What I would advise you to do is surmise just how much work you will be able to realistically handle and

formulate your training routine around this fact. As time goes by, you will be able to add a set here and a set there, and as long as the gains are coming your way you will know you are on the right path. With a little patience and some thinking on your part you will find the right amount of work which will work for you personally. In this and my next article I will outline for you various schemes utilizing the power rack for size increases. The first rack routine I am going to outline for you will be a basic, three-day-perweek training plan with emphasis on the power rack. This fundamental routine will allow the majority of you fellows to begin to get used to rack work and will allow you to also begin to grow from its application. Further on down the line, as it becomes harder and harder for you to continue to gain in both size and strength, I will outline more advanced methods of using the power rack which will require greater effort and training time, but which will aid you in continuing your aims and goals of increasing size and strength. With this first routine we will have to be interested in the amount of work as well and the intensity of this work, since we do not want the intermediate trainee to become overtrained for this is a real consideration in the beginning of any intense weight training program. Later on, after the trainee has become used to such workloads, he will be better able to adjust his volume suitable to his training energy and level of recuperative ability, which is as it should be for continued progress. Up until this point, however, do not deviate from the foregoing introductory routine. Try to be regular in your training habits and in your living habits, for these play a major part in achieving your goal of adding muscular bodyweight. Also, do not add anything to this routine, save some calf or abdominal work done for a few sets at the end of each workout, but not to any great extent. Here then is your primary three-day power rack routine:

Monday Full Movements Bench Press: One set of ten repetitions for a warmup, then a set of seven with heavier weights, then a set of three and finally three to five single attempts with around 90% of your one repetition limit. Finish up with four sets of four to six repetitions using all weight possible. Bentover Row: One set of ten for a warmup, then jump to five of so sets of four to six repetitions with a heavy weight. Parallel Squat: One set of ten for a warmup, one set of seven, then work with a weight hard for five sets of five repetitions. Wednesday Power Rack Bench Press: Use three positions. From the chest, midway, and lockout. Perform three sets of between six and eight reps for each of these positions. On the last rep of each set, old and push against the top pin for around six seconds. This will activate the deeper muscle fibers, and the higher rep scheme will cause greater muscle pump. Power Squat: Use three positions. Form the bottom, midway, and from a quarter squat position. Perform two sets of between six and eight reps from each position and be sure to push against the top pins on the last reps of each of these sets. Your parallel squat will surely improve from going this route! Deadlift From Below The Knees: Go for six or seven sets and work up to a maximum set of three with all the weight you can properly handle. This movement will greatly strengthen your lower back as well as building great deadlifting power and confidence.

Friday Power Rack Work Combined With Full Movements Incline Press: Five sets of between five and seven repetitions using a fairly heavy weight. Bench Press: Press from the sticking point in a power rack using five sets of threes and working up to a maximum set of three repetitions. This movement will immediately increase your bench pressing ability. Leg Presses or Front Squats: Four sets of six to eight repetitions. Use a heavy weight, one which makes you work, and work hard! Power Rack Squat: Place the bar at your sticking point and stand up with the weight from a deadstop for each and every repetition. Go for five sets of threes, working to a maximum triple. Shoulder Shrug: Five sets of eight to twelve reps, using a very heavy weight, pulling the bar as high and as fast as you possibly can. The weight should be so heavy that you MUST use straps. With this first routine we have been interested in coupling full movements with partial movements in order to maintain a necessary maintenance of lifting ability as well as well-roundedness of muscle structure and flexibility. While the brunt of the work will be done in the rack, there are also corresponding movements used in which standard barbell exercises have been utilized to bring about the desired results. The combination of these two types of training procedures should enable you to gain in an all-around way without losing any basic muscular qualities which were originally developed through standard exercise methodology. As you can see, if you look over this routine most carefully, it is quite complete in its training volume and intensity, yet it is not as severe as some of the other rack programs which I will be outlining for you in my next article, which you will be able to incorporate with time and persistence. I have coupled the full movements with the rack work so as to

incorporate the good points of both systems of exercise, and to utilize the best that both have to offer. This is a most complete way to fulfill your aims. Upon further consideration you will discover that the smaller muscle groups have been given adequate work to carry them through this intensive training period, yet the brunt of the work has been placed on the large muscles of the shoulder girdle, legs and hips. This is so that the amount of size gained will be put in the right places with the bodyweight going all over the entire body, giving it a well-rounded look with symmetrical development being the end product. This workload is also suited for increasing body power and this is another basic requirement of any weight gaining routine for it makes no sense to gain additional size if this size is not accompanied by additional power. By working the major muscle structures of the body quite hard you are guaranteed to build usable power along with your increased physical size. The arms and calves will grow somewhat, from the intensity and volume of work placed on the larger muscle structures. As long as we work the basic muscle group exercises the hardest with the most consideration, the smaller groups will coast along and go for the ride, so to speak. In my next installment I will endeavor to outline for you a few of these more complicated, more demanding power rack routines. Until then work, and work hard!

Part Two Of all the types of training available to the trainee today, to me, none is more important and beneficial than work done in a power rack. If the same trainee is trying to gain muscular bodyweight while working in the rack, gains will come to him all the faster. This is due to a multifaceted situation which encompasses rack work in general. First of all, the use of the rack for heavy partial repetitions is just about the most severe form of overload possible. Also, this severe overload training will force the trainee to gain useful bodyweight, due to the stimulation of the deeper

muscle fibres and the overall stimulation to the muscular system and the metabolic system such heavy workloads bring with them. I have never met a man who trained on the power rack for any length of time who has not gained greatly in size and strength and since this article deals with just this same goal and situation, you can be sure power rack training will aid you greatly in your quest for additional size and strength. This goes along with the theory that the proper diet will be followed during this training scheme. Without the proper diet, size will just not be possible to develop. You need the proper diet to maintain a positive nitrogen balance to stimulate bodyweight gain. Just as there are a multitude of movements you can perform on the rack, so too there are quite a few different methods of using the rack for best results in gaining bodyweight. It would seem at first that the basic training theories which powermen follow for gaining power would also help you in gaining size, but this is not always the case. If it were, we would have no smaller men in the lighter classes, since they all would have outgrown themselves before they were through competition. Gaining bodyweight and size with a power rack will require somewhat of a different repetition and set scheme than what is customarily used for gaining power in the body. For one thing, the set scheme is decreased somewhat and the repetitions are increased to stimulate more muscle fibers into growth contraction. We should also mention at this time the ability to couple various movements together for he pumping effect, and the growth effect such a coupling will produce. For regular power rack work, this would be out of the question, since the main idea would be to gain in strength, not bodyweight. However, in this situation, you will be trying to cause the muscle groups to respond with additional growth and so the inclusion of two or more movements for the same bodypart, both full and partial, will be of utmost helpfulness and availability. It is possible to combine various partial movements in a rack with full movements done in the standard way, with the end result being a thoroughly congested, fully worked and pumped up muscle. Another way of combining these two distinct types

of training is to work in the rack once or twice weekly and for the other workout do full movements. This way both types of work will be adequately used with enough training time and volume of workload to produce most favorable results, given enough time and sweat. The following routine is advanced and will be performed in four days per week training. It will require a sound nutritional basis for complete success. You are going to be expanding immense amounts of nervous and physical energy and the end product is meant to be increased bodyweight as well as increased power, so be sure to maintain a sound diet. If at all possible, try to find the time each day for a half-hour nap, or a few fifteen minute breaks throughout the day. Also, try to maintain a tranquil mind, a positive mental attitude toward the amount of work you are going to have to do, because there is going to be plenty of it to get used to. We are going to couple the movements so as to maintain a fine balance between partial movement proficiency and actual lifting finesse, but in this routine the rack work will be of optimum importance. The free movements will be only for muscle stimulation and not for the acquisition of strength. For this, we will depend on the power rack. I would also advise additional stomach work on the off days when you are not training on the rack, so as to strengthen the abdomen and maintain a trim waistline while gaining in size and power. I would not advise any additional barbell work beyond the amount of work I advise here in this routine. If given a chance, it will prove to be most complete within itself. Here then, is your four day routine:

Monday and Thursday Partial Standing Press: from below the chin to the top of the head. Perform 8 sets of 5 to 7 repetitions, working up to a maximum of 5 repetitions. On the final rep of each set, push against the top pin for 6 to 8 seconds. Bench Press Lockouts: from three-quarters off the chest to lockout. Perform 6 to 8 sets of 4 to 6 repetitions

with the last set being the heaviest weight you can handle for 6 reps. On the last repetition of every set push against the top pin for an additional six to eight seconds. Deadlift: from below the knees. Perform six to eight sets of three repetitions working up to a maximum set of three repetitions on the last set. Hyperextension: five to seven sets of eight to twelve repetitions using bodyweight as resistance and later adding weight behind the neck. As you can see, this first half of our four day routine is quite complete in the amount of work performed for the chest and shoulders with additional work being included for the lower back region.

Tuesday and Friday Partial Squat: position the bar at your sticking point and work up to eight sets of three to five repetitions, using all the weight possible for the final set of five. Front Squat: perform between five and seven sets of three to five repetitions with the final set being the heaviest weight you can properly handle in strict Olympic style. Bentover Row: perform five to seven sets of six to eight repetitions using all the weight you can properly handle. Cheat Barbell Curl: five to seven sets of six to eight repetitions using all the weight possible, slowly lowering the bar on the lowering part of each repetition. Close Grip Bench Press: perform five to seven sets of five to seven repetitions using all the weight possible for each and every set after warming up for the first set or two with a somewhat lighter weight.

