
stuff here, gang.
162 HEAVY DUTY

John Little reveals Mike Mentzer’s
Muscle-Science more-size-on-the-thighs program.
Heavy Duty,
Roundup, Prepare for blast-furnace intensity!
page 162
page 126
174 NO-BULL AMINO
Taurine is a nonessential amino acid Tamer Elshahat appears
on this month’s cover.
that’s supercharged with bodybuilding
Insets, Dan Decker, abs
benefits. Jerry Brainum’s got all the and Gus Malliarodakis,
research—and none of the B.S. rows. Photo by Michael
Neveux.
188 X FILES
Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson explain the big
mistake too many bodybuilders make—it’s the number-
one reason for lack of gains—and tell how you can set the
stage for more growth.
200 IFBB MR. OLYMPIA

It’s the greatest muscle show on earth, and it deserves
our blockbuster mini-poster treatment. Check out pic after
Hardbody, full-page pic of the most incredible physiques on the
page 228 planet. Jaw-dropping, eye-popping mass at its best.
228 HARDBODY
Karen McDougal has graced the pages of Playboy, and
now she honors IM with her killer curvitude. Hot-photo
alert!
244 ONLY THE STRONG SHALL SURVIVE

Part 7 of Bill Starr’s back-to-the-rack odyssey, with com
plete ISO workouts for strength athletes and those who are
looking for more rock-hardness on their physiques.

DEPARTMENTS
32 TRAIN TO GAIN
Build killer quads without heavy squats, plus the
straightforward power cycle for bench press prowess.
Joe Horrigan’s Sportsmedicine is here too.
50 CRITICAL MASS
Steve Holman discusses partial power, X Reps, Gakic,
home training and more.
Body Got Back,

54 NATURALLY HUGE
John Hansen’s first installment on the world of hurt—
page 108 injuries and how to avoid and train around them.
64 EAT TO GROW
The mystery of milk solved—does it really smooth you
Mind/Body Train to Gain, out? Plus, food for sex and muscles.
Connection, page 32
page 256 88 SMART TRAINING
Charles Poliquin’s supplement salvo for explosive re
sults, a chinup program to repair strength imbalance and
his views on how and when to stretch for strength.
222 NEWS & VIEWS

Lonnie Teper’s got the buzz from the Mr. Olympia, the
perfect complement to our big-picture production else
where in this issue. L.T.’s got some surprises here, too.
238 PUMP & CIRCUMSTANCE

Ruth Silverman, live from Vegas—well, almost—with the
scoop on all the gorgeous gals, muscle babes and hot
happenings from Big O weekend.
256 MIND/BODY CONNECTION

Randall Strossen, Ph.D., explains how to get in the mood
for muscle, and Grover Porter has accolades for a classic
physique.
268 BODYBUILDING PHARMACOLOGY

Jerry Brainum’s look at thyroid hormone. Is it a quicker
News & Views, Pump & Circumstance, cutter-upper?
page 222 page 238
272 READERS WRITE
Adela Garcia writes—and we get to run yet another
picture of this Olympia beauty. O, yeah!
In the next IRON MAN

Next month we revisit the Power/Rep
Range/Shock muscle-building tactic that’s putting
mass on trainees like crazy. Creator Eric Broser
has the full report and plenty of tips to get you
bigger with his revolutionary regimen. Then
Christopher Pennington gives you the blueprint for
proper program design. There’s more to it than
just copying a routine from a magazine; you gotta
customize it for Y.O.U. Plus, we have another
episode of “A Bodybuilder Is Born” from Ron
Harris—muscle-building infotainment—and the
Ms., Fitness and Figure Olympia contests get our
WEB ALERT! eye-popping miniposter treatment. Wow! Watch
from the world of
For the latest happenings for the fem-tastic February IRON MAN on news
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bodybuilding and fitness stands the first week of January.
for www.I ronmanM aga zine.com and
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John Balik’s
Founders
1936-1986:
Publisher’s Letter Peary & Mabel Rader
Publisher/Editorial Director: John Balik
Associate Publisher: Warren Wanderer
Design Director: Michael Neveux
Unintended Editor in Chief: Stephen Holman
Art Director: T. S. Bratcher
Senior Editor: Ruth Silverman
Consequences, Part 2 Editor at Large: Lonnie Teper
Articles Editors: L.A. Perry, Caryne Brown
Assistant Art Director: Christian Martinez
Designer: Emerson Miranda
We often talk about bodybuilding’s evolution, IRON MAN Staff:
but in some ways it’s been more like de-evolu Vuthy Keo, Mervin Petralba, David Solorzano
tion. Fast rewind to the early ’60s. The first time I Contributing Authors:
Jerry Brainum, Eric Broser, David Chapman,
heard about anabolic steroids was what I read in

Teagan Clive, Lorenzo Cornacchia, Daniel Curtis,
the pages of Iron Man. Peary Rader, the founder Dave Draper, Michael Gündill, Rosemary Hallum,
and editor, viewed writing about steroids as a Ph.D., John Hansen, Ron Harris, Ori Hofmekler,
two-edged sword. He believed that the use of Rod Labbe, Skip La Cour, Jack LaLanne, Butch
any drug was simply not ethical and potentially Lebowitz, Stuart McRobert, Gene Mozée,
Charles Poliquin, Larry Scott, Jim Shiebler, Roger
harmful to an athlete’s health. On one hand, he Schwab, C.S. Sloan, Bill Starr, Bradley Steiner, Eric
wanted to warn the world about these drugs. Sternlicht, Ph.D., Randall Strossen, Ph.D., Richard
However, he knew that doing so would, by defini Winett, Ph.D., and David Young
tion, spread awareness of them. In those days Contributing Artists:

steroids meant Dianabol, which was a prescrip Steve Cepello, Larry Eklund, Ron Dunn,
tion drug that any doctor could provide, not the Jake Jones
Schedule 3 drug it is today. There was no drug Contributing Photographers:

Jim Amentler, Reg Bradford, Jimmy Caruso, Bill
underground; your family doctor was the source. Peary felt that the use of Di
Comstock, Bill Dobbins, Jerry Fredrick, Irvin Gelb,
anabol should not be a part of physical culture, which, as he saw it, embodied J.M. Manion, Gene Mozée, Mitsuru Okabe, Rob
health as much as strength and development. But as we the athletes focused on Sims, Leo Stern, Russ Warner
our quest for more strength and development, we denied the need for health. Director of Marketing:
Up until the late ’60s, bodybuilding, Olympic weightlifting and powerlifting Helen Yu, 1-800-570-IRON, ext. 1
were all organized by the AAU and run by the same committee. I was a part of Accounting: Dolores Waterman
that in what was then called the Southern California Weightlifting Committee. Director of Operations: Dean Reyes
Between the three sports I worked a lot of meets, and it was all volunteer work— Subscriptions Manager:
you did it because you loved it. Due to my suggestion, however, the sports were Sonia Melendez, 1-800-570-IRON, ext. 2
separated and each formed its own committee. I thought I had done a good E-mail: [email protected]
thing, but now I wonder: Did that simple “advancement” contribute to the evo Advertising Director: Warren Wanderer
1-800-570-IRON, ext. 1
lution of the nonfunctional physiques we see in bodybuilding today?

(518) 743-1696; FAX: (518) 743-1697
I say nonfunctional not in an absolute sense, but in the sense that the height Advertising Coordinator:
to-weight envelope, as it has been pushed, is the antithesis of health and athleti Jonathan Lawson, (805) 385-3500, ext. 320
cism. Before the sports became specialized, many people competed in two or Newsstand Consultant:
more of them, but once they were split, you had to make a choice—lift or build. Angelo Gandino, (516) 796-9848
The groups became even more isolated from each other.
Before, bodybuilding contests had often been held with Olympic weightlifting We reserve the right to reject any advertising at our
discretion without explanation. All manuscripts, art
meets and sometimes with powerlifting meets. In fact, the scoring of the AAU or other submissions must be accompanied by a self-
Mr. America competition included “athletic points,” which you got by compet addressed, stamped envelope. Send submissions to
ing in the other sports, and you could not win unless you got the maximum IRON MAN, 1701 Ives Avenue, Oxnard, CA 93033.
We are not responsible for unsolicited material.
number of athletic points. IFBB events, both professional and amateur, were Writers and photographers should send for our
strictly bodybuilding, as they are today; however, the dominant force in amateur Guidelines outlining specifications for submissions.
IRON MAN is an open forum. We also reserve the
bodybuilding was the AAU. The Mr. Olympia, which was first held in 1965, was right to edit any letter or manuscript as we see
and is the ultimate professional title. fit, and photos submitted have an implied waiver
Most serious gyms of that era had lifting platforms, power racks and tons of of copyright. Please consult a physician before
beginning any diet or exercise program. Use the
weight. The term free weight did not exist. Try to find a gym that accommodates information published in IRON MAN at your own
all three disciplines today. risk.
The magazines changed to fit the new reality. Strength & Health (now, there’s
a quaint combination) focused more on Olympic weightlifting, a sport that was IRON MAN Internet Addresses:
Web Site: www.ironmanmagazine.com
in decline. Iron Man continued to cover all three sports and emphasized com John Balik, Publisher: [email protected]
plete development (the mind/muscle/health connection). Muscle Builder/Power Steve Holman, Editor in Chief: [email protected]
evolved into a bodybuilding-only publication. And Muscular Development cov Ruth Silverman, Senior Editor: [email protected]
ered powerlifting and bodybuilding. T.S. Bratcher, Art Director: [email protected]
Helen Yu, Director of Marketing: [email protected]
Next month I’ll discuss the ’70s, years in which even more changes took place. Dean Reyes, Dir. of Operations: [email protected]
Editor’s note: Send comments via e-mail to [email protected]. IM Jonathan Lawson, Ad Coordinator: [email protected]
Sonia Melendez, Subscriptions: [email protected]
28 JANUARY 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com

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Killer Quads Without Heavy Squats
We all know that heavy barbell squats are the fastest but the result should be the same. Plenty of great legs
ticket to huge thighs. Be that as it may, not all of us can have been built using pressing movements other than the
do them safely. For those of us with lower back problems barbell squat; don’t think it can’t be done.
(and this encompasses a very large group), deep squats Squat later in the workout. Of course, it would be
done with a heavy bar on your back can be akin to play wise to keep squats in your leg program for best results.
ing Russian roulette. You never know when you’ll go The smart way to do that is to do them at the end of your
down for another rep and blow out your back coming workout so that you need far less weight. I like to do leg
back up. It would seem that your choices are to either extensions, heavy leg presses or hacks, then walking
persist in tempting fate with heavy squats or abandon all dumbbell lunges and, only after all of those, barbell
hopes of ever building thighs with enough meat on them squats. All it takes at that point is a couple of very strict
to hang off the bone. Luckily, when it comes to body sets of 15 deep reps with a mere 225 on the bar to put
building training, there’s always more than one way to do the final blowtorch to my quads. And honestly, my legs
it. I’ve come across several methods for keeping the look much better now than they did a few years ago,
quad gains coming without putting my lower back at risk. when I was squatting 500 pounds and injuring my lower
Preexhaust with leg extensions. Leg extensions are back on a regular basis. —Ron Harris
commonly regarded as a means of warming up the
knees before you do heavy pressing movements, so Editor’s note: Check out Ron Harris’ Web site,
they’re often performed with light weight and high reps. www.RonHarrisMuscle.com.
But you can also use leg extensions to preex
haust the quadriceps so that you need less
weight on the pressing movements to follow,
and you achieve the same growth-stimulating
effects. Start with a couple of light warmup
sets, but then go ahead and do three or four
tough work sets to failure, using more weight
and fewer reps on each consecutive set. An
example might be 200 pounds for 20 reps,
250 for 15 and a third set with 300 pounds for
10 reps. That will ensure that your quads
fatigue before your hamstrings and glutes
when you follow up with squats or leg press
es, and you should require only about 60 to
80 percent of the usual weight to hit failure
within your desired rep ranges.
A press is a press. Don’t fall for the myth
that barbell squats are the only pressing
movement that can pack size onto your
thighs; it’s just not true. Hard work on leg
presses, hack squats or Smith-machine
Neveux \ Model: John Hansen
squats can certainly build muscle too. Having

Neveux \ Model: Steve McLeod
to balance a bar on your traps as you do knee

bends means that squats are the hardest in
terms of the weights you can handle. So it
may take 800 pounds on a leg press to work
the legs as hard as 300 pounds on squats,

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TRAIN TO GAIN
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New Grip,
Neveux \ Model: Cesar Martinez

Different Fibers
Should you use a different grip on
each set to change the attack on the
target muscle? Absolutely. While you’re
at it, you should alter foot position on
leg exercises as well. If you’re doing
two sets of leg presses, why not do
one with a wide stance and the other
with a narrower one? If you’re doing
three sets of leg extensions, do one
with your toes pointing out slightly, one
Neveux \ Model: Jay Cutler

with your toes straight ahead and one
with your toes pointing slightly in. In the
book Muscle Meets Magnet, author
Per A. Tesch, Ph.D., shows with MRI
analysis that altering the foot position
during leg extensions hits different
areas of the front thighs—toes in tar
EXPERT ADVICE gets the outer quads, and toes out
focuses more on the inner quads.
Success Modeling
As for upper-body exercises, vary
your grip slightly on bench presses,
pulldowns, rows, curls, overhead
presses and any other exercise to
I wasn’t the best athlete in the world or the sharpest guy on Madison Avenue, change the angle of pull. In most
but I knew how to find them. Whether they were athletes or businesspeople, I’d cases you’ll put a few different actin
seek out the best and find out what made them tick. myosin pairings into optimal register
Outstanding people will show you what they did to be successful. It’s very and trigger more overall growth in the
simple. target muscle. [Note: If you feel injury-
type pain with any grip or foot posi
1) Find someone who’s already getting the results that you want. tion, discontinue it immediately.]
2) Find out what that person is doing. —Steve Holman
3) Do the same things, and you’ll get the same results, genetics willing. Train, Eat, Grow
In my business life and my bodybuilding life I’ve always tried to surround my Editor’s note: The above is an
self with the most successful people I could find. Success leaves clues, and I am excerpt from the best-selling body
building book Train, Eat, Grow—The
a success detective. A by-product of seeking out success models is that you end
Positions-of-Flexion Muscle-Training
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Get curious and find people to model. Then become a person worth modeling.
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Editor’s note: John Rowley owned the gym where the movie “Pumping Iron”
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Neveux
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MUSCLE AND MIGHT
TRAIN TO GAIN
Straight-Up Power Using the straightforward power

cycle on bench presses
Top powerlifters display their max strength not more than a Come the following Monday, go to your numbers from the
couple of times a year. The rest of the time they cycle, or back previous Wednesday and work back up. Every week you add
off, into easier training and then build up to a new personal 15 pounds to your sets and then take 10 pounds off and build
record. Apply that form of periodization to your workouts, and up again. It’s called wave cycling. If you look at your singles,
you’re guaranteed to break your personal records—at least if your week will stack up like this: 205, 210, 215; 210, 215,
you have the willpower to say good-bye to pump and burn 220; 215, 220, 225, etc.
and reduce your reps to the one-to-five range. By the end of the third week you will have worked up to
Let’s use your bench press as an example. Say your one-rep your previous best and will top off the month with a P.R. of
max is 225 pounds and your best set of 10 reps is 185. On 230. If it goes up easily—and it should—you may want to try
Monday perform 185x5, 190x4, 195x3, 200x2 and 205x1. Rest for 235 or wait for Monday and test yourself without tiring
for three to five minutes between sets—power needs rest. Note preliminary sets. Try this: 135x5, 185x2, 205x1, 225x1, 235x1,
that none of the sets comes close to failure. That’s intentional, a and, if the going is good, 240x1 and even 245x1.
part of the periodization strategy. It may be hard psychologically Spend the fifth week repping out with your pet bodybuilding
to stop before you reach complete muscle failure, but that’s moves, and on Monday start another power cycle with slightly
between you and your therapist. heavier weights—say, 195x5, etc. A cycle doesn’t have to last
On Wednesday add five pounds to all your sets: 190x5, four weeks. If your gains keep on coming, there’s no reason
195x4, 200x3, 205x2, 210x1. You’ll notice that not all of the not to take advantage of it for another week or two.—Pavel
sets are equally hard. That is intentional—scaled down cycling Beyond Bodybuilding
within a workout.
On Friday add another fiver: 195x5, 200x4, 205x3, 210x2, Editor’s note: The above is an excerpt from Pavel’s new
215x1. On this and any other of your bench days you may do book Beyond Bodybuilding. It’s available from Home Gym
a couple of your favorite muscle-building exercises or, better Warehouse for $49.95 plus shipping and handling. Call (800)
yet, powerlifting assistance drills like the board press after your 447-0008, or visit www.Home-Gym.com.
power sets.
Neveux \ Model: Skip La Cour
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SPORTSMEDICINE
Perfect Posture Training to improve yourself ergonomically

Most people recognize and appreciate somebody who has during a
proper posture. People who have proper posture not only look bench press,
better but usually feel and function better as well. Imbalanced flye or throw
training can contribute to poor posture and the problems that ing motion.
come with it, but it’s not difficult to reduce upper-back, neck That causes
and shoulder pain and improve your appearance. too much
You pick up training habits from friends, amateur and profes stress on the
sional bodybuilders and some personal trainers. Bench press ligaments and
es, incline presses, flyes, decline presses, cable crossovers and cartilage ring
pec deck flyes are all very popular and are included in some around the
combination in chest workouts. The bench press is without socket, which
doubt the most popular lift in North America. The pressing can produce
movements listed above target the pectoralis major, deltoid an injury to
serratus anterior and triceps. Flyes primarily target the pecs and those struc
delts. The pectoralis major pulls the arm across the chest and tures and
down to your side and internally rotates the upper arm. More cause shoul
Neveux \ Model: Michael Ryan

important, the pecs pull the shoulders forward, giving a round der pain.
ed-shoulders appearance. The structures that are actually Lastly, the
pulled forward are the clavicle and scapula. The scapula, or forward-
shoulder blade, is the more mobile of the two structures. shoulder
Training can increase the strength and tone of the muscle, position re-
in this case the pecs. Adaptive shortening of the muscle can duces the
take place if the rounded-shoulders posture is maintained for available
extended periods of time. That keeps the shoulders pulled space be
forward. It’s further complicated if the muscles that pull the tween the collarbone, or clavicle, and the first rib for the bun
shoulders back are weak. Bottom line: Muscle imbalance can dle of nerves traveling down the arms. That can cause
lead to poor posture. compression of the nerves, as well as tingling, numbness,
The first problem is obvious: poor appearance. The other weakness and pain in the arm, forearm, hand and fingers.
problems may not be so obvious. The shoulder blades weren’t The solution for all of this is to reduce the amount of pec
designed to be pulled forward. When they are, there’s tremen training you do so you reduce the forward pull on the shoul
dous stress on the neck and upper-back muscles. That can ders. You don’t have to stop training your chest, but you
lead to chronic upper-back and neck pain. should reduce the number of sets. The pecs must also be
The shoulder-joint socket is on the outer edge of the shoul stretched. You can do that by standing in a doorway with your
der blade. Its resting position is known as the plane of the upper arm parallel to the floor and the entire length of your
scapula, which is approximately 30 degrees forward from the forearm against the doorjamb. Do it with one arm at a time.
plane across the back. As the scapula moves farther forward, While maintaining the position, let your body rotate slightly
so does the socket. If the socket is too far forward, the upper away from the arm on the doorway.
arm must rotate too much to achieve normal ranges of motion The next part of the solution is to increase your training of
the upper and middle back. Your back work
should include dumbbell rows, barbell rows,
seated cable rows, seated machine rows (with a
chest pad), seated reverse flyes, pulldowns,
traditional rear-delt raises, shrugs and rotator cuff
training. Obviously you won’t perform all of those
movements in one workout, but you can add an
extra movement for the back as well as rotator
cuff training. If you’re training your back twice per
week, you can select different but similar exercis
es in each workout.
—Joseph M. Horrigan
Editor’s note: Visit www.softtissuecenter.com

for reprints of Horrigan’s past IRON MAN
Sportsmedicine columns. You can order the
books, Strength, Conditioning and Injury Preven-
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Neveux
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can make your shoulders slump. at www.home-gym.com.

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INNOVATIONS
TRAIN TO GAIN
Keep ’Em Rolling Does it take balls to work out effectively?

Many gyms now feature a new piece of equip rior to doing them flat on the floor. The effect was
ment: a Swiss ball. It looks like a giant beach attributed to a greater range of motion in the
ball, and when you look at it, the thought Swiss ball crunches, along with more involve
occurs—just what is it good for? The large ment of the trunk stabilizers, such as the
globe seems to bump into you at the oblique and spinal muscles.
most inopportune times, such as in the Another study found that doing chest
midst of a searing set of biceps curls. presses on the Swiss ball resulted in
What sets the ball in motion is often a much the same muscle activation as
mystery. Its apparent self-propulsion, doing them on a flat bench, but the force
however, harkens back to the menacing generated was less when doing the
Rover, the giant globe that trapped a exercise on the ball. The unstable nature
former British secret agent known only as of Swiss balls could prove injurious to
“Number 6” in the surreal prison known as trainees with poor balance.
the Village in the 1967 television show “The The most recent study examined several ex
Prisoner.” ercises: supine abdominal curls, chest presses,
Proponents of Swiss balls say that exercising on seated shoulder presses, seated laterals, seated biceps
their unstable surface promotes the training of trunk-stabilizing curls and seated double-arm overhead triceps presses.1 Not all
muscles. That, in turn, would serve to train spinal stabilizers, subjects showed increased trunk-muscle activation when
which might lead to fewer spinal injuries. The results of studies training on the Swiss ball, as compared to using a conventional
done so far to confirm such claims have been equivocal. One bench for the same exercise. The authors suggest that anyone
study showed that doing crunches over a Swiss ball was supe who contemplates training on a Swiss ball should first master
the exercise on a more
BEGINNINGS stable surface, such as a
bench. Think about it
pragmatically, though: It
Massive Muscles in Months? doesn’t make much sense
to do chest presses or
shoulder presses on a
Many people begin training with the expectation of sprouting an impressive set of muscles. If Swiss ball, since, as the
you have unrealistic expectations, such as looking like a professional bodybuilder after 30 days study shows, there’s no
of training, discouragement often sets in. But the truth is that muscles respond far faster than guarantee you’re getting
you might think. any additional benefit over
That was the conclusion of a study published several years ago in the European Journal of doing the same exercise
Applied Physiology by researchers from Ohio State and Pennsylvania State universities. They on a conventional bench.
found that molecular changes in muscle—which cannot be readily observed—begin within two In addition, the injury risk is
to four weeks of starting a weight-training program. The study focused on only one muscle greater with the Swiss ball,
group, the front thighs, yet found changes in the trained muscles after only four workouts. especially if heavier
The unseen changes involved an upregulation of anabolic hormones, such as testosterone weights are involved.
and growth hormone, and an increase in the The one type of exer
activity of contractile muscle proteins, such cise that may benefit from
as myosin, which govern the acquisition of the Swiss ball is the
muscular strength. Indeed, it’s common for crunch. The greater range
strength gains to precede muscle gains, an of motion you get acti
effect traced to better coordination between vates more abdominal
the central nervous system and the muscles. muscles than doing the
The early phases of training involve adapta same exercise on the
tions in the muscle that set the stage for floor. Since most ab exer
intense training and muscular recovery. cises don’t involve the use
In the study, 33 untrained college students of heavy weights, the
exercised their quadriceps for eight weeks. injury risk is also lower
Regular testing done before, during and after than for other exercises
the training period showed rapid changes in done on the ball.
the levels of anabolic hormones and contrac —Jerry Brainum
tile muscle proteins in the students. Both
1 Lehman, G.J., et al.
male and female students showed a signifi
cant rise in testosterone levels after the work (2005). Replacing a Swiss
outs, with the women showing a doubling of ball for an exercise bench
testosterone levels. The authors think that the causes variable changes
upgraded anabolic hormone activity following in trunk muscle activity
training promotes rapid muscle healing and during the performance of
recovery and thus prepares the muscles for upper limb strength exer
harder training to come. cises. Dynamic Med. 4:6.
—Jerry Brainum

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NO PAIN, NO GAIN
TRAIN TO GAIN
It Hurts So Good
“No pain, no gain.” The simple meaning of that adage is that

unless you train with a certain level of intensity, gains in muscu
lar strength will occur either slowly or not at all. In fact, accord
ing to the overload principle, to promote muscular growth and
strength gains, you must apply some form of overload to any
trained muscle.
The overload could be added weight, added reps (up to a
point), less rest between sets and so on. You need to lift
enough weight to impose a metabolic stress on the trained
Photo Illustration by Christian Martinez

muscle. That’s usually at least 65 percent of your one-rep
maximum, the weight you can lift for one repetition. Using
lighter weights is akin to calisthenics, where you can tone a
muscle but get no growth.
Training may promote muscular growth by promoting the
release of anabolic hormones, such as growth hormone, in
sulinlike growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and testosterone. For a long
time scientists have been looking for the best type of training
for eliciting increases in anabolic hormones. Some studies
show that using a weight you can lift for 10 reps, then resting
no longer than one minute between sets leads to the greatest Testosterone secretion is suppressed for several hours after an
rise in both growth hormone and testosterone. In contrast, exercise session, perhaps because of the increase in cortisol
using a weight that you can lift for only five reps and resting that occurs during intense training. Cortisol interferes with the
three minutes or more between sets results in no change in activity of testosterone and vice versa.
anabolic hormone release. That partially explains why many Strength gains were also far greater in the no-rest group.
powerlifters and Olympic lifters are strong but often don’t have That led the researchers to note, “The current results clearly
dramatic muscle size. indicate that continuous repetition without pause is an impor
Scientists have found that the primary impetus for promot tant factor for strength gains following resistance training.”
ing the release of anabolic hormones is stress induced by the The increased acidity in muscle during intense training not
accumulation of metabolic waste produced in the muscle only promotes anabolic hormone release but also appears to
during exercise. Such waste products include lactate and increase the level of muscle fiber recruitment. The brain appar
hydrogen ions, which are the elements that produce the famil ently senses the heightened metabolic stress and compen
iar burning sensation in a muscle during an intense set. Stud sates for it by recruiting additional fibers. More fiber recruitment
ies also show that occlusion of blood vessels during training translates into more muscle used, and that in turn leads to
results in greater gains in muscle size and strength, and the greater gains in muscular size and strength.
reason for that is also the buildup of waste products in the Some argue that the increase in growth hormone doesn’t
muscle that sends a signal to release anabolic hormones. contribute much to gains in size and strength because GH is
If substances that neutralize such metabolic acids are pro relatively short-lived, being degraded in the liver after about an
vided during exercise, the release of anabolic hormones tapers hour. But that criticism betrays a lack of knowledge about ex
off gradually, showing a direct relationship between the level of ercise endocrinology. When GH is released, so is IGF-1. While
metabolic stress and hormone release. Thus an exercise regi GH release favors IGF-1 synthesis in the liver for systemic
men that provides a sufficient level of metabolic stress should circulation, IGF-1, because it binds to blood transport proteins,
also maximize anabolic hormone release. lasts far longer than GH. In addition, IGF-1 produced locally in
A recent study examined the effects of induced metabolic a trained muscle promotes the activity of muscle satellite cells,
stress in relation to promoting gains in muscular size and which are involved in muscle repair and growth.
strength.1 Twenty-six healthy young men, average age 22, all So what’s the take-home message from this study? First,
of whom had training experience, were divided into three never pause for any length of time during a set. Many body
groups: 1) no rest, 2) with rest and 3) control. The control builders pause for a few seconds between reps, and that may
group didn’t exercise, but the no-rest and rest groups trained dampen the accumulation of the metabolic waste products
with the same exercises, using the same level of intensity. Both that relay the anabolic signal for muscular growth via hormone
groups did the same routine: three sets of 10 reps of lat pull- release.
downs, three sets of 10 reps of shoulder presses and five sets Another factor to consider is reducing the rest time between
of 10 reps of leg extensions. The no-rest group, despite the sets. The famed bodybuilding trainer Vince Gironda once wrote
name, rested one minute between sets. that to induce gains in muscle size, you must increase the
While the rest group used the same routine, participants amount of work done within a given time. That means that the
rested between the fifth and sixth rep of each set. That proto less you rest between sets, the greater the accumulation of
col was designed to reduce the level of metabolic waste prod metabolic waste products. While it’s true that those same
ucts that would otherwise have accumulated in muscle during waste products may decrease the efficiency of strength pro
a set. duction, the payoff is muscle size and strength.—Jerry
The no-rest group showed elevations of lactic acid, growth Brainum
hormone and norepinephrine, while the rest group did not. Fur
ther, muscle growth occurred only in the no-rest group, with an 1 Goto, K., et al. (2005). The impact of metabolic stress on
average 13 percent increase in the muscle cross section. hormonal responses and muscular adaptations. Med Sci
Neither group, however, had any testosterone response. Sports Exer. 37:955-63.

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EXERCISE SCIENCE
TRAIN TO GAIN
All Men—and Women—Are Not Created Equal
You see it all the time: Two people begin training at the Of the 585 subjects, 232 showed a
same time, yet one of them seems to make gains in size and 15-to-25-percent increase in cross-
strength far more rapidly than the other. There are various sectional area of muscle. Another
explanations for the differences between hard and easy gain 10 showed a gain of 40 percent,
ers. Men make faster initial muscle gains than women be while 36 subjects gained only 5
cause men are usually larger and stronger than women. In percent muscle size. While the
addition, men secrete more of the anabolic hormones known expected finding was that men
to favor gains in muscular size and strength, such as testos would make greater size gains than
terone. Age plays a role in how rapidly gains occur. Younger women because of higher levels of
people make faster gains than older people for various rea testosterone, when relative size
sons, especially a higher anabolic hormone level and greater differences were taken into ac
recovery ability. count, the women proved just as
Back in 1954 physiologist Herbert Sheldon attempted to liable to gain muscle size as the
Neveux \ Model: Brenda Kelly

document the various human body-type variations. He came men.
up with three basic types: 1) ectomorph, or thin; 2) endomorph, Nor did age affect the rate of muscle gains, since the older
or fat; and 3) mesomorph, or muscular. Sheldon pointed out subjects made gains similar to those of their younger counter
that humans are rarely any one exclusive type but usually are parts. The authors attributed that to a fairly stable level of
mixed, such as endo-mesomorph, or fat-muscular. The majority testosterone secretion in the older subjects, noting that the
of bodybuilding champions are ecto-meso, or thin-muscular. hormone doesn’t drop enough to blunt muscle gains until
Such people often start out thin, then gain muscle with training about age 60; some would disagree.
experience. When they stop training for an extended time, they As for strength, 232 subjects increased their one-rep maxi
revert to their dominant form. With age and metabolism mum by 40 to 60 percent. That means their ability to lift a
changes, however, many formerly thin athletes get fat if they weight for one rep improved by 40 to 60 percent. Another 36
don’t maintain a strict diet and training schedule. subjects made gains of 100 percent in one-rep max, while 12
A recent study examined whether variations in gains occur subjects gained less than 5 percent. Similar figures held for
in a large sample.1 The subjects included 585 people, 243 gains in isometric strength, although one subject made gains
men and 342 women, ages 18 to 40. The cutoff age of 40 of 150 percent in that area.
was set because the researchers felt that after that age the Women showed greater variability in dynamic strength, or
anabolic hormones needed to support muscular gains drop the type of lifting most often done in bodybuilding workouts—
precipitously. In addition, none of the subjects took any drugs eccentric and concentric muscle contractions. The greater
that might influence gains in size and strength, such as corti variability could be explained by women’s naturally greater
costeroids, which are catabolic and tend to produce losses in joint flexibility. In addition, the women were less skilled on
muscle size and average than the men in performing preacher curls at the start
strength. The sub of the study, and with continued skill acquisition some might
jects weren’t al have made better gains than others. In total, the women
lowed any type of made better strength gains than the men. Thus, the men
food supplement made better gains in muscle size, while the women proved
touted to boost superior in strength gains, likely because they were much
gains, such as weaker at the start of the study.
protein powders, The study shows that most people make significant gains
creatine or pro- in muscle size and strength when they begin regular training.
hormones. Men show faster muscle size gains on average, while women
The exercise may get stronger faster than men. The unanswered question
consisted of one- of the study is why the variations in the gains occurred. Why
arm preacher curls, did one trainee show a 40 percent muscle-size gain after 12
done with the non- weeks of training, while another had only a 5 percent gain?
dominant arm, for Factors not discussed in the study could explain the wide
12 weeks. Muscle variations: diet, how intensely you train, how much rest you
gains were deter get, and so on. Also, genetic factors certainly play a dominant
mined by magnetic role in who makes the fastest gains. Perhaps some people
resonance imaging, have genes that favor muscle gains that are activated when
an expensive but they begin training. Somebody else may not produce as much
accurate method. myostatin, a protein that inhibits muscular growth, or may
Strength gains were produce other proteins that block the activity of myostatin,
determined by which would favor rapid gains in size and strength. Although
baseline tests that the study suggested that testosterone didn’t play a major role
used both isometric in the gains made by the male subjects, other studies show
Neveux \ Model: Sebastian Siegel
and dynamic exer that higher initial levels of testosterone and other anabolic
cise. hormones favor more rapid muscle gains.
After 12 weeks —Jerry Brainum
individual variations
in gains in muscular 1 Hubal, M.J., et al. (2005). Variability in muscle size and
size and strength strength gain after unilateral resistance training. Med Sci
proved significant. Sports Exer. 37:964-72.

