DISCLAIMER – Please Read

Selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) should ONLY be used by men and women over 21 years old. SARMs are NOT meant for children, teenagers, and pregnant or nursing women.

SARMs may be banned by certain organizations so it’s your responsibility to perform due-diligence and ensure compliance. Consult your healthcare professional before using SARMs, especially if you have, or have a family history of, prostate cancer, prostate enlargement, heart disease, low “good” cholesterol (HDL), or if you are using any other dietary supplement, prescription drug, or over-the-counter drug.

Do not exceed the recommended serving and use SARMs at your own risk. This article and SARMs, are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Introduction to SARMsSelective androgen receptor modulators, also known as SARMs, are marketed as having similar positive effects on muscle and strength that pro-hormones and anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) offer, but with fewer side effects. Essentially, SARMs are compounds that can block or stimulate key receptors in body tissue, which can help to increase the positive effects and decrease the unwanted side effects based on the compound’s mechanism(s) of action.

SARMs have been shown to increase muscle mass, bone mass, and fat loss without significant increases in estrogen or shutting down the Hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPG axis). As defined by Negro-Vilar, an ideal anabolic SARM is “orally active agent with once daily dosing and anabolic effects on muscle and bone, but no or lesser activity in the prostate.” [1]

In this article we will examine the history, mechanisms of action, benefits, and side effects of SARMs, popular SARMs, and SARM-like products. At the end of this article you should have a much better understanding of SARMs and be able to make a more informed decision as to whether SARMs are right for you.

KEY TERMS
Before we delve further in to this article, I want to provide you with a list and meaning of common acronyms and terms used when discussing SARMs.

• HPG axis – Hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. A term used to describe three glands in the endocrine system (hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and gonads) as one entity.
• LH – Luteinizing hormone. A hormone released by the pituitary gland. Too much or too little LH may result in infertility and other issues with sexual reproductive organs. [2]
• FSH – Follicle stimulating hormone. Hormone associated with reproduction and the development of eggs in women and sperm in men. [3]
• TP – Testosterone propionate. Testosterone derivative that is typically injected in to the muscles.
• DHT – Dihydrotestosterone. Sex steroid and androgen hormone synthesized from testosterone in the prostate, testes, hair follicles, and adrenal glands.[4]
• SHBG – Sex hormone-binding globulin. Binds tightly to testosterone, DHT, and estradiol; measured to determine if males have low testosterone and if females produce too much testosterone. [5]
• AST – Aspartate aminotransferase. An enzyme found in the blood that when high, may indicate liver damage. [6]
• ALT – Alanine aminotransferase. An enzyme found in the blood that when high, may indicate liver injury. [7]
• Aromatization – the process of converting a compound in to an active androgen or estrogen
• 5-alpha reductase – an important enzyme during the steroid metabolism process
• PSA – Prostate-Specific Antigen Test. A blood test measuring the amount of a specific protein produced by cells in the prostate gland; values below 4.0 ng/mL are considered healthy whereas values above 4.0 are recommended to get an in-depth prostate examination. [8]
• LPL – Lipoprotein lipase. An enzyme responsible for storing calories as fat. [9]
• BMD – Bone mineral density. The amount of mineral matter per square centimeter of bone; used as an indirect indicator of osteoporosis and bone fracture risk. [10]
• PCT – Post cycle therapy. Compounds used to restart natural testosterone production.
• ED50 – The median effective dose. This is the dose that produces the desired effect(s) in 50% of the population. [11]
• EB – Estradiol benzoate. A substance necessarily to maintain sexual behavior in rats during experiments. [12]
• PPARδ – Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta. They play a critical role as lipid sensors and regulators of lipid metabolism (i.e. fat storing and burning). [13]
• AMPK – 5′ AMP-activated protein kinase. An enzyme playing a key role in energy homeostasis at the cellular level. AMPK activation can oxidize fatty acids, stimulate muscle glucose uptake, as well as inhibit cholesterol, fat cell, and triglyceride synthesis. [14]
• HDL – high-density lipoprotein. Also known as “good cholesterol”.
• VLDL – very-low-density lipoprotein. A subset of LDL, also known as “bad cholesterol”.
• AICAR – 5-Aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide. Analog of adenosine monophosphate (AMP) that can stimulate AMPK.
• Estradiol – Form of estrogen. Small amounts are released by the testes in males to prevent sperm from dying too early and in women is plays a large role in the growth and development of the womb, fallopian tubes, vagina, and breasts. [15]
• Orchidectomized – Testes removed. Sometimes used as a more technical term for castrated males.
• Ovariectomized – Ovaries removed. Sometimes used as a more technical term for castrated females.

Ostarine does have two significant side effects – HPG axis suppression and elevated estradiol levels.

The Development of SARMsSARMs were discovered in the 1940s after researchers modified the chemical structure of the testosterone molecule. [16] These initial SARM compounds were derived from the testosterone molecule, so they’re considered steroidal, however pharmaceutical companies and other life science organizations are developing nonsteroidal SARMs. Specifically, Ligand Pharmaceuticals was the first company to develop cyclic quinolinones which later became the first series of compounds to be classified as nonsteroidal SARMS. [16]

In the past decade researchers have made great leaps in improving the oral bioavailability and decreasing the hepatic toxicity of these compounds. As previously mentioned, SARMs act on specific androgen receptors which are found in a number of key tissues throughout the body. Androgen receptors are found in the prostate, seminal vesicle, male and female genitalia, skin, testis, ovary, cartilage, sebaceous glands, hair follicles, sweat glands, cardiac muscle, smooth muscle, gastrointestinal vesicular cells, thyroid follicular cells, adrenal cortex, liver, pineal, and brain. [17]

One of the primary drivers of SARM development is the rising diagnosis of male hypogonadism, a condition in which the body doesn’t produce enough testosterone. Males may be born with this condition or develop it later in life due to injury, infection, or age-related deterioration. [18]Hypogonadism can contribute to muscle mass loss, fat gain, depression, and low libido.

Administering exogenous androgens can help to reverse hypogonadism by increasing circulating levels of the natural androgen receptor (AR) ligands testosterone (T) and DHT. Increasing these natural levels with SARMs can not only reverse or slow the aforementioned issues that come with hypogonadism, but could also be used to treat muscle-wasting and age-related deterioration conditions without negatively affecting the prostate.

Ideally, a SARM has an antagonist activity in the androgenic organ (prostate) and strong agonist activity in the anabolic organ (muscle and bone). [17] This means SARMs should positively affect muscle and bone and have little to no effect on the prostate.

There are two approaches to developing SARMs:

1. Top-down approach.
2. Bottoms-up approach.

In the top-down approach, researchers selected a desired activity and tissue selectivity profile. [16] After they set these parameters they work to develop a SARM that exhibits those characteristics.

In a bottoms-up approach the researchers determine “the mechanisms of androgen action on the skeletal muscle and the prostate…identify signaling molecules that are downstream of androgen receptor and [determine] which activate pathways involved in skeletal muscle hypertrophy, but not the prostate.” [16] Based on these mechanisms of action the researchers design a SARM to act in those specific pathways.

Given the potential upsides are SARMs, you might be wondering why they aren’t being prescribed by medical professionals to patients. Although there are a number of SARMs in clinical trial, none have been advanced in to late-stage clinical trials (Phase IV), which has the goal of watching drug use in the general public and examining long-term effects.

The majority of studies on SARMs have been performed on rats. Some of which on castrated male rats, who have elevated LH and FSH levels compared to non-castrated rats. Researchers measure their muscle growth via the levator ani muscle (a broad and thin muscle located on the side of the pelvis), weigh the prostate of male rates, and measure bone formation and turnover rates.

Furthermore, regulatory approval has been slowed because of the additional requirements for proving efficacy and safety since SARMs are not aromatized or 5-alpha reduced. [16] Unlike testosterone derivatives, this means they’re not converted in to active androgen or estrogen compounds nor are they broken down during the steroid metabolism process.

A number of big pharmaceutical and life science companies are researching and developing SARMs, including but not limited to – GTx, Inc.; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Ligand Pharmaceuticals; Kaken Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Johnson & Johnson; Merck; and GlaxoSmithKline.16 Although members of the fitness community use SARMs, many of these companies are developing SARMs to serve much larger populations – non-castrated aging adults and postmenopausal women. [1]These two audiences typically experience muscle mass loss, strength loss, fat gain, decreased mobility, and increased risk of bone fractures.

In January of 2008, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) added SARMs to its list of prohibited anabolic substances. [1] SARMs are also prohibited by major sporting organization like the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), as well as any organization who observes the list set-forth by WADA (e.g. various powerlifting, bodybuilding, CrossFit, and strongman federations).

Why Use SARMs?In general, SARMs offer three key benefits – increased muscle mass, decreased fat mass, and increased bone mass.

SARMs aren’t just designed and meant for athletes; as previously discussed there are a slew of populations that could benefit from SARMs. Those with one or more of the following conditions could benefit from SARMs: muscle wasting disorders (e.g. sarcopenia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and cystic fibrosis), sports injuries, burn injuries, weakness and/or body wasting due to cancer or HIV, and frailty and/or muscle atrophy as a result of the aging process. [1]

Although there are many drugs designed to improve the health of these populations, SARMs also have the unique benefit of being non-methylated and non-aromatized by the body, so they’re not toxic to the liver nor do they convert in to other active androgen or estrogen compounds. Liver toxicity and aromatization is a very serious concern when using pro-hormones and AASs. As you can see, SARMs benefit both chronically ill individuals as well healthy individuals looking to maximize quality of life.

The assessment of SARMs on living organisms, mainly rats, has shown that these compounds generally increase muscle mass without significantly affecting prostate weight. Dramatic shifts up or down in prostate weight can lead to a slew of health complications.

A few Phase I trials of SARMs in humans have been performed, which resulted in increases of 1.0-1.5kg of fat-free mass over a 4-6 week period. [16] Although these gains are modest, these studies looked at the effects of SARMs on people with muscle-wasting conditions. It would be interesting to see clinical research of the effects SARMs on athletes.

