Results matching “bodybuilder”

Monday, 9 Feb 2009 - Issues

Video - DIY Stones with Eye Bolt


This is a very interesting idea, small (relatively) home-made stones with a removable eye-bolt for lifting. Nice one.

Max Brawn

Max Brawn is :

'a social community for fitness fanatics, strength trainers, bodybuilders, powerlifters, weight lifters, and anyone else looking to get in shape and forge the body of their dreams'

by Muscle & Brawn's Steve Shaw. Good stuff.


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Matt Potak
The result of training by Milos Sarcev.
3 Months of intense training and dieting paid off as on the night of April 28th, I was standing on the podium as the winner of the 2008 Gateway Classic - Bantamweight division. After the 2007 Ancient City Classic, where I placed third, I went right back to work. I spoke to some of the judges and trainers and I was told that my conditioning needed to improve. At that time I thought my conditioning levels were great, and wouldn't get any better. So I looked at countless photos and decided I had to fully commit to getting my conditioning levels better than ever before. How was I going to do this? I realized that I would have to try something new.

The Gameplan

I started to write up a game plan and at the top of my list was CONDITIONING. Coming in more ripped than I could imagine. I knew by doing this my off season was going to have to change and I couldn't get as heavy as I was normally. Instead I stayed within ten pounds of my contest weight all winter. For dieting I stuck with my usual carb cycling program and my training program changed from a heavy DC routine to more Milos Sarcev's training. Why I made the change to Milos training? I always remember hearing that when pro bodybuilders need to improve conditioning levels, they go to one place. Milos Sarcev's gym.

I remember watching a video of Milos training a large group of bodybuilders. They were all lifting really slow and the weights were very light. I noticed that all of these guys had world class physiques ("Silvio Samuel":http://www.silviosamuel.com/, "Johnie J":http://www.jojfitness.com/). After watching the video I noticed that Milos stressed the importance of time under tension, and using slow-controlled movements to drive more blood to the muscle, it was very intriguing. I decided to make the switch and see for myself if the program would create good results. I focused more on doing drop sets and tri sets to keep the time under tension high, as well as my heart rate. With Milo's training I was able to train more frequently because the routine wasn't as demanding on my CNS.

During my first Milos training routine I did Legs. I did a Tri set of Squats to Leg Ext to Leg press each was 12 slow reps each with very light weight. After the first initial set I thought to myself "_It's harder than it looks_." The slow reps were a huge shock to my system. For years of training I never did slow reps. I always thought in order to build muscle you had to lift heavy and fast. I would always look at videos of "Ronnie Coleman":http://www.bigroncoleman.com/, "Jay Cutler":http://www.jaycutler.com/, and "Dexter Jackson":http://www.dexterjacksonshredded.com/ (They lifted fast and heavy). After a few weeks of Milo's training I had to cut back on cardio, because my bodyfat levels were lower than normal. With Milo's system my heart rate was always high during my weight training workouts. Consistently going from exercise to exercise was great for my cardio and it became good enough. Here's an example of how I used Milos training for legs;

Leg Day:

Quads (4 total sets supersetted)


* Leg Ext 1 set of 15 (slow controlled)
* Squat 1 set of 12 (slow controlled)
* Hack Squat 1 set of 12 (slow controlled)


Hams
(4 total sets supersetted)


* SLDL 1 set of 15 (slow controlled)
* Leg curls 1 set of 12 (slow controlled)
* seated Leg Curls 1 set of 12 (slow controlled)


Note

* Just pick 3-4 exercises per muscle group and superset them.
* Use anywere from 8-20reps.
* I would recommend starting with 3 sets then work up to 4.
* Keep the reps slow and controlled, but proceed with caution!
* Stretch the muscle you worked after the sets are complete.

Bill Grant - SttB Articles

Hanging Core Variations - SttB Articles

Hanging Raises
Hanging Raises
I am a huge fan of hanging core exercises for athletes and bodybuilders alike. The benefits of hanging while performing these exercises include: increased latisimus dorsi stability, improved grip and forearm strength, quality rotational training, and less stress on the lower back. Sadly enough, I'll admit that less than a year ago, I could barely do a set of 8 straight quality leg raises. I barely trained the core while hanging, and I was suffering because of it!

Now that I have included hanging core exercises into my regimen, I have seen drastic improvements in the aspects of strength that I mentioned above. Not only is my core stronger but I am performing more chin and pull-ups with my improved grip and back strength. Of course, once I started doing more hanging leg raises I had to learn some variations and then create some of my own. With all of these exercises, the athlete must control the negative portion of the lift so swinging doesn't occur. Here are examples of the core exercises I find most beneficial!

Exercise 1 - Knee Raises, Straight Leg Raises, and Ceiling Kicks

These are the most basic hanging core exercises, but everyone has to start somewhere. For knee raises, hang from a pull-up bar or other object and bring your knees up towards your chest. Straight leg raises are similar, but instead of bending the legs, keep them straight. Try to achieve an angle of less than 90 degrees with your body (feet closer to the ceiling than the floor). In order to perform a ceiling kick, continue the straight leg raise under control until your feet hit the bar you are hanging on.