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Steve Holman’s
Critical Mass
A: Doing only heavy short-range-partials—but not too
Partial
short—may do some good things for your muscle mass.
That’s similar to what we call stage sets, where you do
the sweet-spot range first—the bottom two-thirds of
the stroke on an incline press, for example—then finish
with the top one-third of the movement. However, keep
Power
Q: I was reading your Beyond X-Rep Muscle-
in mind the size principle of muscle fiber recruitment.
Full-range reps, or close to full range, may make that
fiber-activation domino effect happen more effectively.
Also keep in mind that fibers fire throughout the stroke.
In other words, as you push the bar up, different fibers
are firing along the way. So while you may get at a lot of
Building e-book and your discussion of Ronnie
fibers by doing heavy partials, you could conceivably
Coleman’s training. I was thinking of trying a work
miss a few that fire closer to the top of the stroke if your
out constructed primarily of short-range partials.
partials are too abrupt.
Wouldn’t that enable me to go heavier and really
Experiment and see what happens. To play it safe,
blast the sweet spot on each exercise? Would it be
you may want to do a full-range set, or at least close to it,
feasible to try something like that every few weeks
before your heavy partial set. In fact, that will help prime
or so as a change of pace? Wouldn’t that technique
your nervous system to fire more fibers on that second
let me hit the sweet spot and keep continuous ten
set.
sion on the muscle throughout the set? Also, in The
As for the sweet spot being the sticking point, it’s
Ultimate Mass Workout e-book you mentioned
probably right below that, as the sweet spot is the stron
that the sweet spot on an exercise may vary slightly
gest point on the stroke—the max-force-generation
from person to person due to different body types,
point. It should be a point at which you can get some
muscle attachments and so on. I’ve noticed that my
movement.
sweet spots are normally my sticking points—where
I can’t do another positive rep. Would it be accurate Q: I train by myself, so I have to tweak my X-Rep
to say the X spot is really the sticking point? sets a little for compound movements like squats.
After my heavier sets to failure, I do an X set in
which I use a lighter weight with slow negatives
and then explode on the positive and do X Reps
at the end of that set. With squats it gives me a
great pump and burn. I recently tried incline
one-arm lateral raises on an incline bench
with a seat. I’ve never done those before. They
felt great, but at what angle do you recom
mend I set the incline? Also, I’ve always won
dered what angle is best for incline curls. One
more thing: I have a weight-assisted chin/dip
machine at my fitness center. If I do X Reps on
wide-grip chins, should I be a little less than
halfway up, as with undergrip chins for biceps?
A: That’s a great solution for squats. Nice work
figuring that out. Explosive movements have been
shown to enhance fiber recruitment and develop
neuromuscular efficiency—and you’re adding X
Reps to that lighter explosive set. Nice. Just be care
ful not to bounce. Stay in control
For incline laterals the bench should be halfway
between 45 and 90 degrees. Try to go a little lower
than that for incline curls, but be careful. Too
much stretch on that exercise can cause shoulder
problems. You may have to gradually work down to
about 60 degrees.
On chins start X Reps just out of full stretch and
come up to the midpoint, or just short of it. You
should feel your lats screaming as you pulse.
Okabe \ Model: Ronnie Coleman
Q: I was wondering if you’ve tried GAKIC.

There’s a lot of fuss being made about how it’s
supposed to work better than creatine.
A: GAKIC works on a pathway different from that
of creatine. GAKIC blocks fatigue products, like
ammonia, so the muscle can go longer (more reps/
strength). Creatine actually bolsters the energy

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Steve Holman’s
Critical Mass
the dumbbells closer together. That will put
You can get great a bit more stress on your triceps but provide
workouts at home your pecs with something different. You can
with limited also try supersetting either style with push
equipment. ups on the floor—do the pushups immedi
Selectorized ately after your set of bench presses.
dumbbells can Seated shoulder presses. You can do
make home these alternating style or W style (pushing
training even out instead of up, so your arms look like the
more effective. sides of a W at the top). You may also want to
try alternating them with dumbbell upright
rows from workout to workout.
Biceps curls. You can do these in al
ternating style or do one-arm bent-over
concentration curls at every other workout.
You can also do hammer curls (thumbs up),
which will hit the brachialis and the outer
heads of the biceps.
Triceps extensions. You can do these
lying on the ground, lying back on your
Swiss ball or seated, one arm at a time be
hind your head. Or try them seated with a
dumbbell in each hand, driving them up at
the same time behind your head.
Dumbbell rows. Try two-arm rows, one-
Neveux \ Model: Jonathan Lawson

arm dumbbell rows (you may also want to
add dumbbell pullovers performed on your
Swiss ball to hit the lats’ stretch position).
Dumbbell squats. Try these one leg at
a time when you get strong enough. Also
try sissy, or limbo, squats—hold onto some
thing stationary and go up on your toe as
you squat, but without bending at the waist.
Keep your torso and thighs on the same
system (ATP) in the muscle and can make the muscles plane. When your hamstrings meet your calves, drive back
larger through fluid retention and, perhaps, better pro up, but only two-thirds of the way, to keep tension on your
tein synthesis. Those two supplements should work well thighs.
together, if you can afford them. Dumbbell lunges. Alternate these from workout to
We’ve gotten great strength surges with GAKIC here at workout with dumbbell stiff-legged deadlifts—keep a
the IRON MAN Training & Research Center. Our report slight bend at your knees, keep your back flat, keep the
on it was in the November issue’s Research Team feature. dumbbells close to your legs as you lower to midshin; then
When we were taking GAKIC, we were cranking out three pull them up, but only two-thirds of the way, to keep ten
to five extra reps on our work sets at the beginning of our sion on your hamstrings.
workouts. We’re just starting back on it for our winter You may want to take the next step up in home training
Mega-Mass Program, as outlined in Beyond X-Rep Muscle and get a PowerBlock selectorized dumbbell set and an
Building, our new e-book (available at www adjustable bench. You can do an almost endless number of
.BeyondX-Rep.com). exercises, and that equipment takes up very little space.
Q: I work out at home and only have a Swiss ball New! The sharp black POF T-shirt with the original
and dumbbells. I’ve been doing a full-body workout
classic logo emblazoned in gold can give you that mus-
three times a week. I do two sets of 12 on each exer
cular look you’re after. See page 219 for details.
cise. My workout is Swiss ball bench presses, seated
shoulder presses, biceps curls, triceps extensions,
dumbbell rows, dumbbell squats and dumbbell Editor’s note: Steve
lunges. I also add ab work. I plan to buy a bench and Holman is the author of a
barbells later on. Could you give me a few ideas to number of bodybuilding
keep me progressing? I also do cardio on off days. best-sellers, including Train,
Eat, Grow: The Positions-
A: You can get great workouts with limited equipment— of-Flexion Muscle-Training
even no equipment at all. In my first book, Home Gym Manual. For information
Handbook, I outlined a weight-free workout that’s perfect on the POF videos and Size
for vacations or a maintenance workout trainees can use if Surge programs, see page
they don’t have time to hit the gym. Here are a few sugges 69. For information on Train,
tions for mixing things up with the equipment you have: Eat, Grow, see page 86. Also
Neveux
Swiss ball bench presses. Try them at every other visit www.X-Rep.com. IM
workout with your elbows tucked in close to your torso and
Steve Holman
52 JANUARY 2006 \ www.ironmanmagazine.com [email protected]
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Train ™ \ JULY 2006 181
Mr. Natural Olympia John Hansen’s
Naturally Huge
ing heavy.
With almost 30 years of nonstop training behind me, I’ve
The World had to learn how to dodge joint pain while still using the
productive basic exercises with heavy weights. The follow
ing section lists which exercises usually aggravate sensitive
areas of the body and how you can overcome the joint pain
of Hurt, Part 1 by using different exercises or different training methods.

Elbows. The elbows take a beating from years of heavy
pressing movements during chest and shoulder training.
Anyone who’s trained heavy and hard in the gym for a Bench presses, incline presses, military presses, overhead
number of years understands what it is to be injured. You dumbbell presses and all other pressing movements put
don’t have to carelessly swing the weights around or per stress on the elbows.
form exercises haphazardly to eventually end up with an Extension movements, often used in training the triceps,
injury. When you begin pushing your muscles further than also put a strain directly on the elbow joints. Lying triceps
they’re accustomed to (the overload principle), sooner or extensions—a.k.a. skull crushers—seated triceps exten
later you’ll end up with some type of muscle or tendon sions and pushdowns can all cause strain on the elbow
pull, strain or tear. joint.
Injuries from weight training can occur at any age. Even I’ve found that the best way to avoid elbow pain is to
teenage bodybuilders, with all their youthful energy and re thoroughly warm up and get lots of blood in the area be
silience, can injure themselves if they don’t take the proper fore attempting any direct extension movements. If I went
precautions and train correctly. The older bodybuilder, into the gym and started training triceps with an exercise
however, must be even more careful. Older bodybuilders like lying or seated triceps extensions, my elbows would
who’ve been training for 20 years or more have most likely be screaming with pain, and I wouldn’t be able to use any
accumulated a collection of injuries that make their pres substantial poundage at all.
ence known each time they add more weight to the bar or I prefer to train my triceps after my chest. That lets my
attempt to push themselves harder in their workouts. elbows warm up during exercises like barbell and dumb
The joints are the main culprit when it comes to pain bell bench presses and incline presses. I use the pyramid
in training. Muscle and tendon strains usually heal them system, beginning the first set with light weight and gradu
selves with enough rest. Joints—the elbows, knees, lower ally increasing the resistance with each succeeding set.
back and shoulders—however, are not so forgiving. They Training in that manner enables me to warm up the joints
tend to “wear out” after decades of heavy training, and they slowly, with no pain in the elbows.
require you to train intelligently if you want to keep train One exercise that I like to use to finish off my chest
routine is dumb
bell pullovers.
Although they
target the upper
pecs and the lats,
they also seem
to pump up the
triceps really
well. With a slight
Neveux \ Model: Mike Morris
Neveux \ Model: Tito Raymond
Starting your triceps workout with an extension movement could mean

trouble for your elbow joints. A pressing exercise is a better choice.

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Mr. Natural Olympia John Hansen’s
Naturally Huge
One of the best exercises to start your triceps

work with is close-grip bench presses.
Neveux
Workout 1
pump in the triceps, I begin my triceps workout and feel Dumbbell pullovers (at the end of the chest
no pain in my elbows. workout) 2-3 x 10-12
Even though the triceps are pumped, I still don’t dare Pushdowns 3 x 12, 10, 8
start off with an extension movement. Instead, I com Decline extensions 3 x 10, 8, 6
mence with pushdowns, which are not as hard on the Bench dips 3 x 10-12
elbow joints as an extension movement would be. I begin
Workout 2
with a light weight and pump out 12 to 15 reps for the first
Close-grip bench presses 3 x 10, 8, 6
set. I increase the weight over the next three sets and finish
Overhead extensions 3 x 10, 8, 6
off with six to eight reps on my last heavy set.
Dips 3 x 10, 8, 6
It’s only now that I move onto an extension exercise like
lying triceps extensions or seated triceps extensions. The Next month I’ll cover knees and lower back injuries.
elbows and triceps have plenty of blood in them at this
point, but I still begin with a moderately heavy weight and Editor’s note:
slowly increase the poundage on each new set so I don’t John Hansen has
cause injury to the joints. I also make sure that I lower the won the Natural Mr.
resistance very slowly on each rep, as that seems to de Olympia and is a
crease the amount of stress on the elbow joints. two-time Natural Mr.
Another great exercise for adding mass to the triceps Universe winner. Visit
without stressing out the elbows is the close-grip bench his Web site at www
press. In addition to using your triceps, you’re also calling .naturalolympia
on the pecs and delts. Because of the involvement of those .com. You can write to
two other large muscle groups, the elbows aren’t directly him at P.O. Box 3003,
stressed, as they would be with an extension movement. Darien, IL 60561, or
That lets me use heavier poundages, which is great for call toll-free (800)
adding more mass to the triceps while simultaneously 900-UNIV (8648). His
bringing blood into the elbow joints. It would be safe to new book, Natural
move on to a triceps extension after performing several Bodybuilding, is now
sets of close-grip bench presses. available from Home
Neveux
Here are two sample triceps workouts for those suffer- Gym Warehouse,
ing from painful elbows: (800) 447-0008 or
www.Home-Gym.com. IM John Hansen
[email protected]
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EAT TO
NUTRITION SCIENCE
The Mystery of Milk Solved Can it really blur your

hard-earned muscularity?
Proteins derived from milk, mainly ing milk for anyone over age one. nutrient source. Some bodybuilders
whey and casein, are recognized as Many problems associated with avoid milk at all times but often
the best sources of supplemental milk, say these groups, relate to the cannot explain why. Those training
protein for bodybuilders and other hormones in milk, such as insulinlike for contests say that the sodium
athletes, as well as for anyone else growth factor 1. IGF-1 is an anabolic content of milk leads to water reten
seeking a quality protein source. Milk hormone in muscle, but it can also tion, even though milk isn’t particu
itself, however, is an entirely different act as a growth factor for cancer larly rich in sodium.
matter. From a health perspective, spread. IGF-1 is a peptide hormone, Still, there must be something
nothing beats mother’s milk as a meaning that it’s nothing more than about milk that makes it taboo for so
primary source of nutrition for hu a long string of amino acids held many bodybuilders. Even if we
mans and other animals. Few would together by bonds in a specific discard obvious factors, such as
argue that point. The necessity of sequence. lactose intolerance—the inability to
drinking milk after infancy, however, Any protein you take in orally is fully digest the lactose, or milk sugar,
is controversial. degraded by gastric acid and then due to a lack of the enzyme lac
Entire Web sites are devoted to further degraded by the liver. The tase—or an allergy to milk proteins
the alleged health dangers of drink odds of a hormone the size of IGF-1 themselves, which is rare, something
surviving that in milk appears to obscure
formidable digestive bodybuilders’ muscular definition.
barrier and entering Bodybuilders often think that
the blood are re whole milk is loaded with fat. The
mote at best, truth is that it contains a mere 3.5
though that hap percent fat. The alternative to whole
pens sometimes in milk is nonfat milk, containing less
infants. Some sci than 1 percent fat. There is nothing
entists, however, about nonfat milk that should pro
suggest that milk mote either water retention or fat
contains other accretion.
proteins that shield Or is there?
IGF-1 in the diges The glycemic index is a measure
tive process, allow of how rapidly carbohydrates are
ing some active absorbed into the blood. Though
hormone to reach originally developed for diabetics in
the blood. The 1981, the G.I. also provides useful
proof of that con and interesting data for people
tention is skimpy at interested in the fate of the carbs
best. they eat. The G.I. exposed the fact
From a body that some venerated “complex
building standpoint, carbs” actually act more like simple
milk is considered sugar when eaten alone. Examples
good and bad. For include baked potatoes and carrots.
those seeking to Using the G.I., however, mandates
Milk: Does it do a gain weight and some common sense, since many
bodybuilder’s add muscle mass, high-carb foods also contain fat,
cuts good? milk is a nearly ideal which slows the entry of carbs into

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GROW
Nutrition With a Get-Big Mission

the blood. An example of that is ice
cream, which has a low G.I. but
which is not a diet food.
Some foods provoke consider-
product that doesn’t pro-
mote a large insulin
response is cheese. All other
dairy foods—including whole
able release of insulin, which is and nonfat milk, yogurt, ice
measured on its own index. Milk is cream and cottage
an unusual food because while it has cheese—promote a larger
a moderate G.I. number of 41, it also than expected insulin release
has a high insulin index number. in the body. In sensitive
Something in milk promotes a huge people those dairy foods
release of insulin in the body, which may produce an insulin
was originally demonstrated with release large enough to
whole milk and has more recently produce reactive hypogly
been demonstrated with nonfat milk cemia, or low blood sugar.
too.1 The effect is so potent that
What causes it? Certain amino even adding milk to a meal
acids in milk promote insulin release, containing a mixture of high-
including two of the three branched- and low-G.I. foods can result
chain amino acids, leucine and in increased insulin release.
isoleucine, and tryptophan. Beef The paradoxical insulin
contains the same amino acids yet release has implications for
has low G.I. and insulin index num- both health and bodybuild
bers. Another possibility is that ing and may help explain the
lactose has an additive effect when frequently observed water
it’s taken in with the amino acids in retention that happens after some- insulin-promoting effects can be
milk. That makes sense when you body drinks milk. High-level insulin used to advantage following a work-
consider that adding protein to release promotes the release of out; that’s when you want an in
carbs increases insulin output by another hormone, aldosterone, from creased insulin release. Following
about 37 percent. the adrenal glands. Aldosterone training, insulin promotes the activity
Other factors in milk may also be promotes sodium and water reten- of the enzyme that dictates glycogen
responsible for the insulin effect. tion, while also promoting potassium synthesis in muscle. The increased
Besides the primary milk proteins, excretion. (Aldosterone has a num- glycogen synthesis results in faster
whey and casein, milk contains a ber of other bad effects; look for that recovery. Insulin also promotes the
number of smaller proteins known information in an upcoming Body- entry of amino acids into muscle,
as peptides, which many scientists building Pharmacology column.) which increases muscle protein
think may exert physiological effects While a potent anabolic hormone synthesis for added size and
in humans. Most of the effects are in muscle, insulin is also the most strength. That’s why experts often
beneficial, but some may heighten potent promoter of fat accretion in recommend having a drink contain-
insulin response to where it’s out of the body. Whenever insulin is secret- ing both fast-acting protein—such
proportion with the calorie and ed, all mechanisms that affect fat as whey—and simple sugars as
nutrient content of milk. oxidation are blunted, while all soon as possible after a workout.
Milk contains small amounts of mechanisms that promote fat gain —Jerry Brainum
hormones, such as estrogen and are increased. Insulin itself will not
testosterone. Again, the likelihood make anyone fat, but when com- 1 Hoyt, G., et al. (2005). Dissocia
that those hormones survive the bined with sugar, its fat-promoting tion of the glycemic and insulinemic
gamut of digestive barriers and liver effects are magnified. responses to whole and skimmed
degradation is remote. The bright side of this otherwise milk. Brit J Nutr. 93:175-77.
Studies show that the only dairy grim information about milk is that its
www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JANUARY 2006 65

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Eat to Grow
NUTRITION NOTES
Food Facts
That can affect your
workouts and health
Coffee can do
good and bad
things. Another
benefit was discov
ered in a study at
the Japanese Na
tional Cancer Insti
tute in Tokyo.
Subjects in the 40
to-60 age range who drank one to four
Neveux \ Model: Steve Kummer

cups of coffee a day had half the risk of
liver cancer as those who rarely drank
coffee.
Devil’s claw, containing the active
compound harpagoside, has powerful
anti-inflammatory effects. In fact, an
analysis of a dozen studies done with
devil’s claw found that it relieved back
PROTEIN pain as effec
tively as a stan
dard dose of
Up Your Aminos? Do protein supplements increase

strength and muscle mass?
Vioxx, the drug
that was pulled
from the market
due to in
In a study presented at the 2005 meeting of the American College of Sports creased cardio
Medicine, researchers examined the effects of a protein supplement on experi vascular risk. If
enced weight-training men.1 They noted that previous studies had not found any you want to try
advantage to taking in more than 1.8 grams of protein per kilogram (2.2 pounds) of the natural route
bodyweight for strength athletes. But those studies lasted an average of only two to back-pain relief, look for devil’s claw,
weeks, and most used untrained college students as subjects. More experienced or harpagoside supple
ments, at your health
trainees may require more protein simply because they train harder and longer.
food store.
In the study, which lasted 12 weeks, 21 experienced strength athletes were Omega-3 fatty acid
randomly assigned to either a placebo or a protein-supplement group. Those in supplements have re
the protein group got two grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight, while cently been shown to
those in the placebo group got 1.24 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight. reduce triglycerides by a
All subjects were tested on the one-rep squat and bench press, as well as the whopping 30 percent.
The fatty acids singled
Wingate anaerobic power test. Body composition was also tested.
out in this reduction are
The results: Both groups showed significant improvement in the strength tests, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicos
but there were no differences in bench press, anaerobic power or body composi apentaenoic acid (EPA). Try to get about
tion. Those getting the protein supplement, however, experienced a significant two grams a day of the DHA-and-EPA
strength gain on the one-rep squat. mix, which works
Why the protein group gained strength only in the lower body isn’t clear. Per out to about six fish
haps it had something to do with the size of the legs, which have the largest mus oil capsules.
Grapes have a
cles in the body. Nor is it clear what type of protein supplement was used. That
phytochemical in
could make a difference, since a higher-quality protein, such as a whey-and-casein them called resvera
mixture, would produce better results than an inferior protein source. trol, which can act
—Jerry Brainum as a blood thinner
and relax blood ves
1Falvo, M., et al. (2005). Effect of protein supplementation on strength, power sels. That means you should eat grapes
and body composition changes for experienced resistance-trained men. Med Sci or raisins for a healthy heart—or, if you
like a buzz with your pump primer, drink
Sports Exerc. 37(5):S45.
red wine. —Becky Holman
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Eat to Grow
GOOD FATS
The Zone and Omega-3s A healthy

combination?
The Zone diet, as promoted by Thirteen men and 20 women, age

biochemist Barry Sears, recom range 21 to 51, followed one or the
mends nutrient percentages of 40 other diet for 35 days, then switched
percent carbs, 30 percent protein over to the other diet for another 35
and 30 percent fat. According to days. The subjects also got either
Sears, that combination of nutrients eight capsules, or four grams, a day
aids fat loss and health by favorably of fish oil supplement (not Sears’
affecting the synthesis of fat-based brand) or olive oil. The calories and
compounds in the body called nutrient ratios depended on the
eicosanoids. Sears believes that the subjects’ size and metabolism.
precise nutrient content of the Zone Taking the omega-3 supplement
diet works by moderating the re led to a reduction of the ratio of AA
lease of insulin. The control of in to EPA (omega-3 fat), and the ratio
sulin, in turn, influences the was particularly apparent with the
production of beneficial rather than Zone diet. That appears to confirm
excessive and so potentially harmful Sears’ contention that his Zone diet
eicosanoids. offers synergistic effects when sup
Sears has written a number of plemented with omega-3 oils. The
books detailing the benefits and lower AA-to-EPA ratio also
correct use of the Zone diet. Among decreased levels of insulin and
his claims are that his diet not only homocysteine—the latter is a by-
increases bodyfat loss but also product of the
extends longevity. The latter is due metabolism of methion
to an antioxidant feature of the Zone ine, an essential amino
program coupled with a decrease in acid, that, when elevated,
inflammatory states that are known is linked to a number of
to be the primary cause of many degenerative diseases, degenerative diseases.
including cardiovascular disease and cancer. Combining the Zone
Lately, Sears has also been promoting the addition of fish diet with fish oil also led to
oil supplements, which he says are the key to controlling a greater bodyfat loss
inflammation in the body. In fact, he sells a “pharmaceutical than the conventional diet
grade” fish oil that retails for $85 a bottle. Sears says the high did, as well as greater
price is related to the purity of the product. antioxidant effects and a
While extensive scientific evidence confirms the many better mood, character
health benefits of omega-3 fats, as found in fish oil, the proof ized by less depression,
behind the effectiveness of the Zone diet itself is a subject of anger and anxiety. The
debate. Several scientists have noted that the Zone diet is a favorable ratio of AA to
low-calorie program when followed as suggested. The low EPA would point to a
ered calorie intake itself can lead to fat loss and decreased decrease in inflammatory
oxidation, as well as lowered inflammation. Bodyfat isn’t the eicosanoids, precisely as
inactive energy storage site that it was thought to be in the Sears predicts. While fish
past. In reality, fat produces a number of substances that can oil alone can do that, the
promote inflammation throughout the body. Losing fat leads to researchers suggest that
less inflammatory activity. the specific percentages of nutrients in the Zone program
The idea that diet alone can control the synthesis of appear to make fish oil even more potent. This may relate to
eicosanoids is also open to question. What is not debated is the lower insulin release, as shown in this study.
that eicosanoids are made from dietary fat, and the type of fat So should you consider following a Zone diet supplement
you eat does influence the ratio of eicosanoids produced in your ed with fish oil? Since the Zone diet demands precise per
body. Insulin comes into play because it promotes the activity of centages of nutrients, you must be willing to regiment yourself.
enzymes that provoke a greater synthesis of inflammatory The lower calorie intake of the Zone will reliably lead to a loss
eicosanoids made from the parent fatty acid, arachidonic acid, of fat, which will lower insulin levels. Even if the Zone program
or AA. In contrast, omega-3 fats oppose the activity of the isn’t suitable, adding fish oil supplements is doubtless benefi
enzymes that promote inflammatory eicosanoids. cial for everyone because of the extensive health benefits
A recent study looked at what happens when healthy, ac linked to them.
tive people take omega-3 supplements.1 It compared two —Jerry Brainum
types of diets: a Zone diet and one containing 55 percent
carbs, 15 percent protein and 30 percent fat. The latter diet is 1 Fontani, G., et al. (2005). Blood profiles, bodyfat and
similar to the one endorsed by organizations such as the mood state in healthy subjects supplemented with omega-3
American Heart Association as being optimal for disease polyunsaturated fatty acids. Eur J Clin Invest. 35:499-507.
prevention.

TM
PERFECT POSTWORKOUT MEAL

To Kick-Start Immediate Muscle Growth After You Train
Breakthrough research in
exercise metabolism now
reveals this fact: What you
consume (or don’t consume)
immediately after training plays
a critical role in determining
your success or failure! That
time period is known as the
“anabolic window” of growth.
The biggest mistake many

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

potent anabolic effect is simply
by drinking an amino acid-
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RecoverX™ offers the ideal
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©2009 Home-Gym.com

Eat to Grow
WARRIOR NUTRITION AND EXERCISE
Food for Sex and Muscles
Although nowadays meat and cheese are often regarded as performance. Meat,
the most fattening and dangerous foods, those same foods eggs and dairy
were once regarded as great strength builders. Ancient Greeks foods contain
considered meat the food of warriors. Some anthropologists something that
have suggested that the human body hasn’t changed much affects sexual po
since the Stone Age. If that’s true, then modern human beings tency. That certain
are still biologically designed to benefit from a hunter-gatherer something also
diet that includes meat plays a critical role
and fat. in numerous biologi
Meat, eggs and cal functions, in
dairy foods can indeed cluding muscle gain
help enhance vigor and and fat loss. That
potency. On the other something is the so-
hand, the meatless called bad fat.
vegetarian diet—and in —Ori Hofmekler
particular, the vegan
diet—may help protect Editor’s note: Ori Hofmekler is the author
against cardiovascular of the books The Warrior Diet and Maximum
disease. Nevertheless, Muscle & Minimum Fat, published by Dragon
a vegetarian diet may Door Publications (www.dragondoor.com). For
also adversely affect more information or for a consultation, contact
libido and virility and him via e-mail at [email protected],
may even compromise www.warriordiet.com or by phone at (866)
athletic and sexual WAR-DIET.
ANABOLIC DRIVE
Sesamin Is Sizzlin’ It’s one hot antioxidant—and it helps nitric oxide production too
Sesamin. If you haven’t yet heard of it, you will. If you think it comes from
sesame seeds, you’re right. It’s actually the most abundant lignan in sesame
seeds and oil. Lignans are antioxidants and phytoestrogens found in a variety
of plants—flaxseed, pumpkin seeds, rye, soybeans, broccoli and some berries.
Sesamin is one of those plants too, and to say it has many many different
functions is a slight understatement.
Sesamin products already on the market claim to help maximize fat loss,
support liver and kidney health and maintain healthy lipid profiles. Let’s get a
scientific preview of some of the current information on sesamin.
For example, one study looked at the effect of sesamin on gene expression
in the liver; researchers found that sesamin regulates the metabolism of lipids,
xenobiotics and alcohol at the mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) level.
You’ve heard of all the nitric oxide hoopla. Well, sesamin plays a role there
too. In fact, research suggests that sesamin may improve hypertension, or high
blood pressure, because it can induce production of nitric oxide. Sesamin is also a very strong antioxidant. For example, in
one study mice were given varying amounts of sesamin, vitamin E or vitamin C. They were subjected to 30 minutes of swim
ming exercise two hours after receiving samples. The scientists found that sesamin had a protective effect via its antioxidant
capacity (whereas vitamins C and E were ineffective).
Sesamin has been shown to have lipid-lowering effects, antioxidant effects and immunoregulatory functions. So if you’re
hypertensive, sesamin may be one of the ingredients on the horizon that may help you. Alternatively, its role in protecting you
during exercise is worth further exploration. And to top it off, the effect of sesamin in nitric oxide metabolism (which affects
myriad physiological processes) makes it potentially one of the most exciting new dietary supplements around.
—Jose Antonio, Ph.D.
Editor’s note: Jose Antonio, Ph.D., is the chief science officer of Javalution (www.javafit.com) and the president of the
International Society of Sports Nutrition (www.sportsnutritionsociety.org).