For comparison, the typical fat-free mass gain over a 4-6 week period dosing 300-600mg of testosterone enanthate per day is 5-7kg. [16] Keep in mind that the side effects of testosterone are much harsher than those of SARMs. Phase I and II clinical trials of 1st generation SARMs resulted in decreased HDL and SHBG as well as small and brief elevations in AST and ALT. [16]

Furthermore, SARMs have demonstrated the ability to minimize or prevent muscle trophy when muscles were immobilized in casts. [19] This is great news for athletes who work hard on the field and in the weight room to build muscle mass, strength, and power as SARMs may positively impact the recovery process.

Some SARMs also appear to activate AMPK, a mechanism involved in fat oxidation and lipolysis. Testosterone-derived compounds also increase muscle mass and decrease fat mass, but unlike these compounds SARMs do not significantly suppress LH and FSH level unless exceptionally high doses (3-4x the median effective dose) are administered. [1] This further supports the notion that SARMs may be safer long-term than testosterone-derived steroidal compounds.

Androgens appear to increase periosteal bone formation in cortical bone whereas estrogen compounds decrease or depress this formation. [20] In simpler terms, androgens help to build the dense and compact outer layer of the bone which helps to support the body, protect organs, store calcium, and provide levers for movement. [21] [22]

SARMs also appear to decrease endocortical and trabecular bone turnover. [19] A high bone turnover rate typically leads to cancellous bone loss, which is the spongy, softer, weaker, and more flexible bone found at the end of long bones, proximal to joints and within the interior of vertebrae. [23]

Increasing bone formation and decreasing bone turnover suggests SARMs are an excellent treatment option for those developing or diagnosed with osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is the condition by which the creation of new bone doesn’t keep up with breakdown of old bone as a result, bones become weak and brittle. [24] Post-menopausal are at the highest risk for osteoporosis, but these findings suggest SARMs to be excellent compounds for anyone looking to strengthen their bones and minimize fractures.

The fitness industry uses SARMs in many of the same ways as the general population – to increase muscle mass, maximize fat loss while preserving lean mass, as well as rehabilitate injuries via improved bone and muscle strength. However, some fitness enthusiasts use SARMs in between pro-hormone, AASs, and testosterone cycles for PCT or as an alternative to those three aforementioned compounds.

Although pro-hormones, AASs, and testosterone cycles can produce rapid and dramatic increases in muscle and strength, they’re extremely harsh on the body and often result in numerous, series side effects. These side effects include: expedited prostate cancer development, baldness, acne, excessive body hair growth, acne, male breast development (gynecomastia), high blood pressure, poor liver and cholesterol blood panels, heart growth, and elimination of natural testosterone production. [25]

It’s clear that using these substances should NOT be taken lightly as they could potentially ruin your quality of life forever. However, given the competitive nature of the fitness industry, fitness professionals may use SARMs, pro-hormones, AASs, testosterone, or a number of many other substances to look and perform their best.

Popular SARMsIn this section we will examine popular SARMs, their effects, and dosing protocols. After reading this section you should have a better understand of the differences between SARMs, how SARMs work, and which SARMs stack well together.

Andarine (S-4, GTx-007)Andarine is an orally active nonsteroidal SARM developed by GTx, Inc. Researchers found that S-4 is tissue-selective, stimulates the anabolic organs more than the androgenic organs, doesn’t significantly suppress LH or FSH, doesn’t increase estradiol levels, and elicits similar or greater anabolic activity compared to TP. [26][27] This means that S-4 can increase muscle and bone mass without affecting the prostate.

Complications involving the prostate are a serious risk when injecting testosterone derivatives like TP. Although Andarine binds to androgen receptors 33% as effectively effectiveness of testosterone, a 3mg/kg/dosage of S-4 can build muscle mass and strength in castrated male rats.[27]

The primary use of Andarine in the fitness industry is during a fat loss phase. Andarine accomplishes this goal by decreasing LPL and some users even report an increase in muscle mass and decrease in water retention while using this compound. [27] Based on these findings and reports, Andarine appears to be an excellent compound for maximizing fat loss while preserving or slightly increasing muscle mass.

However, Andarine does come with two very serious side effects when dosed at 50+mg per day – suppression of the HPG axis and vision disturbances (night-time blindness and/or a yellowish tint in vision). [27] Although most users report that these issues are temporary and quickly subside after they cycle off Andarine. Nonetheless, it’s extremely important that you approach Andarine and ALL SARMs with CAUTION. These compounds are extremely strong and only meant for those who have extensively researched and considered the costs and benefits.

The chart below outlines dosing recommendations based on your goal; all daily dosages should be split in to multiple sub-doses during the day (due to a short half-life of the compound) and run on a 5 days on/2 days off protocol to minimize vision side effects: [27]

Ostarine (MK-2866, GTx-024)

Ostarine is an orally active nonsteroidal SARM developed by GTx, Inc. A 12-week double-blind, placebo-controlled phase II clinical trial on 120 healthy elderly men (60+ years old) and postmenopausal women showed that Ostarine significantly increased lean body mass, improved physical function, and improved/increased insulin sensitivity. [29]

In the fitness industry users typically take Ostarine during bulking and recomposition phases. During bulking phases some users report 7lb increases in lean body mass in just 8 weeks and users report decreased fat mass and slight increases in muscle and strength (most likely due to the compound’s nutrient partitioning effects). [30]

A compound that offers both fat loss, muscle gain, and strength gain benefits sounds extremely appealing to athletes looking to take their performance to the next-level. However, Ostarine does have two significant side effects – HPG axis suppression and elevated estradiol levels; both of which users report can be remedied with a 3-week PCT. [27] [30] If you do decide to take Ostarine, it’s extremely important that you follow the directions on the label and perform the PCT to mitigate further, more serious side effects.

The chart below outlines dosing recommendations based on your goal; all dosages can be taken one per day (due to a 24-hour half-life) and don’t require an intra-week cycling protocol like Andarine: [30]

Ligandrol (LGD-4033)

Ligandrol is an orally active nonsteroidal SARM developed by Ligand Pharmaceuticals that has completed Phase I clinical trials which involved multiple ascending doses in healthy volunteers.[31]

According to the National Institute of Health’s U.S. National Library of Medicine, in Phase I clinical trials “Researchers test a new drug or treatment in a small group of people for the first time to evaluate its safety, determine a safe dosage range, and identify side effects.” [32] These clinical trials showed that humans could safely tolerate up to 22mg/day of this compound for 14 consecutive days; this compound contributed to increases in lean body mass, decreases in fat mass, increases in strength, as well as an increases in senses of well-being. [31]

Ligandrol also appears to decrease bone turnover rate, which appeals to those with osteoporosis.[33] Based on these findings, it appears that LGD-4033 is an excellent SARM for bulking, cutting, recomposition, or strength-gain phases.

The chart below outlines dosing recommendations based on your goal; all dosages can be taken one per day and don’t require an intra-week cycling protocol like Andarine: [31]

Ligandrol doesn’t appear to decrease LH or FSH nor does it appear to increase PSA or estradiol, but it may decrease total testosterone, free testosterone, and SHBG, so a full PCT is recommended. [31][33] More specifically, at dosages below 5mg/day, total testosterone may slightly decrease yet stay in the “healthy” reference range of 270-1070ng/dl while dosages above 5mg/day may decrease HDL and total testosterone values to clinical deficient values. [33]

Tiger Fitness offers three products designed for PCT – Finaflex Revolution PCT, Lecheek AD-3 PCT, and Athletic Xtreme Advanced PCT. If a PCT is performed correctly, it should jump-start your body’s natural production of testosterone and bring those values back in to the normal range.

BMS-564,929BMS-564,929 is an orally active nonsteroidal SARM developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb to treat age-related functional decline. This compound has advanced to clinical trials because it’s highly selective for androgen receptors, doesn’t significantly affect SHBG, aromatase, or prostate, and appears to be more potent than testosterone in stimulating muscle growth in castrated male rats. [34]Based on these findings, BMS-564,929 appears to be an ideal anabolic SARM.

AC-262,356AC-262,356 is an orally active nonsteroidal SARM developed by Acadia Pharmaceuticals that produces anabolic effects roughly 66% as strong as testosterone and has a potency of about 27% as an androgen. [35] This means the compound doesn’t significantly affect the weight of the prostate and seminal vesicle.

A two week study on castrated male rats found that this compound increases muscle mass, as measured by levator ani growth, and decreased elevated LH levels. [35] Elevated LH levels can indicate poorly functioning testes in males and an imbalance of sex hormones in females. [36]

These findings indicate that this compound can is beneficial for both increasing muscle mass and regulating some hormones.

JNJ-28330835JNJ-28330835 is an orally active nonsteroidal SARM that appears to stimulate muscle growth and decrease prostate weight. When dosed at 10mg/kg, it maximized muscle growth in lab rats but also decreased prostate weight an average of 30%. [37] However, a study on rats found that this compound was actually prostate sparing. [37]

Based on this conflicting information, it’s probably safe to say that this compound affects the prostate to a degree, but the exact degree is unknown.

This compound prevented half of the average loss of lean body mass in rats who underwent a procedure to remove their testicles and in aged orchidectomized rats, this compound restored roughly 30% of lost lean mass. [37] Although I’m sure you’re not planning to remove your testicles any time soon, these findings suggest that using this compound can help to minimize lean mass loss or even restore lean mass as you age and anabolic markers such as testosterone decrease.

Furthermore, this compound increased sexual desire in ovariectomized female rats and appears to reduce bone turnover. [37] Increased sexual desire is never a bad thing and can be particularly beneficial as you age and libido tends to decrease. Bone turnover is “the total volume of bone that is both resorbed and formed over a period time”. [38] Bone turnover should ideally be neither too high nor too low, so changing this rate could lead to additional health complications.

LGD-2226LGD-2226 is an orally active nonsteroidal SARM that has been shown to increase muscle mass, strengthen bones, and improve sexual function in male rats without significantly affecting prostate size. [39] During a 4-month treatment period using this compound on mature orchidectomized male rats, researchers found that LGD-2226 prevented bone loss and maintained bone formation via two pathways – increasing the bone formation rate and decreasing the bone turnover rate. [40]

Many other drugs and treatment options only target one of the pathways. This study also confirmed prior studies’ findings that this compound increases muscle mass and libido. [40]

There’s not a lot of research on this particular SARM, but given the benefits observed thus, it may be categorized as an ideal anabolic SARM plus have the added benefit of improving sexual function. More research is needed on this compound in both non-human and human models.

