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Contents
The Collaboration
Inch by Inch, a Snail Climbs Mount Fuji
What Should I Expect?
Macronutrient Rotation
Carb Rotation at-a-Glance
Sample Diets
Pre-, During and Post-Workout Protocol
Supplementation
Food Prep Pointers
Basic Training Info
Shelby and Steves Favorite Exercises
Shelby and Steves Bios and Contact Info
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The Collaboration
At the beginning of the 2005 box ofhce fop remake "War of the Worlds, Tom Cruises
character Ray Ferrier is struggling to connect with his teenage son, who dismissively says,
"Well, what do you know anyway?

"Everything. Cruise replies, "Between me and my brother, we know everything.
His daughter chimes in a challenge. "What is the capital of Australia?

"That`s one my brother knows, he replies.

While the two of us certainly dont know everything, we both have amassed signihcant
experience that is only bolstered through our collaboration. Steve has been a journalist
for over two decades, with probably the most diverse variety of subjects (all related to
building strength and muscle while shredding bodyfat) in the industry. He has interviewed
and been in the gym with some of the top physique and strength athletes in the world,
including names like Ed Coan, Dorian Yates, Mike Francois, Magnus Magnusson, Ronnie
Coleman, Louie Simmons, Mike Mentzer and others. His articles explore the scientihc
rationale behind the training and nutrition programs of these champions (even if they
were not consciously aware of them). He has been a consultant for four prominent sports
nutrition companies and operated a personal training business.
Shelby, on the other hand, has been (and remains) a competitive bodybuilding champion
in his own right, using his analytical mind to design nutrition protocols that made him a
national-level bodybuilder. He has collected trophies and titles, including an overall win at
the 2009 Central States, a top-hve placing at the Junior Nationals, a third in his class at
the North America and a runner-up placing in the APF Michigan State powerlifting meet.
Even more importantly, he has hne-tooled his diet techniques and helped hundreds of
competitive bodybuilders come into shows in a condition that is most often far beyond
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their previous best. Understanding the needs and mentality of powerlifters, he has also
become something of an expert at helping guys like Matt Kroc and Dave Tate clean up
their diet and drop from PL bulky down to single-digit deadly. This seems to be a trend we
will see more of - powerlifters wanting to get lean (either to compete in a lighter weight
class or to simply extend their lifespan).
While our backgrounds vary, our views on nutrition are remarkably similar (which tends
to make us both regard one another as much brighter than we may actually deserve). In
particular, our ideas on carb rotation diets seem to be in alignment. Shelby has written
four previous books on the subject. Readers have been requesting a book that gave a
detailed overview of proper off-season nutrition. Lean Gain Principles is that book!
Shelby demonstrates great condition to kick off
a successful off-season plan lean enough that
he can slowly add pounds while still maintaining
separation and the outline of abs
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Inch by inch, a snail climbs Mount Fuji.
Despite what you may read in every muscle magazine, the road to a champion physique
is a slow, arduous one. You are not going to build twenty-inch arms after two years of
training. You will not go from obese to having six-pack abs in three weeks. You will not
add a hundred pounds to your bench press after four weeks of training with bands. It is
not just unlikely, it just plain aint gonna happen. You have been lied to, but the truth is.
you should have known better.
Bodybuilding is not fast, it is not easy, and it is not without considerable sacrihce. It is
perhaps the hardest sport/hobby/pastime with statistically about the lowest chance of
hnancial reward. Proper bodybuilding requires intense training, round the clock nutrition
monitoring, and often exclusion from normal social activities. Its 24-hours, seven days a
week, 365 days a year. When not training or eating your muscle-building meals, you will
be sore from a previous workout, planning the next one, preparing your food, cleaning up
after your last meal or trying to recuperate - all the while holding down your nine-to-hve
and hopefully being a contributing member of society.
Bodybuilding is hard. but, like anything hard, the true rewards are quiet, internal
victories.
There is no greater example of this than to look at the "off-season. In most sports, the
off-season is a time of rest. In bodybuilding, this is when the real work of building muscle
takes place. While the Spartan diet of the contest prep phase is offset by the consistent
reward of shapening abs and enhanced V-taper in the mirror, the improvements in the off-
season are imperceptibly slow. We get bigger and stronger a handful of muscle hbers at a
time. If we do everything we should, and follow an intelligent gameplan, those increases
show up in ounces and (occassionally) pound increases. Add enough of those together
through consistent effort and you have a successful off-season. Lean Gain Principles is
your guide to designing a successful off-season by acquiring quality, lean muscle mass.
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What Should I Expect?
The off-season is the gaining season, but how much improvement should you ex-
pect? What should be considered reasonable expectations during the off-season?
Honestly, anything more on the scale than hve pounds a month is too much sloppy
weight. You should always attempt to maintain visible (albeit blurred) abdominals,
with a hint of serratus, and nothing hanging over your belt-line. An ideal hgure
for most would be a rate of gain of two pounds a month. This will, of course, vary
depending on their "training age (novices gain faster than those that have con-
sistently trained for a couple years), size (a hve-pound gain on a short lightweight
does not equate to a hve-pound gain on a 64 320-pounder) and genetics (natu-
rally muscular mesomorphs tend to pack it on much faster and easier than skinny
ectomorphs).
Aggressiveness also a factor. Some clients stay in the slowboat (a pound or two a
month) which is good for a non-competitor that is doing bodybuilding as a part of
a htness lifestyle. Others (trying to move up a weight class or hll out their frame)
may eat more aggressively. Competitors will do things a bit crazier. Getting on-
stage for the local lifting community to see, is a potent motivator.
For someone to compete in a show, and come back the next year to compete
again ten pounds heavier (in at least as good of condition), would have expe-
rienced an outstanding offseason! Ten pounds for an intermediate or advanced
bodybuilder is very good. Half of that is pretty good (especially for a natural body-
builder).
Broken down on a monthly basis, you have an eight to nine-month off-season
(since you have three or four months for a contest diet), so the ten pounds gained
is distributed across your off-season at an average of less than a pound a month.
It wont show up on the scale all the time. There will be plateaus and forward
surges. One to two pounds of muscle a month is an extremely good gain.
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The pro bodybuilders that you read about in Flex that supposedly gain hfteen
pounds from one show to the next are not representative of typical reality. For
someone not a member of the genetic elite, they will most likely only experience
disappointment trying those techniques. The genetic freaks dont read and seek
out this info. Those with lesser abilities need to.
BEGINNERS. If you are new to training, you may hnd that you make some of the
biggest jumps in progress in those initial six to ten months as your body adapts
to the new stress of your training and your nutrient-rich diet. Consistency with
your training is the most important consideration. You are going to need to build
your tolerance for strength training in order to continue progressing. Three or four
workouts a week (under an hour in duration) are dehnitely all you will need. Fol-
lowing the nutrition principles in this book, will go a long way towards maximizing
your progress.
HARD-GAINERS. The Lean Gain Principles is a great program for hard-gainers,
they will just need to experiment to hnd a caloric level that allows them to gain at
an appropriate rate. The body needs to sense a caloric excess plus training stimu-
lus. If you are a tall, skinny ectomorph you may need a higher calorie level overall
and additional high carb days. The circa-workout and middle-of-the-night shakes
will also be important aspects of your program. Train hard but briefy (no more
than four days a week, sessions around 45 minutes), eat consistently and rest as
much as possible.
To those other hard-gainers, often referred to as the "skinny-fat, forget about
concurrently gaining muscle while losing fat. It is better to focus on one or the
other. Building muscle will improve your metabolism.
There are two types of diets in most peoples mind - fat loss and muscle gain. You
should never get so focused on muscle gain that you dont keep an eye on fat lev-
els and you should never become so driven in your fat loss efforts that you allow
yourself to lose excessive muscle. The skinny-fat crew should do cardio to stimu-
late the metabolism (mornings on an empty stomach) and adjust their calories one
way or the other based on which is more important - losing fat or adding muscle.
NATURAL BODYBUILDERS. This balance is even more important with
bodybuilders that have chosen to go without pharmacological assistance. High-test
lifters can maintain an anabolic state quite easily. Without adequate carbs, those
going the natural route need to be very vigilant not to catabolize muscle tissue.
Remember, two of the most benehcial effects of carb intake (and the resultant
insulin spike) is that it shuttles glucose and amino acids into muscle tissue and
blunts the effects of cortisol, both important considerations for natural lifters.
Remember, if you put on too much bodyfat, you are going to leave yourself with
the difhcult task of dieting off that excess baggage, with the muscle-maintaining
benehts of los anabolicos. It is far wiser to slowly gain lean, solid mass that you
can just sharpen up before a contest in order to look your very best. As a natural
bodybuilder, you will need to be more scientihc and analytical in your program.
There is not as much room for error.
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WOMEN. Although most women would be less than interested in the general con-
cept of an off-season program, the diets in this book can easily be adapted for
their use, they simply need to adjust calorie levels based on their bodyweight.
MASTERS. The diets in this book will also transfer well to bodybuilders in the
over-forty years old category, with two considerations: 1) although this is case-
specihc, but some may have slower metabolisms. For this reason, we might start
the older guy a bit lower on the carb and fat levels. 2) Bulking is not as wise for
older bodybuilders due to higher susceptibility to health issues, particularly cardio-
vascular disease.
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Macronutrient Rotation
Macrotation.

See what we did there? We got the words "macro (as in macronutrients) and rotation and
squished them together into one word. This is something that is referred to in linguistics
as a portmanteau.
A portmanteau is when two or more words or morphemes are blended in order to create
a new word. The best known example would be a "spork (those half spoon/ half fork
things that are not really good for eating ANYTHING you might want to eat with a fork or
spoon). Other examples include brunch (mixture of breakfast and lunch), FedEx (do you
even remember when they used to call themselves Federal Express?), and the annoying
Brangelina (that pair of mannequins previously called Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie).
So we came up with Macrotation.