GRIND OUT THE GROWTH REPS™
Beta-Alanine Gives Your Muscles More Grow Power™
The biggest bodybuilders know that

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

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

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

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©2009 Home-Gym.com

Eat to Grow
BIG MEALS
Yates’ diet details
Staggering Yates helped him earn

six
Mr. Olympia
Dorian believes in staggering his calories to keep crowns.
his metabolism from stagnating and to match his

energy expenditure on any particular day. “Let’s say I
am eating 4,500 calories per day getting ready for
the show. I may eat 4,500 one day, 4,800 the next
and 4,200 the third day. It averages out to 4,500, but
it varies depending on my energy output. I don’t think
you have to eat as much on an off day as you do on
a day that you’re busting your ass training legs for an
hour.” Dorian eats every 2 1/2 to three hours.
—Larry Pepe
The Precontest Bible
Editor’s note: The Precontest Bible by Larry Pepe

is available for $49.95 from Home Gym Warehouse.
Neveux
Call (800) 447-0008, or visit www
.Home-Gym.com.
FIT FACTS
Breaking the
Rules
According to the Bottom Line
Health newsletter, “Only 3 percent of
Americans follow all four of the main
health rules—don’t smoke, get regu
lar exercise, eat fruits and vegetables
and maintain a normal weight. Most
chronic diseases would be drastically
reduced if more people adhered to
these basic lifestyle recommenda
tions.” Most bodybuilders adhere to
three out of the four. With the recent
low-carb-diet craze, many are shun
ning fruits and veggies. If you’re interested in health, fruits and veggies are good; it’s
only the processed, high-glycemic carbs you should be shunning.
—Becky Holman
www.X-tremeLean.com

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Train, Eat,GROW
Muscle-Training Program 75
From the IRON MAN Training & Research Center
by Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson • Photography by Michael Neveux
Model: Jonathan Lawson

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It’s been more than a year now more sets can stimulate more we were better in ’05 with more
since we started emphasizing X growth—it’s just not very efficient, frequent upper-body workouts,
tended-set training techniques— especially for hardgainers. maybe it wasn’t a mistake but an
and our gains have been nothing If hardgainers tried the subfail improvement. We’d disagree be
short of outstanding. After a few ure-training route, they’d have to cause if you’ve seen our before and
years in which we got erratic re endure much longer workouts with after photos from ’04, you can tell
sults, we attained our best, most many more sets. (Pearl used to that we gained at least five pounds
muscular conditions ever in ’04, average 20 sets per bodypart.) That of muscle each in the last month
our first foray into X-Rep training. would quickly take a toll on their with X Reps. In ’05 we gained more
And those gains came faster than already limited recovery ability— but over a longer period. We now
we thought possible—in about 35 not to mention their attention think that to get the best gains
days. Then in ’05 we got into even span. Doing all those lower-intensi possible at a higher intensity, we
better shape. Who would’ve ty sets just to get at a few more fast- should’ve worked out less frequent
thought that was possible?—espe twitch fibers doesn’t make much ly, but we actually went in the op
cially considering the fact that we sense for hardgainers. posite direction for upper-body
have more than four decades of Could hardgainers gain muscle muscles.
training experience between us on that type of routine? Possibly, You could argue that it took us a
(and Steve is in his mid-40s). with the right split and more mod little longer to build muscle in 2005
Steve, the self-proclaimed erate set totals; however, the better because we were more advanced.
hardgainer’s hardgainer, packed on route is to hit a muscle hard and But we were more advanced in ’04
almost 10 pounds of muscle for our fast by leapfrogging nervous system too, and our gains suddenly went
’05 photo shoot, his aging body failure and activating as many mus through the roof. Hey, we’re body
responding better than it did even cle fibers as possible in any one set. builders, so we’re never satisfied.
during his testosterone-fueled 20s. Then we can significantly reduce We’re convinced that we can do
Jonathan was bigger and better volume, preserving precious recov better—that while X Reps and our
than ever too, and we owe it all to ery ability for growth—oh, and you new X-hybrid techniques packed
cranking up the intensity quotient, don’t have to train most of the day. on muscle for us in ’05, we could’ve
with plenty of science thrown in for We demonstrated that during our added even more if our split had
good measure—and bigger mea ’04 and ’05 ripping phases. Our been more recovery oriented.
surements. bodypart set totals were low— And that brings us to the changes
Mike Mentzer was right when he usually around six—but we took we’re making now to get bigger. We
said that intensity is a critical factor sets beyond failure with X Reps in discussed our new split in detail
in stimulating muscle growth; how ’04, and then in ’05 we cranked up last month, but let’s review it. We
ever, intensity training, defined as the intensity with X-hybrid tech think it’s going to make a significant
pushing to failure and beyond, isn’t niques, such as X/Pause, Double-X difference in our results if we can
the only way to get big. While Overload and X Fade. Result: More keep our intensity turned up to 11
Mentzer often said that you can’t muscle and just as shredded—if not (10 just isn’t high enough!). Here it
make up for haphazard, less-in more so. is again:
tense sets with more volume, we Nevertheless, we think our gains
tÉÉâ=N
respectfully disagree. Bill Pearl’s could’ve been better in ’05 because
Monday: Workout 1A (delts, etc.)
physique, in his prime, was living we made a slight miscalculation:
Tuesday: Workout 2 (legs)
proof that you can build plenty of While we increased our intensity,
Wednesday: Workout 3A (chest,
muscle by doing lots of less-intense we also trained our bodyparts more
etc.)
sets (not that that’s the best way to often than in ’04—at least our
Thursday: Off
do it, mind you). upper-body muscles. That hap
Friday: Workout 1B (delts, etc.)
It all revolves around the size pened as a result of a study that
Weekend: Off (with cardio)
principle of muscle fiber recruit said thigh muscles need more re
ment. To reiterate that important covery time than upper-body mus tÉÉâ=O
concept: On the first few reps of a cles. [For more on that study and Monday: Workout 3B (chest, etc.)
set you engage the low-threshold our interpretations see the Beyond Tuesday: Workout 2 (legs)
motor units, gradually activating X-Rep Muscle Building e-book.] Wednesday: Workout 1A (delts,
the mediums and then the highs Armed with that study, we re etc.)
toward the end of the set. Obvious tooled our training split. We decid Thursday: Off
ly, if you stop short of pushing to ed to train thighs once a week, on Friday: Workout 3A (chest, etc.)
the brink, you don’t get at as many Wednesday, and split the upper Weekend: Off (with cardio)
fast-twitch fibers as you could have. body over two days, Monday and
tÉÉâ=P
When you do more subfailure Tuesday, and then repeat that split
Monday: Workout 1B (delts, etc.)
sets, the same thing happens, but— on Thursday and Friday. In ’04
Tuesday: Workout 2 (legs)
and this point is key—you bring in there was a second leg workout in
Wednesday: Workout 3B (chest,
a few different fast-twitch fibers at the mix, so upper-body days were
etc.)
the end of each set due to a slightly more spaced out.
Thursday: Off
altered recruitment pattern. So We know what you’re thinking: If
Friday: Workout 1A (delts, etc.)
Train, Eat, Grow /Program 75
Weekend: Off (with cardio)

upper-body sessions on consecu A or B. In the A workouts we do a
tÉÉâ=Q tive days: Monday and Tuesday and big, midrange exercise and a con
Monday: Workout 3A (chest, etc.) then Thursday and Friday. Now we tracted-position movement for each
Tuesday: Workout 2 (legs) put legs between them on Tuesday. bodypart. In the B workouts we do
Wednesday: Workout 1B (delts, Then on Thursday we take a day off the same midrange exercise, but we
etc.) (ah, sweet recovery). Friday is a follow with a stretch-position move
Thursday: Off repeat of Monday’s workout but ment. So we cover all the positions
Friday: Workout 3B (chest, etc.) with different positions. The follow of flexion for each muscle over two
Weekend: Off (with cardio) ing Monday we pick up with the workouts, with emphasis on the big,
`óÅäÉ=ÄÉÖáåë=~Ö~áå previous Wednesday’s workout but midrange moves, a.k.a. the mass
with different positions. exercises.
We are still hitting thighs once a That we train the muscles in At least that’s how we’re doing it at
week, on Tuesday, which breaks up different positions explains the A the moment. We may decide to do
the two upper-body sessions. Before, and B designations. Upper-body all three positions for a weak body-
during our ’05 ripping phase, we had workouts are categorized as either part if we notice stagnation creeping
folk=j^k qê~áåáåÖ=C=oÉëÉ~êÅÜ=`ÉåíÉê=jìëÅäÉJqê~áåáåÖ=mêçÖê~ã=TR
tçêâçìí=N^W=aÉäíëI=jáÇÄ~ÅâI=_áÅÉéëI=cçêÉ~êãë Incline kneeups 2 x 10
Bench V-ups 2x8
Dumbbell upright rows (X Reps) 2-3 x 8-10
Twisting crunches 2 x 10-12
Seated forward-lean laterals (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
Dumbbell presses (X Reps) 2 x 8-10 tçêâçìí=N_W=aÉäíëI=jáÇÄ~ÅâI=_áÅÉéëI=cçêÉ~êãë
Barbell shrugs (X Reps) 2 x 10-12
Rack pulls (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
Cable upright rows (X Reps) 1 x 10-12
Dumbbell upright rows (X Reps) 1 x 8-10
Nautilus rows (X Reps) 2-3 x 8-10
Cable laterals (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
Bent-arm bent-over laterals (X Reps) 2 x 10-12
Dumbbell presses (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
Behind-the-neck pulldowns (X Reps) 1 x 10-12
Dumbbell shrugs (X Reps) 2 x 10-12
Bent-over laterals 1 x 8-10
Cable curls (X Reps) 2-3 x 8-10
Nautilus rows (X Reps) 2-3 x 8-10
Concentration curls (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
One-arm dumbbell rows (X Reps) 2 x 10-12
Rope hammer curls (X Reps) 1 x 8-10
Behind-the-neck pulldowns (X Reps) 1 x 10-12
Barbell reverse wrist curls 2 x 15
Uncrossovers (X Reps) 1 x 8-10
Barbell wrist curls 2 x 15
Preacher curls (X Reps or staged) 2-3 x 8-10
Rockers 1 x 15
Incline curls (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
tçêâçìí=OW=nì~ÇëI=e~ãëI=d~ëíêçÅëI=içï=_~Åâ Incline hammer curls 1 x 8-10
Dumbbell reverse wrist curls 2 x 15
Smith-machine squats (X Reps) 2-3 x 8-10
Dumbbell wrist curls 2 x 15
Leg extensions (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
Rockers 1 x 15
Sissy squats (drop set; X Reps) 1 x 10(8)
Leg presses 2 x 8-10 tçêâçìí=P_W=`ÜÉëíI=i~íëI=qêáÅÉéëI=^Äë
Hack squats 1 x 8-10
Smith-machine incline presses (X Reps) 2-3 x 8-10
Leg curls (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
Incline flyes (X Reps) 2 x 8-12
Stiff-legged deadlifts (partials) 2 x 8-10
Wide-grip dips (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
Hyperextensions (X Reps) 1 x max
Decline flyes (X Reps) 1 x 8-12
Reverse hyperextensions 1 x 10
Flat-bench flyes 1 x 8-12
Leg press calf raises (X Reps) 3 x 15-20
Parallel-grip pulldowns (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
Hack-machine calf raises (X Reps) 2 x 12-15
Chins (X Reps) 1-2 x 8-12
Standing calf raises (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
Dumbbell pullovers 2 x 8-10
Machine donkey calf raises (X Reps) 1 x 12
Decline extensions (X Reps or staged) 2-3 x 8-10
Seated calf raises 2 x 15-20
Cable pushouts 1 x 8-10
Low-back machine 1 x 8-12
Dumbbell overhead extensions (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
tçêâçìí=P^W=`ÜÉëíI=i~íëI=qêáÅÉéëI=^Äë Superset
Incline kneeups 2 x 10
Smith-machine incline presses (X Reps) 2-3 x 8-10
Bench V-ups 2x8
High cable flyes (X Reps) 2 x 8-12
Ab Bench crunches 2 x 10-12
Dumbbell bench presses (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
Low cable flyes (X Reps) 1 x 8-12
Add to Friday’s workout
Middle cable flyes (X Reps) 1 x 8-12
Seated calf raises (X Reps) 2 x 9-12
Parallel-grip pulldowns (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
Standing calf raises or
Chins (X Reps) 1-2 x 8-12
machine donkey calf raises (X Reps) 1 x 20-25
Machine pullovers (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
Close-grip bench presses 2 x 8-10 •Where X-Reps are designated, only one set is
Pushdowns 2 x 8-10 performed with X Reps or an X-Rep hybrid technique
Superset from the e-book Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building.

in. (You can keep up with our rou those was the X Fade for contracted- the foot pad was lowered to the
tine changes on a workout-by-work position exercises, and it made a semistretched point near the bot
out basis in the X-Blog section at considerable difference in our re tom of the stroke, and we
www.X-Rep.com.) We never stop sults. performed X Reps at the key X spot.
experimenting because, as we said, It started out as a three-position Sounds painful and productive,
we’re bodybuilders: We’re never X-hybrid technique. For example, right?
satisfied with our results. on leg extensions we would do reps The problem was that by the
That’s precisely the reason that we till exhaustion, then our partner time we got to that critically impor
were able to get into better condi would help us to the top, contracted tant semistretched point, we were
tion in ’05 than in ’04—we experi position, where we performed X too spent to do it justice. In other
mented and came up with a number Reps. Then the foot pad was lowered words, we were cheating ourselves
of X-hybrid techniques that took our to the middle position, and we per out of an intense X-spot blast, in
intensity to the next level. One of formed X Reps there; then, finally, (continued on page 86)
fqo`=mêçÖê~ã=TRI=^ÄÄêÉîá~íÉÇ=eçãÉJdóã=oçìíáåÉW=jçåÇ~ó=qÜêçìÖÜ=cêáÇ~ó
tçêâçìí=N^W=aÉäíëI=jáÇÄ~ÅâI=_áÅÉéëI=cçêÉ~êãë Dumbbell upright rows,
seated laterals or rack pulls (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
Dumbbell upright rows,
Incline one-arm laterals (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
seated laterals or rack pulls (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
Seated forward-lean laterals (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
Bent-over barbell rows 2 x 8-10
Barbell shrugs (X Reps) 2 x 10-12
One-arm dumbbell rows (X Reps) 2 x 10-12
Bent-over barbell rows 2 x 8-10
Bent-over laterals (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
Bent-arm bent-over laterals (X Reps) 2 x 10-12
Preacher curls (X Reps) 2-3 x 8-10
Bent-over laterals (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
Incline curls (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
Dumbbell curls 2 x 8-10
Incline hammer curls 1 x 8-10
Concentration curls (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
Dumbbell reverse wrist curls 2 x 15
Hammer curls 1 x 8-10
Dumbbell wrist curls 2 x 15
Barbell reverse wrist curls (X Reps) 2 x 15
Rockers 1 x 15
Barbell wrist curls (X Reps) 2 x 15
Rockers 1 x 15 tçêâçìí=P_W=`ÜÉëíI=i~íëI=qêáÅÉéëI=^Äë
tçêâçìí=OW=nì~ÇëI=e~ãëI=d~ëíêçÅëI=içï=_~Åâ Incline presses (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
Incline flyes (X Reps) 2 x 8-12
Squats (last set staged) 3 x 8-10
Wide-grip dips (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
Leg extensions or hack squats (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
Decline flyes (X Reps) 1 x 8-12
Sissy squats (X Reps) 1 x 10-12
Flat-bench flyes (X Reps) 1 x 8-12
Hack squats (nonlock) 1 x 8-10
Parallel-grip chins (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
Leg curls (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
Chins (X Reps) 1 x 8-12
Stiff-legged deadlifts (bottom-range partials) 2 x 8-10
Hyperextensions (X Reps) 1 x max
Decline extensions (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
Donkey calf raises, standing calf raises
Overhead extensions (X Reps) 2 x 8-10
or one-leg calf raises (X Reps) 4 x 15-20
Superset
Seated calf raises (X Reps) 2 x 15-20
Incline kneeups 2 x 10
tçêâçìí=P^W=`ÜÉëíI=i~íëI=qêáÅÉéëI=^Äë Bench V-ups 2x8
Incline presses (X Reps) 2-3 x 8-10 Ab Bench crunches 2 x 10-12
Incline flyes (squeeze at the top of each rep) 2 x 8-12
Dumbbell bench presses (X Reps) 2 x 8-10 Add to Friday’s workout
Decline flyes (squeeze at the top of each rep) 1 x 8-12 Seated calf raises (X Reps) 2 x 9-12
Flat-bench flyes (squeeze at the top of Standing calf raises 1 x 20-25
each rep) 1 x 8-12 •When X Reps are designated, only one set is
Parallel-grip chins (X Reps) 2 x 8-10 performed with X Reps or an X-Rep hybrid technique
Chins (X Reps) 1 x 8-12 from the e-book Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building.
Undergrip rows 2 x 8-10
Decline extensions (X Reps) 2 x 8-10 kçíÉW=Train Monday through Friday, following the sequence
Kickbacks 2 x 8-10 of workouts as listed. Also, it’s best to have a selectorized
Superset dumbbell set, such as the PowerBlock, if you don’t have a
Incline kneeups 2 x 10 rack of fixed dumbbells of various weights. If you don’t have
Bench V-ups 2x8 a leg extension machine, do old-style hacks with a two-
Twisting crunches 2 x 10-12 second contraction at the top of each rep instead. Use
partner resistance, towel around the ankles, if you don’t
tçêâçìí=N_W=aÉäíëI=jáÇÄ~ÅâI=_áÅÉéëI=cçêÉ~êãë have a leg curl machine.

(continued from page 82) position isn’t unimportant, just less the X-hybrid techniques on key
stead giving priority to the less- crucial than the semistretched exercises.
important points on the stroke. So point. Our revised X Fade—and the We’ll have more on all of those
we made two changes: results we got from it—made that techniques and in a future TEG.
NF Because we usually did two sets even more apparent to us. There’s also info at www.Beyond
on contracted-position exercises, we We believe the real mass-kicker X-Rep.com, including pictures of
did the first with end-of-set X Reps occurred on stretch-position exer our ’05 results right next to our ’04
at the semistretched point. So, when cises, however. We’ve described how shots so you can compare. We hope
we reached nervous system exhaus stretch overload is tied to hyperpla they help motivate you to hit the
tion, we moved to the semistretched sia, or fiber splitting—at least in gym—with X Reps and X-hybrid
point and fired out X-Rep partials. animals (one study showed a 300 moves on the key exercises.
That gave the max-force point prior percent mass increase after only 30
ity. days of stretch overload). It’s also bÇáíçêÛë=åçíÉW For the latest on
OF On the second set we used the believed to ramp up anabolic hor the X-Rep muscle-building method,
X Fade but not the three-positions mone production. By devising an X- including X Q&As, X Files (past e-
variety described above. Instead, we hybrid technique that stresses newsletters), our before and after
cut it to a two-spot technique. We muscle elongation, similar to a tech photos and the new X-Blog training
did the top, contracted position first, nique Jay Cutler uses, we added to journal, visit ïïïKuJoÉéKÅçã. For
then lowered the foot pad to the our explosive mass gains. (Was it more information on Positions-of-
semistretched point and did partials hyperplasia? Who knows; we were Flexion training videos and Size
there to finish. just glad to see impressive new size.) Surge programs, see page 69. To
We saw gains immediately after We believe that was the primary order the Positions-of-Flexion train
we made those adjustments, no reason we were able to make such ing manual Train, Eat, Grow, call
doubt due to our having given the great gains while overtraining—our (800) 447-0008, visit www.home
max-force point priority on the first muscles just couldn’t help but grow gym.com, or see the ad below. IM
set. As we’ve said, the contracted- when we used such ideal stressors as
AD
TEG book

Charles Poliquin’s
Smart Training
capsules) consist of the best bang for your buck. The fol
lowing recommendation is for a 200-pound man at about 8
Supplement
percent bodyfat.
Step 1 (45 minutes before the workout). Take 1,200
milligrams of alpha-glycerophosphocholine in gel form.
That will significantly increase your training intensity. In
my 26 years as a strength coach I’ve seen no equivalent as
Salvo
Q: I’ve been told not to take a postworkout shake
a nonaddictive preworkout stimulant. It boosts GH and
raises the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is known
as the motivation neurotransmitter.
Step 2 (beginning of workout). Take five grams of
branched-chain amino acids to increase mental acuity
immediately after I train, that I should wait an hour during the workout. That will prevent the conversion of
and then take a carbohydrate drink. Is that the new tryptophan to 5-HTP, which is the chemical tied to the
approach to building muscle? mental dwindling that occurs late in a workout.
A: No, it’s not the latest; nor is it the best approach. Dr. Step 3 (during the workout). Take nine grams of
Mauro DiPasquale and I share the belief that what you take carnosine spread evenly throughout the session. That will
before, during and after the workout influences your train increase your work capacity tremendously. It also increases
ing gains most.The best approach is outlined below. Of maximal strength through a mechanism that is not yet
course, personal budget will affect how many of the steps all that well explained by the medical community. At the
you can follow to maximize workout intensity and enhance Arizona PPC, the medical staff injects 500 milligrams into
recovery. each bilateral bodypart to be trained. That works even
Depending on your finances, you can choose to do any better, but for those who don’t have access to the injectable
of the steps, but keep in mind that steps 5 and 6 (minus the form, the higher oral dose will work well.
Step 4 (right after the workout). Take
18 grams of essential amino acids. That’s
been shown to increase protein synthesis
immediately.
Step 5 (15 minutes after the workout).
Drink a postworkout shake with about 50
grams of whey protein isolate and 100 grams
of a 50-50 mix of dextrose and maltodextrin.
Take it with three grams of taurine and 600
milligrams of R-form alpha-lipoic acid.
Step 6 (45 minutes after the workout).
Drink another postworkout shake with 30
grams of whey protein isolate and 100 grams
of a 50-50 mix of dextrose and maltodextrin.
Neveux \ Model: Bob Donelly
Take with three caps of gymnema sylvestre,

banana fruit extract and fenugreek. Those act
as glucose disposal agents.
I used to advocate a single-dose post-
workout shake, but after reading more recent
literature and experimenting on myself and
my clients, I think the above is best.
Various compounds can enhance your gains if you take them at the
appropriate times. For example, taking branched-chain amino acids

Regarding postworkout carb intake, stay
away from high-fructose-corn-syrup powders
or drinks, which promote rapid aging because
the fructose binds to proteins in a process called
glycation. The worst glycation agent is in fact
fructose. Why? Because it does not raise insulin.
In other words, the insulin does not get into
muscle cells. Therefore, it lingers and wreaks
metabolic havoc. As nutrition expert Robert
Crayhon says, “Fructose is like the guest who
won’t go home once the party is over.” Crayhon
recommends that the average American should
eat no more than five to 10 grams of fructose
a day. For very active individuals, 20 grams of
fructose should be the maximum intake. Glyca
tion is particularly harmful to the eyes.
Granted, the step approach described above
is not for the welfare recipient, but just doing
steps 5 and 6 will take your muscle growth to a
new level.
Q: After years of chest training I’ve cre
ated a massive imbalance—my upper-
back muscles are much weaker. What
would you advise to correct this problem?
A: The first thing you want to do is to put your
chest training on maintenance mode with two
sets of two different exercises once every five
days. Don’t worry, your hard-earned pecs won’t
flatten out like pancakes. You should do your
chest at the end of the back workout that fol
lows:
Neveux
Omni-grip pullups, 60 reps total. You do a
total of 60 reps using three different grips on
your pullups. Cycle from a wide, pronated grip to supi
nated-grip chinups to narrow, neutral-grip pullups. Rest Do a total of 60 reps on
45 seconds between sets until you get to 60 reps total. A
sample workout might look like this: pullups. Cycle from a
One set of wide pronated-grip pullups, 8 reps
rest 45 seconds
wide, pronated grip to
One set of supinated chinups, 6 reps
rest 45 seconds
supinated-grip chinups
One set of narrow, neutral-grip pullups, 5 reps
rest 45 seconds
to narrow, neutral-grip
rest 45 seconds
pullups. Rest 45 seconds
rest 45 seconds
One set of narrow neutral-grip pullups, 3 reps
between sets until you

rest 45 seconds
get to 60 reps total.

rest 45 seconds
rest 45 seconds
At the next workout, instead of doing 60 reps in 12 sets,

try to get there in 11 sets. The tempo should be 3/0/X/0.

rest 45 seconds
The final part of the workout is to superset one-arm

dumbbell rows with one-arm cable rows. Start with your

rest 45 seconds
nondominant arm and do six to eight reps on the one-arm

dumbbell row, using a 3/0/1/0 tempo; rest 10 seconds as

rest 45 seconds
you move on to the next exercise, one-arm cable rows. Do

12 to 15 reps on that exercise with a 2/0/1/0 tempo, rest 15

rest 45 seconds
seconds, and then repeat the process for your dominant

Total reps: 60
arm. Rest two minutes after you’ve worked both arms. Do

Charles Poliquin’s
Smart Training
Warning: Static stretching
right before you work out can
make you weaker and may even
predispose you to injury.
They believe it’s superior to static stretch

ing before a workout because it helps
to stimulate the sympathetic nervous
system (responsible for the fight-or-flight
response).
Describing all the possible PNF meth
ods goes beyond the scope of this article.
Please refer to Michael J. Alter’s book The
Science of Stretching (Human Kinetics) for
more information.
Keep in mind that the effects of PNF
stretching will last four to six hours.
Twenty years ago we were told by our
university teachers to exert maximal
force during the PNF isometric contrac
tion. That advice has unfortunately led
to many muscle tears. In the mid-’80s
researchers found that it takes only 25
percent of maximal strength to positively
affect the inhibitory mechanism. That
offers a few advantages:
1) It decreases the likelihood of getting
Neveux \ Model: Michael Ryan
injured by building strength at the ex
tremes of the range of motion.
2) It doesn’t reduce the blood supply
to the muscles the way lengthy static
stretching methods do. Hypoxia has been
shown to increase connective tissue
buildup, thus creating losses of strength
and flexibility that can be alleviated only
two more of those supersets. by soft tissue work.
That routine should spur some new growth in your 3) Gains of flexibility are amazingly rapid. Within three
upper back in no time. or four PNF contractions one unflexible subject can easily
gain four to six inches of range of motion.
Q: My college strength coach always had us stretch
If you keep those principles about stretching before lift
immediately before lifting weights. Do you think
ing in mind, you can enjoy far more productive workouts.
that’s a good practice?
Editor’s note: Charles Poliquin is recognized as one
A: A plethora of recent studies have shown that static of the world’s most successful strength coaches, having
stretching actually weakens muscles before strength train coached Olympic med
ing, thus exposing you to a greater risk of injury. In fact, it alists in 12 different
was shown that static stretching also increases your risk of sports, including the
muscle tears before soccer and rugby matches. U.S. women’s track
Plus, static stretching makes you feel as if you’re about as and-field team for the
dynamic as boiled fettuccine. Doing a static stretch before 2000 Olympics. He has
a power clean is as helpful as smoking a reefer the size of a spent years research
Louisville Slugger. ing European journals
Static stretching should instead be performed four to (he’s fluent in English,
six hours postworkout, as it involves the parasympathetic French and German)
nervous system. That permits the body to relax following and speaking with
an intense workout. If you need flexibility to do a certain other coaches and
lift like the squat, do PNF, or proprioceptive neuromuscu scientists in his quest
lar facilitation, stretching. Certain lifts, such as full squats, to optimize training
require higher levels of flexibility to perform, which means methods. For more on
some individuals need mobilization before loading. The his books, seminars
Bradford
method has been used for years by physical therapists and and methods, visit
athletic trainers in rehab. To quote my colleagues Anne www.CharlesPoliquin
Fredericks and the late Mel Siff, PNF, not static stretching, is .net. Also, see his ad on
the best type of stretching to perform before lifting weights. page 129. IM Charles Poliquin

A u i l d e r
Bo d yb
Is
Born
Episode 6: The Dark Side Beckons
by Ron Harris
Photography by Michael Neveux
ux
t had been five full months since Randy had first

approached me and begun his education, and the kid
had come a long way in a short time. His bodyweight had
climbed from a little more than 172 to nearly 185, and with
out any discernible increase in bodyfat. More important, he
Photo Illustration by Chrisitan Martinez
was training with precision form and eating all the right
foods right on schedule. I had recently persuaded him to
break up with his girlfriend Tracy, who’ d been no good for
his bodybuilding goals. The young buck was now dating
one of the front desk girls at the gym, as well as one of his
younger sister’ s best friends, who’ d been the prom queen
at his high school just two years before.

A Bodybuilder
y Is Born
gonna do yet, I just wanted to ask

what you thought.”
“What do I think about steroids,
what do I think you should use, do I
think you should use them? I’m a
little confused here. Be a bit more
specific,” I told him.
“Uh, pretty much all of that,” he
replied.
“All right, well, first of all, steroids
definitely work, no doubt about
that. And to become Mr. Olympia,
you would have to use them. Any
one who tries to tell you different is
either a liar, an idiot or both. Look,
I’m not necessarily for or against
steroids. They’re a part of almost
every professional sport today. But
they’re not very important in the
big picture compared to other fac
Yes, everything was

looking up for my protégé,
who’d been saving consid
erable time skipping past
many of the mistakes I had
made in my early years. We
were training shoulders
and arms when I picked up
on a weird vibe. Randy
seemed preoccupied and
nervous and was barely Drugs
talking. Not that I encour
aged a gabfest in the gym, don’t
but he was being unusually make
silent as he ground out his
sets and reps. I waited until great
we were done and in the body
locker room before de
manding an explanation.
builders.
“Okay, what happened? Genetics
Did you get some girl preg and hard
nant? Is your pet iguana
sick? What?” work play
Randy didn’t answer bigger
right away. He reached into
his gym bag and produced roles.
a couple of pages of paper,
stapled and folded, glanc
ing around to be sure no
body was watching us. As
soon as he handed it over
and I had a look, I decided
to take the conversation
outside, even though it was
20 degrees out. What he’d
shown me was a list of
Model: Tamer Elshahat
steroids complete with

prices that he had printed
off the Internet.
“Look,” he said, “I
haven’t decided what I’m

A Bodybuilder
y Is Born
tors.”
“They’re not? So why do so many
guys use them?”
“You’re trying to be a great body
builder. Drugs don’t make a great
bodybuilder. Without the right
genetics and plenty of hardcore
training, eating and supplements,
even a million dollars’ worth of
steroids and growth hormone won’t
matter. I assume that you’re think
ing about experimenting yourself
now?”
He didn’t want to commit to an
answer, so he just shrugged. “I don’t
know.”
“You don’t have to bullshit me.
We’ve been over this before. I am
not here to make a moral judge
ment against you. You can do that
for yourself. I’ll guide you to make
the right decisions as far as your
physique goes, though. Answer this:
Do you honestly believe this is the
best you can be without steroids?”
“No, I guess not.”
“Of course not. You’re 22 years
old, and your natural hormones are
raging like a wildfire right now.
You’ve made better gains just since
I met you than most guys do in a
year or more. I truly think you have
a lot more growing to do before you
even think about steroids. And you
may build such an amazing natural
physique that you can be all over
the magazines like Skip La Cour
and Tito Raymond.”
“I’ve been on these message
boards where a lot of guys my age
talk about gaining 20 to 30 pounds
in just a couple months, that’s all. It
sounds pretty incredible.”
“First of all, some of these people
are flat-out lying. Anyone can say
Model: Skip La Cour
anything in a chat room under

some fake name. Secondly, a lot of
them are just getting bloated and
fat. Some of these Web sites let
these guys post their pictures with
the face blocked out, and believe
me, Ronnie Coleman and Gunter
Schlierkamp have nothing to worry Skip La Cour built plenty of awe-
about.”
He had a chuckle at that. inspiring mass without taking steroids.
“It’s one of those tortoise and
hare scenarios,” I explained. “A lot
of these young guys get big really to stay on drugs forever because now, but you can be sure that you’ll
fast without even knowing how to they don’t know how to make gains pass many of them by eventually.
train and eat right, then when they without them. A lot of them end up I’ve seen it a thousand times.”
get off the steroids, they lose almost quitting bodybuilding altogether. Randy was looking at the list
everything they gained. They have They might be racing ahead of you again and seemed a little sad. I

A Bodybuilder
y Is Born
Fulfill any place in your program. The day

will come when you will face that
your crossroads, but it’s still far away.”
body’s Randy tore the list up, crumpled
it into a ball and tossed it into a
natural Dumpster a few feet away. He
potential sighed.
before I knew what he was feeling. The
kid had been consumed with
you even dreams of popping a few pills,
consider doing a few shots in the glutes and
turning into a 250-pound freak
using within a few months. Many a time
anabolic I’d envisioned the same thing for
myself. Patience is the hardest part
drugs. of bodybuilding. We bust our asses
training like maniacs, we force
down enough food to feed a Somali
village every day, and we spend
thousands of dollars on protein
powders, supplement bars, creatine
and more. Even then, muscle gains
usually crawl along at a snail’s pace.
The human body simply does
not synthesize muscle tissue very
fast despite (continued on page 107)
Model: David Dorsey
knew he really wanted to get his

hands on some of the items listed
and start sprouting muscle at an
alarming rate.
“So you’re saying I should never
use steroids?”
“No, that’s your decision. All I’m
trying to say is that you should
fulfill your body’s natural potential
before you consider them. You
thought you were training and
eating perfectly before you met me,
didn’t you?”
“Sort of.”
“Who are you kidding? You
thought you almost knew it all. Just
a few months later you see how
much room for improvement there
actually was, right?”
“Definitely.”
“Randy, I’m not going to try and
scare you with some speech about
side effects and committing a
Model: Robert Hatch
crime, because those ridiculous

tactics never work on anyone with
half a brain anyway. You asked me
for my opinion, and I say you aren’t
yet at a stage where steroids have

A Bodybuilder
y Is Born
(continued from page 102) our best

Young bodies have loads of anabolic efforts. But the great thing is that all
hormones that should be capitalized on the little gains add up over months
and years. Steroids can certainly
before steroids are even considered. speed up the process, but they can
also prevent a trainee from ever
truly learning how his or her body
best responds to various training
and nutrition techniques. Randy
had been tempted by the promise
of a shortcut, but the truth is there
is no shortcut. One way or another,
you have to put the work in all by
yourself. I was sure that he’d have to
make the decision sooner or later,
but I hoped I’d persuaded him to at
least take advantage of his young
body’s own abundant natural hor
mones before they started to di
minish in his late 20s. I knew this
kid could get a hell of a lot bigger
and stronger without any pharma
ceutical help. And then, if he chose
to go that route, he’d still be much
better off for having waited until his
natural potential panned out.
Randy was getting into his car.
“Thanks, Ron, you gave me some
things to think about.”
“That’s what I’m here for,
grasshopper,” I replied. He looked
quizzical. Clearly I was showing my
age in referencing a show as old as
“Kung Fu.” “Never mind. I’ll see you
tomorrow.” He backed up and
drove off.
Randy thought he had been
ready to try anabolics after only
three years of training and at a
point where he was just beginning
to learn how to train and eat the
right way. I had helped him to see
otherwise, at least for the time
being. Unfortunately, there are
thousands of other teenagers and
young men in the same position
who don’t have a voice of reason to
make them pause and really think
about their decision. I wish them all
the best of luck, because they’re all
going to need it. Using steroids
before you really know your body is
a lot like marrying someone you
don’t know very well. You might
luck out and do okay, or you might
end up deeply regretting your rash
choice.
Model: Luke Wood
bÇáíçêÛë=åçíÉW To contact Ron

Harris, write to him at www
.RonHarrisMuscle.com. IM

Body Got
Back? Your Rx for Going
From XL to XXL
by Eric Broser
mÜçíçÖê~éÜó=Äó=jáÅÜ~Éä=kÉîÉìñ
W
hen was the last time you got makers of Jeep wanted to use them as off-
stuck in a doorway? Not be road test tracks.
cause you were carrying too All right, maybe I’m exaggerating just a
much payload but because you tad, but you get the point. Backs that are
were just too darn wide? So wide, in fact, that wide and thick are few and far between. The
your arms and shoulders were being forced back is probably the most difficult area of the
way out to the sides by your cartoonlike lats; physique to fully develop, and when some
so wide that you had to be doused with but one can actually turn around and display a
ter and pushed through the door by 10 con complete back—upper, lower, middle and
cerned family members? Never, right? outer—it can be an incredible sight to be
Okay, so it’s never happened to me, either, hold.
but wouldn’t it be kind of cool if it did? It’s Some of the biggest cheers you’ll ever hear
probably not such a far-off scenario for back at a bodybuilding contest occur when cer
freaks like Ronnie Coleman, Dorian Yates or tain competitors turn their backs to the au
Lee Haney. Those guys were so wide that dience and slowly spread their lats wider,
each lat resided in a different ZIP code! Their and wider, and wider. Retired champion
backs were also so thick and gnarly that the Tony Pearson used to be a master at that.