LGD-3303LGD-3303 is an orally active nonsteroidal SARM that shows potential to increase muscle mass and BMD in rat models. When dosed in castrated rats with androgen deficiencies this compound did not stimulate the ventral prostate despite significantly increasing the dosage. [41] These findings suggest that this compound does not negatively impact androgenic organs, which is a component of the ideal anabolic SARM.

The same researchers also dosed this compound two different ways, orally and continuous infusion, and found in both instances that the compound significantly increased muscle activity but was found in higher concentrations in the prostate. [41] It’s surprising that despite higher concentrations of the compound in the prostate, the muscles actually responded and grew in size, rather than the androgenic organs.

S-40503S-40503 is an orally active nonsteroidal SARM that can increase BMD and increase muscle mass to the same extent as DHT but without impacting prostate weight. Researchers arrived at these findings after they administered the compound to orchidectomized rats for 4 weeks. [20] Based on these findings, S-40503 appears to be an ideal anabolic SARM.

Furthermore, the rats receiving only DHT experienced a 150% increase in prostate weight. [20]Increased prostate weight can lead to urination issues and sometimes indicate the development of prostate cancer. When this compound was administered to ovariectomized mature female rats for 2 months, researchers found it increased BMD and the biomechanical strength of cortical bone in the femur. [20]

These findings show that the effects of S-40503 on bone is applicable to both males and females. Rats treated with only estrogen, a hormone used to prevent or minimize bone breakdown (resorption), did not positively affect BMD or cortical bone strength. [20]

S-40503 appears to be particularly beneficial for those looking to increase bone mass, density, and strength and more research is needed on impact to muscle mass.

S-23S-23 is an orally active nonsteroidal SARM with high binding affinity to androgen receptors that appears to increase muscle mass, decrease fat mass, decrease prostate size, and act as an effective and reversible hormonal male contraceptive in rats. The ED50 in castrated male rats for decreasing prostate weight and increasing muscle mass was 0.43mg/day and 0.079mg/day, respectively. [12] Assuming the rat weighs 550 grams and adjusting values are adjusted for a 180lb male, the dosages would be about 63.5mg and 11.75mg per day, respectively.

Researchers found that treating non-castrated male rats for 14 days with 0.1mg/day or more of this compound, decreased LH levels by 50+%, significantly decreased prostate size, and significantly increased levator ani muscle size. [12] Although the increased muscle growth is a positive sign, the decreased LH levels and prostate size is a big red flag.

S-23 was also found to increase BMD, and reduce fat mass in lab rats. [12] This SARM is particularly unique because of its potential as a contraceptive. When non-castrated male rats were treated with 0.1mg/d of S-23 and EB for 10 weeks, LH and FSH levels decreased, 4 of the 6 male rats had no sperm in the testis, and none of the six rat couples experienced pregnancies during mating trials. [12]

Translated to 180lb male at a 1:1 dosage, this would be the equivalent of about 14.9mg/day. Furthermore, 100 days after treatment ceased, the infertility was fully reversed and the six rat couples experienced a 100% pregnancy rate. [12] These findings are absolutely incredible and could change the birth control industry as we know it; however, more clinical testing is needed on humans and further processing is needed to minimize or eliminate side effects.

Cardarine (GW-501516)GW-501516 is discussed last in this section because it’s often mislabeled as a SARM. Cardarine is a selective activator which binds to PPARδ receptors rather androgen receptors. Cardarine acts on a different pathways but its effects are equally as impressive as SARM compounds. Cardarine activates AMPK, which is responsible for oxidizing fatty acids and stimulating muscle glucose uptake.

Researchers found that administering this compound helped to reverse metabolic abnormalities in pre-diabetic obese men with metabolic syndrome. [42] With more than 33% of the adult population and 16.7% of the child (ages 6-19) population in the United States considered to be obese, this compound could be a key element in controlling this crisis. [43]

Further examination on rats and monkeys showed that this compound not only helped to burn fat and build muscle, but it also eliminated the occurrence of diet-induced obesity and Type II Diabetes, increased HDL, and lowered VLDL. [42] This compound has a number of impressive upsides, but it does have one potential, serious, downside. When Cardarine is administered in excessively high doses in rats over a relatively long period of time, the compound may cause cancer. [42]

A few studies arrived at this finding while others show that Cardarine is completely harmless – it doesn’t suppress key hormones, it’s not toxic, nor does it cause the typical side effects seen with use of SARMs and AASs. Although Cardarine is not technically a SARM, it’s still prohibited at all times by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and IOC because it’s considered a metabolic modulator that activates AMPK. [44]

In the fitness community, this compound is most commonly used to improve exercise endurance and assist in fat loss. While dosing 10mg/day of Cardarine in 8 week cycles appears to be effective for dramatically increasing both aerobic and anaerobic endurance, stacking Cardarine with AICAR appears to magnify these effects to a greater degree. [42]

Increasing endurance via cardiovascular training can improve intra-set recovery during weight training sessions. [45] Improved recovery means you’ll be able to train at a higher volume, more frequently, and/or more intensely. To assist in fat-loss and preserve muscle mass, users dose Cardarine 10-20mg per day and may stack with Ostarine and Andarine during an 8-week cycle. [42]

As with any supplement, start with the minimum recommended dose and adjust accordingly based on your response.

SARM-like ProductsTiger Fitness offers two SARM-like products from Applied Nutriceuticals and Legal Gear (LG) Sciences. Please note that SARM-like products try to mimic the effects of SARMs without the side effects but are NOT the same as actual SARMs in terms of effects.

Applied Nutriceuticals offers RPM, which includes a phytochemical/plant-derived “P-SARM Synthase AI Complex” in a proprietary blend of 344mg per capsule. Active ingredients in this blend include: L-Arginine Base, Grape Seed Extract (95% Proanthocyandins), Epimedium Grandiflorum (as 20% Icariin), and Citrus Paradisi Macfaydven (As 98% Naringin).

The suggested dose, based on your bodyweight, should be taken 1 hour pre-workout. Those weighing less than 140lbs – 1 capsule; 140-160lbs – 2 capsules; 160-180lbs – 3 capsules, 180-220lbs – 4 capsules, 220lbs+ – 5 capsules.

At a price of $54.99 for 240 capsules, this product offers between 240 and 48 servings per bottle.

LG Sciences offers 6-Mass, which includes 25mg of 6-keto-pregn-4-ene-3,20-dione listed as an “Anabolic Hormone” and a 382mg proprietary blend comprised of D-Aspartic Acid (Aspartate), Ginger Extract (root), Grapefruit Extract (fruit), Stinging Nettle (root), and Piperine 90%. The suggested dose is 3 tablets per day in divided doses 30 minutes before each meal with 12 ounces of water for up to 8 weeks.

According to LG Sciences, more advanced users can take up to 6 tablets per day and cycles can last up to 120 days without side effects. However, for those choosing to use 6-Mass for 120 days, a 4 week cycle-off is strongly advised. At a price of $52.99 for 90 capsules, this product offers between 15 and 30 servings per bottle.

It’s the author’s recommendation that if you’re going to experiment with SARMs, then you should purchase actual SARMs rather than SARM-like products. Some SARMs have actually been tested in a clinical setting whereas SARM-like products may be a proprietary blend of ingredients not required to be inspected by the FDA.

Now that you’ve been armed with a slew of information on SARMs, I encourage you to perform your due-diligence and determine if SARMs are right for you. They could be just want to you need to increase muscle mass, decrease fat mass, and strengthen your bones! If you have any questions, comments, or firsthand experiences with SARMs, let me know is the comment section below.

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8) “Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Test.” National Cancer Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Aug. 2015.
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10) “Bone Mineral Density Test: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia.” National Library of Medicine – National Institutes of Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Aug. 2015.
11) “Basic_principles_of_pharm [TUSOM | Pharmwiki].” TMedWeb | Tulane University School of Medicine Medical Student Portal. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Aug. 2015.
12) “Preclinical Characterization of a (S)-N-(4-Cyano-3-Trifluoromethyl-Phenyl)-3-(3-Fluoro, 4-Chlorophenoxy)-2-Hydroxy-2-Methyl-Propanamide: A Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator for Hormonal Male Contraception: Endocrinology: Vol 150, No 1.”Endocrine Society Journals and Publications. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Aug. 2015.
13) “The Mechanisms of Action of PPARs. – PubMed – NCBI.” National Center for Biotechnology Information. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Aug. 2015.
14) “AMP-activated Protein Kinase, a Metabolic Master Switch: Possible Roles in Type 2 Diabetes. – PubMed – NCBI.” National Center for Biotechnology Information. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Aug. 2015.
15) “Estradiol Blood Test: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia.” National Library of Medicine – National Institutes of Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Aug. 2015.
16) Bhasin, Shalender, and Ravi Jasuja. “Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMs) as Function Promoting Therapies.” Current opinion in clinical nutrition and metabolic care 12.3 (2009): 232–240. PMC. Web.
17) “Design, Synthesis, and in Vivo SAR of a Novel Series of Pyrazolines As Potent Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators – Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (ACS Publications).” ACS Publications Home Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Aug. 2015.
18) “Male Hypogonadism – Mayo Clinic.” Mayo Clinic. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Aug. 2015.
19) International Society of Musculoskeletal and Neuronal Interactions. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Aug. 2015.
20) Hanada, Keigo, et al. “Bone Anabolic Effects of S-40503, a Novel Nonsteroidal Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator (SARM), in Rat Models of Osteoporosis.” Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin. N.p., Nov. 2003. Web. 14 Aug. 2015.
21) Netter, Frank H. (1987), Musculoskeletal system: anatomy, physiology, and metabolic disorders. Summit, New Jersey: Ciba-Geigy Corporation ISBN 0-914168-14-2
22) “Compact Bone – National Library of Medicine.” PubMed Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Aug. 2015.
23) “Cancellous Bone Definition | Back Pain and Neck Pain Medical Glossary.” Spine-health. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Aug. 2015.
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25) “Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMS).” Evolutionary.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Aug. 2015.
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30) “Ostarine (MK-2866).” Evolutionary.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Aug. 2015.
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41) Vajda, Eric G., et al. “Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of LGD-3303 [9-Chloro-2-ethyl-1-methyl-3-(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl)-3H-pyrrolo-[3,2-f]quinolin-7(6H)-one], an Orally Available Nonsteroidal-Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator.” Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. N.p., Feb. 2009. Web.
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Name: Nick Ludlow

Bio: When it comes to fitness I enjoy reading about historic weight lifters, non-conventional weightlifting approaches, nutritional protocols, and the science behind supplements.

