This is my workout. Mon: Quads, Calves Tues: Chest, Bi's Wed: Rest or cardio (30 min) Thurs: Back and Hams Friday: Shoulders and Triceps Sat Sun, rest. It has worked pretty well for me. The body gets plenty of rest which is important to me. Any serious bodybuilder will tell you that Diet is like 80% of it and lifting is 20%. The biggest way to change your physique is to modify your diet and add exercise. As for eating 10 grams of protein 10 times a day. This is totally rediculous. You would only be getting 100 grams a day... way too low. I was talking to ronnie coleman last month and he told me he was taking in 2 grams per pound of bodyweight.. roughly 600 a day! Crazy! I find it hard to get 1g/lbs, but I think it is necessary for growth.
The bench is my best lift. I have never taken any steroids, but have been training for quite awhile, making small gains at a time over years. I also train my back heavily, sometimes 300 pull-ups in a morning, frequently weighted with dumbells. I think the back training helps enormously and most people don't bother with it. I am not as good at other lifts, ie, squats (max 6 reps at 340), and have to watch my back when I try deadlifts-I usually avoid them. 525 seems to have been the limit, as well. At 530, I repeatedly failed and am now trying to change my technique and rebuild from the base up. I may try the 3x ply shirts, but even a single ply leaves me bleeding under the arms. I don't seem to do alot better with shirts and find them very uncomfortable, but I have one and have seen them help alot. I actually hit that weight 2 years ago, have now backed off while I try to learn a new style. It was very good for my weight, but nowhere near what the big guys can do on steriods. One guy who trains nearby does 700#+ and only outweighs me by about 25#. I have not been able to compete formally, but plan to start in ?Sept, Sacramento. I agree tough to believe, but many witnesses and a few photos I had taken on some lifts at 500. Mostly, I am patient and very careful about form to keep from being injured and to be as efficient as I can be. At the end, only able to move up as little as 2-3#/mos. As you implied, the vertical movement can be minimized with grip width, arch, point of touching the chest, etc, and for me that was critical. The smart move is just to do less. We had some real close calls at lesser weights. Once 350 was dropped as we lifted off when a guy walked by and spilled his water under my trainer's feet. My trainer slipped and fell, forcing me to catch the bar. I have been very lucky. steve
can you please look at that dude's vein in his bicep. And this is a regular pic not one that was prof. air brushed.
I agree most of the big lifters are on steroids, but not all are bench specialists. I would consider your lifts better than mine. The most reps I could do at 315 was 6, 3 at 405. Much is a training specificity issue. Arnold was training as a bodybuilder to a large degree and not specializing in a single movement; he needed symmetry. No doubt he would have been stronger at the bench if that had been his sole interest. I trained for single rep max more than endurance, which is required for 11 reps at 330. On heavy days, I started doing singles from 350 up to save strength for my max attempt, and only lifted to my max every 3 weeks or else I started having joint pain. I would think the energy expenditure for your workout would be quite a bit higher than mine. steve
The way one trains will have a major impact on size and power. I only "power lifted" for relatively short period , most of my life i have trained for a mix of size and strength. You can do high reps with many exercises for tone or few reps for max power as you describe. I try to hit the middle because heavy weights hurt my wrists. Serge nubret never went higher than 225 in the bench yet was one of the most developed. I have always experimented with the science of lifting and now am doing a twist on the Arthur Jones theory. His theory on building muscle and endurance is very interesting and now is being pushed by one of his protege's. I feel it is best at avoiding injury while gaining muscle mass. It involves pre fatiguing each muscle. Search the web. EX. biceps - under arm close pull-up 60 sec. up - 60 sec. down followed immediately by strict barbell curl thats it!!!! Painful, quick, and effective. shorter workouts, more results. T
God! Serge Nubret, now there is a name from the past that i have not heard about since my youth, French guy isnt he. Anyway its like my training partner Denise Francis (92 Mr Universe) and my self both big guys but not heavy benchers and never have been. We dont train the way power lifters do we only train for the body beautiful, differnt feild altogether. Talking about old school names i was a big fan of Serge Oliver and Tom Platts, he the man. ...Or he was. Though you realy cant compare old school with todays competitors, training knowhow, supplements and gear has changed the face of bodybuilding, for egsample if arnie as great as he was,was to stand next to todays Olimpians he would not even be placed. Things change.