What we have tried to do within this routine is to activate the deepest fibers with an overbalance of rack work, while at the same time adequate amounts of work are included for the adjacent muscle groups so that muscle shape is maintained. We have made sure that this power work in the rack would be sure to carry itself over to the regularly performed movements, so we have even included the close-grip bench press to maintain a certain amount of bench pressing familiarity. Coupling this with the heavy partial bench presses in the rack should cause not only size gains but a carrying over power effect as well. For the squat, while we have not included the actual full squat, we have concentrated on the sticking point of the movement in the rack, and it would take a very short time to acquaint our muscles back to the competitive manner of squatting with the back log of work which we have performed here in this routine. Let us not forget that the front squat is quite a leg developer, and I am sure by including this movement along with the sticking point squat the effect on the power squat should more than make itself felt. Since the sticking point in the deadlift for most people is just below the knee, we have concentrated on this position for our rack work on the deadlift. To be sure, your deadlift will increase with enough training time and patience. If you check out the routine more closely, you will see that the number of sets have been increased in comparison to the first routine I listed for you earlier, and it is just this increase in workload which will make you more advanced and better conditioned by the time you have fully adapted to this routine. Upon graduation of this routine you will be ready for an advanced power rack routine. When this conversion time comes around I want you to first and foremost get yourself set for the most demanding and severe type of work you have ever asked your body to perform. Be sure that the dietary end of your lifestyle is most complete, for you will need all possible energy at your disposal to enable you to further yourself along the goals and aims of this article. The kind of work you will be doing will be the hardest and most tiring of all. This routine will require five training days per week. Before undertaking this routine, reread my past articles concerning rack work and the theory of maximum fatigue. Most men will shy away from this routine saying it is too intense and

voluminous for the average man to make gains on. THEY ARE RIGHT! This routine is not for the mediocre lifter, but until you allow yourself an honest attempt at such a routine you will never know just how far your particular potential will take you. Besides, you will be trying to gain weight and eating in quantity with this routine, so it will not be as hard as it may seem at first. Just give it a solid try and see how your progress comes along after the first six weeks or so.

Monday Partial Press in Rack: press from he clavicle to eye level. Perform ten sets of three to six repetitions, using the heaviest weights possible and pressing against the top pin for six seconds on the last rep of every set. Eye-Level Press in Rack: press from eye-level to completion. Five sets of five to seven repetition Steep Seated Press: place a deeply inclined bench in the rack and press from pins set at clavicle height. Perform five to seven sets of five to seven repetitions Seated Press Behind Neck Perform five to seven sets of between five and seven reps. Tuesday Half Squats in the Rack: perform eight sets of three to five repetitions from halfway to completion. Do each rep from a dead stop off the pins. Work up to very heavy weight. Quarter Squats in the Rack perform five or so sets of three to five repetitions with extremely heavy weight. Many years ago I handled over 1.000 pounds in these for a few repetitions while weighing around 230. No wraps. Place the bar at the midpoint between parallel and upright. This is the quarter squat position Olympic Back Squat:

perform five to seven sets of five to seven repetitions working up to a max set of five each workout. These are done outside the rack wearing no belt and no knee wraps. Front Squat: five to seven sets of five to seven reps just as in the back squat above. Wednesday Upright Row: five sets of five to eight repetitions done outside the rack. Shrug Pulls: perform these in a rack and place the bar just above the knees. Use a shoulder width grip and use lifting straps. Work for eight to ten sets of six to eight repetitions using very heavy weights. Deadlift Below Knee: once again you are in the rack. Perform five of so sets of three to five repetitions working up in weight. Stiff-Legged Deadlift: do these outside the rack. Five or so sets of three to five repetitions working up in weight. Thursday Bench Press: outside the rack, work up to eight to ten sets of four to ten reps working to heavy weight with repetitions done slowly and strictly. Close-Grip Benches: outside the rack, place two fingers inside the knurling and perform five or so sets of four to six repetitions. Dumbell Bench Press: work for five sets of five to seven reps with the heaviest weight you can possibly handle. Bench Lockouts: these are done in the rack, using a rep scheme of three to five and working for five

sets with a heavy weight. The bar is placed on pins just above the halfway point and pressed from here to completion. Friday Dips: eight to ten sets between eight and twelve repetitions, adding weight whenever possible. Chins: the same as the dips above. Full Squats: no wraps and no belt, five sets of eight to twelve repetitions. Deadlift: five sets of three to five reps working up to a heavy triple. As I mentioned earlier, this is quite a routine! Do not be afraid of it, nor become too complacent in your attitude towards it. It WILL work if it is coupled with intensive dietary consideration, rest, proper mental attitude and TRAINING BELLIGERENCE. Work your way into it very gradually and see what you can do with it.

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September (19) August (33) July (19) June (23) Size Increases With The Rack - Anthony Ditillo Carlin Venus Interview - Bob Green Shoulders - Charles A. Smith Training Proficiency Simplified - Anthony Ditillo My Training Philosophy - Jon Smoker Deadlift Training - Tony DeFrancisco Bench Press Training - Paul Anderson Steve Merjanian - Dave Shaw An Intermediate Mass Program - Anthony Ditillo Chins - David Willoughby Going Back To The 1950's - Reg Park Deadlift Training - Paul Anderson Squat Training - Paul Anderson Nutrition - Paul Anderson Maxick - A Superman! - Tromp Van Diggelen J. V. Askem Shams, The Miracle Man - Charles Coster Rack Training For Beginners - Bill March Breathing Squats From 70lbs. to 400 x 20 Weightlifting For The Bodybuilder - Bob Gajda Olympic Lift Training Program - Morris Weissbrot Prison Postal Meet - 1963 The King Of Lifts - Bob Hoffman May (15) April (18) March (18) February (30) January (7)

My pulse rate is in its target heart-rate zone for most of my resistance training. I don't think Mother Nature gives a damn how it got there. Bill Pearl

Ditillo Routines
Intermediate Mass Program The intermediate mass program is NOT for the advanced man. He would never respond to the amount of work Im going to advise herein. Being advanced necessitates diversity in performance and volume of work as well as tightening up the dietary schedule, since continued weight gain would NOT be desirable for the truly advanced man who has already gained sufficiently in basic bodyweight. For the majority of beginners and intermediates, three total body workouts per week seems to be just about right. You will have two heavy days and one medium day, for variety and recuperation. On you two heavy days the movements are heavy and basic. The repetitions are kept low to enable you to use truly heavy weights to ensure mass gains. The first and second sets should be warmup sets. Sets three, four and five are to be performed with all the weight possible for the required reps. Rest no longer than one minute between sets. When sets three, four and five can be done fairly easily, add ten pounds to your upper body movements and twenty pounds to the lower body movements. The entire schedule consists of between twentyfive and thirty sets. Surely this much work can be finished within ninety minutes. Monday & Friday (heavy days) Press Behind Neck 5 sets of 5-7 reps. Bentover Barbell Row 5 sets of 8-10 reps. Barbell Curl 3 sets of 8-10 reps. Lying Triceps Press 3 sets of 8-10 reps. Half Squat 5 sets of 8-10 reps. On your off days, do four or five sets of calf raises and light abdominal work. Wednesday (medium day) Dips 4-5 bodyweight sets doing all the reps you can. Chins the same as dips. Full Squats 2 sets of 20 reps as described. Stiff-Legged Deadlift 2 sets of 10-15 reps using light to medium weight. Routine #1 This full schedule should be repeated 2 times per week. However, if you want, you could increase it to three times per week, but this is up to your ability to handle work.

Monday and Thursday: a.) Squat One set of 10 reps, as a warmup, followed by five sets of five reps using all the weight possible for each set. b.) Deadlift Same as Squat. c.) Bench Press Same as Squat. d.) Bentover Row Same as Squat.

Routine No. 2. This kind of training routine is more severe and that is why you only do 2 movements per training day. You will be working these 2 movements quite hard and this will cause you to gain. Monday: a.) Squat 110; 18; 16; 14; 12 and then 5 sets of 3-5 reps using all the weight possible. b.) Bench Press Same as squat. Thursday: a.) Deadlift same sets and reps as Monday. b.) Bentover Row same sets and reps as Monday.

Routine No. 3. This would be he ordinary every other day schedule for the ambitious, underweight trainee. Monday, Wednesday and Friday: a.) Squat 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps using all the weight possible. b.) Bench Press same as Squat. c.) Deadlift same as Squat. d.) Bentover Row same as Squat.

Routine No. 4. This type of routine would enable you to concentrate on one movement per workout for power and the other two for added muscular bulk. However, you will positively have to be sure to eat enough of the complete protein foods and get more than enough calories in order to grow. Monday: a.)Squat 1 set of 10 for a warmup, and then 8-10 sets of 3 reps using all the weight you

can possibly handle for each set. b.) Bench Press 2 sets of 10 for a warmup and then 3 sets of 5 reps using all the weight you can possibly handle. c.) Bentover Row 2 sets of 10 for a warmup and then 3 sets of 5 reps using all the weight you can possibly handle. Thursday: a.) Deadlift 1 set of 10 for a warmup, and then 8-10 sets of 3 reps using all the weight you can possibly handle for each set. b.) Bench Press 2 sets of 10 reps, and then 3 sets of 5 reps using all the weight you can possibly handle. c.) Bentover Row 2 sets of 10 reps, and then 3 sets of 5 reps using all the weight you can possibly handle.