View ALL articles by : NickLudlow

Some men just want to see the world burn. Powerlifting is dying. Raw lifters wearing knee wraps, monolifts, zippers on power suits, drugs, poor judging and a myriad of other factors are killing the sport. This niche sport is dying a painful death highlighted with cheating and illegitimate performances.

I should just be blunt. That was sarcasm. Powerlifting is not dying, not in the slightest. However, every single time there are some poorly judged lifts or a new piece of gear the internet proclaims that Powerlifting is a big joke and is dying; headed to an abyss to never be seen again.

I’m not sure what meets these people are attending to have developed that opinion.

Sure are a lot of lifters for a dying sport.

Seriously, go to a meet. Meets are packed out and rosters are full. If powerlifting is dying so quickly, why are there so many new faces at meets? Michigan is a good Powerlifting state. We have 3 major federations here with meets being run at least once a month. Even small push/pulls and in-house meets have full rosters. Michigan state meets have literally hundreds of lifters and at least 2 of these meets were within 3 weeks of one another. Go just a little farther down the road to Chicago or into Ohio and you find more of the same. Meet directors with 60+ lifters in a variety of federations at every single meet.

Powerlifting is not dying or becoming more obscure. More lifters are coming to meets and I promise you that almost every roster (outside of invite or pro meets) has a significant number of first time lifters. Powerlifting is growing in numbers, not fading away.

Lots of business support as well. 

Need to buy a new power rack or a bench? How about some wraps, belts, or sleeves? Think about Rogue and how quickly they have grown. That company started out selling jump ropes to CrossFitters and is now a go to option for Powerlifters wanting to buy racks or bars. Sure, CrossFit is their cash crop but as an organization they decided we are worth investing in, with product that are only for Power lifters- monolift hooks anyone?

Again, Powerlifting is not dying. Companies are investing in our sport and turning a handsome profit selling gear and equipment to us.

So many sources of information.

If you are looking to learn about strength sports and Powerlifting, there have never been more sources of information than now! Both digitally and in person there are opportunities to learn from some of the best lifters in the world. With so many articles, blogs, in person clinics and seminars, there is no excuse for being a poorly educated lifter. Almost every weekend there is a chance to learn from the best somewhere.

A fraternity of lifters.

The internet would have you believe that lifters all hate each other and there are ton of fist fights at meets. That (thankfully) is not reality. One of the things that I enjoy most about Powerlifting is the camaraderie amongst lifters and at meets. This passion is a strange one that most people don’t understand, but at a meet it is so easy to make fast friends. Training in Powerlifting gyms there is a sense of brotherhood that I place a lot of value in.

I know I have been helped out a ton along the way. People helping me learn, giving me used gear, offering a hand at a meet, simply because we share a strange obsession and bond over some weights. For the first several years that I was competing I pretty much went at it alone and was only successful because people helped me; and asked for nothing in return. That has always stuck out to me and I will always try to pass that on.

Internet Powerlifting is not what the sport is actually like. Step in a warm up room and you will find direct competitors helping each other to the point of offering technique suggestions, new lifters getting a hand from world record holders and a strange, smelly, tattooed fraternity.

Sure there are problems.

Absolutely Powerlifting has some issues. There is no doubt in my mind that there is room for improvement, but to say Powerlifting is dying is absurd. Be a part of making Powerlifting better; get a judges card and sit in the chair. Direct a meet or two. Keep it simple and just help out that new kid that didn’t bring his own handler to the meet. Embrace what makes Powerlifting great and support those that are working to make it even better.

Get the 10/20/Life Ebook here!

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Daniel Dalenberg
Dan Dalenberg is an elite level raw powerlifter with elite totals in the 220, 242 and 275 class. Best official meet lifts include an 804 squat, 507 bench press, 710 dead lift and 2006 total. Dan has been training under Brian's guidance using the 10/20/Life methodology since late 2010, adding 425 pounds to his total. Dan lives in Portage, Michigan and trains at the Paw Paw, MI location of Strength Beyond Gym.

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This and many more articles can be found here.

http://www.powerrackstrength.com/powerlifting-is-dying/

Dogg Pound Training

(source: no longer exists; originally posted by DC 

Now to get into specifics regarding training. Stay with me here. You are only doing one exercise per muscle group per day. You are doing your first favorite exercise for chest on day one, you're doing your second favorite exercise for chest the next time chest training rolls around and then your third favorite exercise for chest the time after that when chest training rolls around. Then you repeat the entire sequence again. You're doing the same exercises you would be doing anyway in a 7-14 days time and training chest 3 times in that same period with minimal sets so you can recover. You cannot do a 3-5 exercise, 10-20 set chest workout and recover to train chest again 3-4 days later. It's absolutely impossible!! But you can come in and do 2-5 warmup sets up to your heaviest set and then do ONE working set (either straight set or rest paused) all out on that exercise then recover and grow and be ready again 3-4 days later. This kind of training will have you growing as fast as humanly possible. Again the simple equation is "the most times per year you can train a body part incredibly heavy, with major strength gains, and recover will equal out to the fastest accumulation of muscle mass possible".

Why don't most pros do this kind of training? Why don't you?!?! Because every form of training has been taught to someone, passed down from the magazines for decades with no thought out rhyme or reasons. Every form of modern day training stems from what the guys in the 60's and Arnold was doing. Finally Yates and some others got people thinking about what truly is working when it comes to training. If you think about it-it's ridiculous some of these recommended routines in the magazines. Most training comes from peoples egos. People are so driven and desperate to get big that they believe they MUST do this and MUST do that every workout. Thirty sets here, with multiple exercises to hit every angle there. You know what that does? It dramatically cuts into your recovery ability (never mind amino acid pools and glycogen stores) so you cannot train that body part again in a couple days time. That defeats the purpose of rapid accumulation of muscle mass. I'll state this as a matter of fact because I believe it's true. I believe if you, the person reading this, trained the way I am recommending, you will be 20-40lbs of muscle larger in 3 years than if you kept training the way you are presently training. If that offends you or seems ballsy to state-SO BE IT!!! I've done enough studying and real life experimentation on aspiring bodybuilders to state that.

To start-Three key exercises are picked for each body part. USING ONLY ONE OF THOSE EXERCISES PER WORKOUT you rotate these in order and take that exercise to it's ultimate strength limit (where at that certain point you change the exercise to a new one and get brutally strong on that new movement too). That can happen in 4 weeks or that can happen 2 years later but it will happen some time (You cannot continually gain strength to where you are eventually bench pressing 905 for reps obviously) Sometime later when you come back to that original exercise you will start slightly lower than your previous high and then soar past it without fail.

Some principles I believe in:

A) I believe rest pausing is the most productive way of training ever. I've never seen a way to faster strength gains than what comes from rest pausing. I'll use an incline smith bench with a hypothetical weight to show you my recommended way of rest pausing.

Warmups would be 135x12, 185x10, 250x 6, 315x4 (none of these are taxing--they are just getting me warmed up for my all out rest pause set)

MAIN REST PAUSE SET-375x8 reps (total failure) rack the weight, then 15 deep breathes and 375x 2 to 4 reps (total failure) rack the weight, then 15 deep breathes and 375x 1 to 2 reps. I personally do a static right after that but I'll explain that later. Remember every time you go to failure you always finish on the negative portion and have your training partner help you or rack the weight yourself. To explain further on my first rest pause above I struggled with every iota of my strength to get that 8th rep up. At that point instead of racking the weight up top I brought the weight down to my chest again slowly (6 seconds) and had my training partner quickly help me lift the weight back up to the top to rack it. That "always finishing on the negative rep" will accrue more cellular damage over time and allow for even greater gains.

B) Every exercise is done with a controlled but explosive positive and a true 6-8 second negative phase. The science is there just read it. Almost every study states an explosive positive motion is the priming phase and the negative portion of an exercise should be done controlled and slowly. I have the mindset that I hope you guys develop. I try so hard to get the weight up only for the sole reason I can lower it slowly to cause eccentric phase cellular damage.

C) Extreme Stretching: it must be done, it's imperative. It stretches fascia and helps recovery immensely. It will dramatically change your physique in a short amount of time if done right, trust me on that. I hit on it in the first article of this series.

OK you guys have to use some deductive reasoning here. If I do a 375 or so LB smith incline press rest paused for 10-15 reps with statics on Monday morning (which is the time of day I lift) by that same Monday night, 12 hours later I am viscously sore. By Tuesday morning I am still pretty sore but to a lesser degree. By Tuesday night I have very little soreness. By Wednesday morning I have absolutely no soreness and Wednesday night the same, so I could probably train chest again on Thursday no problem but I currently wait till Friday and train chest again. If your training chest on Monday and on Thursday your still pretty sore, a couple things are happening--either you're training with more volume than I recommend, or you're not extreme stretching (as recommended in my first article for AE), or more likely your recovery ability is not your greatest asset. If the last one is true you are going to have to take note of that and broaden the workout days between bodyparts hit. Most of you reading this (90%) will be able to go the Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Monday again route hitting bodyparts twice in 8 days. A chosen few might be able to go Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday especially if they really work their extreme stretching and get the proper rest. That's very rare though that someone can recover that quickly even from one working set per bodypart. My recommendations are to start out Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Monday first and gauge how that goes. I am currently seeing that most people go best with that protocol. I know some of you want to train a bodypart as many times as possible in a weeks time, hell I would love to be able to train a bodypart 4 times a week and grow but it can't be done. So this is something I can't help you on.....you need to check yourself and find out where you are recovering and then work with that. I can do a 20 plate leg press for reps and be sore for the next day and a half and feel fresh and ready to go on my next leg day. High dose glutamine has been a godsend to my recovery ability as has extreme stretching. My training weights continue to rocket upward on everything. What I cannot do is 3 leg exercises for multiple sets in a workout session and recover 3-4 days later to do legs again. I think you're begging for injury if you are still very, very sore the next time a body part comes up.