Body Got Back!
He’d spread his lats impossibly
wide, and just when you thought
they couldn’t get any wider—
Boom!—he’d add an extra half-foot
to his expanse! The crowd would
gasp and then roar in approval and
in pure amazement.
Modern-day freak Kevin Levrone
would spread one lat at a time,
hitting the right side first, then
turning his head around to the
audience as if to say, “You wanna
see just how wide I am?” Then—
Bam!—he’d pull out the left lat and
blow the spectators away with a V
from outer space!
And then you have the backs of
multi-Mr. Olympia winners Ronnie
Coleman and Dorian Yates. They’re
not only as wide as the state of
Texas but as bumpy and detailed as
the Rocky Mountains. When Dori
an hit a back double-biceps shot
onstage, the folks in the front row
would jump back a foot or two for
fear of getting hit in the face with a
trap, rhomboid, teres or lumbar
muscle. The same with Coleman.
Now, you may not be interested
in standing onstage in your under
wear, but if you’re serious about
building an awesome physique,
you want a wide and thick back.
Are you satisfied with your cur
rent back development? Is it on par
with the rest of your physique? Ask
trainees that question, and nine
out of 10 times the answer will be
no. Many people will say that
they’re happy with their back width
açêá~å but not thickness or vice versa. So
why is it so hard to effectively de
v~íÉë=ï~ë velop a complete back, from right
âåçïå=Ñçê to left, top to bottom, inside and
Üáë=íÜáÅâI out? Genetics aside, there are four
main reasons why bodybuilders fail
Ñä~êáåÖ=ä~íëK to build a jaw-dropping back:
1) You can’t see it working

when you train it.
By nature we’re visual creatures,
and because your back is, well,
behind you, you can’t watch it
qÜÉ=ÄÉëí stretch and contract as you work it.
Ä~Åâ Without a doubt it’s fun to roll up
ÉñÉêÅáëÉë your sleeves when doing barbell
Model: Ken Yasuda
curls and watch as buckets of

~êÉ=Äêìí~ä blood fill your veins and the mus
íç=éÉêÑçêãK cle expands on every rep. But is
watching the muscle work actually
essential for growth? Some of the
biggest bodybuilders I know re

Body Got Back!
main almost completely covered up oçååáÉ

when they train so they can’t watch `çäÉã~åÛë
their muscles. Why? Because the
most intense and productive form
Ä~Åâ=áë=äáâÉ
of concentration is focused inward, qÉñ~ëÔ~
on what you can feel, rather than î~ëí
outward, on what you can see. In
order to develop the deepest ä~åÇëÅ~éÉ
mind/muscle connection, you need ïáíÜ=äçíë=çÑ
to focus on what your muscle is
doing and feeling, not on what it êìÖÖÉÇ
looks like at the moment. In other íÉêê~áåK
words, you do not need to see your
back as you train it.
2) Inefficient lifting
technique.
Go into any gym in the world, vçì=ãìëí
and you’ll see more butchered back
workouts taking place than for any äÉ~êå=íç=ëÉí
other bodypart. With some exercis óçìê=ÄçÇó
es you can almost get away with
simply lifting the weight from point
áå=íÜÉ
A to point B, but not with back éêçéÉê
movements. Back training takes a éçëáíáçå=íç
bit of finesse along with pure brutal
ity, as there are several form points ~íí~Åâ=óçìê
that must be adhered to if you’re Ä~ÅâK
Body Got Back!
`ÜÉëí=çìíI
ëÜçìäÇÉêë
Ä~Åâ=~åÇ=~
ëäáÖÜí=~êÅÜ
áå=íÜÉ
äçïÉê=Ä~Åâ
ïáää=ëÉí=íÜÉ
ëí~ÖÉ=Ñçê
çéíáã~ä
êÉÅêìáíJ
ãÉåíK
Model: Todd Smith
going to unlock your true potential. mean it. Sure, you can load on the
Few people understand that, and so plates and get crazy, but keep your
4) Failure to prioritize.
they focus on lifting enormous form and technique fairly sane, As I mentioned above, many
poundages, paying little attention and you have a match made in bodybuilders have either a wide
to what their body is doing. Jerking heaven. back that lacks thickness or a thick
or swinging a weight is only going back that lacks width. That often
to work the biceps, brachialis and 3) Back training is hard! occurs because they’re using the
lower back, providing little stimula wrong exercises in their back work
tion for the major back muscles. A good back workout can be outs. While no back movement
In order to work the width and just as vicious as a good leg work builds width or thickness exclusive
thickness of the back correctly, you out. Done right, it can be exhaust ly, certain exercises do one or the
must learn to set your body in posi ing, nauseating and emotionally other a bit more efficiently. For
tion before you even begin a move draining. Let’s face it: The true instance, deadlifts tend to build
ment. Chest out, shoulders back back builders like pullups, dead- more thickness and depth into the
and a slight arch in the lower back lifts, bent rows, T-bar rows, seated back, while lat pulldowns tend to
will set the stage for optimal re rows and one-arm rows are brutal improve V-taper. Taking it a step
cruitment of your back muscula to perform, and lazy trainees tend further, wide-grip bent-over rows
ture. Then, once you’re in that to turn their backs on them in favor middle-back thickness, and
position, stay there for the duration favor of fancy machines that have underhand-grip bent-over rows
of the set. Start your pull by imme a pretty face but not much in the build slabs of mass on the lats.
diately tightening your lats, and way of guts. You like machines Because the back musculature is so
then follow through to full contrac that much, take up sewing. You complex, you should make a con
tion by squeezing your shoulder want a freaky back, be prepared to certed effort to learn exactly which
blades together forcefully—like you fight for every inch. part of the back each exercise hits

Body Got Back!
cçääçï
íÜêçìÖÜ=íç
Ñìää
Åçåíê~Åíáçå
Äó
ëèìÉÉòáåÖ
óçìê
ëÜçìäÇÉê
Ää~ÇÉë
íçÖÉíÜÉê
ÑçêÅÉÑìääóK
Model: Ken Yasuda
Ad

Body Got Back!
qÜÉ
éìääçîÉê=áë
~å=ÉñÅÉäJ
äÉåí=ÉñÉêJ
ÅáëÉ=Ñçê
ÑáåáëÜáåÖ
çÑÑ=íÜÉ=ä~íë
ïáíÜ
ëíêÉíÅÜK
^=ÖççÇ
Ä~Åâ
ïçêâçìí
Å~å=ÄÉ=àìëí
~ë=îáÅáçìë
~ë=~=ÖççÇ
äÉÖ
ïçêâçìíK
so you know precisely how to direct

your attack. Back training is a war,
and you want to make sure you bring
your finest weapons into battle.
Now that I’ve give your brain some
things to think about, here are a few
workouts to put those thoughts into
action. Each focuses on a different
area of the back. So examine your
own back to determine your weak
points, and determine which work
out best addresses them. True, you
may never get stuck in a doorway,
but it’s always fun to take up a bit
more space.
Got Back
Specialization
Programs
Width
Wide-grip pullups
(pull to lower pecs) 3 x 6-8
Model: John Hansen
Undergrip pulldowns
(pull to lower pecs) 3 x 8-10
Close-grip seated
cable rows 3 x10-12
Stiff-arm pulldowns 3 x 12-15
(continued on page 118)
Body Got Back!
Thickness
Rack deadlifts (pull begins
just below the knees) 3 x 4-6
Undergrip bent-over
barbell rows 3 x 6-8
Wide-grip T-bar rows 3 x 8-10
One-arm dumbbell
rows 3 x 10-12
Midback
Seated cable rows with rope
(elbows held high) 3 x 6-8
Wide-grip behind-the-neck
pulldowns 3 x 8-10
Close-grip barbell upright
rows (lean torso slightly
forward) 3 x 10-12
Bent-over dumbbell
laterals 3 x 12-15
Overall Back
Deadlifts 3 x 4-6
Model: D.J. Green

Wide-grip bent-over rows 2 x 6-8
Undergrip seated
cable rows 2 x 8-10
Close-grip pulldowns 2 x 10-12
IM
iÉ~êå=ÉñJ
~Åíäó=ïÜáÅÜ
é~êí=çÑ=íÜÉ
Model: Steve Kummer \ Equipment: PowerBlock selectorized dumbbells, 1-800-447-0008 or www.Home-Gym.com Ä~Åâ=É~ÅÜ
ÉñÉêÅáëÉ
ÜáíëK
oÉãÉãÄÉêI
Ä~Åâ=íê~áåJ
áåÖ=áë=ï~êI
~åÇ=óçì
ï~åí=íç
ã~âÉ=ëìêÉ
óçì=ÄêáåÖ
óçìê=ÑáåÉëí
ïÉ~éçåë
áåíç=Ä~ííäÉK
Model: Berry Kabov

Muscle-
Science
Rou n d u p
12 Recent Research Reports That Can
Jump-Start Your Muscle Growth and Fat Loss
Compiled by Steve Holman
nother year’s gone by, which means it’s time for another
blast of the hottest research that can help you get big
ger and leaner. It’s January 2006, the perfect time to
look back at some of the key findings that we reported

over the past year—stuff you may have missed. Most
of the studies discussed here were reported by Jerry
Brainum, IRON MAN’s most dedicated and reliable
researcher. Good stuff to get you buff. Let’s get to the info.

Muscle-Science Roundup
1) L-Carnitine
Turns You Into a
Mass Machine
Whether supplemental carnitine
actually helps increase fat oxidation
is a matter of debate, but the nutri
ent has other, lesser known features
that can improve training efficien
cy.
Carnitine helps decrease lactate
levels during intense exercise,
which may lead to less fatigue and
greater endurance. Several studies
have shown that it promotes recov
ery after intense training. Subjects
who took three grams of it daily for
three weeks had less muscle sore
ness and lower levels of a muscle
enzyme associated with muscle
damage after their workouts. Scien
tists believe the effect occurs be
cause carnitine promotes increased
cellular membrane stabilization. It
also helps lessen the effects of free
radicals, by-products of oxygen
metabolism that induce muscle
inflammation and delay full mus
cular recovery.
Hard training tends to temporar
ily depress the immune system, so
you are more vulnerable to infec
tion. Carnitine appears to help
stabilize and promote immune-
system competence after training.
It also helps promote the develop
ment of new red blood cells, which
increases oxygen delivery to mus
cles.
Karlic, H., et al. (2004). Supple
mentation of L-carnitine in ath
letes: does it make sense? Nutrition.
20:709-15.
Model: George Farah
Conclusion:
Muscle Growth and Fat Loss
Take two grams of L-carnitine

after a workout, and you should get
better recovery and less muscle
soreness.
Carnitine helps
decrease lactate levels
during intense exercise,
which may lead to less
`~êåáíáåÉ=~äëç=éêçãçíÉë
fatigue and greater áããìåÉJëóëíÉã
ÅçãéÉíÉåÅÉ=~ÑíÉê
endurance. íê~áåáåÖK

bñÉêÅáëÉ=áë=íÜÉ=Å~í~äóëíK
dêçïíÜ=çÅÅìêë=ïÜÉå=óçì=êÉëíK
Model: Joe DeAngelis
On that note, wearing socks to
2) Snooze or Lose Sleep deprivation bed may help. According to podia

trist Nicholas Romansky, as repor-
Your Anabolic Edge can result in the ted in Bottom Line/Health, wearing
a clean pair of socks to bed can help
While exercise is the primary supression of a you fall asleep faster because it
catalyst for muscle growth, the stabilizes your core body tempera
growth occurs when you’re at rest.
number of hormones, ture. Sock it to catabolism!
That’s why adequate recovery is so including anabolic Also, research at Emory Universi
vital to making muscular gains. The ty School of Medicine in Atlanta
body secretes maximum levels of ones. found that sleep-deprived people
growth hormone during sleep, and may eat more, increasing their daily
studies also show that if you don’t affected by sleep. calorie intake up to 15 percent. So
get enough sleep, your testosterone They found that sleep depriva socking your feet at night may help
levels may plummet as much as 40 tion resulted in a suppression of your fat-loss efforts as well.
percent. other hormones in the rats, includ Everson, C.A., et al. (2004). Re-
A new study using lab rats as ing growth hormone, insulinlike ductions in circulating anabolic
subjects tested the hormonal ef growth factor 1 (IGF-1), prolactin hormones induced by sustained
fects of sleep deprivation. In previ and leptin, while corticosterone, sleep deprivation in rats. Am J Phys
ous studies animals deprived of the rodent version of cortisol, was iol Endocrinol Metab. 286:E1060
sleep showed lower levels of thyroid unaffected. That hormonal milieu E1070.
hormones and a blunted immune tends to depress anabolic reactions
response. Since the low thyroid in the body, boosting catabolic Conclusion:
output occurred in the hypothala effects, including possible muscle Get restful, uninterrupted sleep
mus, the researchers wanted to see loss. If your goal is to make any type to amplify anabolism and curtail
how other hormones secreted in of muscular progress, don’t take catabolism. Wearing socks to bed
the same area of the brain were sleep for granted. may help.

qÜÉ=ÄçÇó=ïçåÛí
Doing higher reps, in
ìëÉ=äçïÉêJÄçÇó the range of 15 and up,
Ñ~í=ìåíáä=åÉ~êäó
~ää=áíë=ìééÉêJ on lower-body training
ÄçÇó=Ñ~í=áë=çñáJ may increase blood
ÇáòÉÇ=íÜêçìÖÜ
ÉñÉêÅáëÉ=~åÇ flow, giving you greater
ÇáÉíK mobilization of lower-
body fat.
diseases offers little solace to defi-
nition-minded bodybuilders. The
body won’t use lower-body fat until
nearly all its upper-body fat is oxi
dized through exercise and diet. So
the ultimate answer to eliminating
lower-body fat involves persistence
and patience. Continuing to exer
cise and diet will eventually enable
you to make progress in getting rid
of it.
For those in a hurry, some evi
dence shows that using an alpha-2
adrenergic blocker can also help
bodybuilders tap into lower-body
fat stores. The fat cells in the lower
body, unlike those in the upper
body, have a preponderance of
alpha-2 adrenergic cell receptors.
(Upper-body fat cells have a pre
ponderance of beta-adrenergic cell
receptors, which permit more rapid
release of fat.)
One natural alpha-adrenergic
blocker is yohimbe at a dose of 0.2
milligrams per kilogram (2.2
pounds) of bodyweight. It must be
Model: Federica Belli
taken on an empty stomach, how

ever, since any release of insulin
totally negates yohimbe’s fat-mobi
lizing effects.
From a training standpoint, if
your goal is increased definition, it
an enzyme that catalyzes fat release may be a good idea to use higher
3) Burn Blubber Down from fat cells, than abdominal-fat reps, in the range of 15 and up, for
Below With Blood Flow cells. lower-body training. That may

One theory is that the body increase blood flow, giving you
A new study pinpoints the differ stores fat in the lower body to pro greater mobilization of lower-body
ences in fat mobilization between tect against high levels of free fatty fat.
upper- and lower-body fat. British acids in the blood, a condition that Tan, G.D., et al. (2004). Upper-
and French scientists teamed to interferes with glucose uptake in and lower-body adipose tissue
come up with a technique for mea cells. That, in turn, leads to insulin function: A direct comparison of fat
suring direct fat use, and they ap resistance and the diseases linked mobilization in humans. Obesity
plied the new technique to upper- to it, such as diabetes and cardio Res. 12:114-118.
and lower-body fat release in six vascular disease. The body shuttles
lean male subjects aged 22 to 43. excess fatty acids directly to lower- Conclusion:
They found that gluteal fat tissue body fat stores, where they’re Doing higher reps on leg exercis
shows a 67 percent lower level of “locked in,” which buffers the effect es can help you burn lower-body fat
blood flow than upper-body fat. It of high levels of fat in the blood. faster. A yohimbe supplement may
also has an 87 percent lower rate of The fact that lower-body fat may accelerate the process, but be sure
activity of hormone-sensitive lipase, protect against potentially deadly to take it on an empty stomach.

The moderate-volume group

4) Volume Down trained for one hour and showed
to T Up no adverse effects on
testosterone. Apparently, there’s a
How does exercise affect the 24 threshold of training beyond
hour secretion of testosterone? To which testosterone levels drop
find out, researchers followed eight precipitously. In practical terms,
men who completed three training that means that those who advo
sessions separated by at least a cate marathon workouts are
month. The subjects were assigned probably wasting their time.
to a nonexercising control group, a Alemany, J.A., et al. (2004). 24
moderate-volume group that did 25 hour serum testosterone concen
sets total and a high-volume group trations following acute
that did 50 sets per workout. The moderate and high-volume resis
actual workouts consisted of squats, tance exercise. Med Sci Sports
bench presses, leg presses and lat Exerc. 36:S238.
pulldowns done for five to 10 reps
per set, with the subjects getting 90 Conclusion:
to 120 seconds’ rest between sets. Limit your workouts to no
Model: Lee Priest

The researchers measured the mens ’ more than about 25 work sets, to
testosterone levels every hour for 24 be completed in around an hour.
hours after each session. [Note: Most of the training pro
The high-volume group trained grams in IRON MAN’s publica
qê~áåáåÖ=íçç
for an average of two hours per ses tions, including 10-Week Size
äçåÖ=Å~å
sion and showed a marked suppres Surge and Train, Eat, Grow, ad Ääìåí=íÉëíçëJ
sion of testosterone over 24 hours. here to that rule.] íÉêçåÉK
ad

ducted a recent study aren’t sure

whether the gains in muscle thick The greater blood
5) Time Your Creatine ness that their subjects experienced
for Big-Time Mass while taking creatine after exercise
flow resulting from
came from water retention in the exercise causes
Many bodybuilders wonder muscle or actual protein synthesis.
about the best time to take creatine. If the latter proves true, the best greater uptake of
Taking it before a workout may time to take creatine would be, creatine into muscle,
increase the muscles’ energetic obviously, following a workout.
efficiency and act as a buffer that Chilbeck, P.D., et al. (2004). Effect but taking it after
limits the accumulation of of creatine ingestion after exercise
metabolic waste products. That on muscle thickness in males and
training may beef up
would lead to increased energy and females. Med Sci Sports Exerc. muscle fibers.
less fatigue during intense training. 36:1781-88.
The greater blood flow resulting workout and the other half after.
from exercise, however, also causes Conclusion: That way you get the buffering as
greater uptake of creatine into You may want to take half your well as the muscle-thickness ef
muscle. The scientists who con creatine before—or during—your fects.
`êÉ~íáåÉ=ã~ó=~Åí=~ë=~=ÄìÑÑÉê
ÇìêáåÖ=íê~áåáåÖI=Éå~ÄäáåÖ=óçì
íç=ÖÉí=ãçêÉ=êÉéëK

dç=Ñçê=íÜÉ=Äìêå=íç
ÉåÜ~åÅÉ=ÖêçïíÜ
ÜçêãçåÉ=êÉäÉ~ëÉK
Model: King Kamali
For the study both groups did six and both groups showed a signifi
sets of 10 reps on the squat, resting cant rise in the hormone after the
6) More Pain, two minutes between sets. workout. The trained men, howev
Better Gain Both the trained and untrained er, produced more lactic acid,
men had similar resting GH levels, which stimulates GH release dur
A study presented at the NSCA ing exercise. The ability to train at
conference by researchers from the a higher level of lactic acid release
University of Connecticut exam
The ability to train at a appears to enable more-experi
ined whether taking short rests higher level of lactic enced bodybuilders to produce a
between sets influences the release superior GH response to exercise.
of growth hormone during exer- acid release appears
cise. The subjects included 10 to enable more-
Conclusion:
bodybuilders with at least four Rep through the burn to up your
years of training experience and 10 experienced growth hormone levels. Set-ex
untrained but physically active bodybuilders to produce tending techniques like X Reps can
men. The bodybuilders had previ- help. Remember, growth hormone
ously trained on programs that a superior GH response amplifies other anabolic
featured short rests between sets. to exercise. hormones, like testosterone.

7) De-Catabolize q~âáåÖ=Äê~åÅÜÉÇJ
ÅÜ~áå=~ãáåç=~ÅáÇë
Your Cardio ÄÉÑçêÉ=ÇçáåÖ=Å~êÇáç
It stands to reason that if ã~ó=ÜÉäé=éêÉîÉåí
branched-chain amino acids have ãìëÅäÉ=ÄêÉ~âÇçïåK
anabolic properties, they’re an
effective supplement for those
engaged in weight training. A study
presented at the National Strength
and Conditioning Associations ’
annual conference examined the
relationship of BCAA intake to
muscle gains. Six healthy, untrained
men took either BCAA supplements
or a placebo. Both groups took the
supplements for three weeks, fol
lowed by another week of supple
ment use combined with intense
weight-training sessions.
The men using BCAAs had lower
levels of the enzyme creatine ki
nase, which is associated with mus
cle damage during exercise, and
lower levels of cortisol, the body’s
primary catabolic hormone. They
also had consistently higher testos
terone levels than the subjects in
the placebo group.
BCAA oxidation in muscle is
activated by fatty acid oxidation. So
when you do exercise that uses fat
as an energy source, the fat released
promotes the burning of BCAAs.
That implies that BCAAs taken
before you do aerobics will exert a
sparing action on muscle protein,
something that would be particu
larly helpful during periods of calo
rie restriction. The precise dosage
of BCAAs for that purpose isn’t
established, but good results have
been obtained with five grams
taken prior to exercise.
One thing to keep in mind when
supplementing is that you must
maintain a certain ratio of the three
BCAAs. Research shows that it’s best
to replicate the ratio of leucine,
isoleucine and valine found natu-
Model: Dan Decker
The men using BCAAs

had lower levels of
cortisol, the body’s rally in animal protein sources: 2
to-1-to-1. Taking excessive amounts Conclusion:
primary catabolic of a single BCAA, such as leucine, Use branched-chain amino acids
activates enzymes that degrade the before you do cardio and even
hormone, and higher other BCAAs, leading to a possible before your weight-training work
testosterone levels. amino acid imbalance. outs to derail catabolic effects.

Elevated free-fatty
qê~áå=ïáíÜ
ïÉáÖÜíë=ÑáêëíX acid levels induced by
íÜÉå=Çç=óçìê cardio work promote
Å~êÇáçK
the release of
somatostatin, a
protein that opposes
GH release.
Goto, K., et al. (2005). Prior en
durance exercise attenuates
growth hormone response to sub
sequent resistance exercise. Eur J
Appl Physiol. 94:333-338.
Conclusion:
If you’re after more muscle, it’s
just plain dumb to do an extended
aerobics session before an intense
weight workout. Not only do you
deplete limited energy stores
Model: Tamer Elshahat

(glycogen), but you also block GH
release during the workout. Save
the aerobics for afterward.
blunt growth hor-

8) Cardio Time: mone release. What is
Before or After? it about aerobics that
would do that?
A recent study turned up another Aerobic exercise
reason not to do aerobics before a uses greater amounts
weight workout. Ten men did low- of fat as fuel, especial
intensity cycling for an hour, then a ly as the exercise

weight workout. On another day continues beyond 30
the same men did only a five minutes. That ele
minute-warmup cycling session vates levels of free
before their workout. When they fatty acids in the
did an hour of aerobics first, their blood, which, like
growth hormone response to the elevated blood glu
weight session was nil. Other hor cose levels, blunts the
mones, such as cortisol and testos release of GH. Elevat
terone, weren’t affected by the ed free-fatty-acid
aerobics, however. That’s the good levels also promote fÑ=óçì=Çç=óçìê
news, since it shows that moderate the release of somato ~ÉêçÄáÅë=ÑáêëíI
aerobic work doesn’t negatively statin, a protein pro óçì=ã~ó=Ääìåí
affect hormones related to muscle duced in the brains ’ ÖêçïíÜ=ÜçêãçåÉ
growth. hypothalamus that êÉäÉ~ëÉK
Still, doing the aerobics first did opposes GH release.

cçêëâçäáå=ã~ó=Äççëí
Ñ~í=äçëë=~åÇ=áåÅêÉ~ëÉ
íÉëíçëíÉêçåÉ
êÉäÉ~ëÉK
Model: Jorge Betancourt

al adaptations associated with

9) Fat-Burning forskolin consumption in over Forskolin differs from
Firepower Without
weight and obese males. Med Sci
Sports Exer. 37:S39.
ephedrine in that it
Ephedrine doesn’t interact with
Conclusion:
Forskolin differs from Taking 250 milligrams of 10 per beta-receptors in fat,
ephedrine in that it doesn’t cent forskolin extract twice daily
interact with beta-receptors in may supercharge your fat-burning
so it has none of
fat cells, so it has none of the efforts—and your muscle-building ephedrine’s
stimulation effect associated results—thanks to elevated free-
with ephedrine. In effect, testosterone levels. stimulation effects.
forskolin is a biochemical short
cut as far as fat release is con
cerned.
Several studies have shown
significant fat-loss effects with
human subjects who took a
forskolin-based supplement.
Unfortunately, they were spon
sored by the company that holds
the forskolin use patent, Sabina
Corporation. While such spon
sorship may not negate the
results of the studies, it does
engender a degree of skepticism,
since Sabina has much to gain
financially from them.
Some critics have noted that
the mechanism through which
forskolin works, activating cyclic
AMP, can have far-reaching
effects throughout the body. But
toxicity studies have shown no
serious side effects or any ad
verse changes in cardiovascular
function. If anything, forskolin
appears to lower blood pressure
and increase beneficial high-
density lipoprotein, or HDL.
The most recent study found
Ad
an additional bonus. Thirty

subjects were divided into a
forskolin group and a placebo
group for a 12-week experiment.
Those in the first group took a
supplement containing 250
milligrams of 10 percent
forskolin extract twice daily.
Forskolin produced a signifi
cant improvement in fat loss
compared to what subjects
experienced with the placebo,
but those in the forskolin group
also showed a significant in
crease in free testosterone, the
active form of the hormone.
Total T levels remained
unchanged, but the elevated
free-testosterone levels may be a
bonus from using forskolin.
Godard, M.P., et al. (2005).
Body composition and hormon


Model: Lee Apperson
_çÇóÄìáäÇáåÖ=Ü~ë=ÄáÖ
~åíáJ~ÖáåÖ=ÄÉåÉÑáíëK

The scientists who found this
10) Anti-Aging Ammo elemental cause of muscle aging Scientists who
suggest that the process begins at
A new study by a group of re- age 30. The same is true of such
discovered the cause
searchers from the Mayo Clinic other conditions as osteoporosis, a of muscle aging
examined the effects of aging on bone-wasting disease more com
muscle in 146 healthy men and mon in women than in men, which suggest that the
women, aged 18 to 89. The primary
finding was that muscle aging is
begins at about age 30 but doesn’t
usually become apparent until after
process begins at
caused by cumulative damage to age 60. By then, however, the dam age 30.
muscle DNA, which is required to age is extensive, resulting in fragile
replicate muscle cells. When DNA is bones and hip fractures.
damaged, the cells don’t repair Can exercise block the loss of against further damage. Typical
themselves correctly and eventually mitochondrial DNA in muscle? The doses would be 30 to 60 milligrams
die. On a grand scale, that means a Mayo researchers didn’t get to that a day of CoQ10, 200 milligrams of
gradual loss of muscle with each question, but common sense and lipoic acid and 1,000 milligrams of
passing year. observation of people who stay acetyl L-carnitine.
The researchers also found that active and continue to exercise as Short, K.R., et al. (2005). Decline
the DNA in muscle mitochondria, they age indicate that it probably in skeletal muscle mitochondrial
where energy is produced in cells, helps. function with aging in humans.
reduces with age. Having fewer Also, taking in nutrients that Proced Nat Acd Sci. 102(15):5618-23.
mitochondria means less produc protect the vulnerable mitochon
tion of adenosine triphosphate drial DNA from oxidation, such as Conclusion:
(ATP), the source of cellular energy. coenzyme Q10, lipoic acid and Keep exercising as you age to
Without adequate ATP the cell’s acetyl L-carnitine, can help. Re- curtail cell degeneration. Also take
“housekeeping” functions shut search conducted at the University antioxidants every day; for exam
down, and the cell dies. The loss of of California, Berkeley, showed that ple, 30 to 60 milligrams a day of
muscle mitochondrial DNA leads to intake of those nutrients led to CoQ10, 200 milligrams of lipoic
such symptoms as age-related complete regeneration of muscle acid and 1,000 milligrams of acetyl
weakness, loss of muscle mass and mitochondria and protected L-carnitine. (continued on page 150)
related diseases, such as insulin
resistance, diabetes and heart dis
ease. péÉÅáÑáÅ
Thanks to this study, scientists åìíêáÉåíë=Å~å
now know exactly how the process ïçêâ=áå=í~åÇÉã
of muscle aging begins and can
ïáíÜ=ÉñÉêÅáëÉ=~ë
design therapies to block it. What
~å=~åíáJ~ÖáåÖ
causes the loss of muscle and mito
chondrial DNA is long-term, out
ëã~êí=ÄçãÄK
of-control oxidation. Mitochondria
are highly prone to oxidation be
cause ATP production releases a lot
of oxygen in the cell. That promotes
the activity of free radicals, by-
products of oxygen metabolism
that are the destructive elements in
oxidative reactions.
As people age, the built-in an
tioxidant systems of the body, such
as the superoxide dismutase system
of enzymes, begin to falter. That
sets the stage for the degenerative
aspects of oxidation in cells. In fact,
how those effects work is a major
theory of the aging process. It’s
especially troublesome in people
who don’t exercise, as exercise pro
motes the body’s built-in antioxida
tion system. Some scientists think
Model: John Hansen
that may be the main value of exer

cise in helping to forestall the aging
process and the degeneration of
brain and body.