Bulk And Power Routine No. 1 In this routine you will be performing the three basic power lifts. In it you use both low and high repetitions. This will allow you to gain in both muscular power and muscular size. Monday, Wednesday and Friday: Bench Press: 5 sets of 2-4 reps Bench Press: 2 sets of 10 reps Full Squat: 5 sets of 2-4 reps Full Squat: 2 sets of 10 reps Deadlift: 5 sets of 2-4 reps Deadlift: 2 sets of 10 reps

Bulk And Power Routine No.2 In this routine I have you working for bulk in the upper body while you are specializing on the lower body for power. The sets and reps are well suited to gaining in both and I have even broken down the workouts themselves into three distinct sections. I have you working the chest and shoulders on Monday and the back and arms on Wednesday (rowing and cleans work the arms quite hard!). Then on Friday I have you really work your thighs and hips and back. Monday: Bench Press: 5 sets of 3-5 reps Incline Press: 5 sets of 3-5 reps

Wednesday: Bent Over Row: 5 sets of 3-5 reps Hang Cleans: 5 sets of 3-5 reps Friday: Full Squat: 10 singles using 90% of your one rep limit Deadlift: 10 singles using 90% of your one rep limit

Bulk And Power Routine No. 3 This routine has you training for power on the bench press and the seated press while your leg and back work aids in gaining size. Monday: Full Squat: 1 set of 20 reps using a weight which is 50lbs. greater than bodyweight. Take 5 deep breaths between each rep. Deadlift: 1 set of 20 reps using a weight which is 50 lbs. greater than bodyweight. Take 5 deep breaths between each rep. Heavy Bent Arm Pullover: 5 sets of 5-7 reps, maximum weight Wednesday: Full Squat: 5 sets of 5-7 reps Deadlift: 5 sets of 5-7 reps Bench Press: 10 singles with 90% of your 1 rep limit Friday: Half Squat: 5 sets of 3-5 reps High Deadlift: 5 sets of 3-5 reps Seated Press: 10 singles with 90% of your 1 rep limit

Bulk And Power Routine No. 4 Monday and Thursday: Bench Press: 10 sets of 3 reps Bent Row: 10 sets of 3 reps Full Squat: 10 sets of 3 reps Tuesday and Friday: Incline Press: 5 sets of 5-7 reps Deadlift: 5 sets of 5-7 reps Half Squat: 5 sets of 5-7 reps

Bulk And Power Routine No. 5 Monday: Full Squat: 10 sets of 3 reps Dip: 5 sets of 5-7 reps Weighted Chin: 5 sets of 5-7 reps Wednesday: Deadlift: 10 sets of 3 reps Bent Arm Flyes: 5 sets of 5-7 reps Curl: 5 sets of 5-7 reps Friday: Bench Press: 10 sets of 3 reps Half Squat: 5 sets of 5-7 reps Rack Deadlift: 5 sets of 5-7 reps

Going Back To The 1950s by Reg Park

I recall quite clearly my first weight workout. It was in September, 1945, at which time I was 17 years old and weighed 165 pounds at 6 1. Up to that time I had excelled in both athletics and soccer and I possessed a lean, athletic body. I met Dave Cohen, who was some six years older than me, at the City of Leeds Rowndlay Park open air swimming pool, where all the lads and lasses congregated over the weekends and holidays. Most of the fellows were body-conscious but it was not until I saw Dave, who was then 24 years old, that I saw a real physique. Dave was 5 8, weighed 185 pounds with a 47 chest, 31 waist and arms, neck and calves all measuring 17 inches. There is no doubt in my mind that at that time he had the best physique in Great Britain, although I never recall him showing any interest in entering a Mr. contest. The first workout I had under Daves guidance consisted of barbell press with 40 lbs., press on back on floor (at that time we didnt know about bench presses) with 60 lbs. barbell, curls with 40 lbs., straight-arm barbell pullover on floor with 30 lbs., barbell triceps pushaway behind the legs and that was about it. All the exercises were performed with descending repetitions, 10-8-6. Three sets per exercise.

These workouts were performed Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in a bare wooden floored room made available by the parents of one of Daves friends. I did not really enjoy the workouts, the most appealing thing being the cups of tea and cakes which Daves friends mother laid on after our evening workouts. Nevertheless I persisted with training until about May, 1946, some eight months when Rowndlay Pool opened for the English summer (dont laugh - when I spent all my free time at the pool checking out the chicks my workouts became very infrequent). Looking back I recognize the fact that my early poundages were very inferior by todays standard. Even considering I was a total beginner, they would be a joke. Barbell press with 40 pounds? My wife can do that! So I obviously started off with little or no latent strength. The first eight months of training were just functionary. I was not into it and had very little awareness as to what weight training was all about, other than to be aware that I wanted to look like Dave. Nevertheless, when I was conscripted into the army in August, 1948, I was doing repetition presses with 80 pounds and did a pullover on the floor (more like a rollover, flipping the bar with a sharp wrist action until it rested across the chest with the upper arm resting on the floor and the forearm perpendicular) and a press on back with 205 pounds for one rep. No big deal, but at least 100% improvement from my starting poundages. My eight months training must have done me some good, without my realizing it, because when I went into the army I was still 6 1 but weighed 185 pounds. The next two years were spent in the army where I ended up as a physical training instructor in Singapore during which time, I suppose, I had about 20 workouts in two years. By the time I got out of the army my parents had erected a chinning bar in our back garden and I bought a secondhand barbell set which I kept under a tarpaulin next to the chinning bar, which had a clamp light attached to it via a cable from my bedroom, enabling me to workout at night. I trained outdoors through the winter often wearing as many as three sweat suits and pulling the snow covered tarp off the weights in order to workout. Gradually, I moved the equipment I had assembled (a fixed incline bench, a flat bench, squat stands, hand loading lat machine and my weights) into a one-car garage located behind the local shopping plaza. During that time I read all the English Health and Strength, Vigor, and AmericanStrength & Health and Weider magazines (which were then small in the format of a Readers Digest) that I could find in the book shops. Fortunately, I soon realized that if I

wanted to have the best physique in the world (a decision I made inLondon whilst watching the 1948 Mr. Universe) I would also have to be the strongest bodybuilder in the world. From then on I started to push the poundages. My decision to push myself to training with heavier poundages paid off when I won the 1949 Mr. Britain contest in, I think it was, September of October of that year when I weighed 226 pounds. By now I could clean and press two 100-pound dumbells, which I did backstage at the Leeds Empire in the dressing room of the Trois des Milles made up of Reuben Martin, Rusty Sellars and Len Talbot, who were touring the U. K. with the British version of the Folies Bergere. I also did a straight-arm pullover with top man, Rusty Sellars, doing a handstand on the palms of my hands, a feat which Reub told me only one man other than himself had ever done, and that man was 250-pound, 58 Bert Assirati who was without doubt the strongest British wrestler around. From 1949 right up to the late 1950s I was without doubtBritains strongest bodybuilder. I did a full squat, 2 reps with 600 pounds, with only the late Buster McShane spotting me in his gym in Belfast. At a show in Bristol I bench pressed 500 pounds (and was second in world after Doug Hepburn to succeed with this poundage), and pressed 300 pounds at the British Amateur Weightlifting championships. At various times I also repetition presses behind the neck with 250 pounds, and regularly did reps and sets with two 185-pound dumbells on the incline and flat bench, which was all the weight I could get on the bars. The only other bodybuilder at that time who could give me a go was a bull named Marvin Eder and I recall him and I doing bentover barbell rows with 400 pounds in 1951. At Ed Yaricks gym in Oakland,California, also in 1951, I remember doing seated dumbell curls for 5 reps with the 120s with someone, I think it was Art Jones, holding my knees. At this time I also broke several British professional weightlifting records, some of which had been set by Ronald Walker, whom I believe had previously placed 2nd or 3rd in the World weightlifting championships on the then three Olympic lifts. I could do squats with 500 pounds, bench presses with 400, curls with 200 pounds, clean and press two 100-pound dumbells all for repetitions at any time of the day without bothering to warm up. I remember doing bentover peak contraction curls

with a 100-pound dumbell for the fellows in our warehouse in Leeds. At that time I was not only considered the best built bodybuilder in the world but also the strongest. I weighed between 225 to 230 pounds. In December of 1960 (I was then into the gym business inJohannesburg) I received a phone call from Rome to star in the Italian Hercules films and it was neither the producer nor the director who wanted me as the star but the man who put up the money. Apparently he had seen photos of me and said, He is Hercules. Such had been the effect on my physique from all the heavy training I had done for 10 to 12 years. From 1962 onwards the pressure of running a chain of health studios and a mail order business took up a great deal of my time and energy and although I entered and won the 1965 Mr. Universe, my training at this period was a joke compared to how I had trained throughout the 50s. More often than not my workouts would be interrupted by visitors and endless telephone calls. I experienced more injuries, to my sacro,knees, elbows, biceps insertions and one shoulder injury that persisted continuously for five years yes, five years. Consciously, I trained less intensively and lighter and the only reason I retained any semblance of size and shape was due to the heavy workouts I put in from 1949 until 1962. From 1962 to 1982 I gave exhibitions all over the world, when injuries limited my training to Mickey Mouse poundages and my physique showed considerably lighter development. In 1980 I sold all my gyms. I am now into the manufacture and sale of bodybuilding equipment and I work as a consultant for Centrol Gyms in Johannesburg and give seminars and exhibitions. I have slowly recovered my enthusiasm for training and apply my experience and trial and error. I know which exercises I can do and which I must avoid, the latter being regular and full squats, deadlifts and bentover barbell rows, all of which cause considerable pain in my sacro region; chins and parallel bar dips which tear my shoulder ball-and-socket joint. In the middle of 1982 I made a decision to train progressively heavier as I did in the 50s. The exercises I am able to do are in slightly higher reps than the past, 8-10 generally, but every exercise is performed with maximum poundage in the last set and I endeavor to add reps whenever possible.