And no, we arent actually going to bother to acquire

any legal rights to the word. I dont expect people will want to buy Macrotation T-shirts
at any point in the future. In fact, the word is already wearing thin. But our reason for
bringing this up at all is that, while they are commonly referred to as "carb rotation
diets (and we have both written articles calling them such), they are more accurately
referred to as "macronutrient rotation diets. While the focus tends to be on carbs, since
carb restriction is the common thread in any successful fat loss diet, our expanded
understanding of the best way to eat for bodybuilding requires manipulation of proteins,
fat and carbs.
Each of the three macronutrients not only serves specihc functions, but adjusting
intake of any one of them affects how the other macronutrients are used (and needed)
metabolically and hormonally. All this being said, feel free to refer to them as "carb
rotation diets but keep in mind that restricting or decreasing one macronutrient affects
the others. It is those shifts and the effects they bring about that we are exploiting to our
metabolic advantage.
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The popular bodybuilding diets of ten to hfteen years ago involved carbohydrate
restriction, crazy high protein intake and (in most cases) restricted fat intake. As things
evolved, we learned the following things:
1. If carbs are restricted too severely or for too long, the bodybuilder fattens out and
loses muscle.
2. In that same instance they also notice a point in which their metabolism often just
stops responding.
3. When people extend their diet for multiple contests (warm-up show followed by the
big show four to six weeks later), they noticed that going off of their diet for a short
period (whether it was a cheat meal, cheat day or a few lax days) often kick-started
fat loss and not only hlled them out but made them start burning fat at a faster
pace again.
4. We have learned a hell of a lot about fats (especially, that many of them have very
health and physique benehting effects).
5. Really high protein levels (guys were taking 600-700 grams daily for extended
periods) was a huge waste of money since, at a certain point, it can cause the body
to retain less nitrogen and simply turn over protein faster.
6. Really high carb and calorie intakes in the off-season make most lifters into fat
sloppy pigs, with compromised metabolism and reduced insulin sensitivity.
One of the most amazing things about bodybuilding is that it operates as a million
interacting, ongoing physiological experiments. Even without input from the science
community, people hgure out what works, rehne it, personalize it, and share the
info among others. They try different approaches, sometimes screw up, and learn
their personal limits. They share info among themselves, and (almost as if a group
consciousness), move towards a cultural rehnement of their approach.
It may not seem like that. The training approaches are diverse; the diets equally so. And
sometimes fads veer a segment of the bodybuilding world off course for awhile. But if
you jump from 2011 back to 2001, and from 2001 back to 1991, and take decade-sized
looks back (even just by glancing at old issues of Flex or MuscleMag), you will see that
things have progressed at an impressive rate. Not everyone does things right (and what
may be right for one may need adjustment for another), but more people are doing more
things right now than they were ten or twenty years ago. The science community is great
at verifying what we have discovered (and they seems to take a gleeful pride when they
can shoot down a supplement or technique we are using) but the bodybuilding community
is the one making the major innovations. They would be wise to examine what we do
from the perspective of, "Lets see why what they do works so well. rather than a, "Lets
disprove what these meatheads are doing.
But, to get back on track... Lets analyze what we have come up with about macronutrient
rotation. For simplicity sake, we will go back to referring to them as high, medium and low
carb days, but pay attention to how the levels of protein and fat are concurrently adjusted
as well.
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NUTRIENT TIMING
Fred "Dr. Squat Hatheld was a great contributor of new ideas to the powerlifting and
bodybuilding world. He bridged the gap between athlete and scientist. One quote of his
that had a profound effect on me years ago. I have looked for the original and could not
hnd it so I will be badly paraphrasing it here. is that we should eat based on the needs
of our bodies over the hours following that meal. It may not sound that revolutionary
now, but this was before nutrient timing was something commonly practiced. Years after
Hatheld shared that wisdom, "nutrient timing has become a very aggressively studied
area in exercise phys labs throughout North America.
Most of this focuses on peri-workout nutrition - the specihc nutrients used before, during
and after a training session in order to have maximal strength, training stamina and (most
importantly) recovery and growth effect from our gym-time. This is often referred to as
the metabolic "window of opportunity.
Carb Rotation Diets take that concept to a broader scale. Sure, we still closely control
nutrient intake around the workout, but the nutrient intake also is varied on a daily basis.
Understanding that different days of the week have different requirements, based on the
brutality of that particular days workout, or the dietary goals of that day, determines
the changes in macronutrient ratios. The diets listed later in the book provide excellent
examples of this.
PROBLEMS WITH KETOGENIC DIETS
While ketogenic diets work well with members of the general public trying to get in shape
as quickly as possible (such as the "28-Day Wedding Diet), they tend to be a bit hit-or-
miss with bodybuilders. Some lifters do okay with them but most lose too much muscle,
come in fat and hnd that they just cannot train the way they need to.
While it is common to hear proponents of ketogenic diets say, "There is no such thing
as an essential carb, this dismissive mantra misses the core faw of their stance. As
bodybuilders, we dont care about essential. Essential means "enough to keep you alive
and out of a disease state, much in the way that eating a wedge of lime every few
days would keep early British sailors for suffering scurvy. We are more concerned with
OPTIMAL. To optimize off-season muscle growth, carbs sure as hell are essential.
A common follow-up made by the keto-crowd is that, "The body owns needs 30-40 grams
(or whatever arbitrary number they throw out) of glycogen for a typical workout. While
they may smugly think this has solidihed their position, they leave out the fact that post-
workout energy requirements (removal of waste products, replenishment of glycogen,
general recuperation from gym trauma) need also to be considered, not to mention
GROWTH! Most obviously, if you feel like crap and dont have the energy to train without
adequate carbs, then how can this approach be effective for building muscle?
If you are going to try a ketogenic diet, use it for a short trial period. Do not give up an
entire off-seasons muscle gains on the experiment. Set aside a time period (perhaps a
four to six-week mini-diet) and see how it affects you. Keep in mind, you will lose weight,
but it certainly will not all be fat. Every ounce of glycogen stored in the muscles, holds
three ounces of water. When you cut carbs, your glycogen stores will be greatly depleted
and water weight will be shed, so much of your initial weight loss will be glycogen and
water, both of which are solid muscle components that are good to have in large supply
during off-season training. There is also invariably going to be some loss of muscle size,
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which is antithetical to the goals of an off-season program. This will vary from person to
person and (along with psychological preferences) explains why some favor ketogenic
diets while others cannot tolerate them.
If you should decide to test out a ketogenic diet, make note of changes in body
composition, strength, appearance, mood and energy levels. See if the initial losses on the
scale correspond with real body fat changes further into things. Also, keep tabs on your
metabolism (as well as one can instinctively). Although most people do not experience a
metabolic slamming of the fat-burning brakes until six or seven weeks into a keto diet,
try to be alert to how you personally respond. By all means, be open to trying different
nutrition approaches, but someone trying to spend four to six months of an off-season
program with an extremely low carb intake, would not be getting the most progress from
their training.
There are many benehts of carbs one must keep in mind. First off, carbs provide glycogen
for brain function and muscular contraction. As the brain always receives priority when it
comes to fuel considerations (despite what it may seem like when talking to some idiots),
the needs of muscle come a distant second, to the extent that muscle will even be broken
down to provide energy to keep the gears grinding up in the old gray matter.
Carbs are, of course, protein sparing. Im sure you have heard this term as far back
as junior high health class but you may not have thought about what it means from a
bodybuilding nutrition perspective. With inadequate carb intake, some of your protein
intake is broken down for energy needs before having any effect on nitrogen retention.
As mentioned earlier, carbs blunt cortisol. Insulin (released in response to carb intake)
and cortisol tend to counteract the effect of one another, with insulin acting as a nutrient
storage hormone and cortisol (along with glucagon) working to release nutrients in
response to the bodys energetic needs.
PROBLEMS WITH BULKING PROGRAMS
While it is important to establish a "core of excess to build muscle, bulking programs
have been shown to work poorly over the long run. Take the common example of the
skinny yet determined teenager that takes three years to eat his way from 150 up to
190 pounds. This is done through fast food burgers, ice cream, PB&J sandwiches and
the occasional protein shake (when hnances allow). The constant supply of low-nutrient
calories give him the immediate gratihcation of results, at least according to the scale.
The mirror does not tell nearly as positive of a story, but encouraged by weight gain, he
continues to increase his efforts. Assisted by his friends Ronald (McDonald), Little Deb
and the great Chef (Boyardee), he continues striding forward. Okay, maybe its more of
"In my younger (and foolish) days, I had radical
changes in body weight from off-season to pre-
contest periods. However, as I learned more and
rened my dietary habits, I found I could come
in more cut and massive by training only slightly
above my contest weight."
- Rich Gaspari (The Gaspari Method: New Age Nutrition
& Mass I)
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a shuffe than a stride. He develops a rep as a "big eater and his strength in the gym
climbs, thanks to his increased leverage. He feels as if he has made nice progress.
Three years and forty bulky pounds later, he decides in March that the extended bulk
period has run its course and it is time to whittle down and unveil his ripped muscle at the
pool that summer.
After twelve weeks of reasonable dieting, he has lost 28 pounds, half of which are fat and
half of which are muscle. He still does not look anywhere near pool-ready so resets his
debut for the fourth of July weekend and tacks on four more weeks of real strict dieting.
This results in eight more pounds lost, with two or three pounds being lean muscle.
Over three years later, he has lost about two-thirds of the muscle he has gained but is
not as lean. (As he is also two inches taller, chances he would have gained about that
much had he not made any efforts to follow a particular eating program.) He has a major
reduction in insulin sensitivity, making him less efhcient in his use of calories. His time in
the gym is not visibly noticeable. He is less athletic than he was three years previously
and generally looks like crap. For him, Bulking was an epic fail.