Example Day one
First exercise smith incline presses (I'll use the weights I use for example)
135 for warmup for 12
185 for 8 warmup
250 for 6 warmup
315 for 4 warmup
Then all out with 375 for 8 reps to total absolute failure (then 12-15 deep breaths) 375 for 2-4 reps to total absolute failure (then 12-15 deep breaths) 375 for 1-3 reps to absolute total failure (then a 20-30 second static hold) DONE!-that's it 375lbs for 8+4+3= 375 for 15 reps rest paused..... next week I go for 385 (again rest paused)-----directly after that rest pause set I go to extreme stretching flyes as described earlier and then that's it for chest and on to shoulders, triceps and back. The next time I come in to do chest I would do hammer flat presses in the same rest paused manner (and then extreme stretching again)---the time after that I come in to do chest I would do my third favorite exercise rest paused/stretched and then the cycle repeats.

In simple terms I am using techniques with extreme high intensity(rest pause) which I feel make a persons strength go up as quickly as possible + low volume so I can (recover) as quickly as possible with as many growth phases (damage/remodel/recover) I can do in a years time.

Some exercises involving legs and some back rowing exercises don't allow themselves to rest pause too well. A sample couple of days for me would be the following (IM not including warmup sets--just working sets).

Workout 1
CHEST: smith incline 375 x 15 reps rest pause (RP) and a 30 second static rep at the end (then stretches)
SHOULDERS: front smith press-330 x 13 RP and 30 second static (then stretches)
TRICEPS: reverse grip bench press 315 for 15-20 reps RP-no static (then stretches)
BACK WIDTH: rear pulldowns to back of head 300 x 18 RP (20 second static at end)
BACK THICKNESS: floor deadlifts straight set of 8-20 reps (then stretches for back)

The information below is from Peter O'Hanrahan's "Body Types, Part 1". It is a brief and incomplete description of the mesomorph's temperament.

Workout 2
BICEPS: preacher bench barbell curl RP for 14 reps and 30 second static
FOREARMS: hammer curls straight set for 15 reps (then stretches for biceps)
CALVES: on hack squat straight set for 12 reps but with a 20 second negative phase
HAMSTRINGS: Cybex hamstring press (pressing with heels up top) RP for 20 reps
QUADS: hack squat straight set of 6 plates each side for 20 reps (of course after warming up)

Then stretches for quads and hams.

The absolutely most important thing of any of this is I write down all weights and reps done from the working set on a notepad. So every time I go into the gym I have to continually look back and beat the previous times reps/weight or both. If I can't or I don't beat it, no matter if I love doing the exercise or not, I have to change to a new exercise. Believe me this adds a grave seriousness, a clutch performance or imperativeness to a workout! I have exercises I love to do and knowing I will lose them if I don't beat the previous stats sucks! But there is a method to this madness because when you get to that sticking point of strength (AND YOU WILL, THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN HACK SQUAT UP TO 50 PLATES A SIDE) that is when your muscle=strength gains will stop. At that point you must turn to a different exercise and then get brutally strong on that one. Then someday you will peak out on that one too. You can always come back to that loved exercise in the future and you'll start somewhat lower and build up to a peak again--and trust me that peak will be far more than the previous one. Some exercises you'll stay with and gain strength at for almost up to a year and some exercises you'll be at the limit in 4 weeks and lose them but its all in the plan. For example-- I love reverse grip bench presses, knowing that I have to beat 315 for 17 reps RP or else I have to change to maybe dips next time puts a serious sense of urgency into workouts. I either have to beat it by doing something to the effect of 320 for 15 RP or if I stick with 315, I have to get at least 19 reps RP or so. If I'm feeling crappy or having an off day I might give myself a little leeway and allow myself another go at it next time around but that's it. The notepad is your intensity level, how badly you want to keep doing an exercise will be how hard you push to beat the previous. Looking at that piece of paper knowing what you have to do to beat it will bring out the best in you. Again, it's all in the plan to make you the strongest bodybuilder possible which will equal out into the biggest bodybuilder possible.

I find myself irritated now when people look at me and say "genetics" or something to that effect--its amazing to me that at 19 I was 6 foot and 137lbs (yes 137) and eating 6 meals a day and people would chuckle at me the stickboy trying to be a bodybuilder. I seriously did not miss a meal for my first 3 and a half years, I would set my alarm at 2am and wake up and eat scrambled eggs and pancakes if I missed a meal during the day. Two years later I looked "normal" at 196lbs or so. Two years just to look like a normal person! I kept bombing away, eating and not taking no as an answer and now I am up at 300lbs and people say "you must have always been big" and genetics. That's tough for me to hear thinking how psyched I was to weigh more than 170 at one point. I've only trained one true mesomorph. Mesomorphs don't need trainers usually. I train ectomorphs and endomorphs. The last 3 people I've trained have been a pudgy Mexican who was 172 (now 258lbs hard)--a skinny marine, and a guy stuck at 188lbs for many years (now 260). These people all thought the same thing seeing how my workouts were set up-"am I doing enough?"--If you can show someone how to train so hard that they realize they were holding back tremendously during their 8-20 set workouts, that's half the battle. The other half is making them realize how impossible it is to do 8-20 sets per bodypart if you truly, truly train balls to the wall hard. Personally, if I do a 20 rep hack squat with slag iron heavy weights....at 10 reps I am seriously doubting I am going to make it---at 14 reps IM seeing colors---at 17 reps IM asking God for help--and the last 3 reps are life, death, or rigor mortis---I know for a fact that there is no way in hell I could do another 4-5 sets of hacks like that. I gave everything I had right there on that set. If I can do another 4-5 sets like that I'm cruising at 70% at the most. If all you get out of my articles is the mindset of heavy weights, low volume, stretching, and frequency of body parts trained-I would be very happy because then I would have you on the right path to get you where you want to be.

Dogg is presently training people online with daily emails to them and an A to Z approach with diet supplementation training and recovery. He is expensive but he wants to be because he doesn't want to train a lot of people at once (Four at once is his limit). His first client has been lifting for 3 years with limited success but in 7 weeks with Dogg has gone from 183lbs at 7.5% bodyfat to 205lbs at 7.7% bodyfat. At the end of 10 weeks he should be around 216lbs or so and onward. Dogg is also online training 2 superheavyweight national competitors who came to him to put on pro size muscle. They will make an even bigger splash than what they already have accomplished. His flat fee is 400 dollars for everything designed (diet, training, supplementation) and then constant emails to you for at least 2 months monitoring and adjusting your progress. He does a strict interview first to see if you have the makeup and mindset of the person he wants to train. He turns away people who he doesn't believe will go at it or listen to him 100 percent. If 400 dollars equals out to the 40-60lbs of muscle Dogg puts on people repeatedly to you-- then you can contact him at Doggcrapp@NOSPAMziplip.com (minus the nospam)

http://content.tigerfitness.com/top-tips-teen-bodybuilders/

In today’s era of modern bodybuilding, which is centered around social media and YouTube personalities, it seems as though the up and coming bodybuilder has it easier than previous generations. One can simply type in a question about the sport, and up will come answers in the form of articles, videos, and personal testimonies from many of the sport’s top current and past athletes.

Though it may seem like a blessing, having the ability to learn almost every possible fitness philosophy may actually be a curse. Why? Well, unfortunately, as many who have been around the industry realize, the information that is spewed out to these young athletes is often very poor, and can be dangerous.

Young bodybuilders are generally in need of the most help. Take a look at a Youtube video of one of these fitness “experts” in their late teens to early and‐mid twenties and you’ll see my point.

Most of these personalities who claim to have “found the answers”, haven’t really come up with anything on their own. They shoot opinions and theories out of their mouths from past athletes, or present basic ideas that one can find in a “Fitness for Dummies” book. In the worst cases, not only do they give unoriginal advice, but also extremely dangerous (see DMT controversy).

Unfortunately, young athletes just entering the sport may not understand that this advice not only sucks, but could be harmful. These “experts” have an influence and a following, and it’s time we get a new perspective on the sport from a young athlete.

I am not claiming to be an expert, or to have found any magical answers. However, I will offer my opinions on topics, and start off by giving my top four tips for young athletes looking for help in their start in this incredible sport.


Take good form seriously. Training without injury helps you to continue building muscle without interruptions.

My 4 Top Tips for Teen Bodybuilders

1. Focus on Injury prevention and longevity from Day 1Too many times when young athletes start off in the sport, they are gung‐ho about making big gains, fast. They load up the weight, step under a squat rack or lay under a barbell, and finish their sets as quickly as possible.

A phrase I repeat all the time is: “Bodybuilding success is about consistency.” You can’t be consistent if you are spending half your time recovering from injuries. It’s a sport about longevity and health, young Padawan.

How do you prevent injuries? Obviously, not all injuries are avoidable. Accidents happen and eventually you will get hurt, but here are a few things that will help lessen the chances
tremendously:

• Core work ‐ learn core exercises to build up strength. The single most important part of a healthy, injury free body is a strong core.
• Always warm up shoulders before chest work.
• If something feels out of line or uncomfortable, you probably shouldn’t do it. There is no use forcing one more risky rep that day, only to cause yourself to miss a few weeks because you snapped your stuff up.

2. Practice perfect form

Okay, I know I got on people for unoriginal advice earlier, but hey, this is a no-brainer. I also said
I was going to tell you what works for me.

Perfect form is not only going to help you accomplish tip number one, but it’s going to make your gains come much faster, and continue long after they would if you used poor form. Think about it, not only are you going to tear down more muscle fibers by practicing good form, but your growth periods increase exponentially.