Most important of all, Im enjoying my workouts like I have not in a long time. Im enjoying striving to handle heavier and heavier poundage. My wife Marion is a great cook and baker. I eat and drink as I wish homemade bread, biscuits, cakes and ice cream, lots of fruit and vegetables, meat, fish and poultry. with a bottle of wine nightly I eat as I like, as I did when a competitor. After all, isnt that what life and training are all about? ecialization Programs by Anthony Ditillo

With these routines we are going to get into the utmost effective specialization programs of which there have been many records kept. For the most part, these methods of acute specialization will work the muscles and the lifting movements to a peak of development and proficiency which beforehand would have been felt were completely impossible or out of the question of being attained by the average trainee. What we are going to be doing in this section of Chapter 5, is outline for you in the most intense situation of physical endeavors. This means that you will be narrowing in on your training goals and aspirations in order to milk from your body all the utmost potential as far as development and physical lifting abilities you are capable of. These techniques are by no means completely new or untried by other men before you; on the contrary, most men who are the champions of today and yesterday have tried these training methods at some prior time of their lifting life. These routines must cause an increase in size and strength, due to their severity and their specificity of nature. When you work only one or two movements per workout and those workouts are both voluminous and intense, with the brunt of the work strictly and thoroughly performed, you must gain in one way or another, due to the very nature of such an undertaking and the way in which the average persons body will adjust to an overload of stress. This is especially true for the man with a very low energy level, who has trouble in formulating a routine which he can recuperate from, throughout the many years of his lifting career. For the man who is constantly complaining of

being overtrained, these types of routines will do wonders for both his physical development and his all-over lifting potential. This does not mean that these routines will not also benefit us more toughened-up trainees, for we all can reap great amounts of benefit from this type of workout if we have the self-belief and the self-control to give these short, intense routines a chance to show us exactly what they can do. Therefore, it would be to all or our benefit to look over these suggested routines, no matter haw short and simple they may seem to us at first, for in the long run they will work only if we will work. This first specialized routine will be for the man who wishes to experiment with training for only one hour per day and using one exercise movement per training session. This will mean that each movement will have to be an all-around muscle group movement to stimulate the most available fibers of the largest muscle groups of the body. In this way, such short training will be most complete and result producing and in the long run, will develop the most muscle for the amount of work and time put into the training period of any type of training that I know of. By training five days per week and using only one movement per day, we must make sure that such choices will not cause muscle overlap and therefore become physically redundant, thereby leaving out certain muscle groups which would produce a lopsided physique and d decrease in all-around lifting power. Therefore, before undertaking this type of routine, be sure to know how to set up your schedule beforehand as to what to do and what not to include so that the entire body becomes stimulated to greater developmental heights during the course of a lifting week. This will allow not adequate recuperation although you will be training almost daily and also, it will develop for you an increase in all-around listing power. This will develop the capability of going just about as far as your particular potential will take you in the way of lifting proficiency. To stimulate additional muscle growth, it will be necessary to include in the future additional work for the aforementioned muscles in order to fully work them and reshape them, as it were, to greater development and shapeliness. But for the fellow who is primarily interested in all-around lifting proficiency and a well-developed rugged physique, this is the routine to follow.

Here then is your five day per week training routine: Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Deadlift Power Clean or and Bentover Push Bench Presses Squats Rowing Press

Friday Jerk From Rack With the choice of these movements we have given the entire body quite a workout by the end of the week. For each of these movements I would suggest you choose one of the following set and repetition schedules. The reason I am giving you somewhat of a choice as to the number of sets and repetitions you will be using, is due to the complexity of the choices of exercise movements and the importance of your being able to choose the right schedule which will work best for your personal preferences as to how many sets and how many repetitions will work best for you. With such a short, daily exercise program to work with, it is important to choose the right balance of work. I would advise either that you perform each exercise for around ten sets of five to seven repetitions, with the first three or so sets as progressive warm-ups and the brunt of the work taking place from set four to set nine, and the final set or two being flushing sets with somewhat lighter weights. Another suggestion would be the following tried and proved effective repetition and set scheme: one set of ten, one set of eight, one set of six, and five sets of three reps using all weight possible. Finish up with two or three sets of five or so reps with somewhat lighter weight for complete flush. Finally, when feeling particularly energetic and strong, you could take a set or two for a warm-up and then progressively add to the weight of the bar until you are at close to 90% of your limit and try for three to five single attempts with this heavy weight, finishing up with a few sets of lighter poundages with higher reps. All three of these suggestions will work for you on such an intense, short routine. In fact, one week you could use one schedule and the following week the other, and so on. It really is up to you in the final estimation as to how many sets and how many

reps you choose to follow when working on such a course. They all have merit, if followed using intelligence and patience. You fellows who are always complaining about how little time you have to spend on your training will find that these schedules take very little time as compared to other routines that the majority of us trainees follow in our attempts at getting bigger and stronger. With such short workouts you should be able to recuperate quite easily and the result will be an increase in your training enthusiasm, less missed workouts, and a general increase in both lifting proficiency and in muscular development. The next type of specialization routine will be somewhat more complicated than the first example I used to demonstrate such training and the effects of such types of work. With this following routine, we will be training four or five days per week, with the average routine consisting of two movements per day. This way, you will be able to perform a more diversified amount of work each workout and in the long run, the all-around effects will be more predominant in muscle building and strength level increases. This is because of the coupling of two such movements each day. By coupling two movements daily, or almost daily, it is not necessary to train each and every day; in fact, it will be possible to cut down the number of training days each week to four. Also, with the coupling of two movements daily, you will be training a bit longer each day, but the total amount of work done weekly will remain approximately the same. This may mean the difference between success or failure depending upon the rate of recovery your body can acclimate itself to. Some men will find that two movements per day is just about right for best results. Others will prefer less training days per week but will prefer maybe three movements done on each of these days. Others, in the extreme other end of training energy levels, may find that one movement per day is just right to insure continued gains. So you see, in this section of this chapter, we will be discussing each of these types of personalized specialization routines, so as to give all of you a chance to try whatever kind of routine you may feel will be right for you. There is only one way to find out: you must experiment and see what will work and what will not work. This following routine is for the man who wishes to specialize on the pressing muscles of the upper body, but at the same time, wants to be sure that he is

including enough work for the additional parts of the body so as to not lose anything previously developed in the past. In order to insure this not happening, you will have included on an almost daily basis, enough work for the additional muscle groups which will keep them in proper state of tone as the brunt of your workouts will be geared to developing additional size and strength in the pressing muscles of the body. What I would advise you to do in this case, is to work one pressing movement each training session, with one squatting movement on one day and one pulling or arm movement on the following training day. This way, the rest of the body is adequately stimulated. Here then is your two movement per day training routine: Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Close Grip Standing Bench Incline Press Press Press Behind Take Bench Press and and and Neck the Press Bent and and Power Bentover Arm day Front Legged Squat Rowing Work off Squat Deadlift

Sunday Take the day off With this routine I would advise you to perform the following set and repetition schedule: for the majority of movements except the Bent Legged Deadlift, warm up for two or so sets and then move up to weight which you can handle for between three and five sets of four to six repetitions. After this, cool down with two or so sets of eight or so repetitions, with a somewhat lighter weight. For the deadlift, I recommend sets of three repetitions, working up to a maximum triple. This should develop more than enough power for the limit deadlifting. For the rest of the body, there is more than enough work to stimulate increases in muscle size and power. With continued application of this kind of training, you will realize a great increase in your pressing power from all angles and the rest of the body will not suffer in development or power because of the inclusion of additional work for these areas. This type of training can become most meaningful and enjoyable for you and many

men enjoy this kind of training so much that they stay on these kinds of programs for the entire training year. For the man who has a greater ability to recuperate after strenuous training there are further methods of training which will stimulate even further rates of growth and development, due to the extent of their severity and complicated nature. With these types of workouts you would do all your pressing on one day, the whole amount of squatting on the following day, and finally, on the third training day you would follow a most complete routine to fully work the pulling muscles of the body. In this way, although you would be training six days per week, you will only be working each muscle group twice weekly, so that the entire workload would be evenly distributed throughout the entire body, with adequate rest between workouts. The severity of this routine will make it necessary that you do not try to stay on this routine for more than a month or so, unless you are one of those rare individuals who can thrive, or seem to do so, on such a great quantity of hard work. If such is the case, then by all means stay on this type of routine as long as you wish to. But for the majority of the rest of us, a month and a half of so would be long enough to stimulate correct training responses. As soon as one begins to feel somewhat drug out and less proficient at ones workouts, it is then time to switch to a less severe amount of work until full recuperation is realized. Here then is your six day per week specialization routine: Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Bench Press, Power Take The The same same Incline Press and and and the as as Lat Flat Bench Leg Machine day Flying Presses Pulldowns off Monday Tuesday

Squat

Deadlifts,

Bentover Rowing

Sunday The same as Wednesday If you cannot train on Sunday, then train from Monday through Saturday and take Sunday off.