While some teens seem to do okay with bulking programs, this is only because until
they start really slamming food, their caloric needs just had not been met. If these same
individuals were to put in the effort to meet the same (or possibly even slightly lower)
calorie levels with quality clean food sources, they would pack on at least as much muscle
without the fat that must be painstakingly stripped off later (usually with a great amount
of that hard-earned muscle being lost in the progress).
For adult lifters, bulking makes them less of an athlete. They hnd it cumbersome and
awkward to move. They have less energy for training, and may experience sleep apnea
and higher blood pressure. In most cases, bulking programs are merely excuses for
gluttony.
The Middle Path
Overly restricted carbs may not allow you to experience optimal muscle gains. Excessive
carb intake may pack on more body fat than muscle. The solution is a carb rotation
approach. This involves dividing your diet into High-Carb, Medium-Carb and Low-Carb
days, arranged through your week to correspond to your specihc training days.
For off-season dieting, you want to marry your training to your carb intake. The most
common approach is to designate your heaviest training days (legs, back) as High-Carb
days. Rest days could be Low- or Medium-Carb, depending on your specihc response to
Differences Between the Carb Rotation Contest Diet
and the Lean Gain Off-Season Diet
Marrying your weekly carb cycle with your training cycle (used in off-season,
not while dieting)
Pre-during and post-workout supplement protocol (used in off-season, not while
contest dieting)
Middle-of-night eating (used in off-season, not while dieting)
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carbs. Some prefer to proceed their intense training days with a High-Carb day, in order
to do into things glycogen loaded. This is purely a matter of personal preference. The two
approaches are illustrated below:
RECUPERATION-BASED PLAN
MON Legs HIGH
TUE Chest & Shoulders MED
WED off LOW
THU Back HIGH
FRI Arms MED
SAT off LOW
SUN off LOW
CARB PRE-LOAD PLAN
MON Legs MED
TUE Chest & Shoulders LOW
WED off HIGH
THU Back MED
FRI Arms LOW
SAT off LOW
SUN off HIGH
As you can see, the above diet has two High-Carb days, two Low-Carb days and three
Medium-Carb days each week. The best feature of this diet is that it is easily adjustable.
If you are gaining body fat on it, you can switch one of the days (in the weekly schedule
example above, it would be Thursday) from High-Carb to Medium-Carb, or your Sunday
from Medium to Low. If you are getting fat or feel like you are rundown, you can boost
one of the Low days to Medium or a Medium day to a High day, or you can increase the
carbs a bit on your Medium and/or High days.
The Low-Carb days keeps the body fat low and insulin sensitivity high while the High-Carb
Days keeps the metabolism from slowing down, keeps glycogen stores topped off, and
staves off psychological hunger pangs.
CHEAT MEALS. Cheat meals are very individual. Many require one at least once a week for
social reasons, especially if married or in a dating situation. More than once a week is only
possible if you have a better than average metabolism. Those with a strong mindset will
hnd that they cheat less often in the offseason that the planned pre-contest dieting cheat
meals. During a contest diet, cheat meals are necessary to stoke the metabolism, bump
up leptin levels, rehll glycogen levels, etc. In the off-season, you are not depleted so they
only serve a psychological function.
CARDIO WORK. Cardio varies depending on how aggressive you are and your concern
with health. Those that need to be a bit leaner or with poor metabolism, need to do three
or four cardio sessions a week (around 30 minutes in length, on off days). The goal here
is to keeps body fat in check (but they do not cancel out shitty eating). In some cases,
cardio on off-days can help keep someones hunger up. Most sessions should be moderate
intensity (60-70% of max heart rate). One of those sessions can be High-Intensity
Interval Training just to keep the metabolism up.
SLEEP. It is optimal to get eight or nine hours of sleep in the off-season. In an ideal
situation, you would take a hfteen to twenty minute nap an hour or two after training.
Sometime just lying down with your spine in a neutral position and relaxing without
necessarily falling asleep is an adequate boon to recuperation. Gains can be made on less
sleep due to work and family commitments but, if you can, shoot for more.
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HIGH CARB MEDIUM CARB LOW CARB
FUNCTION Storage day Coasting day Depletion day
ANAB/CATAB
RATIO
Highly anabolic
Possibly catabolic
(hopefully on fat)
STRENGTH
TRAINING
Leg Day, Back Day or
Weak Bodypart Spe-
cialization Day
[Varies]
Rest days or training of
smaller bodyparts like
arms, delts
Replenish glycogen
stores
Keeps metabolism el-
evated and keeps you
from fattening out
Insulin levels low, al-
lowing for efhcient fat-
burning
Higher insulin output
Moderate insulin lev-
els with minor insulin
spike only near work-
out
Higher (healthy) fats
which increase insulin
sensitivity (omega-3s).
Increased insulin sen-
sitivity from low-carb
days allows for glyco-
gen super-compen-
sation and increased
intake of nutrients.
Deplete glycogen stores
somewhat which in-
creases insulin sensitiv-
ity
PROTEIN
NEEDS
Proportionally more
protein available for
synthesis, even with
lower gram intake
Moderate
More protein needed
since some is used as
an energy source.
SPECIAL
SUPPLEMENTS
Possibly chromium,
alpha-lipoic acid or
cinnamon (mild glu-
cose disposal agents)
Good time for high
quality hydrolysates
or BCAAs to maintain
muscle size
PREFERED
CARDIO
No cardio for most
High-Intensity Interval
Training
Long steady-state
cardio

CARB ROTATION AT A GLANCE
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MENU PLAN 150-POUND MALE
HIGH DAYS: 5-7 meals totaling 150-200g protein, 250-400g carbs, and low fat
MEDIUM DAYS: 5-7 meals totaling 225-250g protein, 150-200g carbs, and 30-50g fat
LOW DAYS: 5-7 meals totaling 225-250g protein, 50-100g carbs, and 50-75g fat
NOTE: On training days, you would replace one of the meals with the pre/during/post
workout protocol.
HIGH DAY: Approx. 175 grams of protein; 350 grams of carbs; and low fat
MEAL #1 Blender shake made with 1 scoop whey protein, 1 cup oats (dry measure), with ice,
water, cinnamon, and Splenda
MEAL #2 3 oz. chicken breast (cooked measure) and 1.5 cups brown rice (cooked measure)
MEAL #3 3 oz. eye of round steak, 10 oz. sweet potato
MEAL #4 Workout protocol (see page 18)
MEAL #5 3 oz. chicken breast (cooked measure) and 1.5 cups brown rice (cooked measure)
MEAL #6 Omelet made with 6 egg whites and 1 whole egg, 3 pieces Ezekiel bread toast
MEDIUM DAY: Approx. 250 grams of protein; 200 grams of carbs; 40 grams of fat
MEAL #1 Blender shake made with 1.5 scoop whey protein, 1 cup oats (dry measure), with ice,
water, cinnamon, and Splenda
MEAL #2 5 oz. chicken breast (cooked measure), cup cooked brown rice, 10 almonds
MEAL #3 Omelet made with 2 whole eggs and 9 egg whites, 2 pieces Ezekiel bread toast
MEAL #4 Workout protocol (see page 18)
MEAL #5 5 oz. turkey breast (cooked measure), 2 cups steamed broccoli, 1 tablespoon olive oil
MEAL #6 4.5 oz. eye of round steak, 12 walnut halves
LOW DAY: Approx. 250 grams of protein; 70 grams of carbs; 60 grams of fat
MEAL #1 Blender shake made with 1.5 scoop whey protein, 2/3 cup oats (dry measure), with
ice, water, cinnamon, and Splenda
MEAL #2 5 oz. chicken breast (cooked measure), cup cooked brown rice, 10 almonds
MEAL #3 4.5 oz. eye of round steak, 12 walnut halves
MEAL #4 Blender shake made with 1.5 scoop whey protein, 1 tablespoon macadamia nut oil,
with ice, water, cinnamon, and Splenda
MEAL #5 5 oz. turkey breast (cooked measure), 2 cups steamed broccoli, 1 tablespoon olive oil
MEAL #6 5 oz. eye of round steak, 1 ounce walnuts
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MENU PLAN 200-POUND MALE
HIGH DAYS: 5-7 meals totalling 200-250g protein, 400-600g carbs, and low fat
MEDIUM DAYS: 5-7 meals totaling 300-350g protein, 150-250g carbs, and 50-70g fat
LOW DAYS: 5-7 meals totaling 300-350g protein, 75-125g carbs, and 75-100g fat
NOTE: On training days, you would replace one of the meals with the pre/during/post
workout protocol.