Follow me now, if you are on the lat pull machine channeling your inner bird to get those wings to fly away, and you are pulling 200 lbs with bad form, you may be able to add about 20‐30 more pounds on that particular lift. But that 20‐30 pound increase is where your gains will most likely end.

If you can only do 150 with perfect form, you will grow every workout from 150 until you are able to do 230 pound pulls. Except now, you’re twice as big because you went through many more growth periods. I know, it’s mind blowing, do stuff right and the right thing happens!

3. Learn your own routineIn my honest opinion, I think this is what will really make someone balloon up to cartoonish
proportions. Don’t fall into the trap of following someone else’s routine down to the smallest
detail.

Look, I know this is a beginner article, and I know that most people have no clue what to do when they first walk in the hallowed halls of sweat, meat heads, steel, and the Church of the Holy Iron. So by all means, learn the ropes by following another’s routine.

TRY EVERYTHING, high volume, low volume, high reps, light weight, heavy weight, excessive
masturbation, WHATEVER! Try it all, but pay attention. This is the most important part of
making gains, long after your newbie growth, which is the only time most people grow.

Find out what your body responds to and chart your recovery rates. This is crucial, once you learn how your body recovers and what kind of stimulus it best grows from, you won’t stop growing.

4. Train your butt off!Yep, this is pretty self-explanatory. Don’t fall for the “coast period” or overtraining” philosophies. Train your ass off, don’t make excuses.

You want to grow? Train harder. Anyone who has ever had any success in bodybuilding has done at least these two things in regards totraining: Tip 3 (learned their recovery and developed a routine), and trained like a crazed elephant full of testosterone rampaging through the African Safari looking to mate and not stopping until it does.

BE THAT HORNY ELEPHANT! Mate with the weights. If you do, and you train like a person possessed, and you learn your own recovery rate, and your growth will never stop. Yes it will be slow, but it will never stop.

With the click of a mouse, athletes have an arsenal of speed training videos drills and techniques to improve their athleticism at their fingertips.  As great as this is for the modern athlete, it is also loaded with potential tripwires that can plateau an athlete’s speed development as fast as they can build it.

In all my years of coaching and training, I’ve seen a number of mistakes that athletes make when they get  tunnel vision and think a specific drill or exercise will make them faster on the field and catch them up to their peers.  Becoming the fastest athlete that one can be is a holistic venture, which revolves around a speed training program that emphasizes the right mechanics, the special strength work to bolster those mechanics, and the strength work that improves the size and coordination of the specific muscle involved. Choosing the correct training regimen is important, but how you perform that training regimen is also a critical issue in getting faster.

Over time, I’ve found seven glaring mistakes that aspiring athletes tend to make when pursuing the task of increasing their speed.

NOT DOING ENOUGH ACTUAL SPRINT OR SPECIFIC SPEED PRACTICEAthletes often forget that to get faster, the most important thing that you can do is to practice the sprinting you’ll be performing in competition.  Slow athletes will become the kings and queens of drill work, but when it comes time to drop the hammer in an actual footrace, they are left behind.

Drills don’t make you fast; specific speed work does.  Sprint drills as we know them were largely invented to help with the special strength conditioning of the muscles of athletes who trained in cold weather regions and didn’t have good indoor facilities.  To get fast, you must practice the specific type of speed you wish to improve with strong focus and intention.

If you are a basketball or football player, this means that there is a priority on things like 20m dash time, or specific, timed change of direction work.  You get faster at running 20s by actually sprinting 20s all out with good recovery in between each sprint.  If you are a track and field athlete, you get faster primarily by practicing maximal efforts at your specific race distance.  I’ve seen plenty of athletes who can rock sprint drills with great rhythm and coordination, and then get blown away when it comes to actually sprinting.  Looking cool because you can do the fancy C-skip doesn’t look as cool anymore when you are the last one to cross the finish line in the actual race!

NOT SPRINTING FAST ENOUGH WHEN YOU PRACTICEMany athletes forget that speed training is not a casual venture.  Simply performing a sprint, plyometric, or drill will not in and of itself make one faster.  Sprinting fast makes one faster.  By timing a sprint, three great things happen:

1. The athlete gets immediate feedback as to the quality of their attempt, which helps them to both consciously and subconsciously formulate a method of improving their performance.
2. Having an outcome goal preset will improve the level of performance.  External goals give the subconscious mind a clearer view of what is trying to be accomplished.
3. Giving immediate feedback on a specific sprint attempt is a very important method of teaching athletes to deal with the results of their performance, whether good or bad.  Some athletes struggle with fear of their results, which leads them down the drill route, but they must learn to always come back to the most important thing, which is solid, timed, specific efforts.

Some coaches will even tell you that unless you are timing your sprints, then you aren’t really training speed.  Put a stopwatch or timing system on your next speed training session, and you will feel the difference in both the mental approach and your body’s response.  Compare this to strength training: Speed training with no timed goal would be similar to lifting weights without ever noting how much weight was on the bar.

NOT COMPETING ENOUGH DURING SPEED PRACTICEAlong with timing speed training efforts, athletes need to compete in the pursuit of maximal velocity.  Many athletes who are less fleet of foot than their peers will generate a fear of competition, and gravitate toward drills and exercises that they can perform on their own to make themselves faster.  This mentality will cripple the speed development of any athlete.  Not only does competition offer an athlete an adrenaline boost, increasing their speed output, but it also helps athletes to overcome fear of outcomes, which improves not only speed, but is a valuable mental athletic skill.

Compete with others to build your sprint engine or you’ll get left behind.

DOING TOO MUCH EXTRA WORK ON TOP OF SPORT PRACTICEAn athlete’s ability to recover from training is finite.  We cannot train 10 hours a day and expect to recover, and this is a pretty obvious statement.  What about five hours a day?  Two?

Speed training – real maximal speed training – is a taxing venture.  Elite track coaches will generally recommend at least 48 hours of recovery after a maximal speed training session, sometimes more.  If you are competing in a sport and playing several times each week, then sport play itself is already providing you a potent speed stimulus.  Doing lots of extra plyometrics and drills on top of lots of sports play is often counterproductive.

So how do you know if you are in a good state to train speed?  By timing your efforts and not performing low-quality work.

If an athlete had five sport practices in a week and wanted to get extra speed work in on the weekend, but then noticed his performance was much worse than in the past, is the extra work helping him?  The short answer is no.

The long answer is that athletes need to be aware of the volume present in replicating the same repetitive movements they see in sport in their practices, or they will overload those pathways, and performance will subsequently decrease.  We’ll tackle what to do about building speed in the midst of heavy sport practice in the next point.

NOT DOING STRENGTH TRAININGMany beginner and intermediate athletes are not slow because they don’t sprint enough.  They are slow because they are unable to produce large amounts of force!  Since young athletes are constantly running, jumping, and playing, there is a good chance that they don’t have too many issues with expressing the force their muscles are able to produce.  What is more pressing for these athletes may simply be the ability of their muscles to produce large amounts of force in a coordinated manner.  A well-designed barbell program helps athletes to coordinate the firing of their large muscle groups together more efficiently, as well as allowing each muscle to learn more efficient and effective force patterns.  Over time, it helps the athlete add muscle mass to the prime movers of speed, but this must be done in a carefully planned pattern to help eliminate the compensation patterns that are so often present in advanced athletes who began heavy barbell training too early and in excess volume.

Strength programs often have immediate, significant effects on the speed of developing athletes due to the “nitrous boost” of muscular coordination they offer on multiple levels.  This is why the effect is often much more dramatic on a younger athlete compared to a developed athlete who already has good levels of coordination and skill in his or her body.

DOING TOO MUCH STRENGTH TRAININGAlthough strength training can create a breakthrough for many athletes in speed development, doing too much of it forms an early plateau for those on the road to maximal velocity.  The reason why is that excessive volumes of strength training do a few things that are detrimental to speed:

• Take adaptation reserves away from building speed and shift them to strength and stability in common strength training positions (such as the bottom of a squat, or the start of a deadlift). This is a more common problem for athletes who specialize in speed (such as track athletes) than it is for team sport athletes, who need to be more well-rounded and have joint stability in a variety of positions that they might see in the course of their competition.
• Prolonged strength training done in large volumes will gradually build muscles that are responsible for compensation patterns in sprinting.  For example, the spinal erectors and hamstrings are synergists to the glute in sprinting.  They help with the movement of hip extension in a sprint, but shouldn’t be the main contributors.  Doing lots of squats, cleans, and deadlifts will gradually start to shift muscular development toward that of the spinal erectors and hamstrings over the glutes.  Give a CrossFit athlete a glute driven hip extension test, and you’ll usually find that their hamstrings and spinal erectors pop up to drive the movement well before the glute.  These high-volume lifting situations lend athletes toward relying on their glutes less (glutes as a driver of hip extension are key to speed) and on accessory muscles (spinal erectors pairing with hamstrings) more.
• Excessive bilateral strength work can shift athletes into a level of anterior pelvic tilt that can hurt things like top-end velocity and sprint posture.

Most athletes are certainly not in danger of too much strength work in their speed development, but the gym rat who thinks that achieving a particular squat weight will be the key to running faster is heading down the wrong path.  Always put speed work above strength to become the fastest you can ultimately be.  This isn’t to say that pockets of heavy strength training aren’t useful for many athletes, because they are, but the ultimate road of training must be a specific one.

DOING TOO MUCH OF THE WRONG STRENGTH TRAININGStrength training is important, but doing the right strength training might even be more important for speed development.  A good speed program is going to help an athlete combat weaknesses, while nurturing strengths.  Athletes who have poor starting speed off of the line of play will tend to achieve great gains through pistol squats and front squat variations.  Athletes who have trouble hitting that second gear immediately after the start (10-20m speed) will do well to work on their explosive strength, which can be developed through force oriented plyometric work, such as depth jumps and standing jumps for distance.  Explosive barbell lifts such as cleans and snatches are also helpful for developing the explosive aspect of this second gear speed.  Athletes who struggle with top-end speed will do well to maximize the strength and power of their posterior chain, so hip thrusts, single leg 45-degree back extensions, split squats (particularly oscillating and reactive versions), and single leg deadlifts are a nice remedy in this situation.  Specific isometrics and activation protocols are also solid gold for athletes who can accelerate well, but struggle past 20-30m to keep up with their peers.