With this type of routine, there is a tremendous amount of stress placed on the physical and emotional parts of the mind and body, so be sure to realize this and take steps to deter physiological staleness, which may step in and force an unwanted layoff. A good idea would be to take a few extra naps throughout the day so as to make this excessive work more acceptable to the body and more easily recuperated from. Just as we must learn to creep before we can walk, so must we find our way through this kind of workout, slowly and with great hesitancy to overwork, since this would work against us, not for us. Rest assured, if enough care is taken to see to it that the correct kind of diet is followed throughout this entire training affair, the result we are seeking will make itself felt. All that is necessary is to barter our energy and see to it that we are properly fed and adequately rested. Another avenue of experimentation which has been proven most successful to the few men who have proved to be innovative enough to attempt such a unique incorporation of training schedules and exercise frequency would be where you will be working the entire body each and every workout. Then, after working extremely hard on the entire body, you rest until you feel that you have completed the amount of rest and then, and only then, do you take another workout. This means that some weeks you may be training three times per week and other weeks you will be training only two times per week. But in both cases, you will be sure to work more than enough to stimulate sufficient gains without the chance of under-recuperation or overtraining becoming a problem. This way, there are very little wasted training programs when on this type of routine. By limiting the amount of training periods each week, you can greatly magnify the amount of work done on each chosen exercise period. Also, you will be able to rest assured that sufficient rest takes between each workout bout. For the man with limited training time and limited training energy, this type of routine may be just what the doctor ordered. In this situation, we would naturally place the most important movements first in our routine, in order that most of the energy can be spent on the movements which are the most important to us, with our particular training goals and endeavors. This does not mean that there will not be enough work for the rest of the body, for this is the beauty of such a scheduling of exercise periods. When you know that you will be training the entire body only two or three times per week, it is only natural that you

wish to work very hard and completely an each and every exercise chosen for each and every exercise period. When you know that the workout of the day will be the only chance you will have to get to work the body for a few days, you will really try to get psyched up for the workout and this will help you to get the most out of each and every training routine. Some men cannot seem to keep up this amount of psyche for any length of time. For these men it would be wiser to work out more frequently but less intensely. But for the man who can gear up this extra emotionalism two or so times per week, this is the way to go. On the days you are not training, be sure to rest adequately and as completely as possible for this how you will be able to gear up for the next workout. Try to get in an occasional nap every so often to enable you to save necessary training energy. For let no one tell you differently: with this program you will have to work! This then, would be your whole body, twice per week specialization routine. Monday Bench Press, Press Behind Neck, Bentover Barbell Rowing, Scott Curls Lying Triceps Extension, and Power Squat. With this workout you should perform the following set and repetition schedule for the majority of movements, except perhaps with your arm work, in which higher repetitions should be included. For the rest of the body, try to warm-up sufficiently with two of three sets of medium repetitions and then jump to a poundage you can handle for between six and ten repetitions and work with this weight for three to five sets. Cool down with two or so sets of somewhat lighter weights and somewhat higher repetitions. For the upper arms, I would recommend that the set scheme be somewhat reduced while the repetition scheme be increased so that you are handling weights for each set for between eight and twelve repetitions. After a two or three day rest, try to get in the following routine. This will be somewhat different from the first routine since you will be trying to work the muscles from a somewhat different angle. However, both routines will work the muscles most fully, completely, and adequately.

Friday Standing Press, Parallel Bar Dips, Lat Machine Pulldowns, Shoulder Shrugs, Cheating Barbell Curls, and Olympic Back Squat. For this workout, I would recommend a similar set and repetition schedule. Warmup for the first two or so sets an then work into a weight you can handle for five to seven repetitions. Use this for four sets and then cool down with two sets of eight reps. The secret of properly working the body through these periods of super specialization lies within the mind and the integrity of the trainee. He must see to it that his diet is adequate and complete for the increase of workloads he will be undertaking. Also, in order for him to stimulate additional muscle growth, it will be necessary for him to face the fact that only through a great deal of self confidence and a strict adherence to the dietary principles discussed beforehand, will he succeed to the limit of his potential and physical capabilities. What I have tried to do in this chapter is to give you a selection of the most potent tools or weapons you will ever have at your disposal in the hopes that through the proper utilization of these techniques, you too will move one step closer to the goals of which your dreams are made . . .

Power Rack Bodybuilding by Bill March

Its now almost five years since the start of my training on the rack. During this time I have used the power rack to gain strength and improve my Olympic lifting. On Saturdays, visitors come into the York Gym to watch the lifters train and I am often asked about my training system on the rack and if I think it could be used for bodybuilding. It has always been my belief that a bodybuilder can obtain as much benefit from rack training as lifters do, if they go about it the right way. During one of my layoffs from rack training for lifting, I had a chance to experiment with some bodybuilding movements. I found that it was possible to reach all the muscle groups with a complete workout.

In order to obtain the best and fastest results you must follow one of the rules of rack training for lifters, for it also applies to the bodybuilder work the muscle without fatiguing it. In other words, do only what the workout calls for with no extra repetitions or sets. This is hard to do at the start as you will feel your workout is too short and that maybe you are not doing enough. Believe me, if you try extra repetitions or sets it will only prolong your improvement as you will soon run into fatigue and not be able to work the muscles to the maximum in the next workout. In most bodybuilding routines you are asked to do a certain amount of sets per muscle group along with what sometimes seems endless repetitions. Why? The idea is to pump the muscle, causing it to swell and enlarge in size. This enlargement in size is due to fluid and blood being pumped into the muscle area that is being worked. After a period of one or two hours the muscle size decreases and it returns to its previous form. When trying this rack system you will find that the pump you receive will stay with you much longer, and after training this way for a week you may never again return to the high repetition, strictly pumping method. Also, you are strengthening and toughening the ligaments and tendons along with working the muscles. This means the muscle willbe strong and of use to you and others, not just one that looks big but is actually weak and of little use. As with rack training for lifting, here you will use a low, middle and top position. Each muscle will be worked at the bottom, middle and top, therefore working the entire range of the muscle. Sometimes when doing repetitions the bodybuilder misses working the bottom position because of a jerk, swing or bounce at the start. Moreover, because of not really finishing the exercise at the top of the movement, the muscle is often incompletely trained. Here is another suggestion to consider when using this rack system of training for bodybuilding one that I believe very strongly in, and one that will make your gains come even faster. Mentally, while doing an exercise, concentrate on the muscle areas being used. What I am trying to say is put all your physical and mental effort directly into what you are doing, directed toward that body movement and that one alone. About the only time many lifters put any mental thought into exercises is when they plan their workouts. Usually they seem to be more interested in achieving the required amount of sets and reps that their workout calls for, and the movement is turned into a counting exercise. They do the movement fast with little thought to

what it is they are doing and as a result never obtain more than 50% of the benefit available to them. Also, when they do an exercise, only half the movement is done with any slowness and so again, they receive only half the benefit. Example curling the barbell to the shoulders, they let it down to the starting point so fast and without resistance. Why not fight the bar down to the starting point with the same struggle used to raise it to the shoulders? Lowering the bar slower will work the muscle again and cause other muscles not used to raise the bar to be worked. This will again help you to attain what you are trying to a stronger, thick looking and welldeveloped body. These are two things which must be done when using this routine: 1.) 100% mental and physical commitment and concentration on the movements being used. 2.) Raising and lowering of the bar slowly so that the muscles are worked in both the upward and downward movement of the exercise. If these two rules are not followed without fail the gains will come slowly. About a week before starting this routine, so that you have some way of measuring your improvement in size and strength, take a tape reading of yourself. Also, take a workout and work up to your limit in a single or repetitions of 2 or 3 in several basic exercises (squat, bench press, curl etc.). Write these poundages and measurements down and keep them for later. You will be surprised when you come back and compare them in the future. This should be a four-day-a-week workout on the rack, with a fifth day to work up to maximum poundages doing the full range of movement. This way you can test and see your improvement each week, as well as keep your body conditioned to nonrack lifting.

Use the following five exercises in the three positions for each workout: Squat Barbell Row Bench Press Upright Row Curl

The best way to go about doing your workouts is to do the low position on Monday,

the middle position on Tuesday, and the top position of Wednesday. On Thursday do the middle position again s this is where the biggest mass of each muscle group comes into play. Never work more than one part of a movement a day. If you are working the low position of a press, dont do any work on the middle or the top positions that day. Friday is a rest day. On Saturday you test yourself for gains, working up in poundage as far as you can doing full-range movements. And now for the most important portion of this routine the number of repetitions and sets to be done in each position. The rep and set system that I will describe may different from anything that you as a bodybuilder have tried before, but I can assure you it will give results equal to your mental and physical efforts. Do only one set on each position but, do 4 repetitions and hold each repetition against the top pin for 10 seconds. Between each repetition you lower the weight slowly to the bottom pins and let it rest for only a second or two and then return the bar to the hold position again against the top pins. Remember, only one set, four repetitions, and one or two seconds rest between each repetition. If you go through an exercise using this system and dont feel pumped after the fourth ten second hold you had better check to see if you have any blood in your veins. Give this routine your all for 4 to 6 weeks and prepare to be pleased.

Training Proficiency Simplified by Anthony Ditillo

A few days ago the two owners of my gym and I had a very interesting discussion concerning the fellows training there and the seeming lack of gains they made recently, though all of them were training regularly for quite some time. We came to the conclusion that the men who looked pretty good, when compared to the average guy, looked that way for the most part two years ago when my two friends took over management of this gym. In other words, these guys looked the same as they did two years ago. And they had been coming in six days a week and training for close to two hours each day for all this while.