(continued from page 143)
`çãéçìåÇ=ÉñÉêÅáëÉë
Å~å=áåÅêÉ~ëÉ=íÉëíçëJ
íÉêçåÉI=~åÇ=ëç=Å~å
íÜÉ=åÉï=~êçã~í~ëÉ
áåÜáÄáíçêëK=tçìäÇ
óçì=ÄÉäáÉîÉ=ãçêÉ
íÜ~å=OMM=éÉêÅÉåí\
Model: Peter Putman

and none of them had taken any After 10 days total and free testos
11) Torrential T Time type of testosterone-boosting sup- terone increased by 244 percent and
plements or medications in the three 358 percent from baseline levels. At

If you look at the advertisements months prior to the study. The aro the 28-day mark total testosterone
for estrogen suppressors, or aro matase inhibitors were combined in had jumped to 314 percent above
matase inhibitors, you’ll note that one capsule, taken as three single baseline, while free levels increased
the main benefit touted for them is caps once daily. to 492 percent. Estrogen, mean
their ability to increase natural while, was undetectable in 10 out of
testosterone levels. The health 15 subjects by the 10th day. By the
benefits of controlling estrogen are
rarely mentioned. The question is,
Total testosterone 28th day it was undetectable in 13
out of 15 subjects. No significant
Do those supplements work? increased 145 percent, alterations in lipid, liver or other
The initial answer comes from
two recently published studies. The
183 percent, 232 blood chemistry values occurred in
the men while they were using the
first examined the effects of two percent and 240 supplement.
unnamed but naturally occurring percent over the first The second study was sponsored
aromatase inhibitors in 15 men, by a company that advertises and
aged 21 to 71, over a 28-day period. four weeks of the sells products in this magazine.
The subjects’ average age was 39, Normally, that sponsorship would
study.
raise some degree of skepticism, were any other side effects growth hormone during exercise
since the company has something observed. because of their higher estrogen
to gain from favorable study results. Some might complain that the counts. Indeed, some studies sug
The scientific protocols used were small experimental sample—only gest that estrogen protects against
up to par, however, and there’s no five subjects—calls the study’s excessive muscle breakdown during
reason to suspect any rigging. Be- validity into question. On the other exercise.
sides, someone has to pay for such hand, it was just a look-see trial to Trimmer, R. et al. (2005). Effects
studies, and no drug company determine whether OTC estrogen of two naturally occurring
would, since it’s a natural product; it inhibitors might be effective. The aromatase inhibitors on male hor
does have a use patent. dramatic results would tempt monal and blood chemistry pro
The study featured five men, many to use the supplement year- files. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2:14.
average age 31, who took four cap round, but even the manufacturer Ziegenfuss, T., et al. (2005). Safety
sules of the aromatase-inhibiting advises using it for no longer than and efficacy of a commercially
supplement before bed for 28 days. eight weeks, then stopping use available, naturally occurring aro
As in the first study, using the sup altogether. matase inhibitor in healthy men. J
plement significantly increased Advice like that makes sense Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2:28.
both total and free testosterone. from a health-and-performance
Total test increased 145 percent, 183 perspective because estrogen may Conclusion:
percent, 232 percent and 240 per have cardiovascular benefits for If you’re looking for optimal
cent over the first four weeks of the men, such as helping maintain testosterone production, which is
study. Free test likewise increased vital HDL levels. It may also help especially important for over-40
from baseline levels—300 percent, maintain the androgen receptors bodybuilders, you may want to try
402 percent, 511 percent and 528 without which testosterone is cycling some of the new aromatase
percent—during that time. Even so, worthless. Plus it has a relationship inhibitors. One study shows free
no significant conversion to estro with growth hormone and insulin- testosterone increases of more than
gen occurred. Blood chemistry tests like growth factor 1 (IGF-1); 300 percent in four weeks. Very
showed no adverse changes, nor women release greater levels of impressive!
Ad

cle growth? Excessive overload at
12) Turnaround TNT to
The key fiber-
the key hypertrophic point, the spot
near the turnaround on the
Turn Up Muscle Gains activation point on
stroke—a.k.a. the semistretched
A recent study verifies the impor

the stroke is near the point—where maximum force
generation can occur.
tance of turnaround, the point in turnaround—the When you move fast through the
an exercise at which you reverse the negative phase of the stroke, as in
direction of the weight, such as at semistretched point. the study, it takes more effort to
the bottom of an incline press— reverse or stop the poundage at
although the researchers seem to that max-force point, so you
miss that result. Jose Antonio, max-force overload right at the achieve more target-muscle over
Ph.D., discussed it in his Anabolic semistretched position, the so- load right at the muscle’s sweet
Drive column in the October ’05 called turnaround point? spot. (Imagine dropping a heavy
IRON MAN: Realize that when you move fast, weight through the eccentric phase
“Twelve 24-year-old subjects it takes more effort to stop the resis of a leg curl and then stopping it
performed maximal resistive tance and/or reverse it. In fact, right before your legs are straight—
lengthening as opposed to lowering it slowly
isokinetic under control.)
exercise with m~êíá~äë=ÇçåÉ Obviously, training fast is much
both arms for ~í=íÜÉ=ã~ñJ more dangerous than using a slow-
eight weeks, ÑçêÅÉ=éçáåí er, controlled cadence. Fast ballistic
three days per Å~å=éêçÇìÅÉ movements aren’t recommended;
week, during ÄáÖÖÉê=Ö~áåëK instead, try power partials at the
which they turnaround spot after you reach
trained one exhaustion on full-range reps.
arm at a fast Those X Reps, as they are called,
velocity and will extend your set, activate more
the other at a Model: Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman muscle fibers and enhance GH
slow velocity. release (as indicated in item 6
Type 1 muscle above). Performing X Reps and X-
fiber size Rep hybrid techniques, like Dou
increased in ble-X Overload, on stretch-position
both cases. exercises may also trigger hyperpla-
Type 2a and 2x sia, or fiber splitting. [For more on
muscle fiber that research and those techniques,
increased in visit www.BeyondX-Rep.com.]
both arms, but
the increases
were greater in
the fast-
trained arm.
“The re-
searchers
concluded
that training
using fast
(3.66 radians
per second)
lengthening contractions leads to research indicates that when a
greater hypertrophy (growth) and trainee standing on force
strength gains than slow (0.35 radi plates moves fast and uses
ans per second) lengthening con momentum, the actual weight

tractions. The greater hypertrophy he has to reverse at the
seen in the fast-trained arm may be turnaround of a rep can be
related to a greater amount of pro double or triple the poundage
tein remodeling.” he’s lifting. The reason? Gravity dÉííáåÖ=~í=ãçêÉ=ãìëÅäÉ=ÑáÄÉêë=ïáää
Why is the conclusion somewhat plus momentum. As the weight ÄìáäÇ=ãçêÉ=ã~ëë=Ñ~ëíK
off the mark? Well, from the results is quickly lowered and then heaved
it appears that training faster stim- at the turnaround to reverse its Conclusion:
ulated more muscle. But was the direction, the force is multiplied Overload the turnaround point of
speed of movement really what two- to threefold. your exercises to get a bigger mass
triggered the extra growth or was it How does that cause more mus X-plosion. IM

Heavy
Duty High-Intensity
Thigh Training by John Little
hile Mike Mentzer was renowned for And while proper training is crucial for opti
his spectacular arm development, his mal leg development, Mike also recognized the
W thighs may have been his most strik

ing bodypart. Indeed, they were huge
and shapely, with each muscle group well chis
eled. And when he struck a thigh pose, it
looked for all the world like rolling waves of
importance of genetics in this area. He once
pointed out to me two classic examples in which
a genetic deficiency hindered the professional
careers of otherwise phenomenally gifted body
builders: Freddy Ortiz and Dave Draper. In both
muscle that would crash and explode into splin cases, Mike indicated, the problem wasn’t igno
ters of fibrous activity upon the bone and tendi rance or an unwillingness on their part to bust
nous shores to which they were attached. ass in the gym. As Mike explained it:
As much as Mike was taken by big arms (Bill “Though I don’t know this for a fact, I’m
Pearl had been his hero), he never once lost sight guessing that in most cases where a bodypart is
Balik \ Model: Mike Mentzer
of the beauty and impressiveness of a well-devel lagging way behind the rest of the body, there
oped pair of legs. As he once recalled: is less fiber density in that area. This means that
“When I got into bodybuilding, it became even if the individual were to double or even
obvious that no matter how tremendously de triple the size of the existing fibers, there just
veloped your upper body might be, if the legs aren’t enough total fibers to amount to much in
didn’t match, forget it!” the way of mass.”

Heavy Duty
On the topic of genetics and leg
training, Mike once made the fol
iÉÖ=ÉñíÉåëáçåë lowing observation:
éêÉÉñÜ~ìëí=íÜÉ “I have been more fortunate than
èì~ÇëK many in that I inherited a pleasing
shape in my leg muscles, as well as
the potential for developing a lot of
mass. My dad never even knew
what a toe raise or leg curl was, and
yet his calves measured about 17
inches. I well recall as a youth mar
veling at his thighs when he mowed
the lawn in his shorts. However, my
thigh development is not merely
the result of having ‘chosen the
right parents.’ In spite of my favor
able genetic predisposition for
developing massive, shapely legs,
I’ve always trained them hard.”
Mike’s leg strength was almost
legendary even when he was a
teenager, for he began working his
Neveux \ Model: Andre Nielsen

legs very heavy when he was only
14, at which time he could quarter-
squat with more than 700 pounds.
At age 16 he was full-squatting 500
pounds. He once confided to me
that he believed that the foundation
he laid with those early squat work
outs contributed to his ability to
mÉêÑçêãáåÖ=äÉÖ=éêÉëëÉë=áããÉÇáJ
~íÉäó=~ÑíÉê=ÉñíÉåëáçåë=ÄêáåÖë=áå
íÜÉ=ÖäìíÉë=~åÇ=Ü~ãë=íç=ÑçêÅÉ=íÜÉ
èì~Çë=íç=ïçêâ==Ü~êÇÉêK
High-Intensity Thigh Training
Neveux \ Model: Jeff Hammond
164
Heavy Duty
develop muscle at a rapid rate later.
Too many young bodybuilders,
cáåáëÜ=çÑÑ=óçìê
blinded by their quest for big arms,
èì~Çë=ïáíÜ=ëèì~íëI
neglect leg work. The imbalance in
éêÉÑÉê~Ääó=áå=~
development that results from such
éçïÉê=ê~Åâ=ëç=óçì
neglect, unfortunately, typically
Å~å=Öç=íç=Ñ~áäìêÉK
proves ruinous to their bodybuild
ing aspirations.
The workout below is relatively
brief compared to those followed by
most of the other top champions.
However, brevity is vital if your
concern is power and lasting mass.
If you’re training with maximal
intensity, carrying each set to fail
ure while using maximum weights
and strict form, your workouts will
be brief of necessity. The moment
you begin adding sets to the num
ber recommended, intensity must
diminish, and there will be inroads
into your ability to recover, both of
which add up to little or no
progress.
The following leg workout is one
that Mike used to prescribe for his
Neveux \ Model: Allen Sarkiszadeh
Heavy Duty clients and, with only

minor variations, essentially the
one he employed in training for
competition. Mike recommended
training legs in a separate workout
(unless a client was on his consoli
dation routine), which meant work
ing legs, at most, once every 12 days
and often but once every 21 days.
The muscles that form the leg are
large—the largest muscle group in not too frequently.” first, thus preventing the front
the body—and as a result, exercises Here, then, is the leg routine that thighs from carrying on to the point
that work them are especially tax Mike Mentzer employed and rec of failure. By first carrying a set of
ing. Compare how you feel after a ommended to his clients: leg extensions to failure, we preex
set of barbell curls to failure to how haust the quadriceps. This means
you feel after a set of heavy squats that in the second exercise, squats
to failure. See what I mean? The
1) Leg Extensions or leg presses, the adjacent muscles
strain that hard leg work places on Supersetted with are temporarily stronger than the
the body’s reserves is so great that quads, and we’re able to work the
we must be especially cautious.
Leg Presses quads to a point of failure without
According to Mike: The leg extension exercise is the surrounding muscles giving out
“The possibility of overtraining valuable in that it focuses the stress first.
looms ever present when we do leg almost entirely on the front thigh “The second exercise of the pre-
work, so we must perform the abso muscles, the quadriceps. Here is exhaustion must be done immedi
lute minimum amount that will what Mike had to say about the ately, with zero rest, while the front
stimulate growth. Doing more sets performance of these two exercises: thighs are still exhausted. If you rest
than necessary to induce growth “The isolation of these muscles is and saunter around between the
will only hinder the recuperative important because the strength of two exercises, the front thighs will
process and possibly even prevent the adjacent muscles such as the regain most of their strength and
growth. Remember that following a adductors and the buttocks is pre the effectiveness of preexhaustion
workout the body must first recover served for the second exercise to is nullified. Use enough weight on
and replenish what was used up follow—either squats or leg presses. the leg extension to allow for the
during the workout. It is only after When you perform exercises such strict performance of eight to 15
full recovery has taken place that as squats or leg presses, it’s usually reps, with a distinct pause in the
growth can occur. So to stimulate the smaller and weaker adjacent locked, or contracted, top position,
growth, train intensely; and to allow muscle groups such as the hips and where the movement arm of the
for such growth, train briefly and lower back or buttocks that fatigue apparatus is (continued on page 168)

Heavy Duty
(continued from page 165) parallel to
the floor. Then lower slowly to the
starting, or stretched, position.
“If you cannot pause and hold
the weight momentarily in the top,
contracted position without having
the weight fall out of control, it
means that you used excessive
body leverage and momentum in
lifting the weight. Since your static
strength is considerably greater
than your ability to raise a weight,
you should be able to hold the

weight at the top for about two
seconds. After you’ve completed
the last possible positive rep, have a
partner help you force out two
more reps. His assistance must be
vçì=Å~å=ëìÄJ minimal, just enough to help you
Neveux \ Model: Chris Cook

ëíáíìíÉ=pãáíÜJ barely make it.”
ã~ÅÜáåÉ Immediately after leg extensions,
ëèì~íë=Ñçê move to leg presses. This exercise is
ÑêÉÉJÄ~ê so productive because you can use
ëèì~íëK extremely heavy weights. According
to Mike, heavy weights can make a
world of difference:
“At one time I had trouble
Ad

Heavy Duty
run across the gym to another ma
rëÉ=äÉÖ=Åìêäë=~ë=óçìê=éêáJ chine, during which time the front
ã~êó=Ü~ãëíêáåÖ=áëçä~íçêK thighs would recover.
“The first time I used this ma
chine, I simply could not believe it;
it can only be described as an
other-worldly experience. If you
don’t have the compound machine,
try to set up your leg press as close
as possible to the leg extension
machine so you can jump right off
Neveux \ Model: Lee Apperson

the one and onto the other with as
little rest as possible. Remember
that your quads will be fatigued at
this point, so you may require less
weight than normal. For forced
reps, push with your hands on your
knees, providing yourself with just
enough assistance so each remain
ing rep is extremely difficult, requir
putting muscle on my inner and Leg machine, the one with the leg ing all-out effort. Keep in mind that
outer vastus. Then I started doing extension and leg press contained intensity refers to the force exerted
leg presses. I eventually got to a in one unit, fine. That machine is through muscular contraction. Too
point where I was doing eight reps perfect for preexhausting the much assistance on the forced reps
with 1,200 pounds, and that solved thighs, since you can move directly lowers intensity. Negatives on leg
the vastus problem. If you have from the leg extension to the leg presses are difficult for obvious
access to the Nautilus Compound press without having to get up and reasons, so emphasize the lowering
Ad

Heavy Duty
fåíÉåëÉ=äÉÖ=ïçêâ
áë=ÖêìÉäáåÖI=Äìí
íÜÉ=êÉëìäíë=Å~å=ÄÉ
ëíìååáåÖK
of the weight during the two forced squats, rest, and then one final set the leg biceps as hard as I can
reps.” of squats to finish off the muscles.] against the resistance of the weight.
Working the leg curl in the fully
2) Full Squats 3) Leg Curls contracted position not only works
If you don’t have access to a leg This is an exercise that Mike the total hamstring muscle but
press, substitute squats as the com eventually dropped from the work activates many of the muscles on
pound movement of a preexhaus outs of his Heavy Duty clients, as he the upper inner thighs. I saw mus
tion superset. That is, do your leg believed that the hamstrings re cles I never knew I had come out in
extensions and immediately go ceived ample stimulation from the my thighs when I employed this
right into squats. Don’t worry about leg presses or squats and that per technique. And I know that fully
forced and negative reps on squats, forming another direct set for them contracted leg curls done in the
however, because of the obvious simply used up more recovery abili aforementioned manner were re
safety considerations. Merely go to ty, which delayed the production of sponsible.”
positive failure if you have spotters new muscle mass. Nevertheless, Again, Mike would recommend
or squat in a power rack. If you Mike did do leg curls during his no more than one set for eight to 15
don’t have spotters or a rack to competitive days, and he had a repetitions. Many advanced-level
catch the weight in case of failure, unique way of performing them: trainees have inquired how Mike
terminate your set at least one rep “I use enough weight to allow for advised people to perform
short of failure. Always remember, the usual number of Heavy Duty advanced Heavy Duty techniques,
safety first. Be very careful to keep strict positive reps, with a momen such as negatives and forced reps,
your spine straight during the lift. tary pause in the contracted posi in leg training. Here is what Mike
And slowly lower the weight back to tion of each rep. As I continue with advocated:
the starting position, a little shy of the forced reps, my brother Ray “More advanced men should
90 degrees. Do one set of squats to helps me into the fully contracted continue beyond the positive reps
failure, again for one set of eight to position and holds the weight there and one or two forced reps with the
15 repetitions. [Note: Mentzer’s for me until I can mentally and addition of two or three more nega
quad routine was short and sweet: physically lock and pull the weight tive-only movements. Have your
one preexhaustion superset of leg into the buttocks for a several- partner or partners lift the weight
extensions and leg presses or second count and peak-contract all the way to the top, fully contract

Heavy Duty
ed position and hold it there mo bÇáíçêÛë=åçíÉW For a com
mentarily so you can lock into the plete presentation of Mike
contraction and hold the weight Mentzer’s Heavy Duty training
there before lowering slowly. And system, consult his books Heavy
make sure the downward progres Duty II and High Intensity Train
sion of the weight on these negative ing the Mike Mentzer Way and
reps is continuous. Don’t ever try to the newest book, The Wisdom of
stop the weight on negative-only leg Mike Mentzer, all of which are
extensions or leg curls until the available through the ad on page
movement is completed. Lower 217 of this issue or by visiting
slowly and under control to the Mentzer’s official Web site,
starting position. Do not try to stop www.mikementzer.com.
and hold the weight.” John Little is available for
So there you have it—a truly phone consultation on Mike
Heavy Duty leg workout that helped Mentzer’s Heavy Duty training
Mike’s already well-developed legs system. For rates and informa
become even better. And if you tion, contact Joanne Sharkey at
follow his outline, even the most (310) 316-4519 or at www
stubborn underpinnings will re .mikementzer.com, or see the ad
spond. Yes, leg training is tough if mentioned above.
progress is your goal. But then, as vçì=Å~å=Çç Article copyright © 2005, John
Mike said: ~äãçëíJëíáÑÑJäÉÖÖÉÇ Little. All rights reserved. Mike
“Need I remind you that growth ÇÉ~ÇäáÑíë=áÑ=óçì Mentzer quotations provided
never comes easy? It must literally ÇçåÛí=Ü~îÉ=~ÅÅÉëë courtesy of Joanne Sharkey and
be forced.” íç=~=äÉÖ=Åìêä=ã~J used with permission. IM
And now you have the perfect ÅÜáåÉK
routine for doing just that.
Ad

No-Bull
Amino A Nonessential Amino
That’s Supercharged With
Bodybuilding Benefits
by Jerry Brainum
roteins are composed of vari perspective of muscle protein synthe

ous combinations of amino sis, essential aminos are extremely
acids, and all dietary proteins are important. In fact, some studies show
eventually converted into amino that getting as little as six grams a day
acids. The amino acids, which number of an essential amino acid mixture
about 22, are classified as either es promotes muscle protein synthesis fol
sential or nonessential. Essential amino lowing resistance exercise, such as
acids are so-named because your weight training. But watch out: Infor
body can’t synthesize them and so it’s mation on the importance of essential
essential that you get them in your diet. amino acids may lead you to
The balance of essential amino acids conclude that the so-called nonessen
in any particular protein determines its tial amino acids are not very impor
biological value. Since animal protein tant.
sources are higher in essential amino That would be incorrect. Some
acids and more closely duplicate the nonessential amino acids have been
amino acid pattern found in the reclassified as “conditionally” essen
human body, they’re considered supe tial because under certain
rior to plant-derived proteins, which circumstances, such as high-stress
often have either low or no amounts of conditions, the body cannot sufficient
essential aminos. ly synthesize them and their status
Recent research proves that from the changes from unessential to essential.

Neveux \ Model: Skip La Cour

No-Bull Amino
pçãÉ=ëíìÇáÉë=ëÜçï=íÜ~í=ÖÉííáåÖ=~ë
äáííäÉ=~ë=ëáñ=Öê~ãë=çÑ=~å=ÉëëÉåíá~ä
~ãáåç=~ÅáÇ=ãáñíìêÉ=éêçãçíÉë
ãìëÅäÉ=éêçíÉáå=ëóåíÜÉëáë=ÑçääçïáåÖ
êÉëáëí~åÅÉ=ÉñÉêÅáëÉI=ëìÅÜ=~ë=ïÉáÖÜí
íê~áåáåÖK
Examples of conditionally essen supplements with athletes and body glutamine earned a place in the sup
tial amino acids include glutamine builders today. Research on plement regimen of intensely train
and arginine. Normally, the body glutamine was originally derived ing athletes. Later studies showed
can synthesize them if you’ve taken from hospitalized patients, especially that it also appeared to prevent the
in a sufficient supply of essential burn patients, who lose vast amounts immune-suppression effects of ex
aminos. Sometimes, however, that of protein as a result of their injuries. tended exercise—endurance events,
synthesis can’t take place rapidly Giving them glutamine reversed or for instance.
enough. halted the cascading catabolic effects Arginine was initially promoted as
Glutamine and arginine are on muscle that can result in death. a growth hormone releaser because
among the most popular amino acid Thanks to the anticatabolic effect, doctors gave it intravenously to pa

No-Bull Amino
Neveux \ Model: Luke Wood
tients to treat growth hormone defi tine is thought to encourage the supplement. But taurine—condition
ciency. Forms of arginine used for cellular hydration that signals in ally essential like glutamine and argi
other purposes have also turned up creased muscle protein synthesis. nine—is far more essential to those
in various food supplements, no Glutamine and taurine also appear to engaged in exercise.
tably those that increase nitric oxide. promote cellular hydration, which
Many of the food supplements
that contain glutamine and/or argi
makes them synergistic with crea
tine.
What Is Taurine?
nine also contain another amino If taurine did nothing more than Taurine was discovered in 1827 as a
acid, taurine—particularly creatine promote cellular hydration, it would component of ox bile, which explains
supplements. That’s because crea likely still be considered a useful its name; taurus is Latin for bull.

No-Bull Amino
Taurine is not incorporated into

muscle and other tissues of the
body like other amino acids but
instead is found as a free, or un
bound, amino acid or as part of
short chains of aminos known as
peptides. The significance of tau
rine wasn’t recognized until studies
in the 1970s found that it was an
essential nutrient for cats. Without
it, cats develop retinal degeneration
leading to blindness and serious
heart problems, which explains
why cat food labels prominently
display the taurine content.
Research on cats led some scien
tists to investigate whether taurine
had any use for human nutrition.
Initial studies found that babies fed
on formula instead of mother’s milk
often developed taurine deficiency,
since their bodies lacked the en
zymes needed to synthesize it.
Normally, taurine is synthesized
from two other amino acids—the
essential methionine and the
Forms of arginine
have turned up
in supplements
that increase
nitric oxide.
q~ìêáåÉ=áë=ÄÉáåÖ=~ÇÇÉÇ=íç
ÅêÉ~íáåÉ=íç=ÉåÜ~åÅÉ=ÅÉääìä~ê
ÜóÇê~íáçåK

No-Bull Amino
få=ãìëÅäÉI=í~ìêáåÉ=áë=íÜÉ
ëÉÅçåÇ=ãçëí=~ÄìåÇ~åí=ÑêÉÉ
~ãáåç=~ÅáÇI=ÄÉÜáåÇ
Öäìí~ãáåÉK
not without the presence of the suggest that many people can ben
Taurine is found in activated form of vitamin B6, or
pyridoxine. So a lack of B6 in the
efit from taking supplemental tau
rine.
large quantities in diet can impair taurine synthesis.
Controversy exists about just how
The most recognized function of
taurine is its role in the production
well the body is able to make tau of bile salts. Bile, composed mainly
the body, in brain, rine. The main enzyme involved is of cholesterol, is a substance manu
not that active in either humans or factured in the liver and stored in
skeletal and heart cats. That’s why some theories the gallbladder. In fact, the primary
muscle tissue.
táíÜçìí
nonessential cysteine—both of
which contain sulfur. í~ìêáåÉI
In fact, some scientists suggest Å~íë=ÇÉîÉäJ
that taurine isn’t a true amino acid, çé=êÉíáå~ä
since it contains a sulfonic acid ÇÉÖÉåÉê~J

group; other aminos contain a íáçå=äÉ~ÇJ
carboxylic acid group. Taurine is áåÖ=íç
found abundantly in the body, in
ÄäáåÇåÉëë
brain, skeletal and heart muscle
tissue. In muscle, it’s the second ~åÇ=ëÉêáçìë
most abundant free amino acid, ÜÉ~êí=éêçÄJ
behind glutamine. Taurine’s pres äÉãëK
ence in muscle suggests that it
must be there for a reason.
The body can synthesize taurine
from methionine and cysteine but

No-Bull Amino
way the body rids itself of excess glycine and taurine. So taurine
cholesterol is by shunting it into
bile production. Bile itself promotes
helps create bile salts and lower
blood cholesterol, keeping it from
Those in the
the digestion of fat by reducing its floating through the bloodstream

surface area, which makes it more as low-density lipoprotein (the bad taurine group
digestible by lipases, or fat-digest kind of cholesterol). High levels of

ing enzymes. LDL are a major risk factor for had lower
Even so, bile isn’t soluble enough cardiovascular disease, especially
to work unless it’s conjugated, or
combined with other substances.
oxidized LDL. The less LDL in the
blood, the less chance of cardiovas
triglyceride levels.
When that happens, bile becomes cular disease.
bile salts, and the two main conju Taurine accelerates bile salt
gating agents are the amino acids synthesis by boosting the genes
responsible for making an enzyme
called 7-alpha hydroxylase. The
increased use of cholesterol for bile
synthesis lowers blood levels of
cholesterol, which in turn opens
up LDL receptors on cells, also
lowering cholesterol levels.
One study examined the effects
of providing either three grams a
day of taurine or a placebo to 30
overweight college students for
seven weeks.1 Those in the taurine
group had lower triglyceride levels
in the blood, along with a reduced
atherogenic index, a measure of
the ratio of HDL cholesterol (the
good kind) to triglycerides in the
blood. Taurine increases HDL
production by boosting the activity
of the protein carrier of HDL,
apolipoprotein A-1.
A beneficial side effect also oc
curred in the students who took
the taurine supplements: They all
lost bodyfat. Studies done with
^Ç diabetic rats show that taurine
prevents buildup of abdominal fat,
which is considered the most dan
gerous to health, being linked to
insulin resistance, heart disease
and diabetes.
Taurine also functions as an
antioxidant, which protects against
such diseases as cardiovascular
disease and cancer. When certain
immune cells destroy invading
organisms, they release a stream of
free radicals, which are unstable
oxygen by-products that destroy
the invading organism’s cellular
membrane, killing it. Free radicals
can also damage normal tissue.
When the body has sufficient tau
rine, however, the taurine soaks up
the excess free radicals, rendering
them neutral.
Smoking damages artery linings
and leads to cardiovascular dis
ease. A 2003 study, however, found

No-Bull Amino
that in smokers who took taurine, though it worked independently of levels of taurine than fast-twitch
the function of the lining, or en insulin in promoting glucose use. muscles. That’s likely because slow-
dothelium, rapidly improved to the Some studies show that taurine twitch fibers have a greater oxida
point where it worked similarly to may help prevent some serious tive capacity, and taurine has
that of nonsmokers. That occurred diabetic complications, including antioxidative properties. Studies
after only five days on a 1.5-gram neuropathy (nerve degeneration) show that the body loses the great
dose of taurine, about the same and retinopathy (blindness). est amount of its taurine after in
amount found in a 100-gram serv tense anaerobic exercise, such as
ing of fish. weight training.
Although omega-3 fats are con Can Taurine Help
Experiments done with rats
sidered the health-promoting Your Workouts?
demonstrate that taurine increases
component in fish, its high taurine exercise capacity, especially in older
content also offers protective ben Slow-twitch muscles have higher animals.4 Another study found that
efits that are frequently
overlooked. Some studies show
that the taurine content of fish
helps lower blood pressure and
reduce the negative effects of a
high salt intake.2 Stress also in
creases blood pressure by increas
ing the release of such hormones
as epinephrine and
norepinephrine, which constrict
blood vessels. Taurine counteracts
that effect, leading to lower blood
pressure. Interestingly, the popula
tions with the lowest rates of car
diovascular disease in the world,
those of Japan and the Mediter
ranean countries, also get the
greatest amounts of taurine in
their diets.
Still another way that taurine
protects the heart is by modulating
electrolyte function. Excess calci
um can rapidly lead to cellular
death, but taurine prevents that. It
also favorably affects the balance
^Ç
of sodium and potassium in heart
tissue, thus maintaining proper
heart function.
As I’ve noted previously in IRON
MAN, highly refined sugars, such
as in high-fructose corn syrup, are
thought to be responsible for the
rising epidemic of obesity, espe
cially in younger people. Eating
excess fructose causes sugar to be
deposited into protein tissues, an
effect called glycation that’s con
sidered a major cause of aging and
the major cause of the stiffness
and lack of mobility many people
experience as they get older.
In a recent experiment rats were
put on a 60 percent fructose diet
but also got a 2 percent taurine
solution for 30 days. That prevent
ed the formation of glycation end
products while also enhancing the
use of glucose.3 Taurine worked
with insulin to affect glucose, al