HIGH DAY: Approx. 25 grams of protein; 500 grams of carbs; and low fat
MEAL #1 Blender shake made with 1 scoop whey protein, 1.5 cup oats (dry measure), with ice,
water, cinnamon, and Splenda
MEAL #2 3.5oz cooked chicken breast, 2 cups brown rice
MEAL #3 Blender shake made with 1 scoop whey protein, 1.5 cup oats (dry measure), with ice,
water, cinnamon, and Splenda
MEAL #4 Workout protocol (see page 18)
MEAL #5 3.5oz cooked chicken breast, 2 cups brown rice
MEAL #6 3 oz. eye of round steak, 12 oz. sweet potato
MEDIUM DAY: Approx. 325 grams of protein; 200 grams of carbs; 60 grams of fat
MEAL #1 Blender shake made with 2 scoops whey protein, 1 cup oats (dry measure), with ice,
water, cinnamon, and Splenda
MEAL #2 6 oz. cooked chicken breast, cup brown rice, 20 almonds
MEAL #3 Blender shake made with 2 scoops whey protein, 1 cup oats (dry measure), 2
teaspoons macadamia nut oil, with ice, water, cinnamon, and Splenda
MEAL #4 Workout protocol (see page 18)
MEAL #5 5 oz. top round steak over a salad with 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and balsamic
vinegar
MEAL #6 Omelet with 5 whole eggs, 8 additional egg whites
LOW DAY: Approx. 325 grams of protein; 100 grams of carbs; 90 grams of fat
MEAL #1 Blender shake made with 2 1/4 scoops whey protein, 3/4 cup oats (dry measure),
1.5 tablespoon almond butter, with ice, water, cinnamon, and Splenda
MEAL #2 7oz. cooked chicken breast, cup cooked brown rice, 20 almonds
MEAL #3 Blender shake made with 2 1/4 scoops whey protein, 1/2 cup oats (dry measure),
1.5 tablespoon almond butter, with ice, water, cinnamon, and Splenda
MEAL #4 7oz. cooked turkey breast, 2 cups broccoli, 1 ounce walnuts
MEAL #5 5.5 oz. top round steak over a salad with 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and balsamic
vinegar
MEAL #6 Omelet with 5 whole eggs, 10 additional egg whites
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WORKOUT PROTOCOL FOR ALL TRAINING DAYS
Approximately 30 minutes pre-workout:
- 30-50g simple carbs (maltodextrin, waxy maize)
- 5g BCAA
- 40g whey
During workout:
- 5-10g BCAA mixed in Gatorade
Immediately post-workout:
- 50-70g simple carbs (maltodextrin, waxy maize)
- 5g BCAA
- 40g whey
Have your next whole food meal about 60-90
minutes after this protocol
Workout Supplementation
There are specihc times in your off-season program in which judiciously timed supplement
intake can give you that added hve to ten percent in your efforts. One thing to add imme-
diately, if you are not already doing so, is the consumption of a night-time shake that can
be easily slammed when you wake for that 3:00 AM bladder drain. We suggest a scoop or
two of whey, and scoop or two of casein (varied based on your size) to provide a broad
amino array plus a mix of fast and slow-acting proteins to provide a slow sustained-re-
lease of protein. Add in a tablespoon of healthy fats, like macadamia nut or olive oil (10-
15 grams depending on body weight).
SETTING UP YOUR OWN INTAKE
Carbohydrate Protein Fat
High-Carb Day
2-4 grams per
pound of bwt
1-1.25 grams per
pound of bwt
low
Medium-Carb Day
1-2 grams per
pound of bwt
1.5-2 grams per
pound of bwt
0.25-0.5 grams
per pound of bwt
Low-Carb Day
0.5-1 gram per
pound of bwt
1.5-2 grams per
pound of bwt
0.25-0.75 grams
per pound of bwt
After looking at the two sample diets, you should have an excellent grasp of what your
personal diet should look like on this program. But what if you are 185 pounds or 235? Or
a ripped 345? We dont want to leave you out. The graph above will help you to plug in
your own numbers to personalize the diet for your personal needs. Once you know your
daily totals, divide them up into six or more meals daily (every 2 to 3 hours). We con-
sider the pre-, during and post-workout meals as one. You can use shakes for three or
four meals a day if that is necessary for convenience but alternate them with whole food
for a slow trickle effect.
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Shortly before your workout, drink a pre-workout shake consisting of a fast-acting carbo-
hydrate and protein. Waxy maize starch (WMS) is convenient and easy on the stomach
(unlike dextrose and maltodextrin). Blend 20-50 grams of WMS (30 for most), mixed with
30 grams of a quality whey isolate plus 10 grams Anatrop (BCAA plus L-Leucine, creatine
monohydrate, L-Taurine for cell volumizing).
During your workout is another great time to take advantage of the increased circulation
of blood to the trained body parts. Rather than just circulate blood, circulate nutrient-rich
blood through the body parts you are training. Sipping a drink of 10-20 grams waxy maize
and Anatrop (or BCAAs with Gatorade) assists keeping energy levels up and kick-starting
recuperation.
After your workout, a shake with a bit more wazy maize than pre-workout (40-50 grams)
and some whey protein (30-50 grams) will keep you very saturated with nutrients. It
might seem like a small dose of protein but it is more important to look at the sum of
those meals.
Finally, sixty to ninety minutes later, consume a whole-food meal, (perhaps an omelette or
some type of meat). Since the shakes are quickly absorbed, you want some real food to
provide some protein that will slowly trickle into your system.
OTHER SUPPLEMENTS
CREATINE: Perhaps the most studied and repeatedly proven effective supplement avail-
able is creatine monohydrate. It helps fuel muscle contraction and has been shown to
help people both lift slightly heavier and to knock out more reps. Creatine has started the
whole cell volumization craze because a fully creatine-saturated body will very quickly
pack hve to hfteen pounds on a lifter (due to the fact that you will osmotically draw water
into the muscles as well). There are some pretty solid theories that keeping a full creatine
tank also encourages muscle growth. Since creatine has become a very affordable supple-
ment, adding it to your daily intake is a no-brainer. Take hve to ten grams every day (in-
cluding non-training days) to keep the muscle stores topped off.
BCAAs: The largest percentage of amino acids in muscle tissue is composed of branched-
chain amino acids, so it should be little surprise how effective supplementing BCAAs are
for sparing the muscles from being cannibalized for energy. For those with some extra
spending money, taking BCAAs before, during and after (either alone in capsule form or as
part of a drink). I will take ten (one-gram) caps on my drive to the gym, hve to ten more
mid-workout, and then another dose when I am done.
MULTI-VITAMIN/MINERAL: Just to cover your basic nutritional needs, a multi is a worth-
while addition for insurance purposes. The importance of this, of course, depends on how
varied your diet is. If you are consuming a variety of fresh veggies and nutrient-rich foods
you can get a two-a-day and just take a half-dose. Those without adequate whole food in-
take, may need a full dose and perhaps even some extra vitamin-C, D, E, B-complex and
whatever you feel you may be personally lacking.
ZMA is also a useful supplement. Zinc is vital for enzyme production and a dehciency in
it can lead to low testosterone levels. Magnesium is a phenomenal product, important in
muscle contraction, nerve conduction and glucose disposal. Taken before bed, ZMA con-
tributes to more restful sleep. Again, for insurance purposes, ZMA is an easily-affordable
addition, particularly since intense training (and sweating) can deplete minerals.
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HEALTHY LIPIDS: Fish oils are the single best health-promoting supplements for both
bodybuilders and lazy couch potatoes. The have a profound effect on cardiovascular health
as well as encouraging leanness and muscle growth. You should take in at least three
grams of hsh oil year around for omega-3s. Some take larger doses and have seen good
results but three grams are a good baseline.
You should also take 2600 mg daily of evening primrose oil for omega-6 fatty acids. EPO
contains gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), which is a fat that helps burn fat by stimulating
brown adipose tissue. Borage oil is also a source of GLA, but EPO contains a higher quality
source that is more bio-available (even though borage contains more GLA). It has many
benehcial effects on cardiovascular health (lowering blood pressure) and factors such as
reducing platelet stickiness and blood clotting (de-syruping the blood). If you have trouble
hnding EPO in the health food store, it is often stored in the womens health section (as it
has been purported to relieve PMS and cramps).
While speaking on heart health, taking a low dose (81 mg) aspirin daily to slightly thin
your blood and reduce your risk of heart attack is a good precaution. It is worth the minor
investment (and they tend to come in pleasant favors).
FAT-BURNERS: The use of fat-burners during an off-season diet is not a wise idea. Let a
clean diet keep you from putting on excessive weight. Fat-burners should particularly be
avoided on a high carb day, since their effect goes against the glycogen storage goals of
that day. Keep fat-burners for your pre-contest stage (and even then, only minimal usage
later in your protocol). For off-season, limit things to a cup or two of coffee (if you are a
java addict) or green tea.
Consider your whey and/or casein protein as food sources (you would be hard pressed to
get adequate protein without a powdered source). Supplements should be seen as extras
and one should never waste money on them if their whole food intake it not consistently
in place. Instead of spending $65 on the latest bottle of suspiciously-marketed hormone
booster, use that money to stock up on a couple bags of chicken breasts, a couple dozen
eggs and as much steak as possible. Your physique will thank you.
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Some Useful Kitchen Tips
While I have heard bodybuilding referred to as "The Battle of the Knife and the Fork, like
any true military incursion, success if often won through proper planning. Consider your
kitchen to be your Command Operations Center and your grocery list as your general at-
tack strategy. Only a fool sends their troops into war (either on the battleheld or in the
gym) without proper supplies.
Lazy (or non-existent) food planning will limit, if not completely derail your progress. The
bodybuilders that seem to make the most of their genetics tend to also be the very ones
that set aside time (once or twice a week), to perform bulk prep of their bodybuilding
meals. If you come home and have a variety of healthy, delicious pre-made microwavable
bodybuilding meals waiting for you in the freezer, you are much more likely not to stray
from good nutrition. The top beneht of bulk food prep - it keeps you on track to your ob-
jective of a lean, muscular body.
Most successful bodybuilders with busy lifestyles set aside one evening once or twice a
week to prepare their healthy bodybuilding meals in bulk. If you are going to freeze meals
you can extend the time frame. If you prefer fresher meals, then you will need to just
make three to four days worth in a single session.
If you look in your phone directory, you can even get together with a friend or two and
rent out a large production kitchen with multiples ovens, stoves and lots of counter space
to cook a months worth of foods in a day if you are good at multi-tasking. This is a good
way to get ready for a successful off-season phase. These rent-a-kitchens are often found
in places that teach cooking classes as they want to make a little extra money in their
off-hours. Just make sure you are thoroughly prepared with all the ingredients and spices
required since you will be on the clock.
Food Prep Pointers
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Many people are surprised once they start to consistently bulk prepare their bodybuild-
ing meals that there is a remarkable monetary savings over just prepping their meals the
night before. Most foods are pro-rated in cost, which means buying ten one-pound con-
tainers of chicken is much more expensive than buying a single ten-pound bag. I recom-
mend that you shop around your area for outlets such as Sams Club, Costco, GFS and the
Wholesale Club. These stores offer excellent prices and are particularly suited for those
that eat in quantity, often providing items by the case or in special wholesale sizes.