Now something must be wrong. But what could that something be? All these guys ate pretty good, most of the time, and many of them were taking protein supplements to supposedly aid them in their gains. Yet they were not growing in size or strength nor were they becoming leaner or more muscular. A few of the other guys did gain muscular bodyweight but they were no stronger at the heavier bodyweight. So, in reality did these men gain anything either? And if the truth was that they did not, then that meant that the majority of the men training at my gym for the last two years were simple maintaining what they already had. Ad this mere maintenance was taking twelve to sixteen hours per week training time, not to mention the additional time to and from the gym and the added expense of food and supplements. Something was definitely wrong and something had to be done to help whichever of these men had the ears to hear and the mind to decipher what had to be learned. After much debating on the subject we came to some pertinent conclusions which I shall pass on to you in this article, for these mistakes are the very same mistakes the majority of you are making in your training, and that is likely why you are not progressing as far and as fast as you would like to. I am sure if you take the time to read and reread what I have outlined here for you and apply it, the results will be pleasing. First and foremost, the major mistake you men are making is incorrect exercise style. You simply will not perform the movements correctly. In the beginning, when your body is not used to much in the way of physical exertion, any lifting, no matter how incorrectly performed, will increase the muscles to a certain degree. But this will not continue forever. There comes a time when all such progress will come to a halt, unless you cut back on the excessive cheating and heaving, lighten the poundages somewhat and begin to actually feel the movements. Muscles do not just grow overnight and they do not grow in response to vague stimulation. In order for the muscles to greatly increase in size, you have to place direct, intense demands upon them. Intensity can either be obtained through performing as many repetitions per set as you humanly can, using heavy weights, or you can increase this intensity by decreasing the rest time between sets thereby

performing more work in a shorter period of time, or you can greatly increase your training volume and neither decrease your training rest periods or perform any set to maximum burnout and still increase your intensity due to the great increase in volume. All three will work. As my coach used to say, There is more than one way to Rome. You men with heavy bone structures will undoubtedly enjoy using rather heavy poundages and forcing the reps to the max, burnout for each set. Your heavier constitution will allow you to do this and still recuperate, while the lighter-boned man will probably enjoy further success by greatly increasing his workload for each muscle group and performing each exercise slowly and strictly with great concentration. Both will work for either type. And no matter which style you decide upon you must remember to perform the exercise movement with correct, slow, grinding repetitions in order for the muscle fibers to receive the growth stimulation they need to further respond. Every time you bounce a bar when doing any kind of press you are robbing the pressing muscles of the very thing they need to further respond. You cannot increase muscle size by working the joints using excessively heavy weights with heaving, thrusting movements, since such exercise style will totally neglect the muscles and favor the tendons and the joints and this throwing and swinging around heavy barbells will not increase muscle size to any degree. Your repetitions, whether high or low, should be performed with great control for best results. I mean great control on both the raising and the lowering in these kinds of movements done for this purpose. The lowering is just as important as the lifting, for they both work hand in hand in increasing your muscular development. I would also suggest that you attempt to make any movement a full range movement. What sense does it make to use an exaggerated wide grip on your pressing movements when this wide grip will actually decrease the length of the movement and the amount of contraction that can take place? If all you wish to do is to show how much weight you can lift, such techniques might be excusable, but if you desire to build muscle size such antics are a complete waste of time. I would advise all of you who seek to increase muscle size to use a medium stance when squatting, with no wraps of any sort until you can perform six to ten

repetitions with double your bodyweight in this style, and only then begin to use knee wraps, belts, suits etc. By this time the muscles will already be large and strong and the lifting aids will enable you to quickly increase your limit poundage for a single rep, should you care to see just how you compare to lifters in your weight class. But for increasing your muscle size, use a medium stance and do not use wraps. Another movement which many of you fellows are performing incorrectly for the results you seek is the bench press. In fact, I would venture to say that for the most part all of your pressing movements are done with the same silly mistakes. First, you try to use weights far too heavy to be used correctly and your style is actually an eyesore to behold. Why would you want to use a collar-to-collar grip on the bar when this wide a grip will undoubtedly sooner or later injure your shoulder joints due to the unnatural stretch and strain such a grip implies. The wideness of the grip will also cut down on the length of the movement to such an extent that it will only be half-performed. And half movements done with a bounce and kick will get you nowhere fast in the muscle size department. Wouldnt it make more sense to simply use a medium grip and weights light enough for you to PRESS and not PUSH or THRUST to completion? Do you think that the top powerlifters of today got their strength and development from continuously cheating in their competition movements? Well, if you do think that, then youre wrong. For the most part, especially during the off-season, these men are doing lots and lots of heavy bodybuilding/assistance movements and this means relatively lighter weights, higher reps and strict, slow, correct exercise form. This, combined with the heavier power movements, is where they get their size from. It works for them and it can work for you if you have the sense to try it. In ALL your pressing movements use a medium shoulder width grip on the bar. Your muscle size will increase and the development will go hand in hand with greater usable strength. Use a repetition scheme that goes somewhere between six and ten for the most part. Use as many sets as are necessary to thoroughly congest the muscles before going on to the next exercise or bodypart. These repetitions should be done slow and steady with continuous tension on the muscles being worked for best results.

I notice a lot of you performing your pulling exercises entirely wrong for what you desire. What sense does it make to do a bentover row with weights so heavy it looks more like an exaggerated deadlift than a row? You are supposed to feel the movement in the lats and somewhat in the biceps, but most of you complain of feeling this movement mainly in the lower back. This is because you are ashamed to use 135 and slowly work up to a heavier weight, so you load the bar up and away you go, jerking and pulling the bar around like youre engaged in a wrestling match with it. Youre NOT supposed to fight with the bar, youre supposed to exercise with it. Another movement almost always done incorrectly is the seated cable row. Why do you use so heavy a weight that you have to use every muscle in the body just to get the movement started, and in reality the arms are bent to such a small degree that the lats are barely utilized, it at all. For the most part, the lower back and the hips get the brunt of the work when done in this style and is it any wonder that your gains in lat size dont come around with such a foolish way of performing the thing? Why not lighten the weight and keep the torso inclined to the front, kept stiff and tight as a support, pull with the arms and upper back and perform enough reps to fully work and congest these areas? Doesnt this seem to make more sense? Who cares how much weight you cant use properly? Are you actually interested in developing muscle size? Your dumbbell work also gets adulterated somewhere along the line. You perform lying flyes as if they were dumbbell bench presses and fail to see your purpose in doing the exercise. There is no sense in doing flyes with a weight you can barely press. And the dumbbell bench presses are no better. Most of you do them with such a shortened range of movement, quickly work up to the 100s and are confused when no development results. When performing dumbbell laterals for the shoulders, why do you use such heavy weights that the movements are nothing more than rapidly swinging up and down with no hope of or attempt to control them on your part. Do you think that if you can swing 50 lb. dumbbells you are going to increase your shoulder development? How can you, when you would have a hard time using 30s, done slowly and correctly. You have got to reach a point in your exercise where the muscles are taxed to the limit. This is intensity. You can get to this point with light weights and

higher reps or you can get to this point with much heavier weights and lower reps. Its up to you. But you must reach this point! What most of you do is try to stay away from this point by cheating through the movement and the discomfort. This is your basic mistake and you are avoiding the very event which will give you what you want. You are trying to avoid muscle fatigue, and you cannot obtain much in the way of continued progress without this fatigue. You cant have one without the other. Some of you try to cheat your way to continued improvement. Some of you fatten yourselves up as a way of getting heavier and thereby obtaining larger size and, inadvertently, heavier poundages. Some of you do absolutely nothing and remain absolutely same, year in and year out. And what I have tried to do is to show you some simple examples of your precious self-deceit. You guys who are trying to bulk up had better take a long range look at what you are trying to do, for the majority of you will end up only fattening up and in five or so years will be trying to lose this now-precious, then-excess weight. You can get much heavier and less muscular at the same time. You can overeat and look bigger and more massive to the eye, but with your shirt off the truth comes out. You are smoother and filled for most part with fat and water. I would advise the majority of you to follow a high-protein, high-carbohydrate, moderate-fat diet for most of the training year. Eat small meals throughout the day so as not to tax the digestive system to any great degree. Figure out your ideal training weight and simply determine the amount of food you consume to maintain this weight without too much difficulty. If you add more to this amount, do it in small increments and wait for the results to show, and here I am talking not to underweight beginners, but to intermediate trainees. Work your muscles with your training until they are thoroughly fatigued and train each bodypart as frequently as you can and still recuperate from the exertion. Train as long as you can and as often as you can, keeping recuperation in mind. Pick a repetition scheme that your mental attitude and body can tolerate. Perform each and every movement with proper form, with no exaggeration in the performance and let the training poundages take care of themselves, and they WILL increase in

time, providing you do not bounce, or cheat, or heave . . . you have nothing to lose but your mediocrity.