No-Bull Amino
^=ÄÉåÉÑáÅá~ä
ëáÇÉ=ÉÑÑÉÅí=~äëç cise significantly prevented DNA
çÅÅìêêÉÇ=áå=íÜÉ strand breakage, an effect attributed
to taurine’s antioxidative properties.
í~ìêáåÉ=ÖêçìéW
In addition, the subjects who took
qÜÉó=~ää=äçëí
taurine also showed increased VO2
ÄçÇóÑ~íK max, an indicator of increased en
durance, increased time to exercise
exhaustion and increased maximal
workload. That effect could come
from taurine’s role in increasing the
pumping power of the heart and
improving the electrical and con
tractile properties of skeletal muscle.
In muscle, taurine stabilizes cell
membranes, including the
sarcolemma, the membrane that
surrounds muscle fibers. By control
ling calcium entry into muscle, it
promotes muscle contraction as
well.
Taurine’s effect on electrolyte
functions in muscle may also ex
plain why it helps prevent severe
muscle cramps. One theory suggests
that exercise-induced loss of sodium
and calcium may precipitate such
cramps. By stabilizing those miner
als during exercise, taurine may help
prevent postworkout muscle
cramps. The transport of taurine
into muscle is promoted by sodium
and chloride and decreased by lac
tate and beta-alanine.
A recent study found that taurine
content in fast-twitch muscle signif
taking taurine may help protect intake that occurs, exercise also ups icantly decreased during extended
against exercise-induced muscle the production of dangerous free exercise sessions and noted that it
injuries.5 The authors of that study radicals, and rampant free-radical enhances the enzymes in muscle
observed that taurine supplementa release can damage DNA in cells, that regulate energy production and
tion reversed “certain types of func leading to mutations that may fat oxidation.7 Taurine also stimu
tional deficits in skeletal muscle. cause cancer and other diseases. In lates cyclic AMP, which leads to a
Our results suggest that taurine this study, however, giving men greater release of catecholamines,
supplementation may facilitate supplemental taurine before exer such as epinephrine and
exercise performance and reduce
some limited aspects of muscle
injury caused by exercise.” j~åó=íóéÉë
A later study that used human çÑ=ÑáëÜ=~äëç
subjects confirmed the protective Åçåí~áå
effects of taurine during exercise.6 í~ìêáåÉI
Because of the increased oxygen
ïÜáÅÜ
ÅçãéäÉJ
Taurine can improve ãÉåíë=íÜÉ
çãÉÖ~JP
the electrical and Ñ~í=ÅçåíÉåíK
contractile
properties of
skeletal muscle.
No-Bull Amino
q~ìêáåÉ=ÅçåíÉåí=áå=Ñ~ëíJ
íïáíÅÜ=ãìëÅäÉ=ëáÖåáÑáÅ~åíäó
ÇÉÅêÉ~ëÉë=ÇìêáåÖ=ÉñíÉåÇÉÇ
ÉñÉêÅáëÉ=ëÉëëáçåëK
Neveux \ Model: Dan Decker

No-Bull Amino
can lead to feelings of

fatigue and lack of energy.
Smoking damages
Smaller doses of taurine,
less than a gram, have a
artery linings and
reverse effect: providing
energy. That’s ostensibly
leads to
why taurine is a major
ingredient of a popular
cardiovascular
energy drink that
q~ìêáåÉ=ã~ó includes the word bull in
disease. A 2003
çÑÑÉê=~=ÄáÖ its name. But since the
ÜÉ~äíÜ=ÄÉåÉÑáí drink also contains caf
study found that in
feine, the taurine addi
íç=ëãçâÉêëK
tion could indeed
smokers who took
norepinephrine. The latter two represent a lot of bull.
substances activate the enzyme
supplemental
hormone-sensitive lipase in fat
cells, which leads to the release of
References
taurine, the function
fat for use as energy during exer 1 Zhang, M., et al. (2004). Benefi
cise. cial effects of taurine on serum

of the linings
lipids in overweight or obese non-
improved rapidly.
Words of Caution
diabetic subjects. Amino Acids.
26:267-71.
For those considering supple 2 Nara, Y., et al. (1978). Effects of taurine supplementation to prevent
menting taurine, several caveats are dietary taurine on blood pressure in exercise-induced oxidative stress in
in order. The precise optimal dose spontaneously hypertensive rats. healthy young men. Amino Acids.
of taurine for increasing exercise Biochem Pharmacol. 27:2689-92. 26:203-7.
performance has been calculated— 3 Nandhini, A.T., et al. (2004). 7 Matsuzaki, Y., et al. (2002). De
in rats.8 It’s between 100 and 500 Stimulation of glucose utilization creased taurine concentration in
milligrams per kilogram (2.2 and inhibition of protein glycation skeletal muscles after exercise for
pounds) of bodyweight. The dose and AGE products by taurine. Acta various durations. Med Sci Sports
depends on body size and would be Physiol Scand. 181:297-303. Exer. 34:793-97.
considerably lower in a human. 4 Pierno, S., et al. (1998). Chronic 8 Miyazaki, T., et al. (2004). Opti
Good food sources of taurine in administration of taurine to aged mal and effective oral dose of tau
clude most animal protein foods, rats improves the electrical and rine to prolong exercise
particularly fish. Oysters are a supe contractile properties of skeletal performance in rat. Amino Acids.
rior source. muscle. J Pharmacol Exp Therap. 27:291-98.
Those who use the drug clen 286:1183-90. 9 Doheny, M.H., et al. (1998). The
buterol should be aware that it 5 Dawson R, et al. (2002). The effects of the beta-2 agonist drug
causes a rapid and severe depletion cytoprotective role of taurine in clenbuterol on taurine in heart and
of taurine from muscle and heart exercise-induced muscle injury. other tissues in the rat. Amino
tissue. That could explain the heart Amino Acids. 22:309-24. Acids. 15:13-25. IM
damage and muscle cramps that 6 Zhang, M. et al. (2004). Role of
can occur with its use.9 Ephedrine

and mahuang supplements also
reduce taurine muscle content. o~íJÄ~ëÉÇ
The amino acid beta-alanine is ëíìÇáÉë
now being added to various food ëÜçï=íÜ~í
supplements because it’s the pre
cursor of L-carnosine synthesis in
í~ìêáåÉ
the body. Beta-alanine and taurine áåÅêÉ~ëÉë
compete for the same uptake carri ÉñÉêÅáëÉ
er into the body, and beta-alanine Å~é~ÅáíóI
can block taurine uptake by 50 ÉëéÉÅá~ääó
percent or more. Best to use the two áå=çäÇÉê
amino acids at different times. ~åáã~äëK
Finally, be aware that taurine
functions in the brain as an
inhibitory neurotransmitter—
meaning that it has a depressant
action on brain function. So taking
too much taurine in a single dose

- F I L ES
The BIG
Mistake
by Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson Photography by Michael Neveux
n our online e-zine What mistake are we onds is ideal for an exer
we’ ve discussed talking about? It has to do cise in which you maintain
many of the small de with the ideal tension time good form. That’ s the
tails that can add up during which a muscle will growth zone for any fairly
to big mass gains fast. get the best growth stimu strict set. As we’ ve said in
For example, we lation. Research shows the past, though, heaving
mentioned that your that time under tension and exploding through the
work sets are probably the should be 35 to 40 sec max-force point of an exer
most important mass trig onds to trigger maximum cise’ s stroke (as a lot of
ger, which is why we out mass increases. Watch the champs do) can over
lined a perfect anabolic most trainees in the gym, load the target muscle at
set. You may have missed and you’ ll notice that the key fiber-activation
the most important detail they rarely reach that opti point more readily, which
of all, however— the big mal range— in fact, a lot of may reduce the necessary
mistake almost every them don’ t even get time under tension for hy-
Model: Skip La Cour
bodybuilder makes that halfway there. That results pertrophic stimulation.

slows muscle gains to a in slow to no growth. Keep
crawl. in mind that 35 to 40 sec

-Files
You should be doing fairly strict

reps and enough of them to hit
the 35-to-40-second mark.
(and neither is your nervous sys
tem). So for most people using the
cheat/explosive style on every rep is
out. You should be doing fairly strict
reps and enough of them to hit the
35-to-40-second mark. Here’s how
to make it happen.
We’ve said that lowering the
weight should take about two sec-
onds and raising it should take
about 1 1/2 seconds. That’s 3 1/2
seconds per rep. If you get eight
reps, your time under tension is 8
reps x 3 1/2 seconds, or 28 seconds.
Uh-oh. That time under tension is
more effective for building strength
than for building muscle. That’s the
big mistake—most trainees stop
their sets too early.
On the perfect set, however, you
should get one forced rep, which
would be rep number nine. Add in
another 3 1/2 seconds. You’re up to
Model: Tamer Elshahat 31 1/2 seconds now. Then you lower
the weight to the max-force point
(the semistretched position) and fire
out X Reps. Even if you get only four
of them, at a second apiece you’ve
broken into the growth zone with a
Many bodybuilders use a time

under tension that’s more
effective for building strength
than for building muscle.
For example, if you were doing a

set of cheat curls, where most of the
resistance occurs at the sweet spot
between the arms-straight position
and the point where the elbows are
bent at 90 degrees, your muscles
might need fewer than 35 seconds
for growth stimulation due to the
severity of the overload at the key
max-force point. A superior ner
vous system can also help by acti
vating more fibers more quickly.
Model: Peter Putman
But cheating and heaving are

damn dangerous. If you’re a
hardgainer, it’s even more so be
cause your tendons and ligaments
aren’t in the superhuman category

-Files
pÉí=íÜÉ=pí~ÖÉ=Ñçê=dêçïíÜ total of 35 1/2 seconds—and you

did it right at the key fiber-activa
tion point. (Most trainees will get
Models: Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson

Keeping tension on the target muscle for at more than four X Reps, which will
least 35 seconds during a set is very impor push their tension time closer to 40
tant. If you can overload the max-force-gen seconds.)
eration point on the stroke within those 35 If you do only six reps per set,
seconds, you’ve really got a killer mass you’re more in the strength-building
builder. It’s the reason X Reps work so well, zone—6 x 3 1/2 = 21 seconds. Not
but we’ve found some other techniques that that you won’t build some muscle
work just as well—and some that work better, with that range, but it’s not the best
depending on the exercise. We call them X- tension time for optimal mass stim
hybrids, and they helped us produce our best ulation. In fact, short sets may be a
conditions ever in ’05. (See our latest photos at www.BeyondX-Rep.com.) big reason so many bodybuilders
One of those techniques is stage sets. It’s not one of the newer ones, as have to do set after set after set to
we’ve used it in various incarnations in the past. And it never failed. When get any growth at all. It takes a lot
we introduced them, we immediately noticed that stage sets produced more work to stress enough of the
muscularity and vascularity increases, and now we know why: They’re key fibers to trigger an anabolic
essentially a unique type of X overload—if you do them with the first stage effect. It’s just inefficient because
encompassing the X spot. That creates an out-of-the-blocks blast right at they miss the target zone every time.
the max-force point. Adding the second stage increases the tension on the What if you go in the other direc
target muscle. tion and shoot for 12 full reps? That
Here’s how a stage set works on Smith-machine squats. Position your can work for some people, but most
self in the machine, bar across your shoulders, and lower into the squat trainees don’t have the fatigue-
position—where your quads are below parallel to the floor. From there resistance capacity to keep their
drive back up, but only to just above the midpoint of the stroke. From force production up toward the end
there lower back to the full-squat position, and so on, doing low-range of a higher-rep set like that. After
partials till you can’t stand the burn. You do piston-like exaggerated X about rep 10, fatigue can short-
Reps right off the bat through the max-force point and feel sweet relief circuit the target muscle.
when you can finally drive back to lockout, usually with help, after about So at 12 reps, even though you’re
nine of those lowdown partials—but you’re not finished. Now you do the over 40 seconds of tension time, you
top stage of the stroke to extend the tension time. Start by squeezing your may not produce enough force in
quads hard, contracting them in the lockout position. Lower through the target muscle toward the end of
about the top one-third of the movement. Blast back to the top and the set, when your important high-
squeeze your quads again. Flex at lockout on every one of those top-end threshold motor units kick in. Fa
reps. tigue is the enemy, at least on the
Are they better than standard X Reps—power partials done at the end big, or ultimate, exercises. Even with
of a positive-failure set? Not necessarily. As we’ve said, full reps can prime X Reps at the end of a higher-rep set,
the muscle for optimal fast-twitch-fiber recruitment at the end of a set. So you may not get optimal growth
it appears that those first full reps make your end-of-set X Reps a more stimulation.
powerful fast-twitch switch due to the size principle of recruitment, So if you’re after the most grow
which we covered in The Ultimate Mass Workout e-book (X-Rep.com). It’s power possible from every set, we
a motor unit cascade that makes X Reps even more power packed. suggest doing 10 reps on sets that
Nevertheless, stage, or X-first, sets have their place and can help you don’t include X Reps—10 reps x 3
get bigger amd better mass gains if you use them after a standard X-Rep 1/2 seconds per rep = 35 seconds of
set. After is the key word because that means you’ve already primed the tension time. On your X-Rep set,
muscle and created the motor unit cascade with your regular X-Rep set. shoot for at least eight with as many
This type of stage technique works only on exercises that feature bone- X-Rep partials as you can fire out. If
supported lockout, like squats and various presses. If you try it on a con- you hit the 35-to-40-second growth-
tinuous-tension exercise like chins, for example, you won’t have enough zone target, you’ll get bigger and
strength at the top, the weakest part of the stroke. We have other X-hybrid harder faster—and with a lot less
techniques for those movements, including one we believe may be a time in the gym!
powerful trigger for fiber splitting, or at least fiber morphing, when it’s
used on stretch exercises like stiff-legged deadlifts and incline curls. (It’s bÇáíçêÛë=åçíÉW The above is
based on how big Jay Cutler trains, and it may explain why he’s so damn adapted from material published in
huge.) the IM e-zine. You can get an issue
We’ll have more on our X-hybrid techniques in future issues of IRON delivered to your e-mail box every
MAN and at www.BeyondX-Rep.com. They helped us get bigger and bet week free: Visit www.X-Rep.com and
ter, along with standard X Reps. click on X-Files. Go to any of the
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson past installments, and click on the
www.X-Rep.com and www.BeyondX-Rep.com subscription link at the bottom. IM

’05 IFBB Mr. Olympia
mpia
A Dramatic Look at the Greatest Pro Show on Earth
Photography by Bill Comstock and John Balik
Location: Las Vegas Date: October 15

Winner: Ronnie Coleman
(8th consecutive Olympia win)
For more on the contest, see News & Views
on page 222.
For thousands of photos,
visit www.GraphicMuscle.com

1) Ronnie Coleman
’05 IFBB Mr. Olympia Results

1) Ronnie Coleman, $150,000
2) Jay Cutler, $85,000
3) Gustavo Badell. $55,000
4) Gunter Schlierkamp, $45,000
5) Victor Martinez, $35,000
6) Dennis James, $27,000
7) Melvin Anthony, $16,000
8) Branch Warren, $15,000
9) Darrem Charles, $14,000
10) Mustafa Mohammad, $12,000
11) Johnnie Jackson, $2,000
12) George Farah, $2,000
13) Chris Cormier, $2,000
14) David Henry, $2,000
15) Markus Ruhl, $2,000
16) Kris Dim, $2,000
17) Craig Richardson (tie), $2,000
17) Ronnie Rockel (tie), $2,000
19) Quincy Taylor, $2,000
19) Alexander Federov, $2,000
19) Mike Sheridan, $2,000

1) Ronnie Coleman

2) Jay Cutler

3) Gustavo Badell

4) Gunter
Schlierkamp

5) Victor Martinez

6) Dennis James

7) Melvin Anthony

8) Branch Warren

9) Darrem Charles

10) Mustafa
Mohammad

Martinez,
Schlierkamp
and Badell
James,
Anthony
and Warren

11) Johnnie Jackson

12) George Farah
13) Chris Cormier
AD
14) David Henry

IM
Lonnie Teper’s
’05 Mr. Olympia
Aging Gracefully Coleman, 41, has plenty left

En route to record-tying eighth win
At the ’03 Olympia Weekend press conference, a fan asked Ronnie Coleman if
he planned on doing the Masters Olympia in the near future, since he’d be turn
ing 40 the following year. “The Masters?” said a flabbergasted Coleman. “Why
would I do that—if I continue to compete, it will be in the Mr. Olympia!”
After the Big Nasty’s record-tying eighth Mr. O victory on October 15 at the
Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, the admirer who submitted the pitiable query must
be hiding underneath a couch somewhere.
So, how did the latest battle go? Well, to compare it to a 400-meter dash, you
might say the 41-year-old Coleman shot out of the blocks, held off a brief chal
lenge by Jay Cutler at the halfway mark and then sprinted way ahead of the field
on the way to his eighth Sandow, passing Arnold Schwarzenegger and joining Lee
Haney in the record books along the way.
Coleman, who tipped the scales at more than 290 pounds to earn his 2004
victory, was around 275 to 280 here. The drop did make a difference; his waist
was the smallest I’ve seen it in some time, and his often-criticized distended
tummy was vastly improved. Guess he paid attention—
mucho attention—to Ben Weider’s memoran
dum of a few months back decrying,
among other things, overstuffed Gun Shot
“Whooh! Whooh! Whooh! bellies.
As always, Coleman dis-
played his gnarly guns,
hams and glutes (although his back detail
was not as significant as in years past); The
and his side-chest shot, with those huge best
hamstrings hanging down, was, as rear
always, a sight to see. double-
Cutler dieted 17 weeks for this one, biceps
showed up with torn-up quads and of his
hams and had the best back double- illustri-
biceps pose of his illustrious career— ous
and still had to settle for yet another career.
runner-up slot. Though he was obviously
terribly disappointed, Jay did win a title
during the evening—the Vyo-Tech–spon
sored Best Wheels competition—adding
Gustavo another 10 grand to his wallet. Win or lose,
paid this guy’s still a champion.
posing Sure, there were some who felt Jay should
homage to
have won the $150,000 first-place check; others
Balik
all
the Mr. said Gustavo Badell, who finished in third for the sec
Olympia ond year in a row and actually beat both Coleman and JAY CUTLER
winners.
omstock

ADD O TALK CHALLENGE ROUND
Cutler in the challenge round,

should have been the runner-
Badell’s Ball Game
up. (Such is the subjectiveness
of bodybuilding.) The Freakin’
Rican, who now resides in
Vegas, did show up in tremen
dous shape, and his posing
routine, which included the
signature poses of all 10 Mr.
Olympias, was creative and fun. I
had Badell in third from the get-
go at the 10 a.m. prejudging.
Gunter Schlierkamp promised
that “Guntermania” would be
back, and he kept his word.
Schlierkamp was huge and was
in the best shape I’ve seen since
Does Gustavo agree with L.T. that the challenge should be
2002; he held a one-point lead chucked?
Guntermania was in the house. over Badell after three rounds
but slipped behind in the pose- I didn’t like the challenge round last year but
down to finish a close fourth. Needless to say, this could have gone either said I’d wait and see before making any judg
way—especially if Gunter had used more color on his physique. ments this time. Okay, I waited. And, with no
I’ve been waiting for Victor Martinez to get back to the shape he disrespect for Gustavo Badell, who must love the
showed off a couple of years ago, when he gave promise of being a Mr. O segment after moving past Dexter Jackson into
in the making. This time at the Big Dance the symmetrical New Yorker third place in ’04 and besting Coleman and
proved that he does have the stuff. Martinez in fifth was another call I Cutler this season, I still don’t like it.
agreed with early on in the show. What’s the point, other than taking up way too
The battle for sixth between Dennis James and Melvin Anthony brought much time, slowing things down—almost to a
back memories of their classic duel at the ’98 USA, where Dennis edged standstill—and inviting more fan criticism of the
Melvin in a tie-breaker to move on to the pros. This was an apples-and judges? A panel of former Mr. Olympias—Sergio
oranges encounter, with James being about Oliva, Frank Zane, Larry Scott, Samir Bannout and
30 pounds heavier—and much thicker—and Dorian Yates—were brought in to judge and
Anthony displaying perhaps the most aes voted for Badell as the best in the lineup after
thetic physique in bodybuilding. As it was in each top-five finisher had challenged each of his
’98, James barely slipped passed Anthony, opponents to a pose.
this time by two points. As Badell is a great bodybuilder, I don’t have a
Branch Warren, coming off back-to-back problem with the results (for the record, I had
wins at the Europa Supershow and the Char Coleman winning it), and everyone has his or her
Contest photography by Bill Comstock
lotte Pro, made an auspicious Olympia debut, opinion. Because of the time it took up, six men
finishing in eighth and besting Darrem Charles, who qualified for the O fair and square (Kris Dim,
in ninth, and Mustafa Mohammad, 10th. The Ronny Rockell, Quincy Taylor, Craig Richardson,
two biggest disappointments in the contest Alexander Federov and Mike Sheridan) weren’t
were top-six contenders Chris Cormier and allowed to pose at the finals. That sucks, big
Markus Ruhl. Both gents came in way smooth time.
and landed in the very unfamiliar territory of Sorry, Gustavo, I know this has been your
13th and 15th, respectively. baby, but I say chuck it. So far the only challenge
Look for a more-detailed examination of has been to sit through it.
the Big O Weekend—the good, the bad and
the ugly—next month.
Don’t miss IRON MAN’s poster pictorial of the
’05 Mr. Olympia, beginning on page 200.
As was the promise of Victor Martinez, fulfilled at last.

MORE MR. O TEXAS TALES
Oh, Henry! AConfesses

Priest
Wild time at the Wildcard
Lee says
the
Olympia
At the Europa Supershow is a sin
(see story at right), I saw Lee
Priest, who had a few things to
say about why he’d probably
be passing on the Olympia,
even though he had inked the
contract to be onstage. “I just
don’t like that contest,” he said.
“This is supposed to be the
biggest show in the world, but
the athletes aren’t treated that
way. The promoter’s require Lee Priest and his humongous forearms did not appear on
ments prior to the event are the Olympia stage in 2005, but we’re hoping he doesn’t skip
the ’06 IRON MAN Pro, which is set for February 18.
ridiculous and show no com
passion for the athletes.” As for
the challenge round, he said,
“We already have a challenge round, and it’s called prejudging. Why didn’t they
take that money [$50,000] and spread it down to the other competitors who won’t
be making much, if anything, instead of giving more to the top five?”
David Henry finally got some time to One thing you can say about this Priest: He’s always open for confession.
shine when he destroyed the field at the
Wildcard Challenge.
EUROPAEAN SCENES
I didn’t think I’d like this new addi

tion to Big O weekend—and I didn’t.
It was great to see David Henry, who
has replaced Branch Warren as the
most underrated bodybuilder in the
game, shine onstage and pick up the
$10,000 grand prize.
With the exception of Henry, how
ever, the nine-man lineup was made
up of lower-echelon guys who didn’t Kim Harris, who took
come close to qualifying for the O third in the heavy-
during the year. And Henry should weight division, and
husband Terry
have earned his invite at earlier con Hairston at the Met- Amy Peters (left) and June Munroe with Katy “the
tests anyway—especially at the Eu Rx booth. Dog” Munroe, who was once again the best-dressed
ropa Supershow. As it turned out, the gal in the place.
lineup was the featured act at the
Friday-night Fitness and Figure
Mary Ellen Jerumbo
Olympia finals, with all getting com makes sure Jimmy
pared, all getting to pose, etc., unlike Canyon’s Pro Tan
what happened to the the six covers the top of his
head.
Olympia-qualified athletes mentioned
in the item on page 223, who did not
have that opportunity on Saturday
night. Absurd.
I’m sure the Wildcard contest was
added with the hope that it would
pump up ticket sales for the women’s
show, but as many predicted, it Big Art Atwood, now
didn’t. Additionally, it ended up being living in Dallas, was on
the main event on a night that should hand to show what a
have belonged to the women. Chuck can of Pure Vitargo,
the “ultimate carb
this, too, and replace it with the Ms. The boys of Europa (from left): loader” can do for you.
Olympia finals so all three women’s Ruben Martinez, David Plitt, Dax
divisions have their time in the spot Joiner and James Ruffini. On
three, say, “Cheese.”
light on the main stage.

Add IFBB Musclefests
Branching Out
Warren leads Texas sweep
Add Europa At the Europa Supershow
Two
It was no surprise to those who had
Two seen Branch Warren pull off his shirt at
thumbs-up the Texas Championships in July
to Ed and (okay, so he was coaxed into it by
Betty Pariso for
producing a
the pushy emcee) when the 5’6”,
helluva weekend. 240-pound physique freak domi
It included pro nated the field a couple of
contests in men’s months later at the Europa Su
and women’s
bodybuilding,
pershow.
fitness and figure; At the Arlington, Texas, event,
an NPC national I got my first glance at him in the
Promoters three: Eric, Betty and Eddie. qualifier; a strong hotel eatery on the day before
man competition; a
powerlifting event; a model search and more. Two blind athletes
the show and this time coaxed
competed (former Team Universe champ Greg Rando was in the pro him into showing off the wheels.
bodybuilding lineup), and one amateur fitness athlete, the amazing Oh, my, how does that happen?
Barbie Guerra from Mesa, Arizona, had no arms—yes, you read that Thanks to his victory at the Char
right.
Oh, and if I had a third thumb, it would go up for Europa
lotte Pro two weeks later Branch is
owner Eric Hillman, who joined forces with the Parisos to help no longer the most underappreciated
ensure the show’s success. How Betty was able to do her bodybuilder in the game, a label he Branch Warren had some thighs for
usual premier job on the promotion end while dieting got from yours truly after he didn’t quali breakfast on the day before his victory at
for the Charlotte Pro is beyond me. the Europa Supershow.
fy for the Olympia in 2004.
Warren’s sometime training partner, Johnnie
Jackson, and Quincy “Be Cool” Taylor, who moved
from California to Mansfield, Texas, last year, finished second and third, respectively, making
it one truly Texas-flavored event. Like Warren, Taylor qualified for his first Olympia; I was amazed
that Q.T. could look as good as he did, considering how good he didn’t look when he guest posed at the
Texas Championships in July. At 6’4” and more than 300 pounds, with a good shape, the ’01 USA Overall champ still could prove
to be a top-tier pro. As it turned out, that won’t be going down in 2005 (see the Olympia scorecard).
The odd man out at this show was David Henry, who looked even more sublime than in past performances but could only
muster a fourth-place finish, narrowly missing an Olympia qualifying berth. The 5’5”, 190-pounder wasn’t too disappointed, since
he knew he’d be hitting the new Wildcard Showdown on the night before the O, where, in fact, he did earn his place in the
Olympia lineup.
WOMEN This Priest Loves to Compete Barbie Guerra doesn’t

let small things—like
Ironically, while I was chatting ADD having no arms—
with Lee Priest, his soon to-be-ex GRRRLZ keep her from com
peting in fitness.
wife (I think) Cathy Priest was on-
stage in the figure competition.
Although she has not done as well as
she’d hoped in the switch from body-
building, she loves competing and is
happy she made the change. I also
saw Cathy, a.k.a. Pretty Blue Eyes,
holding court at the Gaspari Nutrition
booth. She said she’s been working
Photography by Lonnie Teper
for Gaspari and is close, she hopes, to

Photos courtesy of Barbara Guerra
signing a contract with the company.

Great news for both of us, Cathy!
You get the work, and Rich Gaspari
gets a Southern Cal rep who could
work his table at my Junior Cal Sometimes she
just borrows
Championships this year. In case you Betty Pariso’s.
Cathy reps Ripped Richie. Try need the info, it’s set for June 3 at
saying that 10 times quickly. Pasadena City College. Dinner’s on
me, Ripped Richie.

Add Pro Shows: Charlotte Ruse
Add
Warren-ty Upset victory
Promoter Makes Branch a major player
I’ve Dennis
ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH told Shawn Ray on James was
numerous occasions that
he should put his money on my
where his mouth is. “Pro flight to
mote your own contest, and Char
you can raise the prize money lotte,
as much as you want,” I advised
Sugar Shawn after he took to the
and
Internet message boards, blasting when
IM publisher John Balik about the I saw
lack of increases in the purse at him
Shawn Ray (right) wasted no
the IRON MAN Pro (a situation that at
time signing up Troy Alves for
should change in 2006).
He has. Thanks to Shawn’s spon LAX, I
his Colorado show. didn’t
sor, Vyo-Tec, the Colorado Pro-Am George Farah (far right) takes a break in the pose-
Classic, complete with two-day think down while (from left) Mustafa Mohammed, Branch
expo, will make its debut on May 12 and 13 in Denver. The pro- anyone Warren, Quincy Taylor and Dennis James mix it up.
physique segment will feature men’s bodybuilding and women’s
figure, with $25,000 landing in the hands of the men’s champ.
could
The $72,000 total prize money makes it the third-most-lucra touch him.
tive physique event in the land, behind the Olympia and the He was carrying 270 pounds on his 5’8” frame and looked to be
Arnold Classic. For more info on the happening, log in great condition.
on to www.coloradoproshow.com. Now, When he hit the stage on October 1, James was several pounds of
Shawn, aren’t you glad you listened to
me, for once? water off of that on-the-spot conditioning and was bested by the deserving
Branch Warren. Don’t let that defeat fool you. James has been as high as
fourth in the Olympia and is still a major player in this game.
George Farah was the biggest surprise of the show, finishing third and getting an Olympia qualifi
cation. Bulletproof certainly ain’t ever the biggest dude onstage, but he was in great shape for this one. Sure, the rumor
floating around was that, since Mustafa Mohammad and Quincy Taylor were already qualified, Farah was given the spot
so he could join the Vegas party, and the others took fourth and fifth, respectively.
Say what? What exactly would the judges gain by doing that? Like, they care who’s in, who’s out? Let’s give Farah the
credit for showing up in his all-time-best shape. You deserved it, by George!
Lightweight
champ Tonie
CHARLOTTE SCENES Norman was a
happy camper
all weekend.
And we know
why Johnny
Stewart has a
million-dollar
smile on his
Pete Ciccone, face.
flanked by Lauren
Jantz and Gabriela
Rodriguez at the
Instone booth.
Where’s Sly, guy? Shop at BulkNutrition
.com, and you’ll look as
huge as this guy.
lend
Always willing to
stic
a hand, the altrui
e to
L.T. took the tim
the
see if the gals at
ed
Hooters booth ne Vickie Nixon and
ere’s
ed any help. Wh hubby Brian
per?
your tank top, Te pose “cute”
Shannon Meteraud was a
after the
star backstage, instead of
show.
onstage, in North Carolina.

ADD CHARLOTTE MORE WINNERS
Man at the Mike Europa Supershow • September 16–17
Young promoter grows up quickly Clockwise

from upper
left: Bonny
Priest,
heavyweight
and overall;
Tonia
Williams,
lightweight;
Amanda
Savell,
www.billdobbins.com
www.billdobbins.com
figure; and
Tracey
Greenwood,
fitness.
Mike McCandless presents the BulkNutrition

.com Ultimate Man Award to James Grage.
Two week after the Europa Supershow

Bulk Nutrition owner Mike McCandless,
admittedly, “lost my ass” on the first ever Bulk
Nutrition Charlotte Pro weekend, but he
wasn’t going to let a little thing like a
$250,000 hit slow him down. “This is my first
time putting on an event, and I learned a lot
www.billdobbins.com
from it,” said the 26-year-old former track ace
from the University of North Carolina at Char
lotte. “Things really got bad when we told the
Convention Center to cancel the Friday-night
dodgeball event; they took it to mean that we
were canceling the entire night show, includ
ing bodybuilding.
Charlotte Pro • September 30–October 1
“Forty-eight hours before our women’s
show you couldn’t buy tickets through Ticket- Clockwise
master. It said the event had been cancelled. from upper
The same thing happened for the men’s event left: Jitka
Harazimova,
on Saturday, and it killed our show. I believe in heavyweight
this sport, and I’m going to prove there is a and overall;
demand for it. I’ll be back.” Tonie Nor
Where’d you get that line, Mike? man,
lightweight;
Kudos for your honesty, your effort and Davana
your resolve, kid. A lot of good things hap Medina,
pened in Charlotte over the weekend. Your figure; and
production was outstanding, with the ’60s set Julie Palmer,
fitness.
and enough audio and video effects for a rock
concert. Giving each competitor an individual
dressing room, with a mirror and power outlet,
was a classy move.The free live Webcast was
neat, and as the emcee, I appreciated the
hard work of Tres Bennett, Shannon Me
teraud and the rest of the backstage team,
who worked their bootys off all weekend.
“I plan on a totally unique experience next
year,” said McCandless. “I began designing a
new stage after the men’s finals. I will never
have a fan come to an event I put on and
leave disappointed. Check CharlottePro.com
for details on next year’s event; I promise it will
be the best show you ever will go to.”
Talk about getting knocked down to the
ground, wiping off the blood and charging
back into the ring. Keep punching, Big Mac.