Hunt around and compare prices at every grocery store in your area. I recently came
across an outlet store owned by a company that sells wholesale to restaurants. I felt like I
stepped into paradise when I saw that I could purchase fats of two-and-a-half dozen eggs
for the cost of a dozen at a traditional grocery store. I also found boxes of sixteen hve-
ounce steaks, three-pound bags of pre-cooked, diced chicken breast and incredibly fresh
produce at nearly half the cost I would have expected. Bodybuilding nutrition is expensive.
It pays to shop around.
Another great beneht to bulk food prep is that you can precisely control your portion sizes.
I recommend that you use a scale to determine proper quantities of protein, carbs and
fat. Rather than feeling like you need to clean your plate, even if youre full, you will begin
with a pre-measured portion. This will help you break from the "super-sizing mentality
that has been conditioned into us as consumers.
PLAN YOUR MEALS FOR THE WEEK
How often will you be scheduling your food prep sessions? Twice a week? Once a week?
Once every two weeks? It all depends on your food requirements, how much freezer space
you have available and what hts best into your schedule. I suggest you Xerox a page from
a calendar to plan out your weekly diet. Choosing foods to be a part of your diet isnt dif-
hcult and variety isnt a problem if you put in some initial effort. You can eat pretty basic
foods or, if you need more variety, grab some cookbooks from the library (or check out a
website like www.allrecipes.com) and simply start with a basic lean protein (beef, chicken,
turkey, hsh) and look for options that add favor without adding calories. Many spices are
not only calorie-free but have modest health-promoting effects as well.
Dehnitely take the time to list out all of your ingredients. You dont want to come home
and realize that you got enough chicken to grill and dice into omelets and over salads but
not enough for your other chicken recipes. Then inventory your supplies. Check the cup-
boards and refrigerator to ensure that you have all the spices, oils and other ingredients
required to make your food. Your bulk cooking session will take awhile. Dont make it
harder by having to run out for the one missing ingredient.
SHOP SMART FOR YOUR FOOD
Go into the store with a plan (AND your list). Filling your pantry with on-sale non-perish-
able items and buying some things at discounted bulk rated from wholesale outlets will
cover some of this.
One technique that health experts are recommending for members of the general popula-
tion is to "shop the outside of the store. This means that most of your foods should come
from the outer perimeter of the store - fruits and veggies, lean meats, eggs and other
base foods since the highly processed, boxed junk tend to hll the majority of the inner
aisles. (Of course, you need to skip the bakery section). Limit the amount of things in
boxes that you eat and stock up on items closer to their natural unprocessed state.
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FOOD PREP AND BATCH COOKING
Experience shows that it is smart to pre-prepare before your batch cooking session. The
night before, I check my list off recipes. I make sure the necessary meat is thawed. Mari-
nate and/or brown the meat and chop necessary ingredients the night before, if possible.
Also wash and put away all the dishes so that you begin with a clean and uncluttered work
area.
Deborah Taylor-Hough, author of Frozen Assets recommends that you hrst sort your meals
according to main protein. That way the chicken that you are prepping for grilled cutlets
can also be readied alongside the chicken you plan to use for chicken cacciatore or barbe-
cued chicken.
Since meat will be the primary ingredient in
most of our dishes, we want to make sure that
we limit saturated fats as much as possible.
With chicken, turkey and steak its a matter of
trimming away as much fat as possible. Af-
terwards, I recommend that you blot away as
much of the remaining fat with paper towels.
With ground beef you need to hrst choose the
leanest beef possible (90% fat free or above).
Organic beef will also contain less saturated fat
due to the natural whole-grain diets and lack of
fattening hormones fed to the cattle. Blotting
away fat will make a dramatic difference here.
According to the American Institute for Cancer
Research, blotting crumbled ground beef will reduce fat levels in the average serving by
four or more grams. Following this up by rinsing the beef in a strainer or colander reduces
fat levels by an additional four or hve grams. Obviously, this is well worth the effort.
With meats, I tend to always make extra helpings. If my eating plan requires a dozen
grilled chicken breasts, I also marinate some diced chicken in sugar-free Italian dress-
ing and garlic to serve over salads. Although some purists will say it is heresy to mix the
chicken into an egg dish, I also will shred some of the chunks into omelets. Likewise, beef
tips are a nice addition to an omelette or salad.
Most of my meals are pretty basic but a little soy sauce, Franks Red Hot, salsa verde or
Srirachi sauce can add a lot to a meal, with next to zero added calories. When I need to
try something new, I will go to one of the many recipe websites (such as allrecipes.com)
and modify their recipes; eliminating carbs and simple sugars and increasing the protein
content. I have had very good luck winging it in this way. The websites www.calorielab.
com and http://nutritiondata.self.com/ are also very useful for checking macronutrient
content of various ingredients.
EFFICIENT AND SAFE FOOD STORAGE
Even those with limited freezer space would be surprised to learn how much they can
store. Even with only a fridge-top freezer, I am able to store thirty-forty meals, depending
on how they are packaged. Originally, I used Tupperware-style containers but have found
that freezer bags (available in both gallon and quart sizes), take up much less space than
plastic containers.
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Purchase two or three extra ice cube holders (not trays for freezing them, but the square
bins in which you dump cubes). This will allow you to hle bags of food, keeping things
organized and avoiding an avalanche of edibles every time you open the door. You should
also list the type of food on the bag with a sharpie marker (once frozen it can sometimes
be hard to tell one item from the next). I also advise you to make a list of frozen meals in
freezer. Mark them off as you use them.
When hlling freezer bags, leave an empty inch on top of any liquid foods since they will
expand when frozen. Another trick is to lay out bags of food on a baking pan and placing
it in the freezer so that you get fat bags of food, rather than lumpy hard to stack blobs.
If you have a large capacity freezer then you have got it made. Once you have a grasp of
your food consumption patterns, you can go into large-scale production and keep a steady
stock of a half-dozen of your muscle-building favorites.
One last tip has to do with herbs. Fresh herbs always taste best but you can freeze a sin-
gle serving of fresh herbs in an ice cube tray, with whatever base you might use it in (i.e.
mixed with chicken bouillon). Place these cubes into a marked freezer bag and one can be
easily dropped into a dish for favoring.
USEFUL TOOLS
The following items should be a part of your kitchen arsenal. If you do not currently own
the complete list, try to gradually acquire them as they will make your time spent in the
kitchen go by quickly and efhciently:
1. Food processor. This one is a real time saving when it comes to slicing and
dicing your vegetables. Best of all, I hnd that since I purchased my food pro-
cessor, I eat much more fresh veggies which has improved my nutrition and
health.
2. Food scale. It doesnt have to be an expensive one, but a food scale will allow
you to conhdently control your portion size and the macronutrient composi-
tion of your meals.
3. Two or three large cast iron skillets. The prep will go by much faster if you
can cook multiple items at the same time and dont need to wash out a pan
before you can start a second entre.
4. At least two large pots (with lids). Same reason as above.
5. Crock pot. Crock pots seems as if they may have been invented for body-
builders. There are many healthy meals that you can create by just adding
the ingredients, letting it slow cook throughout the day
6. Rice and vegetable steamer. These are available for only $25-35 and make
preparing whole-grains a snap.
7. Cutting board (and a variety of knives). Look for something that can easily
be washed off since you will need it multiple times.
8. Measuring cups. I suggest a full set plus extra cheap plastic half-cup measur-
ing scoops to leave in your oats for easy partitioning.
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9. Vacuum sealer (optional). These can be pricey but if you plan to go into ma-
jor production (making more than two weeks worth of a food for freezing),
these items are worthwhile.
The initial investment in a few of these items will be offset be time saved in your food
prep over the years.
SNACKS
I like to cook one or two-dozen hard-boiled eggs each week. I dice these into salads or
toss a couple of them into a sandwich bag for a protein snack to go. I also like to have
other snacks on hand and ready to go such as bags of sliced fruit, steak and cheese
chunks or mixed nuts (I blend my own mix of raw almonds, cashews, walnuts, macada-
mias and Brazil nuts so that they are not roasted or covered in unnecessary oils and salt).
Needless to say, having a pre-measured protein shake in a shaker cup (where I only need
to grab an ice cold bottled water to blend it in for an on-the-road snack) is a constant.
This is also a smart thing to keep in your locker or desk drawer at work.
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Examining training programs is beyond the scope of this book. Most lifters at the level that
will be purchasing this book have their gym strategy down, so we are going to be brief. It
doesnt matter what style of training you choose - traditional high volume training, DC
Training, FST-7, Block Periodization, HIT, Y3T, Westside Barbell-infuenced powerlifting,
Girondas 10 of 10, WS4SB or any personalized hybrid of these programs, all of these
approaches can be married to the Lean Gain diet.
That said, there are some basic off-season training rules that everyone, from rookie lifters
to Jay Cutler would be well-served to adhere:
Heavy Weights. It is called progressive resistance training but it is remarkable to me
how many lifters are not posting bigger lifts than they were a year ago. We can cut rest
periods, getting more work done in less time. We can include set-extending techniques
like drop-sets and forced reps. These techniques are all strategies to implement at
particular times in your training but the most important indicator of progress is larger
numbers in your training log. Subjecting your muscles to higher tension (via big weights
in the primary exercises) is so vital to your success that you can visually tell the difference
among lifters that pump with light weights and the dense, solid mass of someone like
Yates, Francois, Coleman or Branch Warren that makes max poundages a regular part of
their training.
Smart Programming. On the fip side if this, if your goal is bodybuilding and not
powerlifting, then you dont need to tear yourself up just to beat your logbook. If hack
squats make your knees creak and presses-behind-the-neck makes it impossible to comb
your hair, then hnd suitable substitutes. The proper sequencing of exercises is crucial.