I have trained for a single rep max on the bench, not as a bodybuilder. Bodybuilders have more hypertrophy than I do, as well as the ability to put out more work from the larger muscles than I can. I can do my rep at a higher weight, but no chance to do reps at high weight or as many at lower weights. At times, I think about switching to bodybuilding routines so I can get bigger and look better. Bodybuilders may have one other disadvantage for the power lift-they are very lean. It takes drugs or maybe alot of protein to stay that lean and not catabolize muscle. Many powerlifters have more bodyfat than bodybuilders. steve
Chaa what about gary taylor the welshman who won the worlds strongest man title 5 years ago? On that comp he pressed overhead 475 as if the bar was empty, i am still stunned by that, such a weight overhead would drive most of us into the ground. Have you ever met him? Yes Nubret was french and one of the best ever, i have met tom platz a couple of times and walked along a NYC street with him and some of my friends after prejudging at the mr. O the same year when an older sergio oliva was competing. As far as arnie, he was the best and i would say that his 1974 condition was the height of physical condition! Most of Todays competitors look like unproportioned drug cases except for a few including shawn ray, though he would lose to arnie of 74. You can compare the best of old school to today and the only thing different is the medecine chest. Kal skalak would compare as would franco and sergio. T
If you read the thread carefully there is a guy who saw him on the web. Dennis Francis won the overall Mr Universe at Wembly in England in 1992 with NABBA, He now is an IFBB pro. He is indeed one of the UKs best. If you cant find him on the web i am sure some one will help. He has been sponserd by UK and US suplument companys which are in national magazines, alomg with his pics. He was in the USA last year doing mag shoots on Venice beach,So i sugest you look harder. anoyher frend of ours also from the UK is ollimpian Ernie Taylor. In fact go to Yahoo.com and put in search box...ifbb dennis francis. Then look at the pics and details. Look for the night of the champs, he is in the pro Universe cat. We grew up as boys and growing old as men, lol, we have been training partners for over 10 years now.
I've been lifting for a while, and currently am 6'2" 211lbs with 8% body fat. I don't lift for power, but I do at least 12 reps (with a minimum of 6) and I try to go to failure on the last 2 reps of every set. I give myself 90 seconds between sets, and often circuit train where I employ supersets, etc. In all the years that I've spent at the gym, the only guys that get "huge" are the guys that either 1). juice, or 2). take enough "legal" stuff to kill a horse. For me, that's it's not worth. My personal opinion (and these are like... ) is that lifting naturally, supplementing only with protein, and concentrating on a healthy diet with adequate calorie intake is the healthiest way to grow. I don't enjoy the prospect of developing dependance (psychological or otherwise) on an given supplement, or combination thereof. Also, consitency is the key. Most people, if they don't see "dramatic" results (like youll get sold on bowflex infomercials) give up after a couple months because they're frustrated; fact is: 99% of the population will only begin to see marketed results after a full year of consistent (3 -5 days /week) training. Lastly, genetic composition is also a paramount considerations. While the notion of human polymorphism (i.e., ecto/endo/meso morph) is a bit dated, it ellucidates a key element: you're bound, to an extent, by your genetics, and that's that. People simply refuse this, and try to become like the cover models/bodybuilders they see on every newstand, but the reality is, those people comprise a very limiter % of population, and while they train hard, they're also genetically gifted. Keep it simple: Eat well, train hard and consistently, and don't buy into the hype! To smsmd: could you cite the journal article that talks about brain bleeds w/ ephedra use? I was only aware of it's affects on heart muscle tissue, and it's progression to pulmonary hypertension.