Common mistakes include overuse of bilateral deep squats and full-catch Olympic lifts for an athlete lacking top end speed, or the overuse of plyometrics or posterior chain work for an athlete that can’t get off the line of scrimmage or the starting blocks well in those first few steps.  Much of the exact route of developing speed is going to depend on exactly what the athlete’s particular goal is.  Team sport athletes should seek to be more well-rounded than their track and field counterparts when it comes to various aspects of the speed equation, as they must be masters of the 0-20m speed realm, compared to a track athlete who must not specialize in those arenas of training that cater more toward acceleration than top end speed.  Not all training methods are created equally.

Generally speaking, once an athlete has been strength training for a few years, less is generally more in the weightroom when it comes to speed-seeking programs.    

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Applied Sprint Training

Joel Smith is an assistant strength and conditioning coach at the University of California, Berkeley where he works with track and field, swimming, and tennis.  He is the founder of www.just-fly-sports.com, an informational site for speed and power based athletic development.

 The Rules of Productive Weight Training
for The Drug-Free Traineeby Casey Butt, Ph.D."The information below is probably the most "honest" you'll ever read in any bodybuilding article, and it's probably the most important article I've ever written, or will ever write, regarding bodybuilding and the bodybuilding industry."

This is a long article. You'll get the most out of it if you print it off, read it slowly, and let the material "digest".

This article was originally titled "Beginners Part I: The Rules of Productive Weight Training for The Drug-Free Trainee". But over the years I've noticed a curious thing ...a lot of very advanced trainees have read this article and followed the advice herein. So I thought about it a little and realized that the information contained here isn't really exclusive to beginners at all. In fact, sometimes advanced trainees are in need of the "rules" even more than beginners. Especially when those trainees have wasted years of their training lives not following the "rules". The fact is, the "rules" apply to everyone who wants to get the most out of weight training and is doing so without the assistance of anabolic drugs. So the "Beginners Part I" was dropped from the title to get: "The Rules of Productive Weight Training for The Drug-Free Trainee". Sounds a little profound, but appropriate nonetheless.

Before we get into the "meat" of the article let me relate to you an experience I had in the gym one time (actually probably a thousand times but I've learned to ignore it) that'll help set the tone for where we're going to go. I'll tell you this because you'll probably be able to relate to the situation.

I had just finished my last exercise for the day, was changing my shoes and drinking my shake, when this skinny little guy comes up to me and says, "Do you know how to do Deadlifts?" "Yes", I replied. "Can you show me?", he says. So I agreed and off we went - over to where he was Deadlifting. When I got there he had already loaded up the bar (with a 10 pound plate on each side) and started to go through the motions for me. His form was pretty shakey - he was having trouble keeping a safe arch in his back and had obvious flexibility issues in his hips and hamstrings. Now, having performed and witnessed a few deadlifts in my lifetime, I knew his situation intimately - I'd seen it many times before and I knew the "cure". But just as I was about to speak, some guy, who was even skinnier than the guy Deadlifting, cut me off and started explaining the finer points of Deadlift technique and training. (He must have felt his "authority" was threatened when he saw me being asked for advice.) To be fair though, most of what he was saying was just about dead-on, although it was very obvious from his physique that he hadn't spent too much time Deadlifting himself (or lifting anything at all, for that matter). Still, his instructions on form were sound so I didn't feel like I had to add anything. Over the next half-hour or so the two went over all the finer points of Deadlifting technique and the various assistance exercises that the new trainee should be doing, with me watching patiently and putting in my 2 cents worth every now and then - each time the "expert" cutting me off and interjecting his "authoritative" comments.

As time went on, more and more important practicalities of training were being left out of this "sage's" advice. One thing became more and more apparent: This "instructor" hadn't lifted a weight in his life. He was well-read on all the latest texts his obvious undergrad Phys Ed course had prescribed, and he had done his memorizing, but he didn't have a clue about real-world lifting. He made suggestions that were, clearly, straight from an arm-chair expert who had read one too many texts and lifted way too few weights. He had no idea how to correct the problems the new guy had and he didn't have the foggiest clue how to construct a practical training routine for the real world. What he did have, however, was the arrogance and swagger of somebody who'd read a few muscle magazines or kinesiology textbooks and now considers himself an authority amongst an otherwise "uneducated" group of gym grunts. In other words, he was just another useless hindrance in the gym who thought he knew more than everybody else because he had recently read a book or magazine. I later found out that he was the new resident "physical trainer" for the gym - but that would be typical.

Don't get the impression that I'm against scientific research and how it applies to bodybuilding (or powerlifting, or weightlifting, etc.). In fact, many people think of my writing as having a clear scientific leaning. I have five degrees in the "hard" sciences (including a Ph.D.). I've written peer-reviewed articles for scientific journals and attended academic conferences around the world. I taught at the university level for four years and I now work in research and development for one of the most technically advanced companies on Earth. I don't say all that to boast, but to tell you that I know how science works. I, of all people, am not "anti-science" by any stretch. However, the "science" of weight training will never take the place of in-the-gym experience. And that's what too few "experts" seem to actually have - experience. Hey, you can read about boxing all you want, but that doesn't qualify you to get in the ring with Klitschko... or if you're foolish enough to think it does then be my guest.

I don't need a crystal ball to tell me that you've got conflicting advice coming at you from all directions - and you probably can't figure out who, or what, to believe. Well, I'm going lay the truth out for you in clear, no-bullshit fashion. I've been at this for over 20 years ...I know what you need to know, and what you don't need to know and I'm going to tell you straight. Not what I read from just a book or in a research paper (though, trust me, I've read a few ...all the way from texts published in 1896 to the latest research journals) but what I've had hammered into me through over two decades of unbroken dedication to weight training; what I've seen other people go through and what I've learned from people who have gone before me. I'm not making any money from this, and the only reason I'm telling you this is because I remember myself, quite vividly, what it's like to be stumbling around in the dark. So, let's get into the Rules of Productive Weight Training for the Drug-free Trainee.

I'm going to start with the rule that upsets a lot of publishers, supplement salesmen and even gym owners (I almost forgot, they're called "fitness clubs" now). It puts me on the magazines' blacklists too, so I don't expect you'll see anything I write show up in the newsstand bodybuilding magazines any time soon...

Rule #1: Don't Be Mislead by 99% of What You Read on the Internet or in Magazines and BooksThe vast majority of what's in popular "print" is, for the most part, useless to you. Worse than that, it'll do your training life immense harm if you take much of it too seriously. The fitness industry is a multi-billion-dollar-a-year industry. Do you really think the guy's who make a fortune from this are concerned with your gains? No, they are not. Most of them are out-of-shape businessmen who are immensely more concerned with advertising, marketing and distribution strategies to increase their sales numbers than they are with anything that actually helps your efforts in the gym. As George Turner would say, "you couldn't scrape a teaspoon full of muscle off of 'em." The rest of them are retired bodybuilders who, because they devoted their lives to training and didn't get a proper education or build a long-term career, now have to hock supplements and training gimics to make a living. To them, you are simply a potential customer and your gains are much, much less important than the $40 they're trying to convince you to part with for their bottle of pills or powder. If you believe anything else, then you are a naive fool who needs to grow up and get with the real world.

Think about it, how does the commercial bodybuilding/fitness industry get your attention? They hire some drug-using professional bodybuilder to say he got great gains from their product (training program or supplements) and they photograph him with some half-naked aspiring bikini model or fitness competitor who probably finds him repulsive. In reality, he probably never even used their product and even if he did he takes so many steroids and anabolic drugs that almost any program would work for him and supplements are irrelevant anyway. Why is it that he supposedly made great gains from this product, yet he was just as big last year before it was even on the market and he was endorsing something else? But he has to make a living too and unless he's one of the lucky ones who wins a purse in one of the few major contests each year then he doesn't actually have an income (unless he has a part-time job or sells steroids). Even then he only gets paid once a year or so... if he's lucky. If he wants to stay competitive and pay for the drugs and other expenses the sport demands he has to whore himself to the industry or get a real job and put bodybuilding on the back burner. Even the girl in the ad is just happy to get a photo shoot that might pay a little and is going to give her some more exposure and shots for her portfolio. The "naturals" seek out supplement company endorsements as a means of income too. What else are they supposed to do? Now where do you think truth, honesty and integrity factors into that combination of a hugely profitable industry targeting millions of trainees around the world, but built on advertising featuring paid endorsers who otherwise don't make much, if any, money themselves from the "sport"?

I was recently catching a long flight and bought a few of the popular "muscle magazines" to read onboard. Immediately I was struck by the fact that I had to flip past almost two dozen pages of supplement ads before I even got to the table of contents. When I did get there I noticed that this magazine contained much less actual "content" than it did about 10 years ago. In fact, there were only four of what I'd consider actual articles. The rest were just a few paragraphs here and there, interspersed between supplement ads. In fact, well over two-thirds of the pages in this magazine were supplement ads (yes, I counted). There were eight 4-6 page "special ad reports" semi-disguised as articles when, in fact, they were ads by supplement manufacturers. Remove the full-page photos, diagrams designed to take up space and side-bar supplement ads and I'd estimate that this roughly 300-page magazine contains about 10 pages of actual instruction/information ...and even then most of the actual "articles" contain plugs for protein powders and other supplements. Contrast this to the same magazine a dozen or so years ago and you'll find that the supplement ads have increased by at least a factor of 10 and two-thirds of the magazine's actual content has been removed to make space for them. I wonder what the motivation has been for such a shift? This 300-page collection of bogus supplement ads cost me almost 10 bucks. Considering what it really is, they should be giving this rag away for free.