Beloved but joint-unfriendly exercises that you may have gritted your way through might
serve you even better at the end of the training session with a third less weight and a
few more reps. A muscle unit does not know the weight it is contracting to move. If you
can use that exercise when the soft tissues are thoroughly warmed-up and the working
muscles are already fatigued, you can maximize the risk-to-beneht ratio, recruit just as
Some Basic Training Info
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many muscle hbers (maybe even more), and eliminate injuries and down-time. You just
need to think smart and check your ego. As a bodybuilder, it doesnt matter how much
you can squat for a single. If you can increase your 12-rep PR in the squat (or any other
exercise), you are still getting stronger and causing the body to adapt.
Goals. Go to the gym each session with one or two goals for that session. Just "giving it
your all will provide far less progress than selecting goals prior to heading to the gym.
Examples of good daily goals might be (weights are obviously just for illustration purposes
and need to be individually adjusted):
- Front Squats with 275 pounds for eight or more reps (when your current PR is
seven reps)
- Wide-grip Chins - 50 reps in three sets with a 25-pound plate as added resistance
- Incline Db Curls - six or more reps with the 65s
- Get all 18 sets of your back, traps and calves workout done in 45 minutes or less
- Increase your elliptical cardio by 5 minutes, without a loss of intensity
- Increase the angle on the treadmill by hve degrees without a loss in distance
traveled or time
You get the idea. I recommend you pick one big goal (strength increase in a basic
compound exercise) and one secondary goal (rep increase in an isolation exercise or
harder/longer cardio session) for each training session. Choose your goals after the
previous workout for that bodypart and look it over in advance (the night before for
morning trainees; before heading to work for evening trainers) so you can think about it
throughout the day and get psyched in advance.
Variety. A recent trend has been top bodybuilders making radical changes in their style
of training. Powerlifting champion Matt Kroczaleski switched to a bodybuilding program to
compete in a state level contest. Retired powerlifter Dave Tate follows a variety of faster-
pace, higher-rep bodybuilding-style programs (and diet). DC Trainee Dusty Hanshaw
recently began a high-volume training program by John Meadows to improve his legs.
IFBB pro Mark Dugdale has switched from moderate-volume to a modihed DC-training
program, to Yates-directed HIT and back to a moderate-volume hybrid program. Steve
Kuclo has made great gains in the past year by dramatically increasing his training
volume. The more you are adamantly set on your longtime favorite way of training, the
more you have to gain from trying something radically different.
In the following pages, we are both going to share a couple of our favorite exercises for
each bodypart, along with performance tips on how we apply them. Read this through.
You are bound to hnd at least a dozen ideas that you may want to try in your training.
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Many bodybuilders avoid the Front Squat,
mostly because it is uncomfortable to position
the bar. Say what you will about the limitations
of muscle shaping on genetics, but I swear
that people that do a lot of Front Squats just
generally have a better shape to their legs. Front
Squatters seems to have better teardrops over
their knees, thus avoiding top-heavy turnips-thighs. Front Squats should always
be done for low reps (six and under). Any higher than that and the ability to
maintain proper rack position will degrade before quad strength is adequately
taxed. There are plenty of leg exercises that lend themselves well to higher reps,
so I let front Squats fulhll a lot of my low-rep quad stimulus needs.
As far as something to just build raw muscle, nothing beats a non-locking
compound movement like Horizontal Leg Presses or Incline Squats, cutting out
the last hfth of the movement in order to fatigue every muscle hber possible. For
Incline Squats you need a 20-35 ramp. This places more emphasis on the quads
and makes it impossible to let your skeletal structure support the weight.
I would be crazy not to include Squats. In my mind, there is no better quad-
building gameplan than alternating workouts focusing on high rep (12-30ish),
medium rep (6-12) and low rep (1-4) squatting in order to build all aspects of the
quads. (Or, as mentioned above, I often substitute Front Squats for the low-rep
workout.) For those trying to earn their "big boy pants in the gym, Twenty-Rep
Breathing Squats build the legs and your overall ability to withstand hard training.
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I like Squats (at least to parallel) with a
shoulder-width or slightly wider stance. I
vary the reps but stay in the hve to hfteen
range (doing higher rep leg work on a Leg
Press or Hack). All reps should be controlled,
with deliberate negatives (no fast drops) and
explosive concentric.
The Leg Press allows you to overload the quads without back stress or needing
to balance. Taller guys often have trouble going deep on a squat because of their
structure (femur length and length of their torso). The physics of the leg press
place different stress on the legs and take the lower back out of the movement.
The Hack Squat provides a different kind of stress. Hacks and Leg Presses allow
you to overload at various foot placements. Because Hacks can be tough on the
knees, I recommend that you use them later in your workout so that you are
already warmed up and do not need to use huge amounts of weight.
Im also a big believer in wearing knee sleeves to keep your knees tight and
warm. The single-ply sleeves from www.EliteFTS.com are perfect. You want a
sleeve thats snug but isnt so tight that it cuts off circulation. You can probably
tell Im not a big fan of very tight knee wraps either. You want your muscle doing
the work. The sleeve is just there to provide some support and keep things warm.
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For hams, I like to use one contraction movement
and one stretch movement. For a good, direct
contraction, I use a Leg Curl movement, with
seated or lying being the two I use most often. I
dont really feel a huge difference between those.
For a stretch movement I do a Stiff-legged Deadlift or Romanian Deadlift. I do
not like a true-stiff leg; I prefer to keep a little bend in my knees. There are a
few variations. You can do a Romanian Deadlift, which I like because you can use
an appreciable amount of weight. The Romanian Deadlift is a good overall mass-
builder. It also works your lower back and traps as you stabilize the weight. A
stiff-legged Deadlift is a good glute builder (since I personally dont need a ton of
glute thickness, I have been doing more RDLs).
Recently John Meadows has been having me hnish my workout with Stiff-Leggeds
with dumbbells. By the end of my leg workout my lower back is shot. If I were
to do full-range S-L Deads and lock out at the top, my lower back would just
seize up. I focus on the bottom portion, getting a full stretch and only bring the
dumbbells up to knee height. Once you go higher than that, more and more of
the work is being done by the lower back and glutes anyway. By keeping the
movement in the bottom half, I keep the stress off of my lower back and more on
my hamstrings.
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Nothing hits hams better than the Glute-Ham
Raise. I like GHRs with the foot end of the unit
elevated and bands to keep tension at the top.
For hamstring isolation, I like Hammer Seated
Leg Curls (or similar) or Dumbbell Leg Curl
One-and-a-halves. If you have never done a
Dumbbell Leg Curl, it is an exceptional exercise. I use one of those big decline
ab benches, set a dumbbell on the foor (maybe thirty-pounds to start), with the
sole of my shoes on the inside plate and the handle of the dumbbell being held
between my insteps. I suspect that having to squeeze the feet together increases
hamstring activation. I like doing one-and-a-halves (a full rep followed by a half-
rep in the bottom, stretched segment of the range-of-motion).
You may think they are all about mandolin music and gypsy curses, but
apparently Romanians appreciate great hamstrings as they invented the
Romanian Deadlift. If you are not familiar, these are stiff-legged DLs with a
bend in the knee joint ("soft knees) and a shorter range-of-motion. The bar
stays close to the body and the hips move back a bit more in order to maintain
balance. And if your gym has any kettlebells, the Kettlebell Swing is easy to do
and its a great warm-up since it does a great job activating the posterior chain.
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For pressing I hnd that a parallel-grip is easier on
my shoulder joint and I focus on the mid-range in
these. I like using those Strongman pressing logs
because once you clean it to a rack position on
your upper pecs, it just feels like a much stronger,
safe position than barbell presses. Usually though,
one of these is not available so I use dumbbells or a comfortable machine.
I do three styles of Lateral Raises: 1) Strict Laterals are done with one arm and
leaning away from an upright like the side of a machine or rack. I am meticulous
in my form and pause at the top; 2) Power Laterals are also done one-armed
with a signihcantly heavier weight. I lean forward at the waist (to reduce front
delt assistance) and brace my free hand on the back of an incline bench. I allow
some momentum (not degraded body position) and emphasize a slow controlled
negative; 3) "Rhythmic Laterals are done very strictly at a quick tempo with two
dumbbells. I focus on keeping my shoulder blades and elbows WIDE throughout
the reps in order to reduce trapezius involvement.
Pulldowns-to-Face are one of a handful of exercises shown to me by Louie
Simmons that have become a regular part of my training. They are done standing
in front of a lat pulldown machine with a traditional pulldown bar attached. Place
one leg up on the knee restraint pad to hold your position. Take a shoulder-width
grip and, keeping your elbows high; pull the bar towards your chin. Focus on the
contraction of the rear delts. I dont feel Rear Delt Raises or Reverse Pec Deck
nearly as directly (or get as good of as pump) as I do with Pulldowns-to-Face.
Your delts get hit very hard on chest work,
particularly your front delts. Im not a huge fan
of Military Presses, especially at the beginning of
a workout since I believe they put the shoulder
capsule in a vulnerable position. Like Hack
Squats, they are safer when done later so you
are warmed up and dont need as much weight.
Lateral Raises (dumbbells or cables). I like to bring the handle slightly higher
than shoulder position (to ten-oclock and two-oclock position). I make a
conscious effort before each rep to relax my traps to make them sink into my
back so that I am only working my delts.
My third exercise would be something for rear deltoids -either rear dumbbell
raise or rear delts sitting facing in on the pec deck. I prefer a pronated (palms
down) grip for rear delt work, both with dumbbells or a machine. Make sure
youre using your rear delts to move the weight, and not your traps. This is done
by initiating the movement with your rear delts (and not by shrugging the traps)
and also by keeping a wide arc for the range of motion (dont bend your elbows
too much).
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In my early twenties, I took a California vacation
and had a diet and training program designed by
top bodybuilder Rory Leidelmeyer. Rory came in
an extremely close second at the 1983 Nationals
to Bob Paris (who has been one of his students)
in the most competitive amateur show ever. One
of the exercises he taught me for pecs was Incline Flye Presses. This exercise
consists of one rep of presses alternated with a rep of fyes. If triceps tend to take
over the workload during pressing movements with you, alternating dumbbell
pressing with a fye movement cuts the triceps involvement in half. You will use
less weight at hrst but after a few workouts you will be using impressive weights.