IRON MAN Hardbody
Playmate
Power!
Karen McDougal, ’98 Playmate of the Year,

Hits the Weights for a Hard Body
Height: 5’8 1/2” Age: 34 Weight: 124 For good foods it’s chicken and steak. I love
to eat!”
Hometown: Sawyer, Michigan
Factoids: “I taught prekindergarten before I
Current residence: Los Angeles and Arizona got into the entertainment business. At a
swimwear contest I met a Playboy photogra
Occupation: Model, host and actor pher, and I tested for Playboy. I was Miss
December 1997 and then was honored as
Workout schedule: �I train four to five days a Playmate of the Year in 1998. Later, I was
week, usually working tri’s and bi’s on one picked to be the Readers’ Choice #2
day, legs on one day, shoulders and back Playmate of the ’90s (behind only Pam An
with a little chest on one day and then cardio derson). I’ve worked as a TV host and been
on all the other days. I just recently started in a few movies. I’ve modeled in national
doing ab training.” and international ad campaigns and contin
ue to model.”
Sample bodypart workout (legs): Single-leg
squats, 3-4 x 10-15; squats, 3 x 10-15; walking Future plans: “I would love to host a TV show
lunges, 3 sets; hamstring curls or stiff-legged of my own while continuing to model. I also
deadlifts, 3 sets want to have children. I have a great love of
children, and in the distant future I’d like to
Favorite foods: “My favorite bad foods are open a learning center for kids.”
pizza and donuts—and a lot of chocolate.
Contact info: www.karenmcdougal.com

IRON MAN Hardbody

IRON MAN Hardbody

IRON MAN Hardbody

IRON MAN Hardbody

IRON MAN Hardbody

IRON MAN Hardbody

IRON MAN Hardbody

IRON MAN Hardbody

Ruth Silverman’s
PUMP & CiRCUMSTANCE

O LY M P I A B L O W O U T
Hollerback, Girl This s**t is B-A-N-A-N-A-S

At some point when she was combing the Internet for costume ideas for her
Olympia fitness routine, something to go with Gwen Stefani’s popular ditty,
Jen Hendershott was struck by a stroke of genius. “Why not just come out
dressed as a giant banana?”
Worked for this reporter. And for the hundreds (if not thousands) of fans in the
Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on October 14 who witnessed her ascension to the
top of the fitness heap: ’05 Fitness Olympia champion.
If 2004 was the year of Adela Garcia, surprise winner at the Fitness Interna
tional—and the Olympia—then ’05 belonged to JenHen the minute she unseated
Adela at the International last March. At that show Hendershott prevailed in the
final tally even though Kelly Ryan beat her in the routine rounds. In Vegas, with
Flyin’ Ryan missing in action from the IFBB’s premier pro fitness event, the judges
were forced to give Hip-Hoppin’ Hendershott’s routines the attention they de
served.
In the past year her themes had covered the gamut from spirituality to blinga
locity. Center stage at the Orleans, with all eyes entranced and waiting for what
she’d do next, Jenny peeled off the fruit suit and went bananas—upstage, down
stage and everywhere in between. Total energy; total fun.
Perfect fives in the performance rounds plus a top-three landing in the one
piece-suit comparisons produced a four-point victory over Kim Klein, with
Garcia slipping to third.
Lots of stuff that makes you go hmmm there, eh? Keep reading, and perhaps
those hmmms will be answered.
www.BillDobbins.com
It’s hard not to be happy for Jen Hendershott, who’s been delighting fitness
audiences since 1997 with her routines. In case you didn’t make it to Vegas, it’s
not too late to check out IRON MAN’s photo galleries and unique audio cover
age of the ’05 Olympia weekend, including reports on all the contests and my
interview with the ecstatic new Fitness O champion, at www
.GraphicMuscle.com.
HAPPY CAMPERS MORE FITNESS

The Spirit of Team And the Rest of the Top Five Are…
Yaxeni Speaking of hollering
Tomas Garcia, husband of
Yaxeni Oriquen, gets the P&C
award for most enthusiastic
spouse for his performance at
the finals of the Ms. Olympia,
which were held, famously, at the
expo. Not being fluent in Span
ish, I didn’t understand a word
(except something that sounded
like glute), but it wouldn’t surprise From left: Julie Palmer, fifth; Tracey Green
wood, fourth; Kim Klein, second; and Adela
me if, “It’s all you, baby!” was part Garcia, third.
of the patter. After 12 years as a
pro, 38 competitions, with three Rumors. Those who might suggest that
Ms. International victories—and Adela Garcia’s more-than-just friendship with
Her husband’s encouragement a certain politically incorrect (and not in a good
came in many forms. Garcia’s three third-place finishes behind
original artwork—Yaxeni as super- Iris Kyle and/or eight-time Ms. way) bodybuilder was the real reason for her fall
heroine—appears on the back of to third at the O may want to take note: A week
O Lenda Murray—to her cred
the Team Yaxeni T-shirts the new later she struck gold with a win at the Sacramen
champ was selling at the expo. it, Yaxeni is now the best female
to Pro Fitness, where Julie Childs and Tanji
They’re available at her Web site, bodybuilder in the world. No Johnson took second and third, respectively,
www.yaxeni.com.
wonder the guy was so excited. locking up their invites to the 2006 Olympia.

M S. O MORE HAPPY CAMPERS
Size Matters When it looks like this
Being relegated to competing in an

expo sideshow didn’t stop the ladies of
the ’05 Ms. Olympia from pulling out all
the stops in their routines. Graceful,
open-handed muscle shots abounded. If
there was a theme, it was, “Muscle is
sexy and feminine, bub! Get used to it”—
perhaps directed at AMI/Weider honcho
David Pecker and others who made
the decision to banish the women body
builders from the Friday-night program.
“Don’t you wish your girlfriend was hot
like me? was the big question of the
afternoon, with a parade of female flex
ers, starting with Dayana Cadeau, who
did it with a silk scarf, undulating their abs Jenny Lynn, se
cond at the Fig
the second ye ure O for
and glutes to the Pussycat Dolls’ sultry ar in a row, cu
t a luscious
figure in this dr
query, while Yaxeni Oriquen com ess. She had a
guy on her arm luscious
as well, and a
manded attention with Christina Aguil later she won
the Sacramen
week
Figure. Some pe to Pro
era’s “I am beautiful no matter what they ople have all th
e lush.
say…I am beautiful in every single way.”
Perhaps that’s why she won.
Oriquen’s 5’7” of long, sculpted body-
parts and enviable symmetry earned the
38-year-old trainer from Venezuela by
way of south Florida an almost-perfect
Comstock
score of 21, with defending Ms. O overall

winner Iris Kyle knocked back to sec
ond place again and defending Ms. O
5’7” and counting. It’s all in lightweight winner Cadeau landing solidly
what you do with it. in third.
Confusion reigned regarding the
judges’ decisions made in the 20-percent-less-muscle era. Since every single one
finals (from
of the 15 women who made it to the Olympia stage thinks she is a) sexy, b) femi e the Fitness O
All smiles befor a Ric hards , Stacy
, Div
nine and c) smaller than last year, that’s understandable. It was easy for this ob left): Angel Tracy a and
on s, Angie Se msch, Adela Garci
server to understand Yaxeni’s appeal: She was not too hard and not too soft, and Sim see Cz em pinski’s
ski. To
Debbie Czempin .
she moved like a queen. after shot turn the
pa ge
Anyone who thought the panel would do something really radical—like choose
a symmetrical-but-smaller entry like Jitka Harazimova—just doesn’t know
these cowhands (see the item below).
COMEBACKS
Re Harazimova What did I mean

by that?
A highlight of the Ms. O for those who care about
these things was the return after a six-year absence
of ’90s Czech sensation Jitka Harazimova, who left
Photography by Ruth Silverman
the scene after the ’99 Ms International, had two

children, now three and four, and watched while
women’s pro bodybuilding went this way and that.
Taking to heart the IFBB Pro Division’s renewed Friday night at Big
Al’s Oyster Bar
(from left): Christine
commitment to more aesthetically developed female Newsome, Chan
dra Stammen, Chast
physiques, she got the itch to compete, reportedly ity Sloan, Latisha
Wilder and Robin Ch
Comstock
entering the Charlotte Pro after only a couple of annell celebrate

Chas’ and Latisha’s
Olympia debuts in
months of serious preparation. She took the overall the figure show. Phy
sique athletes
there, and though she was not quite put together are always more jov
ial when the
smoothly enough to score an upset at the big show, postcontest meal is
at hand.
she was good enough to land in fourth. Imagine what
Now, that’s a V-taper! she could do if she really put her mind to it.

PUMP & CiRCUMSTANCE
MORE SMILES FLEXERS
Gospel Truth So much for the rumor mill Overlooked (IMHO)

Smaller
Jen Hendershott’s early-season victory at matters.
the Fitness International notwithstanding, it was Mah-
difficult to ignore all the precontest hype sur Ann
rounding coming-on-strong Jersey jewel Kim Men
Klein, who bore the tag of “next Fitness doza.
Olympia champ” through much of the year.
Bird-dog sleuthing reveals that the story may be
related to remarks Kelly Ryan made when she
let folks know that she wouldn’t be competing
at the O—mainly that there was no point, as it
had already been determined that Klein would
be the winner. It’s not hard to see how Ryan,
who was likely still smarting from Klein’s having
knocked her out of the top three at the Interna
tional, might have gotten that impression. That
the thing developed a life of its own is an inter
esting study in the nature of gossip. By August
the message boards had it as a done deal, and The naysayers who predicted that
Though the rumor that she’d people were sending me photos of Klein la the smaller woman would have a
inheriting the fitness throne beled, “the next Ms. Fitness O.”
proved to be exaggerated, harder time now that the IFBB has
Apparently, the judges didn’t get the memo.
Kim Klein was thrilled to
In fact, they loved Klein’s physique—to within
done away with weight classes in
move into the runner-up spot. pro-women’s bodybuilding got plenty
a point of the way they loved Adela
Garcia’s—but the intense competition in the two-minute routines, where the of ammo when the results were
nimble Kimberly landed in fourth behind Jen Hendershott, Mindi O’Brien posted. Did her being only 5’2” keep
and Debbie Czempinski—probably kept the rumor from becoming fact. Mah-Ann Mendoza out of the top
10 in Las Vegas, or was it the fact
that she was pound-for-pound hardly
Whoa! Julie the most muscular woman onstage?
PUMP SHOTS and
Michelle The jury is still out as to whether
sure know that’s an advantage these days.
how to
improve on
Also worthy of the P&C Ignored
the old Award was San Angelo, Texas, star
side-chest Bonny Priest, whose 5’5 1/2” of
compari
son. We packed, well-conditioned muscle
can't wait could have finished higher than sixth.
to see their
Casandra back dou
ble-bi'. Under
and Denise wraps at
undress to the Meet
impress. the Ath
Wow! (We letes event,
decided not Bonny hit
to go with the stage in
the obvious beautiful
pet-my-kitty condition.
commen
tary.)
How many
body
builders
can you
get in a
limo?
Depends
on the
level of
pump—
and
whether
anyone Did these dames get dissed? Check
r down.
's di et finally takes he f a table brought a them out in the Olympia gallery at IM’s
Debbie umbs of
ks bread cr full-length
Here she lic rb allotmen
t. mirror. www.GraphicMuscle.com.
r da ily ca
for he

OPINIONS COUPLES
Dis the Girls Ruthless reviews the O Mushy Stuff

Don’tcha just love this story?
If I must, I must. Fact is, I always
have a good time at these shindigs,
and this was no exception. I enjoyed Figure
the Orleans Hotel very much, and it O fourth-
was great to see everyone. The expo placer
was fine too, although the hotel’s Amber
isolation from both the Las Vegas Little-
Strip and the Convention Center was john met
a greater problem than I’d anticipat her
ed—particularly the logistics of get honey
ting from the hotel to the expo and Jeff
back, which would still have been a McCar
20-minute ride even if the shuttles rell
and taxis had been plentiful, which because
they weren’t. Not all the Cinderellas at he saw
this ball found prince charmings with her photo
limos two days in a row to rescue in IRON IM breaks the ice.
them. (Thanks, guys, and save me a MAN. It
seat next year.) Fixing the transporta was a Hardbody layout by Bill
tion snag will no doubt be high on the Dobbins, a shoot Littlejohn earned after
promoters’ to-do list for 2006. winning the ’03 Figure Nationals. McCar
Even the glitches (of which there rell, who owns Nutrex Research, was so
were many) were fodder for amuse impressed, he wrote to her and asked her
ment. Since my beat focuses more out. Amber agreed but brought her mom
Enough with the nitpicking; bring on the
girls. Davana Medina was positively on the women, I’ll leave it to others to along on the date—in case he turned out
blooming after she won the Figure O for critique the 40th-anniversary presen to be a nut. Somehow true love prevailed,
the third year in a row. tation of the Mr. Olympia competition, and the pair recently announced their
a.k.a. the Saturday-night show. Let’s engagement.
just say that jokes made at the expense of male genitalia were flying among the
more smart-mouth observers in the seats.
As for the women’s competitions, my comments about the decision to banish MORE FIGURE
the bodybuilders from the Friday-night “women’s show” to make way for a Mr. And the
Olympia Wildcard qualifier appeared in the September installment of this column,
and nothing that occurred during Big O Weekend changed that opinion. If anything, Real Winner Is…
I felt badly for the fitness and figure competitors, busting their asses to be the open For the She’ll
ing act for a bush-league boys’ show. corps of be IM’s
The 2,000-seat difference in the houses N O TA B L E S photogra Hard-
body
made it difficult to make an eyeball com phers snap next
I almost Naked month.
parison of the Friday-night numbers for didn’t rec with ping from
2004 and ’05. Wonder what the actual ognize out a various press
take was this time—vs. last year and vs. Cynthia pin in pits during
James her
2000, the year the women’s show actu the weekend,
without her mouth.
ally made money at the Mandalay Bay. sewing the true
Bill Dobbins posted a lengthy analy machines, Figure
sis of all this in the free pages at although Olympia
the peri
BillDobbins.com. I agree with a lot of it, champion
patetic
particularly his point about the lack of Florida wasn’t Da
backstage access for media members fitter insists vana Medi
who don’t happen to work for the pro she hasn’t na, Jenny
Comstock
traveled
moter. Since the promoters’ magazines Lynn or
with them
don’t give much coverage to the since after Monica
women’s competitions, why not give 9/11, when Brant. Veter
access to those who do cover—and, by they in ans and newbies alike, the guys with the
curred the suspicion of a zealous airport
extension, promote—them? I don’t view through a lens went for newcomer
security guard. Celebrating her birthday
usually complain about this stuff in at the Olympia dressed as a wild cat, Valerie Waugaman. Don’t let her sev
print—it’s not the readers’ problem, and the owner of C.J.’s Elite Competition enth-place finish in Vegas fool ya, fellas.
you find another place to take a pic- Wear, often a busy figure backstage at The statuesque and charismatic Wauga
these events, got a rare opportunity to
ture—but Dobbins’ may be on to some man hit the fast track at the Sacramento
view her handiwork from the audience.
thing. Ah, for the old days, when a girl Among the athletes hitting the boards in Pro Figure, where she slid into second
could get backstage by disguising herself C.J.’s suits: Olympia winners Jen Hen ahead of Monica Brant. Now, that’s a
as Mitsuru Okabe. dershott and Yaxeni Oriquen. placing to start a rumor about.

PUMP & CiRCUMSTANCE
Orleans Scenes
A slimmed-
down
Valentina The
Chepiga award
says she’s for most
waiting to interest
see where ing job
women’s goes to
bodybuild Michael
ing is Zeltzer.
heading. (No,
really,
he’s an
algebra
teacher.)
-placer
y. Ms. O third Iris’ thigh. Defendin
Dayana’s cr , last year’s g Ms. O Iris Kyle
de au dropped a few pou
Dayana Ca a loss to nds in response
winner, is at ally
lightweight r sy m metric
to the 20-percent-le
ss-muscle edict,
hy he but her granite gam
explain w come Ms. s are very much
lf did not be inine, in the house at Me
muscular se et tier, fem et the Olympians.
“I’m pr
Olympia. ea
ok exactly lik
sexy and lo ild er should look
.”
dy bu
woman bo re , Dayana.
en t he
No argum
Jenny’s guy.
Lifelong Ohioans
Jen Hendershott
and hubby Brian On the other ha
“I swear I can’t eat nd,
Kinn are moving maybe Dennis
another bite,” says Abby James
to Charlotte, North Duncan. Ah, c’mon, will finish it for
you.
Carolina, where Abby, it’s cheesecake.
Brian’s taking the
job of CEO of Bulk
Nutrition. “For 10 To contact Lonnie Teper about
Mary Elizabeth Lado’s dry. At least in terms of the years he’s focused material possibly pertinent to
Louisiana figure belle’s being safe from the ravages of on me,” admitted News & Views, write to 1613
Hurricane Katrina. Another competitor whom the the new Fitness O Chelsea Road, #266, San
oddsmakers tabbed for an upset victory, Lado, “didn’t champ. “Now it’s Marino, CA 91108; fax to (626)
do things right and was holding water,” she said. Still, his turn.” 289-7949; or send e-mail to
she managed a top-five finish at her first Olympia.
Neveux
[email protected].
Amanda Savell
breaks her year You can contact Ruth Silver-
long contest diet.
man, fitness reporter and
Pump & Circumstance scribe,
in care of IRON MAN, 1701
Ives Ave., Oxnard, CA 93033;
or via e-mail at
Neveux
[email protected].
You can contact Jerry

Fredrick, ace photographer for
Hot Shots and Hardcore
Training, in care of IRON MAN,
ka! It’s
“Vodka, schmod rs Tonie Norman 1701 Ives Ave., Oxnard, CA
ea
Diet Sprite,” sw “I’m (Are firefighte
looks hot. 93033; or via e-mail at
m.
Sandra Wickha
Neveux
rs allowed
amento to be hot?) [email protected].
doing the Sacr
next week.”

Only the Strong Shall Survive
Model: Steven Segers
244 JANUARY 2006 www.ironmanmagazine.com

Back to the
Rack
Iso Programs for All Part 7
by Bill Starr • Photography by Michael Neveux
ast month I presented two sam involved in a competitive sport
ple programs that gave priority and are somewhat advanced in
to isotonic-isometric exercises strength training and for those
and used free-weight move- who train primarily for strength
ments as adjuncts to the rack fitness. The former group includes
work. There was a routine for athletes who participate in foot-
Olympic weightlifters and another ball, wrestling, rugby, lacrosse
for competitive powerlifters. and the throwing events in track
Those programs are most effec plus all those strongman and
tively used off-season, during woman events that have become
breaks from important competi so popular. Of course, any ath
tions, although several York lifters lete can benefit from an iso pro
used them in-season and tested gram. Swimmers at Indiana
out at the meets. Typically, you do University, runners from Villanova
them for six to eight weeks, then and rowers from the Vesper Boat
shift the emphasis back to more Club in Philadelphia were among
free-weight work, putting isos in a the first to show significant
supplemental role. strength improvement while using
The two programs I outline this the new system of strength train
month are for athletes who’ re ing in the early ’ 60s.
Rack Rack Rack

Back to the Rack
The latter group consists of On non-iso

younger and older weight trainers day do two
who want to maintain a high level
of strength or improve some partic sets of five
ular lift but have no intention of on front
entering any competition. They just squats
like the idea of being strong.
followed by
Isotonic-Isometric Program three sets
for Strength Athletes of three.
Model: Ken Yasuda \ Equipment: Powertec power rack, 1-800-447-0008 or www.Home-Gym.com

This is a five-days-a-week rou
tine, but you can modify it to fit
your schedule. You do the iso work
in the rack on Monday, Wednesday
and Friday and use the free weights
on Tuesday and Thursday.
Monday
Three incline-press positions,
the steeper the better: start, eye
level and finish. If you don’t have
an incline bench, substitute
overhead presses for the same
three positions.
Three pulling positions using a
clean grip: start, just below the
knees and high top pull. The final
position is where you finish your
pull for a power clean, right at
the bottom of your breastbone,
and climb high on your toes
before locking into the top pins.
Three back-squat positions: bottom and middle. If you can’t level and four inches under lock
deep bottom (try to set yourself
do front squats, substitute those out. If you did inclines on Mon
lower than you go when you
same two positions for back day, do standing presses. If you
squat), midpoint and three-
squats. substituted overheads for in
quarters of the way up.
clines on Monday, you can do
Calf raises. either benches or overheads at
Calf raises. this workout.
Thursday Three back-squat positions:
Tuesday ultradeep, midpoint and three-
High pulls, alternating clean
Power cleans: five sets of five. and snatch grips every other quarters of the way up.
week: five sets of five. Calf raises.

Back squats: five sets of five.
Inclines: five sets of five
Good mornings: four sets of 10. Since you’re building pure
Front squats: two sets of five strength with the iso workouts, your
Bench presses: five sets of five.
followed by three sets of three. objective on the free-weight days is
Again, if you don’t do front to hone your form on the selected
Wednesday squats, do back squats: five sets exercises. The only one you need to
of five. push to limit is the good morn-
Three bench press positions:
start, middle and finish. ings—and that’s to ensure that your
Friday lower back stays proportionately as
Three pulling positions using a strong as the other parts of your
snatch or wider grip: slightly Three pulling positions using a back. Whenever I did several weeks
below the starting point, just clean grip: midshin, right at the of concentrated isos, I felt my lum
above the knees and at the belly knees and a shrug, staying flat bars were lagging behind a bit, so I
button. footed.
always did good mornings and
Two front-squat positions: deep Three press positions: start, worked them hard. Should you

Back to the Rack

Incline presses are more
beneficial to athletes
than flat benches.
have an aversion to good mornings, Every three or four weeks skip a 12-count without an all-out effort.
you can do almost-straight-legged the Friday iso session and test out For those to be effective, that hold
deadlifts-a.k.a. stiff-legged dead- on the big three on Saturday: power has to make your body shudder.
lifts-instead, but you have to do clean, squat and bench press. Some Also, sometimes you don’t make
them with intensity. trainees like to do inclines rather progress on a particular exercise
On all the other exercises use than flat-bench presses, and that simply because you’re not working
moderate poundages. Lifting slight works just as well. In fact, I believe it frequently enough. For example,
ly lighter weights will enable you to inclines are more beneficial for you find on your test day that your
pay closer attention to your tech athletes than flat-bench presses. bench press hasn’t gone up at all. So
nique, which should be your main The test day is helpful in that it instead of doing inclines and over
purpose. It’s easy to lose concentra lets you handle some heavier head presses in the rack that next
tion and hurry through your rou weights, which means you can week, do three bench press posi
tine because you know you can check out whether your form is tions at every iso session and see if
handle the weights easily enough, improving and you have gained that makes a difference. It should.
but that won’t aid your cause. At strength on the various movements. I’ll comment more on weight selec
tempt to perform each rep perfect Isos always seem to boost one or tion for the isos later on, but now I
ly, and make sure that your final two lifts more than others. When want to outline a program for those
sets aren’t so light that you can use you resume your isos the following who are primarily interested in
sloppy form and still make all the week, you must give preference to strength fitness.
reps. the lifts that made the least im

Which brings up the question: provement. Remember that the Isotonic-Isometric Program
How heavy is moderate? Some goal is always to find your weak
for General Strength
people use percentages, but I prefer points and make them stronger.
just taking a bit off the top end. Now, I don’t mean that you Fitness
Let’s say you’re able to handle 325 should do more positions for the This one is set up the same way
for five on the bench press. While weakest bodyparts. Three is suffi as the previous routine: five days a
giving the isos precedence, work up cient, but you can give them priori week, three days doing isos, two
to 300 or 305 at most. My rule of ty by moving them to the front of doing free-weight exercises. I’m
thumb is to select a weight for my the workout and making sure that using a few different exercises in
final set that I could use for one or you’re working to absolute max on this program. You can delete some
two more reps if I wanted to. You’ll your isometric holds. In some cases and add others to suit your individ
still have to put in plenty of effort, the weight you use at the various ual interests. Keep in mind that
but the lighter weight will make it positions may not be as much as it almost any exercise that can be
much easier to concentrate on the could be. In that case you lock the done with free weights can be du
small form points. bar into the top pins and hold it for plicated in the power rack. It may

Back to the Rack
take some imagination, but I’ve eye level and just short of lock stone. I know it’s a cliché, and I try
seen athletes do good mornings out. to avoid using them, but in this case
and even leg curls using isometrics. Two squat positions: ultradeep it gets the point across. Use the
bottom and a tad above parallel. routines as listed or modify them to
Monday fit what you’re trying to accomplish.
Three curl positions: start, mid For example, you may want to
Three pulling positions using a dle and finish. stick with isos throughout the week
clean grip: start, just below the Calf raises. and go heavy on all the lifts on
knees and top high pull. Satuarday. That’s how the original
Three positions on the bench
As with the other program, skip program was designed and how
press: start, middle and just
the Friday workout every so often, Louis Riecke and Bill March trained
below lockout.
come in on Saturday and go to limit with great success in the early ’60s.
on the primary exercises. You might They did overhead presses, squats
Two back-squat positions: deep also see if your curling strength has and pulls in the rack during the
bottom and just below parallel. improved. Note your weaker lifts week, then totaled out on the three
Two curl positions: middle and and lean on them hard when you go Olympic lifts—press, snatch and
finish. back to the isos. clean and jerk—on Saturday.
I’ve mentioned this before, but Perhaps you’d rather use free
Calf raises. I’ll state it again: These programs weights three times a week and
are models. They’re not cast in work in the rack only twice. What
Tuesday ever floats your boat. As for whether
If you have an aversion to you should do isos often or seldom,
Back squats: five sets of five there are some rules that should be
Good mornings or almost
good mornings, you can adhered to if you want to make
straight-legged deadlifts: four
do almost-straight progress.
sets of 10.
Only do three positions for the
legged deadlifts instead. major muscle groups: shoulder
Bench presses: five sets of five.
Wednesday
Three bent-over-row positions:
start, middle and finish.
Three incline-press position:
start, eye level and just short of
lockout.
Three back-squat positions:
deep bottom, right at parallel
and three-quarters of the way up.
Three pushdown positions:
start, middle and finish.
Calf raises.
Thursday
Alternate incline presses with

overhead presses: two sets of
five and then three sets of three.
If you can do front squats, do
five sets of three. For back
squats stay with five sets of five.
Shrugs: five sets of five
Friday
Model: John Hansen
Three pulling positions: below

starting position, midthigh and
finish, high on your toes.
Three pressing positions: start,

Back to the Rack
at the start of the workout they do

three sets rather than just one: the
first with a light weight, the second
with a moderate poundage and the
third as a heavy work set. They do
three reps on the first and second
sets, tapping the top pins each time
but not holding the bar against
them for a count. On the work set
they can go right to the iso hold on
the first rep or tap the pins once or
twice before locking it into an iso
metric contraction for a count of
eight to 12. The preparatory tap or
taps give lifters a feel for the work
weight and make sure their me
chanics are correct. If everything
isn’t right, they can stop and make
the necessary adjustments before
locking into the isometric hold.
At the second position for that
bodypart they can either follow the
Be sure to same procedure and do two
warmup sets or, if they’re confident
warm up that they know what they’re trying
well before to accomplish, they can go directly
to the work set. There they can tap
heading to the top pins once or twice prior to
the rack. the isometric contraction or lock in
Get your on the first rep. Obviously, the more
you practice the system, the more
core body proficient you’ll become. Doing
Model: Eric Domer
temperature extra sets at each position does

make the workout longer, but when
up. you’re in the learning stage, it’s well
worth it.
On the subject of workout time,
girdle, back, and hips and legs. If of the first group you plan to hit in move through the iso workout with
you work those three positions the rack, such as a set of power purpose. After you finish warming
diligently, doing additional posi cleans before you pull, free-hand up, set up for your first position, do
tions won’t make them stronger. In squats before you squat or dumb the iso, unload, move the bar to the
fact, it’s counterproductive to do bell front and lateral raises before next position, reload and quickly
extra work for any bodypart. Ad you do benches, inclines or over perform the isotonic-isometric
vanced strength athletes can get head presses. exercise—and on to the next until
away with working three or four Along the same line of common you’ve completed your session. No
more positions for the smaller sense, before you move on to the breaks at all. You’ll discover that
groups, such as calves, biceps and second and third series of posi you don’t need them and that you
triceps, but the majority of trainees tions, make sure those bodyparts achieve greater results when you
are better off sticking with nine are adequately prepared for the move through the positions quickly.
positions total—and never more stress ahead. When you thoroughly In that regard, it really helps to
than 12. warm up muscle groups, they re have a training partner when you
Be sure to warm up well before spond much more favorably to any do isos. Two training mates are
going to the rack. Get your core form of exercise, and that’s even even better to help you with un
body temperature up by doing more the case with isotonic-iso loading and reloading and moving
calisthenics or riding an exercise metrics because the sets are so the pins and bar to the next posi
bike for five to 10 minutes. Next, do concentrated and short in duration. tion. A little trick to aid in that pro
something for your abs and lum Warm muscles are also less prone cess is to place a bench or chair
bars. Do situps, crunches or leg to injury. next to the ends of the bar and
raises for the abs. Do hyperexten Here’s a variation that I’ve found stack the weights on it. That saves
sions, which flush blood into your helps athletes learn how to put time and energy and will enable
lower back in a hurry. Finally, grab a forth greater effort on the money you to complete the workout much
light weight and work the muscles reps. On the first position of a series faster.

