GYM DOCTOR
SYMPTOMS It’s a good idea to finish your chest workouts with machine flyes for your inner pecs. If your gym lacks a machine, hit your inner pecs with cable flyes. CURE Lie flat on a bench placed in the middle of a cable crossover station; hold D-handles (attached in the bottom position) with your arms extended out to your sides. Using your chest, bring the handles together while maintaining a slight bend on your elbows. Squeeze your pecs. For more emphasis on the inner pecs, cross your arms in the top position.
— Jim Stoppani UNDER PRESSURE
Some doctors and exercise scientists warn that weight training could be bad for cardiovascular health. They claim that the straining involved with weightlifting could raise blood pressure. Thankfully, research has been piling up to prove them wrong. Researchers from Brazil reported that when subjects performed a leg workout consisting of 10 sets of leg extensions for 12 reps, they actually experienced a greater than 10% drop in blood pressure . . . not an increase.
— Jim Stoppani WELL DEFINED
5x5 (n.) a system that focuses on five sets of (typically) five reps of one basic exercise for each major bodypart, emphasising strength gains in those exercises. After warm-ups, the 5x5 series is done first, while subsequent exercises are typically done for three or four sets of 8–12 reps.
— Greg Merritt TIP SHEET:
STEVE KUCLO (2010 NPC Nationals, super heavyweight, third place)
n “As a fireman, I work 24 hours straight and then have 48 hours off, so I do a two-on, one-off split, which is actually a great split for anyone to use. I double-split [train twice daily] and work my whole body over three training days, so bodyparts get hit once every four days.”
n “I trained Doggcrapp-style for two years, and though I don’t stick to DC any more, I still take a few things from it, especially the extreme stretching and the widowmakers [final high-rep, high-intensity set for a bodypart].
n “I like higher reps for arms — about 12–15 is best — and I do supersets and giant sets a lot for bi’s and tri’s.”
n “The important thing about leg curls is to keep your ass down to make sure your hams and not your hips are doing the work. And focus as much on the negative half of the rep as the positive half.”
24 FLEX
THREE
SINGLE SANDOW
CHRIS DICKERSON 1982 Mr. Olympia “The shoulder joint is very mobile, but it’s not mechanically strong in some positions, so it is crucial that you always warm up your delts before training them.”
SAMIR BANNOUT 1983 Mr. Olympia “The key to my lower- back development was lots of weighted hypers [back extensions]. I’d do four to six sets in every back workout.”
REPS
DEXTER JACKSON 2008 Mr. Olympia “Posing is one of the best things you can do for arms. Pose between sets and pose between workouts to bring out all the qualities of the muscles.”
CARDIO CORNER: HIIT YOUR CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
High-intensity interval training increases fat burning better than slow and steady cardio. But is slow and steady cardio better for improving cardiovascular fitness and health? Japanese researchers had athletes follow a 15-week cardio programme. One group exercised continuously on a stationary cycle for 20–25 minutes at about 75% of their max heart rate, three days per week. The second group performed HIIT — 10 cycles of 10-second all-out sprints with 20-second rest periods, for a total of five minutes (just one minute and 40 seconds of total exercise time), three times per week. Both groups increased their max oxygen
consumption (VO2 max — a measure of cardiovascular fitness) to the same degree despite the fact that the HIIT group exercised for less time.
— Jim Stoppani FLEX
MORE
PAVEL YTHJALL; BILL COMSTOCK; COURTESY OF WEIDER HEALTH AND FITNESS
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151