I like to hnish many of my pec workouts with Pec Dips. After doing eight to twelve
sets of other chest exercises, I dont need any added weight and just rep out on
these. One of my early mentors taught me to do these Gironda-style: concave
back, chin tucked down to chest, elbows wide, hands turned in (thumbs pointing
behind you), and just enough of a bend in the waist so that your feel are under
your face. I emphasize the stretch and only come up two-thirds of the way to
lockout.
I have never been a fan of the Smith machine but I have recently been doing
Reverse-grip Smith Presses. This works the upper pecs better than any other
incline movement. I go with a low incline and a slow negative. The only reason
I use a Smith machine is for safety reason (I want to keep my teeth when my
triceps give out).
Im not a fan of Flat Bench Pressing because I
have seen too many pec and shoulder injuries. I
prefer Inclines, but even on these, I dont lower
the bar all the way in order to limit the stretch.
The lower you go (in both fat or incline) the
more your shoulder rotates, which puts it into a
vulnerable position.
I do Dumbbell Presses but always at an incline, varying from just putting a
25-pound plate under one end of the bench to doing them at a 40 angle.
Barbells seem to just lock you in place while dumbbells have a better feel.
Dumbbells allow you to rotate your hands to more of a neutral position if need
be and adjust the spacing of your hands. All of this equals reduced chances of
pec tears or shoulder injuries.
I like Pec Deck early in the workout as a pre-exhaustion exercise. Starting with
something like heavy low-rep Inclines may work well for Branch Warren (and I
would never argue his success) but crazy heavy weights like that at the start of
a workout is taking more of a gamble. Pyramiding weights is a better approach.
Doing a set of hfteen reps, then twelve, ten, eight. This gets the chest and
shoulder warmed up before you work them. You may need less weight for your
heavy sets but you are still getting stimulus without any loss in safety.
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I like rows with my elbows lifted up and out in
order to hit traps and rhomboids. Think of the
form on these as being similar to a "reverse
bench press with elbows wide, rather than
tucked in tight to your sides as in a One-Arm
Dumbbell Row.
I also like to do a variety of Deadlifts for back thickness -including full Deadlifts
from the foor and Rack Deadlifts. These thicken up your entire posterior chain,
all the way down to the calves even.
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I like to do a basic row with a palms-up grip,
usually Bent Barbell Rows or Under-grip
Cable Rows. With all of my back exercises, I
emphasize a strong isometric contraction
(pause at the top and squeeze hard in the
contracted position for two or three seconds).
I also like doing an under-grip row on the Hammer Strength machine that Yates
helped make famous.
After working the lats with heavy compound movements, I like to do Lat Flyes
(with added band resistance). These are basically the reverse of a pectoral fye;
keep a constant bend of 10-15 in the elbows, and arch the back for a paused
contraction. I do them along three different positions; with my elbows high
(more rear delt, trap and upper lats), midway, with the dumbbells in line with the
bottom of my ribcage (general lats, rhomboids and other midback muscles), or
low with the dumbbells going close to the hips (more lat isolation).
My weird exercise for back thickness is Close-grip Row from Platforms. I slide six
to ten twenty-hve pound plates onto a loading pin, attach a parallel-grip rowing
handle to the pin, and step on two plyo boxes (or two fat benches if none are
around). I dont do this exercise that often since the set-up is a pain but it feels
great due to the direct line of pull with a great stretch and contraction.
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You wont hnd a better back widener than
the classic Front Chins. I use a moderately-
wide grip (slightly wider than shoulder-width
but not extreme, since that actually reduces
full contraction) and always wear straps. If
you cant get a full set of these on your own, use a band to deload some of
your bodyweight and do your last set without assistance to establish a chin
benchmark. When you can get eight reps without help, switch to doing them
without the band. Go for thirty reps in as few sets as possible. When you can do
all thirty in three sets, increase the target to forty reps total. When I am done, I
hang from the bar and left my shoulder blades stretch out wide (and it also helps
decompress my spine a bit).
My other somewhat unique width exercise is the Lat Pulldown Shrugs. The
shrugging in this exercise consists of pulling back the delts and squeezing your
shoulder blades together without bending the arms. Again, I use straps and
intersperse shrug between full range pulldowns (always pausing for two or three
seconds at the contracted point). When I cant do any more pulldowns, I hnish
with a handful of lat shrugs.
For width, I actually prefer rows - Dumbbell
Rows and Cable Rows. It is actually counter-
intuitive. Most people think of Pulldown and Pull-
up variations are for width. and I do those to a
certain extent. I have been working with John
Meadows over the past year and he has had me doing a lot of rowing movements
and my back width has expanded incredibly.
On Dumbbell Rows, keep your elbows close to your sides to hit lats. Drive with
your elbows. As you pull back, think about putting your elbow close to your
pocket. Drive back and low. I support myself with my non-working arm. Most
people with use the top row of the dumbbell rack for this but I hnd that using the
lower row of the rack puts me in a more bent over position and has a better feel.
I would still include Pulldowns though. A lot of people cant do Pull-ups. I cant do
them. Im too heavy in the off-season so I just use Pulldowns. I use a variety of
grips. Sometimes I use a wide grip. Sometimes I go with a shoulder-width grip. I
tend to use an over-grip or a neutral (parallel) grip, never an underhand grip and
I always wear straps. If that makes me a pussy, that is hne. I have a bigger back
than a lot of other people. Im not a strongman, not a bodybuilder. They are an
assist, not a crutch.
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I do Shrugs every so often. A lot of people load
up the bar and do these quick, split-second reps.
I dont think that provides much beneht. I prefer
strict, controlled reps, holding at the top for a
couple seconds before lowering the weight. If you were to stop a guy slinging
around 400 pounds on Barbells Shrugs and told him to hold the weight at the
top for two seconds, he cant. I bet he cant even do one rep. Dorian Yates once
said that if you cant hold a weight in the contracted position, then you didnt
get it there using your muscle. You got it there using momentum.
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When I want to go really heavy on traps, I use
Kneeling Dumbbell Shrugs with straps. I started
doing these when I was suffering from a recurring
muscle pull near my tailbone. Sitting on my
haunches protected the area, but I also learned
that is was very handy only having to drop the
weight a few inches to the ground. You can even do rest-pause sets, with a thirty
second rest allowing you to tack on three or four added reps to a set.
Working muscles at different rep tempos is a great way to stimulate progress.
Lots of lifters will periodically perform Speed Deadlifts. When I do those, I make
them into Deadlift Shrugs. Explode up your deadlift (either from the ground of
from the hang position off of racks) and end with a paused contraction of the
traps at the top. Sometimes I will even rise up on my toes in my impersonation of
an Olympic lifter.
I go through phases in which I do Farmers Walks at the end of my workout,
mostly just because they are a fun challenge. I go out the back door of the gym
and go for distance behind the building (I hnd it funny when the gym attendant
comes out to see if we are stealing the dumbbells). Although you pummel your
grip strength and most of the stabilizing muscles of the body, the Farmers Walk
really gives your trapezius a killer workout.
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About twelve years ago, I did an interview
with Louie Simmons, introducing him to the
bodybuilding world. We discussed his training
of Arnold Classic champ Mike Francois and
those conversations had a powerful impact on
my training. From that I learned the benehts of Rack Pulls for overall thickness
of both the lats and lower back. I like these on the Cybex Deadlift and Row
platform, but any rack will do. The Cybex has easily-adjusted catch-bars that
provide the perfect two-inch height adjustments (plus, since I was training at
the same gym as Francois at the time, I hoped to absorb some of his lumbar
magic by using the same rack). I alternate between conventional-stance for
a cycle and then sumo-stance the next (with Good Mornings being the third
cycle).
My other choice would be Simmons most famous innovation, the Reverse
Hyperextension. This simple machine is a career-extending piece of genius. I
had a painful recurring lower back injury. A strength imbalance would cause a
muscle pull or nerve impingement near my tailbone about two or three times
a year and it will have me in bed with a heating pad an muscle relaxants for
a couple of days. Once I started using the Reverse Hyper, that no longer a
concern. Not only does the gentle traction relieve spinal compression but the
exercise has improved my posterior chain strength. I alternate between feet
together and feet wide as well lower reps (6-10) for strength and higher reps
(10-20) for recovery.
I keep things very direct when hitting lower
back. Deadlifts handle the strength needs for
this area (as well as hitting hamstrings, lats,
traps and much of the body) and I think this
is a great basic overall mass and strength
builder. For an isolation movement, I like
Hyperextensions on the 45 bench. You can add weight or
anchor mini-bands under the bench for resistance. I hnd that
with Hypers, I can control the movement better and maintain
the pressure on my lower back on the angled unit more than on
the horizontal one.
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There is not much variety in biceps training
because, with the biceps, all it really does is curl.
EZ Bar Curls are easy on the wrist. I dont care
for straight bar curls as they cause strain in that
area. I vary the grip on these; sometimes using
the close (inside bend in the bar) and sometimes
grabbing it with the wider grip.
Dumbbell Curls are, of course, very comfortable on the wrists and you can
supinate as you curl to get a stronger contraction.
I like Hammer Curls because they involve the brachialis and brachioradialus to
thicken up the forearm and underbelly of the biceps.
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No biceps exercise does more for me than Incline
Dumbbell Curls. They are the perfect combo of
strength and feel. Warm up with a couple of light
sets, since Incline Curls involve considerable
stretch. I set the bench at 35, supinate on the
way up, and then rotate my arms the out to the
sides before lowering slowly with the pinky-side as high as I can comfortable keep
it. Start with light weights but you will progress to decent weight on these and
they will make you incredibly sore deep in the muscle belly the next day.