Perhaps if you had spelled his name correctly, that would have helped. "Anyway its like my training partner Denise Francis (92 Mr Universe) " Is this him? http://www.getbig.com/pics/ironman/2001/francis.htm
To smsmd: could you cite the journal article that talks about brain bleeds w/ ephedra use? I was only aware of it's affects on heart muscle tissue, and it's progression to pulmonary hypertension.[/QUOTE] A good place to start is New England J of Med, 12/21/00, Vol 343:1833-38, No. 25. This article reviews the toxicity data and in the references are articles re CNS bleeds, in particular. At the journal site, at the end of the article, are more recent articles that have sited this one. The case I saw was a 35 yo woman who took ephedra with caffeine to stay awake at night while her husband played in a club band. She developed a severe headache and in the ER had a CNS bleed. We sent her to a trauma center in a effort to decompress, but was not successful. Her blood pressure was high in the ER. Her husband took the same prep w/out problems. steve
Thank you. I'll skim pubmed as well for ephedra and CNS bleeds. In my research with seratonin recpetors, and the 2B in particular, agonism @ the 2B by ephedra (i.e., it's metabolites) leads to valvular defects with chronic dosing. When I last reviewed the literature the most implicated malady was myocarditis. regards, hubert
i used to know some seriously strong folk; one dude, at 6', benched 450; another dude, at 5'9"-5'11", benched 500... These dudes didn't play around... The 450 dude was definitely NOT on juice; i'd like to say the same about the other dude, but i don't know for sure; as far as i DO know, he wasn't... i'd be lucky to bench 100lbs, due to a shoulder injury... In my prime (15), i put up 440 with my legs; i don't think i can do it anymore, i haven't been in a gym in YEARS...
Yea thats him netviper, i cant spell for **** anyways. You know we grew up as little boys together liveing next door to each other, we left school i joined the Marines, 9 years latter we hooked up again and started training together, hes a good guy.Again sorry about the spelling.
I used to own a couple of Gold's Gyms here in Pa. and am a maniac in the gym. The only supplement that I have found that actually works is 1 AD. INHO its the best and I have nothing to do with the company either. Hope this helps.
In my prime I did a 525 bench at 212lbs body weight. That was a California State record in 1976. My brother was Mr. America 1980 (Gary Leonard), competed in 5 Mr. Olympia's and two Mr. Universe contests. He was #1 in the world in 1980 and took everything. I believe he was one of the unhealthiest guys I ever met back then. Now he is 49, weighs 200, works out light and looks great. Don't work to get too big. It doesn't do you any good when you get my age. I'm 52, 215 and in pretty good shape. Still can do better than a 400lb bench and think I could work back up if I tried, I also still train from time to time with martial arts (3rd degree Black belt, Sh'o Sh'u/ Kempo). Don't underestimate us old guys. Arnold was a good friend of my brother. He didn't go for the powerlifting. In fact, powerlifting is not compatible with bodybuilding. Had he wanted to powerlift, he probably wouldn't have won the BB contests. I have a good friend who is 58, weighs 230 and does 610 bench. He is close to a WW for his age and weight. The older a guy gets, sometimes the stronger he gets. Power is not necessarily related to youth. Have fun.
I'll say this though, the biggest most pumped dudes in the gym are usually the least healthy, too much andro or testosterone, they pop them like Chicklets and can't handle cycling off the drugs to give their body a rest, too addicted mentally and physically. On a related note you could also tell Sly Stallone was on some serious Winstrol in Rambo 2 he was so ripped. Celebrities get the best drugs and trainers.
JSL i remember reading about your brother back then when i used to get weiders rags. Nice to hear your story. T
Thanks, Gary is doing great. He recently sent me a web site where they still had over 40 pics of him in his prime. He was pretty surprised and so was I. Only thing now is that he is bald! But he's still my little bro and best buddy.