Dave Draper Squats Here is an excellent sample routine to follow, one which will build both bulk and power 1.) Warmup 1 set of 12 reps with 50% of your best. 2.) Main workout - 1 set, 9 reps . . . increase weight and do 1 set 5 reps . . .increase a bit to 3 sets, 5 reps. 3.) Add on more weight 3 sets of 3 reps, half squats to box or bench. 4.) Finishing off 1 set of 12 reps with light weight. Total 10 sets. Proper form in the squat may limit the weight you use just a bit, but in the long run it will give you better results and protect you from needless injury. Make sure the weights are properly balanced and the bar set just where you want it across the traps and shoulders. This may sound minor, but a small error here could throw you off balance and ruin your set, or even worse, result in injury. Concentrate mentally on just what youre doing, shut out everything else but getting down and back up with the bar, forging ahead with each squat. Keep your head level at all times, never look down, especially when coming up with a heavy weight. Head up, back straight as possible, you start SLOWLY . . . not too slow, dont just collapse under the weight . . . lower your body until the thighs are at least below parallel with the floor. Keep your back straight as possible, dont bend over with the weight remember, this is for the thighs. Come right back up, but dont bounce, use

a smooth and powerful exercise motion. Take several deep breaths and descend again.

A Golden Era Bodybuilding Routine By Bill Luttrell

We viewed each week in two separate parts. First half very heavy, second half lighter but much faster paced. Either type workout would tax an ordinary human being. They went something like this. You'll notice very little of the counting of sets and reps of the 5X8 variety. Too much counting for some. Not the point, anyway. Too limiting. Abs to warm up each day.

Monday/Thursday All weights are listed to give a better idea of how this plan works. Bench Press - start with an Oly bar and two big plates and do a set. Add 50 lbs and do another. And another, and ... Do 8 reps until you couldn't do that many. Keep going until all you could get is two.

Incline Bench - same deal.

Incline Dumbells - Isn't this the same thing? We're doing more? Yup. Sue me. Start with 60's and add 10 to each side per set until you get to the hundred and somethings. Shoot for 8 reps per set. - "Power" Flys - Flys, only heavier. Much heavier. Start with 40's, go up to 80's, which means the arms don't really "fly" out as much, you know. 8 reps per set. About 30 sets in an hour to an hour and fifteen. Time to go home? Nope.

Back. Chins behind the neck. About 5 or 6 sets. Chins to the front. 5 or 6 more, or until your feet start kicking up and down way too much. One arm DB rows. Start with 60's add 10 to each. Just like the incline DB's. Stop at a hundred and something. Cable Rows. 4-5 more sets. Same sort of thing, heading toward the bottom of the stack. Tuesday/Friday BNP's (behind the neck press) - Start with an Oly bar and quarters. Second set is the big plates. Add 10 to each side from there. About 8 sets. Dumbell Side Laterals - 5 sets ascending. DB Rear Laterals - same. Upright Rows - same.

Arms

This would have been more like a Friday routine. Tuesday would have featured more straight sets. Slower. Heavier. Call this Arm Mass Blast #5. I put the weights in only to show that I pyramid sets virtually all the time. To me, it combines the movement with increased load. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Adjust for yourself. Also, when I say "supersetted with," I mean do the bicep movement, then go straight to the tricep equivalent with no rest in between. Back and forth. No dilly-dallying. Maybe 30 seconds at most between each bi/tri combo. However, between each of the four supersets take a two minute break maximum. Straight Olympic Bar Curls: Very strict at the start. A bit of cheating on the last set or two, but best form possible. THE basic mass builder. Like American Express, don't leave home without it. 95 X 10 115 X 8 125 X 8 135 X 8 145 X 8 Supersetted with: Tricep pushdowns (our machine has the double pulleys, so this is lighter than it looks). Strict form. Elbows very tight. All the way up and down. We're looking to get the joints and muscles fully warmed up here. 110 X 15 120 X 12 130 X 12 140 X 10 150 X 8 Moving on to . . . Seated Incline Dumbbell curls. I like these because there is little or no cheating and full back support. Although I've done them with the supinating wrist twist, I think they're more effective with the palm up at all times forcing the bicep to carry the full load at all times. Either way, we're looking for ultimate peak here. Visualization and focus counts big time, but your mindset should be on POWER!!

30 X 15 40 X 15 50 X 12 60 X 8 70 X 8 Supersetted with: Single dumbbell French Presses. Seated or standing. VERY deep on the bottom. 95% of lockout at the top. No half reps. The arms should be bent well past 90 degrees at the bottom and the db should be touching well into the middle of the back. This really starts the blood flushing. 70 X 15 80 X 15 90 X 12 100 X 8 110 X 8 Next up: Preacher bench curls. Starting with the bar (35 lbs) and two dimes on each side. We've also done this from this starting point, adding 5 on each side until 145 or 155. By my count, 8-9 sets done that way. This is the final big hit on the biceps for the day, with a complete pre-exhaust from the preceding work. Full concentration. Make these count. No cheating. ALL BICEPS. The last set should bring you to failure. 75 X 10 95 X 8 115 X 8 135 X 8 145 X 6 Supersetted with: Tricep rope/ extensions. Back to the cable stack. Rope extended out over the head. These are very smooth. Same weights and reps as with pushdowns, but you should be getting a bit tired here. Work it. Finally: DB Concentration Curls. You know the drill. Sit on a bench with arm at full extension. No swinging the upper body or anything else. Focus on the peak. Your

entire thought process should be completely drilled into the fibers that constitute the biceps peak. Probably why they call them concentration curls. 25 X 15 35 X 15 45 X 12 55 X 10 65 X 8 Thought you were done? HA!! No. This is the most difficult of all. Actually, I've rarely ever seen anyone do these but my training partners and I. Time to suck it up. Presenting... Straight Olympic Bar Lying French Presses. What? Unlike cambered style, these are the equivalent of the straight bar standing curls. A small cheat allowed. Howso? The bar is brought down behind the head instead of to the forehead. Why? Partly for a more complete extension at the bottom, allowing the bar to touch the bench, and partly because these are a HEAVYWEIGHT exercise. Serious forehead damage possible with the arms already exhausted as above. You did the strict form and focus stuff up above. No kidding here, the ULTIMATE TRICEP MASS BUILDER. Don't believe me? Try them at this point in the workout, after giving the above a serious go. If these don't make your triceps bloom like a prized horseshoe-shaped orchid in a Hawaii hothouse, take up another pastime. Will also provide huge bench press gains. No messing around here, as the last couple of sets should be taking everything you've got. 95 X 10 115 X 8 135 X 8 145 X 8 155 X 8 Oh, yeah ... Finish off with 4 sets of 10 strict seated forearm curls. Blow 'em up like Popeye ... or, Draper. Same thing. By my count, 20 sets each for bi's and tri's. Could be more if you were having a good day and got carried away on the preacher bench. Plus the forearms. My first lifting coach used to say, "son, just when you think you can't do any more and your arms feel like they're going to explode all over the walls, that's when you reach

down for more. That's where the growth comes from.

Wednesday/Saturday Deadlifts - Start with the Oly bar and 45's. add 25 per set going up. 8s down to 2. Squats - Same deal. Leg extensions - 6 sets Leg curls - same. Calves - 8-10 sets.

Thursday/Friday/Saturday I'll just explain this. Same as the above, but where that was all straight sets with some time between for rest as the big lifts were approached, these are all super/giant/tri sets. Still heavy, just not up toward one's max. Far more reps, far faster. Somewhat lighter. M/Tu/W workouts usually ran about 2 to 2.5 hours. Th/F/S workouts 1.5 to 2.

Gaining Muscular Bodyweight by Anthony Ditillo

What I shall attempt to do in this article is outline for you underweight trainees a weight gaining routine I have used in the past, in the hopes that those of you who wish to gain muscular bodyweight will be enabled to do so. By far the most popular topic discussed in the gyms today (besides steroids) is the topic of bulking up and gaining weight. Also, if the many hundreds of letters I have been receiving from you fellows out there are any indication as to what you are interested in, then weight gaining and mass building are two topics of the utmost concern from a great

number of you. Being a superheavy myself, not too long ago, I can appreciate the desire of many of you to become bigger and stronger. For a long time it was in my blood also, however, as I look back on it all now, there are some things I should have done but didnt and there are many things I should not have done but DID! And it is these mistakes that I am trying to save your weight seekers out there from making: I am going to try to steer you away from the misconceptions which are all around you in the magazines today. I feel that it is the appearance of todays top powerlifters which have greatly increased this desire for mass and size among the average gym trainee. When you begin to realize that the men who are winning the physique contests are no longer massive in the true sense of the word, but lean and extremely cut up, then is should also become apparent that the men who are the top powerlifters today are most likely the role models most of us are trying to resemble. The majority of the successful lifters in the heavier classes are truly Herculean in appearance! No longer are these men merely big with smooth muscles covered with a thick layer of fat, for the keenness of competition requires that no top lifter allows himself to get sloppy and fat, since fat cannot move weight; fat cannot contract and the strongest lifter, more than likely, is the one with the most muscle. So there you are reading an article on, let us say, a top ranking powerlifter in the 242 lb. class. You notice that he is bench pressing and squatting quite a bit of weight and you also notice that he has a large amount of muscle mass to show for his efforts. It is only human to try and copy this mans training in order to try to emulate the physical appearance you see before you. And here is where most of you make a big mistake: You equate heavy competition lifts with the acquisition of massive muscle size ad the truth is, you are partly right and you are partly wrong. True, the basic movements are the best ones for adding bodyweight and size to the body and granted, the more weight you can handle in these movements the larger the muscles should be, but let us not forget that many times a lifter will incorporate STYLE and TECHNIQUE in order to handle his top poundages during competition, while in his training he will purposely ISOLATE the weaker muscle groups and work them doubly hard in order to instill in them additional growth. And it is THESE techniques which are so important to you. It makes no sense to do your squats in competition style with wraps if what you are really trying to do is to build the thighs. Why? Because todays competition squat is really done mostly with

hips, buttocks and lower back, and the frontal thigh muscles are used very little. Hence, to use this style will only build hips, buttocks and back and do little for the lower thigh, which is so impressive when developed. This also goes for the bench press and somewhat for the deadlift. If you specialize on just these three movements and use the competitive style of performance and couple this with a heavy diet, you WILL gain bodyweight and you WILL become larger, but you will not be as muscular looking as you could be if you changed the exercise style to a more strict, productive one. And before the end of this article I plan to outline just what I mean for you.