There is no better biceps pump exercise for most than Barbell Drag Curls. These
are simple. Grab a straight bar with a shoulder-width (or slightly wider) grip and
curl the weight up to nipple height while sliding the bar along the front of your
body. Wicked pump!
If I dont do Incline Curls, Standing Dumbbell Curls are my meat-and-potatoes
exercise. I go fairly heavy but keep textbook form on all but the last two or
three reps of the set and, even on these, my negatives are slow and painfully
deliberate.
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I lie on the foor to do Rolling Dumbbell Triceps
Extensions. These are pretty much just Skull-
crushers that require a bit of balance (a
neuromuscular plus) but, since the elbows are
not locked into place, you can begin with a
couple of inches of shoulder rotation to get the
weight moving. It is a heavy exercise that is easy on the joints.
At some gyms in which I have trained, they have had machine bench press units
that I didnt care too much for, but I found that they were GREAT for Close-grip
Machine Presses. I place a two-by-four or a cambered cable curl bar across the
handles and it makes for a perfect triceps exercise. You can even take it to failure
without a spotter (sliding down the pad to get into or out of position) plus you can
pull a pin to do drop-sets with these.
Larry Scotts favorite triceps exercise involved an extension on a low pulley using
a special twin pedestal bench. Scott claimed it was the ultimate triceps exercise
and focused much of its effect on the long head of the triceps. I found a simple
substitute that can be done on those new Nautilus selectorized pullover machines.
By standing behind the machine and bending forward so that my forehead
rested on the top of the pad, you can grab the handle and perform what I call
the Overhead Pullover Press. I recommend you give it a shot. After some heavy
presses and extensions, it is a great hnisher.
Lots of people advocate heavy compound
movements but I like to start my workout
with Triceps Pushdowns. This is a contraction
exercise that warms up the elbows and triceps
so I use it before something like a Close-grip
Bench Press or Skullcrusher. I have a separate
arm day so it is more important to warm up than someone training triceps after
chest.
I like the dipping machine better than I like body weight dips; probably for the
same reason that I prefer Pulldowns over Pull-ups (I cant do them). Im heavy
and I have better control with a machine. I can put the tension where I want it,
rather than have to balance myself. I dont care for the Hammer Strength Dip
Machine (I dont like the mechanics of it and the handles are too narrow). We
have a Wate-Man machine which is pretty basic but has a good feel to it.
After Im thoroughly warmed up, I do Skullcrushers with either dumbbells or an
EZ-curl bar. I keep my elbows about shoulder width (not wide and fared), and let
the weight go deep at the bottom, to get a good stretch (Ill even let my elbow
fall a bit back at the bottom, to get an even greater stretch. On the concentric, I
extend up and BEHIND my head (not directly over it) to keep constant tension on
the triceps. Reps vary but are usually between eight and hfteen.
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Hammer Curls but I never do any Wrist Curls or
grip work. Forearms get stimulated a lot with
other work. They are like calves in many ways.
You either have them or you dont. You will
know within the hrst year or so of training if you
were meant to have awesome forearms or not.
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Occasionally following my biceps training, I will
throw in some forearm work. Since Deadlifts,
Chins, Rows and Rack Pulls work grip strength,
I do a very direct tri-set of Wrist Curls, Reverse
Wrist Curls and either Reverse Curls, Wrist
Rollers or a Grip Machine. I set up the weights
in advance so I can cycle through them with
minimal rest. For the Wrist Curls and Reverse Wrist Curls, I sit on the bench used
for seated cable rows. Ideally, you would want your hips lower than forearm
height, but I hnd this is high enough to get a full range of motion and be able to
drop the bar and it is only a couple inches from the ground. I go directly from
Wrist Curls to Reverse Wrist Curls. The hnal exercise (Reverse Curl, Wrist Roller
or Gripper) is done for reps to hnish things off and then I have to shake my hands
in order to disperse the lactic acid. Hammer Strength has a Seated Grip Machine
which is very good but I felt that if I just take one of my Captains of Crunch
Grippers it does just as good of a job. I like the localized burn the comes from
forearm work.
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45 Calf Slide or Calf Press are great choices
because Im looking for something in which I can
go very heavy without the spinal compression of
Standing Calf Raises. The ninety-degree angle
of the hip (similar to being in a seated position)
also lets you begin with some pre-stretch on
the hamstrings and therefore the calves. Donkey Calf Raise machines (or DCRs
using the hip-belt on the old Nautilus Multi-Purpose machine) are also suitable
options.
Seated Calf Raises are still the simplest and most direct method for targeting
the soleus (deeper, diamond-shaped muscle of the calf). Heavy but deliberate
reps on these (I change the tempo from fast to slow but always with a full
range-of-motion) are usually followed by burns (short-range movements) until I
cant move the weight any more.
I think that Dumbbell One-legged Calf Raises are underestimated. You might
assume that these do not allow the heavy poundages compared to all those
plates you can load onto the leg press when working calves but, when worked
one leg at a time, the range-of-motion in the stretched position increases by one
to three inches. Heavy one-legged calf presses on the leg press machine make
me feel as if I am going to jack up my spine. The moderate weight required for
One-Legged Calf Raises still gives me a great hnishing movement. Use wrist
straps and go for higher reps with a slow pace and emphasized range-of-motion
(pausing for a hard contraction at the top and a slow stretch at the bottom).
You need a straight-legged exercise like Standing
Calf Raises, Donkey Calf Raises or Calf Press on
the Leg Press Machine. I dont use the Calf Press
option as much these days because I dont feel
as if I get as much stretch on that machine, plus
it takes a lot longer to load the machine. We
mix up rep ranges and tempo. Recently, I have
been treating calves like arms, hitting them with a lot of volume and short
rest periods. They seem to be responding well. I am not getting Dorian Yates
calves but for Shelbys calves, they are doing okay.
I am always mixing up rep ranges. I rarely go under eight to ten reps for
calves. I sometimes do twelve to hfteen, maybe twenty, sometimes even hfty
reps for calves. Sometimes we will set up a superset or a giant set with three
or four exercises with no rest in between. Rest periods are always less than
a minute. For instance, yesterday we did ten sets of six reps with twenty-
seconds rest between each set. We are always mixing it up.
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I didnt used to do any ab work but recently
started. Like forearms, abs are worked a lot as
a stabilizing muscle. For beginners in particular,
training the abs is important. Strong abs help keep
your lower back healthy. I have decent abs without
having to train them. Some guys have shallow
abs and dont display any separation until they
are under six-percent bodyfat or whatever. I personally can be at 16% bodyfat
and have decent ab separation due to their blockiness. That is just the rectus
abdominus. I have never had great intercostals or obliques. On stage, a well-
developed abdominal region really sets you apart. If you dont have detail there
your conditioning will look subpar, regardless of bodyfat percentages. A small
waist is important, but also having a very muscular six-pack of abdominals, which
is showcased in a lot of the mandatory poses, is not to be overlooked.
I train the a couple times a week with three or four sets to failure. I do Cable
Crunches, where you are kneeling and grabbing a rope cable attachment. I also
do some type of Knee Raise, either and hanging leg raise or one where you
are sitting at the edge of a bench. That way you get an upper and a lower ab
movement. I sometimes will also do Woodchops from a high cable. I do abs as
a warm-up before my chest workout on Wednesday and my arm workout on
Sunday. A ten to hfteen minute ab workout gets my body warm and then I get
into my workout.
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They all suck. (I have never really enjoyed ab
work) but I just use as much variety as possible,
rotating exercises among three major functions.
I try to do something for the abdominal column
with some pretty direct resistance. These can be
either standing crunches with a cable or bands
thrown over the crossbar (of a power rack, chinbar
or cable crossover), kneeling cable crunches or reaching crunches holding a
45-pound plate. If I had one of those Ab coasters or the original Nautilus Crunch
machine, that might be my choice.
Secondly, I like to do something rotary like Russian Twists with a medicine ball
or Rotary Knee Raises (a knee raise in which you twist upward leading with the
left obliques and then the right). Despite what Yessis says about Russian Twists,
I keep my feet wide to lock my hips into place and nothing seems to hit that area
as well.
Lastly, I do something multi-plane like Rollouts on the Ab Dolly (going back and
forth in a W-formation) or Ab Pikes on a TRX. If neither of those is available I do
barbell roll-outs in an alternating V-pattern. In all honesty though, I tend to skip
this bodypart more often than I should.
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Shelby Starnes is a successful national-level bodybuild-
er, powerlifter, nutritionist, trainer and writer. He is also
the author of Tips and Tricks for Dieting Success, A Sim-
ple Guide to Very Low Carb Diets, co-author (with Justin
Harris) of The Troponin Nutrition Macronutrient Guide-
book, and co-author of The Fat Loss Diaries (with Marc
Bartley).
To order Shelbys books or read his regular article con-
tributions, go to www.elitefts.com. You can also "friend
Shelby on Facebook in order to track his day-to-day an-
nouncements.
Over the years he has helped hundreds of athletes dial
in their training, nutrition and supplementation. Now, let
him help you! For information on his consultation servic-
es, e-mail Shelby at sstarnesnutrition@gmail.com or visit
his website at www.ShelbyStarnes.com.
Steve Colescott has been a writer in the bodybuilding
industry and sports nutrition consultant for twenty years.
Ten years ago, he published the short-lived but heavily-
copied Peak Training Journal, widely-regarded as the best
hardcore strength magazine ever printed.
He has just recently launched the Iron Subculture pod-
cast, an information-packed examination of the best
training, nutrition and supplementation techniques from
the top experts in the bodybuilding, powerlifting and com-
petitive strongman worlds. Make a point to check it out.
To contact Steve with questions (or to be a celebrity
judge for your next bikini competition), he can be reached
at stevecolescott@gmail.com. To hnd out about his latest
projects, add him as a "friend on Facebook (you can also
"like the Iron Subculture page on there) or read his blog
at http://ironsubculture.blogspot.com/