Back to the Rack
Weighty Matters however. I’ve trained on some on

Whether you decide to use just a few isotonic-isometric positions as which the holes were set six inches
supplements to your regular routine or want to give the rack work priority apart. Certainly not ideal, but by
for six to eight weeks, you’ll find this unique system of strength work to be standing on boards or plates, I was
extremely productive. In the beginning you’ll work through lots of trial still able to lean into the isometric
and error until you learn your strong and weak positions. Keep in mind contractions for the required count.
that hold time is more important than the amount of weight used in the When moving the bar isotonical
isotonic-isometric system. So if you’re unable to hold the iso contraction ly upward, don’t jam it against the
for a minimum of eight seconds, use less weight, and if you can easily top pins. Think in terms of how
handle a certain poundage for 12 seconds and you know you could hold it you’d go about pushing a car. You’d
even longer, you need to increase the resistance. never get it to move by jamming
Should you barely hold a contraction for eight seconds, stay with that against it. Rather, you’d set it in
same weight until you can hold it for 12, and then add weight. Let’s say motion by applying pressure and
you start into a work set and instantly realize that the weight is too heavy increasing it steadily until the car
for you to hold for the minimum count. Stop, take off some plates, and do began to move.
it again. Likewise, when the weight you select is clearly too light, replace The same idea applies to the
the bar on the lower pins and add weight. isotonic-isometric contraction. Fix
You also want to remember to write down what you do at each iso ses the bar against the top pins deliber
sion. Record the hole positions, the amount of weight handled and how ately, make sure your body position
long you held the contraction. If you use warmup sets, note them as well. is correct, and then start applying
This data will be extremely valuable in the long run. Years later you can tension to the bar. Over the course
look at your training journal and use the information again—maybe not of four or five seconds you should
for yourself but for someone you’re coaching. increase the tension until you’re
After an iso session find a way to decompress your back. Overhead pushing or pulling to the absolute
work, squats and pulls all put a tremendous amount of stress on your max. Now lock into that extreme
spine, and it’s very beneficial to your health and long-term progress to contraction for a count of eight to
relieve at least some of that strain. Inversion boots are great and available 12. While you’re in the middle of
again, as are inversion beds, which tilt upward and save you the trouble of that surreal experience, focus on
finding a high chinning bar. the muscle groups you’re working
At the York Barbell Club the lifters decompressed their backs by hang and visualize them growing
ing upside down from a chinning bar with their feet fastened to the bar stronger as the count progresses.
with straps. It wasn’t comfortable by any means, but it got the job done. The Zen of strength training.
When I first dangled upside down, my fingers would be six inches from I can’t overstress that point: The
the floor. Five minutes later I could touch the concrete. Most of us decom only way to contract your muscles
pressed in that manner after every heavy workout, and it really helped maximally and hold them in that
prepare us for our next session. In the event that it’s not possible for you state of extreme tension for the
to hang upside down, strap onto a chinning bar and coax your back mus desired count is to keep your body
cles to relax as you hang. That will be better than not doing anything at all rigid throughout the iso hold. And
to decompress your spine. —B.S. the best way to achieve that is to
start from a solid base. Push your
feet down into the floor, conscious
You don’t have to follow the exact the bar when they lock into the ly contract your legs, hips, glutes,
order of the positions as I listed isometric hold. When they do that, back, shoulders and arms almost to
them in the sample routines. You their mechanics are not correct— the point of cramping, and stay in
may want to give your weakest usually they’re leaning too far back that state of tightness until you
position priority and move it up ward or forward. reach your goal of eight to 12 sec
front, with your second weakest Keep in mind that if you’re not onds.
second and strongest third. While positioning your body exactly as Some trainees believe that a five
that seems logical, some trainees you do when you perform an exer to-six-second contraction is suffi
find that they can exert the most cise with free weights, you’re not cient to build strength, and I agree
effort at the third position for a going to gain any strength from if the athlete is experienced in this
certain bodypart. That’s partly doing isos on it. So learn to fix the system of training. I’ve found that
because they’re more warmed up bar in the middle of the pins, away those in the process of learn isoton
and partly because they’re getting from the railings, and make sure ic-isometric technique benefit
in the groove after the two previous your body mechanics are correct more by doing the longer count.
sets. In that case do the weakest before commencing the isometric
position last. If all the positions are hold. Editor�s note: Bill Starr was a
about equal, it’s still a good idea to Speaking of pins, the closer you strength and conditioning coach at
switch the order around regularly. can set them to one another, the Johns Hopkins University from
A common error many beginners easier the isotonic portion of the 1989 to 2000. He’s the author of The
make is to use the railings of the movement will be. Not all power Strongest Shall Survive and Defying
rack to help control and balance racks have holes closer together, Gravity. IM

Mind
In the Mood for Muscle Are you a worrier
or a warrior?
IRONMIND
ood, bad, happy, sad, positive, negative—the range muscle you build, how fast you build it and whether you
G of moods is almost endless. Is one mood best for

building muscle?
“Of course not,” you say. “Muscle isn’t a mental thing.
like the process or not. Add to this the fact that your
moods are far more under your control than you might
imagine, and you have a powerful training tool. Let’s lay
Muscle is about as real as it gets, and moods are some out the program.
fuzzy idea psychologists dreamed up.” For starters, your mood influences whether you even
Moods, in fact, influence muscles. More to the point, make it into the gym. For example, if you’re feeling slug
your moods will be a major determinant of how much gish, you’ll probably be “too tired” to train; or if you’re
feeling discouraged, you’ll proba
bly feel that training isn’t likely to
be productive anyway, so why
bother trying? If, however, you’re
brimming with enthusiasm, you’ll
probably have energy to burn and
a sense of being able to accom
plish pretty much whatever you
like. If you want proof of that
process, think about a time when,
out of the blue, you got some
great news and your overall enthu
siasm and energy levels soared as
a result. On the other hand, you
know what a damper bad news
can be—it just takes the wind out
of your sails.
Your moods have a strong
physiological component. These
events that you think of as existing
only between your ears are tied to
myriad biochemical processes in
your body. You know the line
about how stress kills? That
means a host of internal changes
are triggered by a reaction to
stress. Those physiological pro
cesses are most closely tied to
negative emotions such as anger
and anxiety.
Training in and of itself is a
stressor, and, in fact, it has to be if
you’re going to gain in size and
Think of yourself as having a strength. Too much stress, howev
er, especially unproductive stress,
Neveux
stress budget. Whatever you

spend on worrying will not triggers all the negative emotions,
be available for building
muscle.

BODY
which will only impede your training progress because they
squander resources that you could use for muscle-building
purposes.
the dreaded
but-effective
ones. Other
Think of yourself as having a stress budget: Whatever you people prosper
spend on worrying won’t be available for building muscle. On the by getting the
other side of the equation, certain positive emotions can not only tough stuff out
help you get to the gym and give each workout your best shot of the way first
but also help you recover from your training. That’s why some of and glide
the fabled Eastern European training systems specifically culti through the
vate a tranquil, relaxed state of mind as a restorative post-training remainder. Don’t
tool. In other words, if you focus on being calm and relaxed after be afraid to
your training, it will help you recover. Is that a deal or what? experiment and
Relaxing and feeling good will help you grow. see what works
Neveux \ Model: Jay Cutler

While some researchers might argue that the physiological best for you.
reactions are nearly automatic, we can learn to control such Third, remem
things as the intensity and duration of our emotional reactions. ber that good
The process begins when we understand that we don’t have old behavioral
to be slaves to our emotions. Put two people on a freeway, for psychology
instance, have them both get cut off by another driver and, principles apply
Get-big attitude in action.
while one explodes with a string of vile epithets, the other here: Act angry
might calmly say, “I guess he didn’t see me.” The first driver and you’ll feel
goes over the edge emotionally, while the second keeps his angry. Act calm and you’ll feel calm. That’s why—even though it
reserves for a more productive purpose. Try to moderate your sounds dopey to tell people to try smiling if they want to feel
reactions to unexpected situations, realizing that 1) you can better—it really works. Talk about a free and easy mood elevator.
influence your response, 2) you’ll benefit from staying in charge Fourth, bad-hair days will come around, but don’t let them
emotionally, and 3) giving in to the full force of your moods is a ruin things for you. When you’re not on track for a peak perfor
childish indulgence. mance, rather than caving in and quitting, cut the weights,
Interestingly, researchers have found evidence that we be shorten your routine or follow some other plan that enables you
gin to learn some of our most basic lessons about emotional to train productively. Doing a new personal best each day isn’t a
management when we’re mere infants, and one of the striking realistic goal, but doing the best you’re capable of that day is.
findings is that even when we’re only a few months old, we Fifth, remember that your moods are contagious, so if you
can catch the emotions of the people around us. Infants can want to be bummed out or unproductive, hang out with nega
become more passive, depressed and a variety of other nega tive people. On the other hand, if you want to get somewhere,
tive things when they’re around mothers who are so inclined spend your time with a positive, productive crowd—you’ll be
themselves. The flip side of that finding is the suggestion that swept forward on the wave of collective optimism.
we can learn to seize control of and manage our moods. Enthusiasm, optimism, purpose, determination, focus,
First, remember that you’re in charge, so if you’re tempted control—the moods for muscle are many. Put them to use for
to just blow up, give up or in some other way throw in the yourself.
emotional towel, remind yourself that you’re in control. Talk to —Randall Strossen, Ph.D.
yourself and come to grips with the upsetting event in a level
headed manner. If you don’t succeed immediately, try again. Editor’s note: Randall Strossen, Ph.D., edits the quarterly
Second, use some specific mood-management tools in magazine MILO. He’s also the author of IronMind: Stronger
your training. For example, if you tend to have trouble with the Minds, Stronger Bodies; Super Squats: How to Gain 30
idea of going through your whole workout, coax yourself into Pounds of Muscle in 6 Weeks and Paul Anderson: The Mighti
the gym by saying that you’re only going to do the first part. est Minister. For more information call IronMind Enterprises
Similarly, try to structure your workout to best complement Inc. at (530) 265-6725 or Home Gym Warehouse at (800) 447
your emotional makeup. Some people like to build up momen 0008, ext. 1. Visit the IronMind Web site at www
tum by doing all their favorite exercises first and then hitting .ironmind.com.

Perspective
MIND/BODY
Accolades for the Classic Physique
recent survey by IRON MAN
A uncovered the fact that the

majority of bodybuilders would
prefer having a classic physique. The
natural classic physique of the late
Steve Reeves received 25 percent of
the votes in the survey and exceeded
the percentage of votes received by
anyone with a so-called freaky
physique.
Steve was also the most admired
bodybuilder during the 1950s and
’60s. He won all the major physique
contests, including Mr. America, Mr.
World and Mr. Universe. Then he went
on to star in Hercules and several
other classic hero movies. He inspired
millions of young men, including me,
to become bodybuilders.
Steve’s philosophy of life was “one
of adaptation and to lead a balanced
life.” He also said, “I honestly believe
that any boy or man who wants to
can build his body to very good pro
portions. It is a matter of sticking to it.”
Steve developed his classic
physique by following a physical
culture lifestyle that included weight
training, power walking, power biking,
good nutrition and natural supple
ments. He never used steroids or any
other illegal performance-enhancing
drugs.
As noted in the August ’05 issue of
the Association of Oldetime Barbell &
Strongmen Journal, “It seems that
anyone with any significant muscle
and/or strength is immediately pre
sumed to be a juicer today.” It’s time
for our favorite sport—bodybuilding—
to return to the physical culture
lifestyle that existed before steroids
invaded America in 1960.
As Steve said, “Let’s give future
bodybuilders a sport that has integrity
and honor—and a method of training
that will not only give them wonderful
physiques but also provide them with
a lifetime of health, vitality and peace
of mind.”
—Grover L. Porter, Ph.D.
Editor’s note: The quotations

attributed to Steve were excerpted
from Dynamic Muscle Building, by
Steve Reeves with John Little and
George Helmer (Malibu, CA: Classic
Image Productions, 2003).

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Adornments MIND/BODY
MIND/BODY
Body Art Tats ain’t temporary, ya know
hen I was a little kid
W back in the groovy

’70s, having tattoos
on your body meant you be
longed to some special group
of people apart from main
stream society. Essentially, they
signified you’d been in the
military, in prison, in a biker
gang or possibly all three. Most
likely, you were some kind of
bad-ass with whom nobody
Neveux \ Model: George Olessen

wanted to trifle—if they knew
what was good for them.
A couple of decades later,
though, a curious thing hap
pened. Tattoos very rapidly
went mainstream and became
trendy, not only for men but
also for women. Nowadays it’s
almost hard to find someone ing and break up the otherwise pleas
between the ages of 18 and 35 who ing lines of a well-built body.
doesn’t have a tattoo, and they have If you must get tattoos, some spots
lost all meaning in terms of identifying that would be less intrusive would be
ad
you as part of a particular group. If between the shoulder blades, the
you’re wondering what that all has to lower back, the undersides of the
do with bodybuilding, it’s this: A very forearms, and the ankles. Once in a
large percentage of bodybuilders are while someone writes to me and
among those getting inked. The ques wants to know if tattoos count against
tion is, Do tattoos distract from or you in bodybuilding competition. I say,
even ruin an otherwise exceptional it depends on how many you have,
body? how large and prominent they are,
I believe they certainly can. That’s and where they’re located. Some like
something to consider seriously be to point out that six-time Mr. Olympia
fore getting a tattoo. Tattoos are Dorian Yates had tattoos, and they
forever. Yes, you can get them re certainly never held him back from
moved using lasers, but the proce winning the biggest title in the sport.
dure is quite expensive and They forget that Dorian’s two tattoos
exceedingly painful, and it leaves you were located on his forearms and that
with an ugly scar that’s often more you barely noticed them once he put
unsightly than the original tattoo. If you on his Pro Tan. I’ve been to amateur
have the goal of sculpting a living events where guys had “full sleeves,”
work of art out of your body via weight or tattoos that covered every square
training, there are specific locations inch of their arms from the shoulder
you should avoid having body art joint to the wrist. I don’t care how
applied to. great your arms are built: They aren’t
First of all, two very popular areas, going to look as impressive when
the shoulders and upper arms, are a they’re marked up to that extent.
bad idea. Yes, that Superman logo on So while this is not a tirade against
your side delt and a tribal band or tattoos (I currently have three and my
barbed wire around your biceps and wife has four), I do implore all of you
triceps might seem like a pretty cool who put a high priority on your
idea right now, but think about how physiques to give careful thought
either would interrupt the visual flow of before getting any. Unlike a bad
the muscle groups. Other areas I hap hairstyle or ill-fitting clothing, body art
pen to think should be avoided include becomes a permanent part of you
the chest, the sides of the upper back, once the ink has punctured your skin.
the thighs and calves and the abs. —Ron Harris
Tattos on those bodyparts are distract www.RonHarrisMuscle.com

Sitings MIND/BODY
Internet Trolls Don’t let them

under your bridges
f you’ve spent any time on
I some of the more popular

bodybuilding message boards
on the Internet, you’ve no doubt
come across the poisonous
postings of various “trolls.” Like
the trolls of European mythology,
these creatures are also vile,
spiteful and wretched souls.
Only they don’t hide under
bridges; they lurk behind silly
and usually totally misleading
anonymous screen names like
2HUGE4U. They delight in nega
tive comments and strive to
make everyone else as miser
able as they are.
If you dare to post a physique
photo, they will instantly chime in
to list your faults as well as
assure you that they look a
hundred times bigger and bet-
ter—though they won’t post a
photo to prove their flimsy point.
They may even send you a PM,
or private message, full of insults
and taunts. The world, unfortu
nately, is full of jealous, unhappy engage them in argument or trade
people who don’t want anyone else insults but rather to ignore them.
to be happy or have the things they Nothing will frustrate them more than
don’t. And sadly, some of them have getting absolutely no response to their
gravitated toward the Internet, where attempt to upset you. And maybe if
they’re free to spew their bile until we’re all lucky, someday they will all
board moderators ban them. disappear from the face of the earth,
My advice, as someone who has just as fairies, gnomes, trolls and
had to deal with more than a few of leprechauns did centuries ago.
these trolls in recent years, is not to —Ron Harris
Warning Signs
Abhor the
Snore
eople who have sleep
P apnea, a condition in
which breathing stops
every so often during sleep, can snore furiously. The condition can in
crease the risk for high blood pressure and heart disease. If you or some
one you know snores so loudly that it disturbs another person sleeping in
the same room, the snorer should see an ear, nose and throat specialist—
especially if that person frequently wakes up in the morning with
headaches and/or is tired during the day.
—Becky Holman
www.X-tremeLean.com

Serious Training MIND/BODY
Jennifer DeJoya
Photography by Jerry Fredrick
Location: Gold’s Gym, Venice, California
264
Serious Stats
Weight: 112 Height: 5’2” Age: 36

Age began training: 15
Bodypart split:
Monday: back; Tuesday: shoulders; Wednes
day: cardio; Thursday: legs; Friday: chest; Sat
urday: arms; Sunday: cardio or off
Sample workout (legs):
Lunges 4 x 15
Deadlifts 3 x 12
Leg curls 3 x 15
Leg extensions 3 x 15
Calf raises 1 x 100
Factoids:
In order to compete, I’ve lost 50 pounds over
the past two years. I work as a technical re-
cruiter for a major movie studio in Los Angeles.

Jerry Brainum’s
Bodybuilding Pharmacology
Take T and See

ATP) and minerals, such as zinc and selenium.
Besides controlling the rate of cellular metabolism,
thyroid hormones work synergistically with several ana
bolic hormones, including growth hormone, testosterone
and insulin. The interactions between various anabolic
In the early 1970s I was living next door to a prominent hormones is apparent when you consider that a primary
professional bodybuilder. One day I mentioned that I was anabolic hormone, IGF-1, simply won’t function un
having trouble losing bodyfat, despite following a low-car less adequate thyroid hormone is available. During the
bohydrate and low-calorie diet. His response was to open first two weeks of growth hormone suplementation, the
a closet in his apartment and remove some pills that he increased levels of growth hormone suppress thyroid-
poured into an envelope for me. “Take four of these each stimulating hormone (TSH), a hormone released by the
day, and your fat-loss problems will be over,” he told me. pituitary gland in the brain that controls thyroid hormone
The mysterious pills turned out to be a natural form of synthesis. After two weeks the effect dissipates, but vari
thyroid drug called Armour Thyroid, which was and still is ous studies show that growth hormone appears to work
derived from pig sources. He warned me not to use more better when thyroid output is optimal. That’s why many
than the suggested dosage, since that would lead to loss of athletes supplement growth hormone use with thyroid
lean mass. drugs.
I don’t recall whether it actually helped in my quest for At present, two major types of thyroid drugs are avail
increased muscularity, especially since I had only a one- able. The first is marketed under the trade name Synthroid
month supply. In retrospect, however, I realize that my and is T4-based. If you had a low thyroid level (as judged
failure to lose fat did have a lot to do with thyroid function. by an elevated TSH level and low thyroid hormone in the
My efforts to get as cut as possible resulted in overdieting blood), most doctors would prescribe Synthroid, which
to the extent that my body interpreted it as starvation. the body slowly converts (over about seven days) into T3
The body’s fail-safe response was to convert active thyroid as needed. The idea is that you avoid some of the possible
hormone into an inactive form called reverse T3. The two side effects linked to excess thyroid intake, such as heart
known cures for a dieting plateau are to either increase problems, shakiness, insomnia and lean tissue loss. Those
calorie intake or do something to promote thyroid activity. problems may result because T3 has a much shorter half-
Bodybuilders have been aware of thyroid effects for life, or time before it’s metabolized in the body, than T4.
years, and thyroid drugs remain a common weapon in the So T3 can cause a rapid rise in thyroid activity followed by
quest to increase muscularity. The thyroid gland, located a rapid decline; the rapid rise is linked to side effects. The
in the neck, produces several hormones, the two most ac human thyroid secretes T4 to T3 in a ratio of 9-to-1.
tive being triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4). Of the Endocrinologists, or hormone specialists, are currently
two, T3 is considered the metabolically active form, being debating whether it’s better to prescribe both T3 and T4
about four to five times more active than T4. T4 is nothing or just T4, based on several studies showing that many
more than a pro-hormone. The body converts T4 to T3 people are unable to efficiently convert T4 into T3 and still
though the activity of enzymes called diiodinases, which suffer the effects of low thyroid function when given only
remove an iodine molecule from T4 to produce T3. Most Synthroid.
of that activity occurs in the liver, powered by energy (as The more active thyroid hormone is represented by the
drug Cytomel. That’s the form preferred by athletes and
bodybuilders, since there’s no lag time for conversion of
inactive into active hormone. But while it works far faster
than T4, the chances of side effects are much greater. Tak
ing either Synthroid or Cytomel relays a feedback mecha
nism to the hypothalamus, which responds by halting the
release of thyroid-hormone-releasing hormone (THRH).
When that happens, the pituitary gland gets no signal to
release TSH. No TSH equals no instruction to the thyroid
gland to produce hormones.
The scenario described above is irrelevant to those who
have hypothyroidism, or low thyroid output, but could
adversely affect anyone else who uses thyroid drugs,
such as bodybuilders. Taking too high a dose for too long
may suppress the thyroid gland to the extent that your
metabolism drops, leading to fat gain. That’s occurred in
several athletes who overused thyroid hormone. On the
other hand, using thyroid drugs short-term, for several
weeks, can result in a rebound, where you get an increased
thyroid hormone effect after stopping the drugs. It’s likely
Neveux
related to a rebound stimulation of TSH, which is sup

pressed while you’re taking the drugs.
Having either too little or too much thyroid hormone The greatest problem with overdoing thyroid drugs is
causes muscle weakness because it adversely affects the loss of lean tissue. A little-known fact about thyroid
the level of L-carnitine in muscle. drugs is that they give you a hypermetabolic effect only

When too much thyroid there’s too much or too
little thyroid hormone
hormone is present, the in the body.
When too much
body rapidly excretes thyroid hormone is
present, the body rap
carnitine. When not idly excretes carnitine.
When not enough is
enough is available, the available, the enzymes
in the liver and kid
enzymes in the liver and neys that synthesize
carnitine from other
kidneys that synthesize amino acids (such as
lysine) are severely
carnitine from other depressed, again lead
ing to a lower carnitine
amino acids are severely content in muscle.
depressed. Taking the usual forms
of supplemental L-car
The greatest problem
when you exceed the amount of thyroid hormone that nitine probably won’t
with overdoing thyroid
your body makes naturally. For example, if you take one help, since studies show
drugs from a bodybuilding
tablet of Cytomel, or 25 micrograms, your body will notice that while supplemen
and reduce production of thyroid hormone by that exact
perspective involves
tal carnitine increases
amount. You won’t get a hypermetabolic effect unless you blood levels of carnitine,
losing lean tissue.
take at least four tablets, or 100 micrograms, which ex it has little or no effect
ceeds the amount of T3 the body makes. on the muscle levels. In addition, less than 10 percent of
During a hypermetabolic state induced by thyroid ac any oral dose of carnitine is absorbed anyway, and of that
tivity, the body doesn’t discriminate in the tissues affected. amount, 4 percent is immediately excreted unless you take
The net effect is that you burn about equal parts of fat and it with choline.
muscle. An interesting and not often discussed side issue In the recent past bodybuilders and others interested in
is that after two weeks the body somehow prevents the manipulating thyroid function have had options besides
loss of excess muscle and focuses on fat, but you could the usual T3 and T4 drugs. An example is triacana, a.k.a.
sacrifice a lot of muscle during those first two weeks. tiratricol, or triac. Triacana is an intermediate substance in
Several popular drug manuals have suggested that a the pathway that produces T3 in the thyroid.
stack of thyroid drugs, especially Cytomel and clenbuterol, Back in the 1970s a famous European bodybuilder
is a “powerful fat-burning combination.” What the books introduced triacana to his American counterparts, telling
don’t point out is that it’s also a bad combination because them that it was the secret to his considerable muscularity.
clenbuterol mimics the effects of natural adrenal hor Most bodybuilders who used the drug according the Euro
mones called catecholamines, such as epinephrine and pean champ’s dosage suggestions, however, either got fat
norepinephrine, which increase blood pressure and speed or lost muscle. In fact, many medical studies use triacana
up the heart. High doses of thyroid drugs do the same to purposely suppress TSH, since it’s more effective in that
thing, and taking them with clenbuterol can magnify their role than even T3 drugs. Even so, triacana has a reputation
adverse effects on cardiovascular function. Clenbuterol as a “mild” thyroid drug far less likely to produce adverse
also destroys muscle cells in the heart, an effect than can effects than straight thyroid drugs like Cytomel.
easily be increased by also using Cytomel in doses that A few years ago triacana became available as an over
result in hypermetabolism (100 micrograms or over). the-counter supplement because it’s found naturally in
For what’s called thyroid storm, a condition character certain foods. Since it has a short half-life, you had to take
ized by an excess level of thyroid hormones in the blood, it several times a day. Then several adverse reports to the
the first medical treatment is beta-blocker drugs. Beta FDA led to its removal from OTC sales. Most problems
blockers work by blocking the receptors for catechol involved thyroid suppression lasting six months or more
amine-induced heart complications. or heart problems indicative of hyperthyroidism. Interest
A common feature of both elevated (hyperthyroid) and ingly, the theory behind using triacana was that its potent
lowered (hypothyroid) conditions is muscle weakness. suppression of TSH would result in a considerable thyroid
Until recently, the source of the weakness remained a rebound. The theory may have worked for some but not
mystery. Now, however, we know that having too little or for everybody.
too much thyroid hormone causes weakness because it A far better OTC form of thyroid hormone, labeled a
adversely affects the level of L-carnitine in muscle. “pro-hormone,” was diiodothyronione (T2). For years
Most bodybuilders know that L-carnitine, an amino scientists knew that several intermediate hormones, T2
acid derivative, shuttles fatty acids into the portion of cells and triacana among them, were produced in the pathway
known as mitochondria, where fat is oxidized. Skeletal between T4 and T3, but they were thought to exert little or
muscle depends on fat as a source of energy, especially no biological activity. Later research showed that both T2
during rest, and without sufficient carnitine it can weaken. and triacana are considerably active in the body.
Under normal conditions the supply of L-carnitine in the T2 is in some ways superior to T3. While T3 produces
muscle isn’t a problem, but it rapidly diminishes when a systemic hypermetabolism, most of T2’s effects were

Jerry Brainum’s
Many doctors frown on the use of

Armour Thyroid, noting that since
it’s a naturally derived product,
its potency may vary from batch
to batch. Well, that’s a myth
propagated by large pharmaceutical
companies to promote sales of their
own thyroid drugs.
limited to fat and muscle—exactly many years ago. Armour Thyroid con
where you want them to be. A re tains T4, T3 and T2, as well as triacana.
Half-page ad cent animal-based study involving In fact, it contains 80 percent T4 and
two groups of rats on a high-fat diet 20 percent T3—the latter being twice
moved to page showed just what T2 is capable of. as much as human thyroid glands
171 (this ad The rats that got a dose of T2 equal secrete. The higher T3 is not as potent
to 25 micrograms per 100 grams of as a straight T3 drug like Cytomel but
moved from bodyweight experienced a 13 percent definitely promotes a boost in me
there) lower bodyweight; 42 percent higher tabolism.
liver fatty acid oxidation; 50 per Many doctors frown on the use of
cent less total fat mass; a complete Armour Thyroid, noting that since it’s
disappearance of fat in the liver; 52 a naturally derived product, its po
percent lower triglyceride, or fat, in tency may vary from batch to batch.
the blood; and 18 percent lower total Well, that’s a myth propagated by
cholesterol than the rats that were large pharmaceutical companies to
not given supplemental T2. promote sales of their own thyroid
The T2 rats showed no effects on drugs. The level of active thyroid hor
AD other thyroid hormones, such as

T3 and T4, nor did they show any
adverse effects on TSH. The effects
of T2 were traced to upgraded activ
mones contained in Armour Thyroid
is standardized, and one study showed
that it retained potency two years past
its expiration date. The other alleged
ity of the enzyme system that works drawback of Armour Thyroid relates to
with L-carnitine to transport fats for its higher T3 content, which some doc
oxidation, lowering the substance tors believe leads to wildly fluctuating
that inhibits the enzyme and in blood thyroid levels. Again, that just
creasing mitochondrial uncoupling. doesn’t occur in reality.
That reflects a greater use of ATP for In truth, however, while Armour
energy. The net effect is an increase Thyroid is safer and far gentler than
in thermogenesis, or use of fat as an other thyroid drugs, it contains only
energy source. It all occurs less than trace amounts of T2. While no thyroid
30 minutes after intake of T2. What’s drug should be casually used, espe
more, no loss of muscle occurs with cially if prior medical conditions are
T2, either. present, those who espouse a natural
The authors of the study suggest form of thyroid treatment should ask
that while those are impressive re their doctor about Armour Thyroid,
sults, there’s no evidence that similar if other natural treatments, such as
results will occur in humans. They gugglesterone and olive leaf, fail to
also note that a major problem with help.
obesity is fatty liver, which is quite
common in people who have excess
fat and can lead to liver failure. The References
effect of T2 in completely clearing
liver fat could be a boon to such 1 Sinclair, C., et al. (2005). Muscle
people if it turns out that T2 works in carnitine in hypo- and hyperthyroid

humans as it does in rats. ism. Muscle and Nerve. 32:357-359.
Sadly, T2 is no longer available as 2 Lanni, A., et al. (2005). 3,5 di-
an OTC supplement. A few thyroid iodo-L-thyronine powerfully reduces

drugs, however, still contain the adiposity in rats by increasing the
full spectrum of thyroid hormones, burning of fats. FASEB J. 19:1552-1554.
particularly the drug given to me so IM
Readers Write
O, Yeah!
months and then quit training or start using drugs when

it doesn't happen.
I know you can’t caption every picture “drug user”
or “natural,” but at least mention the difference in your
articles and be up-front about it. Keep up the photos
and articles of presteroid guys and current natural
bodybuilders. I, for one, am disgusted by the drug use in
Adela Garcia bodybuilding.
Fitness Olympia Champion Bill Stinson
Jacksonville, FL
Editor’s note: You’re right. Sometimes we take it for
granted that everyone reading IM understands which
bodybuilders have had pharmaceutical help. It would
make it so much easier if the ones who use drugs had
signs of that use other than big muscles—like long,
pointy noses.
Girls Notice!
I’ve been lifting weights for four years now. I started
out lifting with the football team when I played. I found
out fast that what they were doing wasn’t for me; it just
made me lose weight. I quit football because baseball
was my better sport. Then I got on your 10-Week Size
Surge program. In no time girls were commenting on
how much bigger I was getting. I started out at 5’9”, 169
pounds. I’m now at 190 pounds. My bench went from 250
to 350 and my squat from 405 to 500. Thanks for showing
me how to do it right.
Trevor Willis
Neveux
via Internet
Editor’s note: 10-Week Size Surge has built a lot of
mass for a lot of bodybuilders. If trainees are looking for
I just want to thank IRON MAN for the wonderful op an updated version, with changes we’ve made as a result
portunity to be in the November issue [Hardbody]. It has of our findings at the IRON MAN Training & Research
been a dream of mine to shoot with Michael Neveux and Center over the years, see the Basic Ultimate Mass Work
to be in IM. I was treated very professionally, and I felt outs in The Ultimate Mass Workout e-book, available at
very comfortable shooting with him. It was a great experi www.X-Rep.com. We constructed those programs with
ence. Thanks for making a dream come true. the very best exercises for each bodypart and infused
them with X Reps for more muscle-building firepower.
Adela Garcia
via Internet
Editor’s note: And thank you for gracing our pages
More Legends
with your beauty and fabulous physique.
IRON MAN is the best magazine
out there. I really like the Legends
Read It and Reap series of posters. I hope you can keep
it going for as long as possible. I’m
I’ve been reading IRON MAN since I was a kid in the hoping the standards of the older
’70s. Your magazine is still the best, and I still love to physiques will come back.
train. I want to look good and stay strong for my athletic Dan Johnson
endeavors—mainly league softball. I have just introduced via Internet
my eight-year-old son to lifting, and he’s hooked. He loves Editor’s note: So far we’ve done
to work out with me. three Legends posters: Arnold, Cory
Steve Holman is probably my favorite author. His stuff Everson and Dave Draper. We plan
just makes sense. And his X-Rep concepts have really to do more down the road. Stay
helped me cut down my workout time while increasing tuned, er um, subscribed.
the intensity, pump and burn. They have spurred me to
new gains even at 46. Vol. 65, No. 1: IRON MAN (ISSN #0047-1496) is published monthly by IRON MAN
My main reason for writing is to encourage the maga Publishing, 1701 Ives Ave., Oxnard, CA 93033. Periodical Mail is paid at Oxnard, CA,
and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to IRON MAN,
zine to go down the natural road as much as possible.
1701 Ives Ave., Oxnard, CA 93033. Please allow six to eight weeks for change to take
I understand the freaks on drugs sell magazines and effect. Subscription rates—U.S. and its possessions: new 12-issue subscription, $29.97.
products. I must admit I do like looking at them just for Canada, Mexico and other foreign subscriptions: 12 issues, $49.97 sent Second Class.
the pure freakiness of muscle; however, I think we owe Foreign orders must be in U.S. dollars. Send subscriptions to IRON MAN, 1701 Ives
it to our youth to inform them of how physiques get that Ave., Oxnard, CA 93033. Or call 1-800-570-4766. Copyright © 2005. All rights re
way. Too many will want to look like Mr. Olympia in six served. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any manner without written
permission from the publisher. Printed in the USA.


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