When attempting to gain muscular bodyweight we must take into consideration not only the correct choice of exercise movements and the proper exercise style but we also must deal with proper diet and proper rest and recuperation. Most of you who are familiar with my past writings know that I prefer and suggest a large training volume since I have been trained and coached by a European Olympic lifter and he has taught me a great deal about training without drugs, and the acquisition of muscle density and lifting proficiency WITHOUT increasing bodyweight. But here in this case, we are purposely trying to add to our physical size and bodily dimensions, so we cannot follow that same path. In the case of increasing muscular size rest and recuperation are of the utmost importance. You must work the muscle correctly, adequately, and then rest in order to recuperate so that you can once again work them and work them HARD! This also necessitates that the diet must be watched carefully in order for the right amount of calories and muscle building substances to be present on a continuous basis for the body to feed upon during this time of intense physical stress. This means that you are going to have to eat a lot and eat WELL! You should not fill up on quart after quart of heavy protein drinks. This will only bloat you for the most part, put on excess weight which some of you will not really mind gaining if it adds to your overall body dimensions. But take it from someone who has been there better to eat right and gain primarily useful, shapely muscle. Just as it is a fallacy to overeat and overdrink in an attempt to gain muscle size, so too, a very high protein diet will not really fill the bill adequately either. The reasons why the top men will push protein at the expense of carbohydrates and fats are, first of all, they are actually training down for a contest during this period when most of

the magazine articles are done on them, so the diet is not one for gaining weight but one for losing bodyfat. Also, lets not forget that they are ingesting huge amounts of anabolic steroids and this allows the protein to be handled in such a way impossible under normal circumstances. What I would advise the weight gainer to do is to make sure his diet is WELL BALANCED. Base your daily food intake around fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, milk products and lean meats, eggs fish and fowl. I would also advise you to remember that the vegetables and fruits are just as important as the protein foods when it comes to proper body functioning and adequate muscular growth. You will also notice that with these basic food groups making the basis of your weight gaining diet, there is less chance of gaining much in the way of excess weight since we are dealing with foods which are wholesome and natural. While we are on thesubject, I would not recommend much in the way of whole milk since this can become quite fattening to the body. It would be wiser to replace it with yogurt, cottage cheese and non-fat milk. Try to keep the meats rather lean and your egg consumption high as they are among the best sources of protein for weight gaining. The fruits and vegetables will give you a steady source of carbohydrates for training energy and they also supply the body with necessary fiber and vitamins and minerals. As for how many meals per day and how many calories per day, I feel that this is an individual matter and each man must find and decide for himself what agrees with him and what does not. Some guys get by quite nicely on three meals per day while others prefer six smaller, more frequent meals. My advice is to experiment and to do whatever seems natural to you. As far as calories are concerned I would simply check a height/weight chart and add 1,000 calories to your daily requirements listed for your body type, to start with. Over time adjust accordingly depending on your results. This should add up to close to two pounds bodyweight per week. To try and gain any more than one or two pounds per week would require you to simply fatten yourself up and this is what we are trying to avoid. I would advise you to simply train the way I am going to outline your program for you here, and follow the wellrounded diet previously described and let you eyes be your guide as to how long to stay on the program. As long as you are staying shapely, getting bigger and stronger but not accumulating too much fat, continue on with your weight gaining aspirations.

We hit upon correct exercise style of gaining muscular bodyweight in the beginning of this article and what I shall do now is get into more detail as to the proper way to perform your movements for the best musclebuilding results. First of all, try to do your movements slowly. Do not thrust, jerk, swing or bounce the bar. Muscles are built by physical exertion, not gymnastic feats. Avoid exaggerated body positions, handgrips, foot spacing and excessive bridging, tossing and heaving, for these maneuvers may be alright on the lifting platform if you can get away with it in front of the judges, but they will NOT aid you in developing your muscular size. I know of one fellow who uses all these maneuvers in his benching and in his squatting. He NEVER does any of his movements slowly, strictly or NORMALLY. Everything he does is ugly to look at and painful to see. The result he has very little in the way of muscular development to speak of and his powerlift total is around the same as it was six or seven years ago. Dont let this happen to you. Your exercise movements should be done right or not done at all. You are not training on this routine to become a powerlifter or Olympic lifter, your present goal is to become larger and stronger.

Use a medium grip on your bench press, or any press, for that matter. This will evenly distribute the load on the muscles being worked and a balanced development will result with less chance of injury to the joints. Dont bounce the bar off the chest or thrust it off the ribs but perform the repetitions in a slow and controlled lowering and raising motion using the muscles strictly to lift the weight. Most of all, dont lift the hips off the bench while benching, this will take the stress off the very muscles you are trying to build. For the squat I advise you to once again use a medium foot spacing. Hold the bar high on the trapezius muscles. Dont stick your butt out while lowering yourself into the bottom position. Keep your torso erect and lower slowly with control into the bottom position by allowing your knees to move FORWARD and OUT so that when you are in the low position your leg biceps are resting on your calves. This means your upper thigh is folded over your lower leg.

I dont advise you to do bent over rows because although this movement is great for building muscle and strength, experience has shown me that the majority of you do it incorrectly with the result being a strained lower back. We can substitute the pullup with weight in its place and with the repetitions done slowly, the results should be good. If you wish to include the deadlift, I recommend repetitions and using a semi-stiff legged style as this style works the glutes, hamstrings and lats quite well. Once again, remember not to jerk or thrust the weight up or injury will follow sooner or later. The press behind neck is a fine deltoid developer as long as the repetitions are done slowly and the grip is medium width. If dumbbells are used for side lateral raises, just remember that swinging the weights up will not develop much. Use lighter dumbbells and do the movement correctly for best results. Your arms should be worked quite well with the chin ups with weight since I advocate a palms facing you grip so that the biceps as well as the lats are strongly brought into play. I also recommend you include the parallel bar dip as this will add further stress to the entire upper body with a large amount of stress placed on the triceps. You may include a few shaping movements in your weight gaining program, such as barbell curls, flat bench flyes, lying triceps extensions, etc. Just remember to keep their sets rather low and repetitions rather high with the emphasis being placed on the major muscle group exercises. Also, remember to adhere to correct training style while using these lighter movements in order to gain as much and as fast as you can.

We now come to the actual training routines. I realize that some of you can train six days a week while others are forced to train only four days. Taking into consideration the amount of letters you size-seekers have been sending me, most of you can only train three days per week. You have jobs, schooling and families to look after. So I will outline a three day a week routine for you since you men make up the bulk of my readers.

MONDAY

Medium Grip Bench Press 1 set of 8-12 reps for a warmup then jump to 6 sets of 8 reps using heaviest weight possible. Flat Bench Flyes 3 sets of 6-8 reps using a medium heavy weight. Press Behind Neck 1 set of 8-12 reps for a warmup and 4 sets of 6-8 reps using a heavy weight. Side Dumbbell Lateral 3 sets of 8-12 reps using a medium heavy weight. Parallel Squat 1 set of 10 reps for a warmup, 6 sets of 6 reps using all the weight possible. 2 sets of 8-12 reps to cool down. Stiff-legged Deadlift 1 set of 8 reps for a warmup and 4 sets of 4-6 reps using a heavy weight.

WEDNESDAY 45 Degree Incline Press 1 set of 10 reps for a warmup and 6 sets of 6 reps using all the weight possible. Alternate Dumbbell Press 1 set of 10 reps using for a warmup and 4-6 sets of 8 reps with a medium heavy weight. Shoulder Shrug 1 set of 10 reps for a warmup and 6 sets of 6-8 reps using all the weight possible. 2 sets of 8-12 reps to cool down. Parallel Squat 1 set of 12 reps for a warmup. 3 sets of 10 reps working up to the heaviest weight possible on the final set.

FRIDAY Bench Press follow the same routine as on Monday. Parallel Bar Dip 1 set with bodyweight for all reps possible. 6 sets of 6-8 reps using the heaviest weight possible. Upright Rowing 4 sets of 6-8 reps with a medium weight. Weighted Pullups 1 set with bodyweight for all reps possible. 6 sets of 6-8 reps using the heaviest weight possible. Parallel Squat 1 set of 10 reps for a warmup. 6 sets of 6-8 reps with a medium weight.

And there you have it. This routine is well rounded with the emphasis being placed

on the larger muscle groups. The upper arms will be worked quite well without any direct arm work, but you could include 2 or 3 sets of curls should you wish to do so. This goes for triceps pushdowns also. Try and make whatever abdominal work you decide to do short and intense. Use weights for your situps so that the repetition scheme is around 10. Weighted side bends are also good. You can do these abdominal movements whenever the mood hits you, so to speak, at the gym or at home. This is why I didnt list them for you on any particular training day. You have freedom of choice in this respect. Remember what we have said about proper exercise style. You will get more out of using 20 or 30 lbs. less and doing the reps correctly than the fellow who cheats just to bounce up more weight. Keep the diet tight and well rounded. You will succeed if you work and rest adequately.