Exercise 2 - Straight Leg Over Objects

This exercise will require slightly more rotational strength and stability. Place something directly in front of you that is about waist height (measure while hanging and the higher the harder). Perform a straight leg raise on one side, travel over the object, and finish on the other side. Repeat in order to return your feet to the original location.

Exercise 3 - Windshield Wipers

The windshield wiper is a combination of ceiling kicks and straight leg raises over objects. Perform a ceiling kick and hold that position until stable. Next, rotate your feet down to one side, and then back across the middle to the other side. Essentially, you are doing the same motion as a windshield wiper on a car. Variations include switching up the object you are gripping, such as using towels instead of the pull-up bar.

Fight Geek pointed me to octogenarian bodybuilder Ray Moon, shown here at the Victorian Bodybuilding Championships in Melbourne earlier this month.

Bruce Randall - SttB Articles

Bruce Randall
Bruce Randall, early 1950s.

Bodybuilder Bruce Randall.

Oana Hreapca - Daily Curves

FF_DSC_1262.jpg

In The Investments part I, I talked about the use of Zerchers and Suitcase Pulls to strengthen the back and hips. In part II I touched on the Turkish Get-up and the Halo Drill. I want to continue with my work of bringing back exercises that do not get enough mainstream attention these days. These are drills that will be of value to any athlete, weekend warrior, bodybuilder or strongman.

So I see it every day, in every gym in every country. If you ask the average person if they lift weights, they immediately in their mind jump to the Bench Press and the Curl. Without a doubt the world's favorite muscle groups to train are the chest and the biceps. And there is nothing wrong with that, no one will ever change it. I am not going ask anyone to abandon the beloved Bench Press or Barbell Curl. I simply want to suggest another exercise to add to your arsenal for the chest and arms. I would like to present a drill I have used for the last few years in my own training.

I do not want to get into the talk about what style of press works best, or best types of resistance for the curl - I will leave that to others. Look around and you see amazing records set in the different press styles - arches, flat, reverse grip, decline, incline - the addition of benching shirts has allowed man to push to the true upper limits of bench press potential. Regardless of someone's personal opinion of what PL gear does for the lifter - these 750lbs-1,000lbs+ Bench Presses are nothing to sneeze at.

My own training is centered on training movement patterns for increased strength, so I am always looking for ways to make a groove easier or harder to increase performance. I have been limited on my ability to flat press for the last 10 years because of a stupid shoulder injury I incurred when I was 16 years old trying to be the tough guy in a Power House Gym. Looking back it was simply too much teenage posturing and not enough attention to the fine points. I paid my price with interest over the years with that mistake until I discovered the Turkish Get-up and its great rehab potential for the shoulders and upper back - thanks again Steve Maxwell!

Louis Abele - SttB Articles

Louis Abele
Louis Abele.

Bodybuilder Louis Abele.

Ori Hofmekler
Creator of The Warrior Diet, Ori Hofmekler.
I recently began reading a blog called the IF life (Intermittent Fasting). The blog brought me back to the days when I was doing the warrior diet religiously. I've written about this before on my own blog. I went back and re-read the blog post. I'd like to re-quote some of my own stuff and give further comments now that I am eating 4-5 times a day, with an increased protein intake.
Every time I went on the diet, I lost weight instantly and had tremendous energy during the day. But maintaining the diet was very tough. Hunger pangs are not fun, and most people can't eat 2000 calories at one meal like Mr. Ori can.

Ori Hofmekler must be one tough cat. Anyone who follows the Warrior Diet is tough. Maybe I'm just not as tough. But then again, it's hard to eat 6 times a day. I've basically come to the conclusion that it really doesn't matter how many times a day you eat, but instead what you eat. The funny thing is that both the Warrior Diet and the 6-times a day eating philosophy revolve around one thing: increasing your metabolism. The Warrior Diet claims that under-eating will detoxify your body, making your body run more efficiently; then when you do eat your evening meal, your body will be able to use those nutrients more effectively. Makes sense. But what's the use if you can't stick to it? I think eating 2000 calories throughout the day is a much better idea than eating 2000 calories in one sitting.

But Under eating, from what I've discovered, doesn't mean that you starve yourself. It means that you eat less than you normally do to prevent a tremendous increase in insulin. Ori goes on to talk about the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS) and how the SNS is what wakes us up and the PSNS is what puts us to sleep.

Those insulin spikes are the real enemy, in my view. What I discovered through following the Warrior Diet was that I was extremely carb-sensitive. It was the carbs that were making me fat. I decided it was better to control my carbs rather than not eat anything through out the day and then eat what I crave (carbs) at night. I was probably only eating 1000 calories a day on the diet, but the percentage of carbs were huge. Further more, it did not solve the fact that I needed to eat more protein in my diet. Before the warrior diet, I was eating approximately 80 grams of protein a day. Yes, I know, not optimal, but on the Warrior Diet, that number would often drop down to 50 grams.

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