Every few months new gimmics come out and are pushed heavily in the magazines and on the internet because gimmics sell. People simply don't want to see and read the same old things month after month, year after year. The newest "wrinkle" is what sells, and sales are what the "industry" is all about. Even the genuine articles, which could be helpful to drug-free trainees, quickly get lost and overwhelmed amongst the sensationalism and material aimed at drug-users and the naive. Beginners and experienced trainees alike simply cannot tell what's appropriate for them and what isn't ...and if an author doesn't specifically say that his advice is for drug-free trainees, then it's not. Training for beginners is an even more special case, and 99% of what's printed in magazines and on the internet is not appropriate for beginners.

Another thing: You are not Jay Cutler or Ronnie Coleman or Arnold Schwarzenegger or anyone else. The things that some of those men do to their bodies in training would destroy yours. Why is that so? Because they are taking/took enough drugs in a month that they'd be 250 pounds and ripped if they never lifted anything much heavier than their pill bottles (an exaggeration perhaps, but if you'd seen some of these top pros train you might be surprised to find that they don't train as hard as you do - steroids make the muscles stronger but don't do much for the joints, so some of these men actually can't train heavy anymore ...the weights they use in photoshoots are made of styrofoam and plastic). You have about as much in common with the average pro bodybuilder as you do with a lowland Gorilla. Seem a bit far-fetched? Well, I've heard of competitors spending upwards of $90,000 a year in drugs. Think that your body, with it's natural hormone levels, can compare to that? If you do you're dreaming. Sorry if I'm bursting your bubble here, but you had to find out sooner or later. So WAKE UP NOW, before it's too late and you've spent years wasting your time following Jay Cutler's biceps routine. It happened to me. I wasted almost 10 years on their drug-dependent routines. If you don't be careful you may too.

Training approaches are very specific and different for drug-free people than they are for drug-users. People of different builds also require different training approaches (especially people that could be classified as "hard gainers"). If you want to learn how to train drug-free you have to look to the people that actually train and trained drug-free - the current drug-free champions such as Dave Goodin, Tony Montalbano and Jon Harris, and the legends of the Iron Game such as Reg Park, John Grimek, Tommy Kono, Steve Reeves, John Davis, etc. Think those people aren't (or weren't) that big. Well, compared to Jay Cutler they aren't. But let me tell you right now, if you want to be like Jay Cutler without turning your ass into a pin-cushion and choking down pills from some Eastern European or Mexican pharmacy all day then you need a big reality check. Take a look at these men. They are your measuring stick. Ain't so bad, hey?

If you want to read some sensible bodybuilding books I can suggest the following list:

Brawn by Stuart McRobert. This is, without a doubt, one of the best and most valuable books for drug-free trainees ever published. The original version is best because the subsequent edition(s) is just a nudge too conservative in both exercise selection and schedules. On the other hand, the recommendations in the newer edition(s) are generally safer and will yield similar gains for all but the most advanced of trainees.

Powerlifting Basics, Texas-Style: The Adventures of Lope Delk by Paul Kelso. Although this book is aimed primarily at Powerlifters it contains a wealth of training wisdom for anyone who wants to learn what training is really about.

Weight-Training Technique: The Insider's Tell-All Handbook on Weight-Training Technique by Stuart McRobert. Beginners need to learn how to do the most effective exercises safely and properly. This is an excellent guide, though some valuable exercises are not explained.

Building the Classic Physique the Natural Way by Steve Reeves. Reeves had one of the greatest drug-free physiques of all time. This book outlines his approach to training. Be careful though, only the most genetically gifted will prosper fully from his routine in its unaltered state.

The Complete Keys to Progress by John McCallum. McCallum was probably the greatest muscle scribe to ever put pen to paper. This book is a compilation of his classic series of articles in the old Health and Strength magazine. Of all the training books I've read this was the most engaging and inspirational.

Dinosaur Training: Lost Secrets of Strength and Development by Brooks Kubik. A modern classic and a great read. Brooks knows his stuff and his solid advice is a worthy addition to the Iron Game.

The Strongest Shall Survive by Bill Starr. Truly worth it's weight in gold. Don't let the sub-title (Strength Training for Football) put you off. This is one of the finest books ever written on how to build functional strength and muscle mass.

Super Squats: How to Gain 30 Pounds of Muscle in 6 Weeks by Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. A modern training classic. You won't gain 30 pounds of muscle in 6 weeks, but you probably will gain as much, as quickly, as possible.

10-Week Size Surge by Iron Man Magazine. A solid program along the old-time, drug-free training lines ...A very effective approach to training, and a very complete guide.

The vast majority of training books on the shelves today aren't worth the paper they're printed on. I've read every one of the above books several times and can assure you that every one of them is worth the cost. If you have some free money and want to educate yourself about weight training don't spend your money on crap ...give it to the people who are actually honest enough to deserve it - go with something from the above list. They're the wheat hidden amongst the chaff. If you don't know where to get them you can try Amazon or Ironman Books. Also, Bill Hinbern's Super Strength Books contains some real gems and classic reprints from the pre-drug era.

Another thing: Be very leery of people on internet discussion boards who post under fake names and use pro-bodybuilders or cartoons as their avatar photos. I've been surfing the "web" since before you could even call it that - before html, before Internet Explorer, before even Mosaic (if anyone can remember that), way back in the "Gopher" days of the early 1990s - and there's one thing I can tell you for sure: If someone on an internet discussion board who calls himself "buff-, flex-, doctor-, professor-, extreme-, huge-, etc" and uses a fake photo in his profile gives you advice or makes claims, remember one thing - he's probably weaker and fatter than you. I haven't met a legitimate bodybuilder yet (or anybody else with a good physique) who was afraid to tell you his name or show you his photo (though you've got a better chance of getting written into their wills than getting most of their real measurements). And having made 1000 posts doesn't automatically qualify you as an expert either. You'd probably be very surprised if you seen some of these "internet experts". Why do you think they won't show their photos or tell their real names? Because nobody would take them seriously if they did.

Many of the internet web pages dealing with weight training are simply plagiarized from other sources. For some psychological reason, the guys who run these sites like to be thought of as authorities on the subject so they copy articles from other websites, magazines, etc, re-write them in their own words (sometimes just barely) and present them as their own. I've had several "problems" in the past where people have plagiarized my material and can even think of a site which, as of this writing, is hosting a "guide to training" which is essentially a re-write of this article and others from this site. One guy even copied this article word-for-word and was selling it for $10 as part of "his" book on Amazon.com. All this begs the question, if these guys are qualified to write training advice then why do they copy material from somewhere else? Can you trust their judgement about what they choose to copy on any given day? Do they know what they're talking about, or are they just jumping on the bandwagon after some article caught their attention (which is how most fitness fads spread)? The fitness industry is full of enough crap as it is, without these nuts adding to it. And just because somebody calls themself a "Personal Trainer" it doesn't mean they have a clue what they're talking about either. Most personal trainers' credentials come from a weekend seminar which they attended - they learned that "Chest Presses" are for the pecs and "Leg Presses" are for the quads, they probably even learned some nutrition bullshit like "good" fats and "bad" fats. I actually had a Certified Personal Trainer say to me once, "Yeah, I worked out for three weeks consecutively two summers ago. You can really get bitten by that iron bug." No shit.

Moral of the story: Be very careful whose advice you take seriously. Your training success (or failure) may depend on it.

I know very well that by taking this stance I've "outlawed" myself from ever making money by writing for the mainstream publications and I've also offended a lot of the so-called "experts" on the internet discussion boards. But, guess what? I don't care. I'm sick of bullshit, and I won't play the game and be brainwashed by people who don't know a fraction of what I do about training and nutrition. If you sense that as arrogance and don't like my attitude then I don't care either - leave my site and read some bullshit elsewhere that you find more pleasant. I couldn't care less who likes me, doesn't like me, approves or disapproves of anything I say here. But remember this: I've been there, got the T-shirt, learned the hard way and I'm here to help. Hey, I could be paid for writing bullshit ...but I don't.

By the way, you may have noticed that this article is rather long. Why didn't I break it across 7-8 web pages so you'd have to keep clicking "next" to go on to the next page? Because websites only do that so everytime you bring up a new page you see new commercial ads (and they get paid by the "click").

Rule #2: Avoid Exercise MachinesAnimal life on Earth began over 345 million years ago (some estimates are as long as 400 million years ago). Since that time all living creatures have been doing one thing: lifting their body weights and free weight objects against the force of gravity. That is what our bodies are designed for and have evolved to do. I don't care how knowledgeable some machine designers are, they'll never design a better machine for our bodies than what evolution has dictated. It never ceases to amaze me how some exercise machine designers and devotees vehemently insist on the superior "design" of some machines over free weights. Apparently, they aren't familiar with Darwin (not to mention their inferior results).

Machine manufacturers try to convince you with all kinds of so-called "scientific" arguments why the machines are better. They typically use misapplied logic and inadequate knowledge of muscle physiology to argue that machines better stress the muscles over a fuller range of motion - the contention being that the non-variable linear loading of free-weight exercises is inferior to the purposely tailored resistance curves of some exercise machines. What they fail to acknowledge, however, is that at the ends of the range of motion (the stretched and contracted positions) muscle fibers are capable of exerting only a fraction of the force that they can generate over the mid-range anyway (although demonstratable strength will vary because of mechanical leverage) - there isn't much, if any, of an additional growth effect to be produced by stressing the muscles at those positions. In fact, one could argue that, theoretically, providing "tailored" resistance over the entire range of motion would likely serve to decrease the overall growth stimulus because it unnecessarily fatigues the fibers in more "ineffective" states of elongation so that they cannot produce maximum force over the mid-range, where the maximum growth stimulus can actually be delivered (the old-timers would refer to this as the basic, free-weight exercises training the "belly" of the muscle). Not to mention the increased anabolic hormone release in response to intense training on the free-weight, compound exercises. Now, some would argue that the elevated hormone release is inconsequential. Well then why did evolution (or God, if you're a believer) see that it happens? I don't believe it's a coincidence that the exercises long revered as the most productive (i.e. Squats, Deadlifts, various Presses and Rows) are also the ones that spike testosterone and growth hormone the most.

To my knowledge, despite the equipment industry's heavy promotion, there hasn't been a single peer-reviewed scientific study published in the past 50 years that confirms exercise machines' effectiveness over free-weights. In fact, any studies you do turn up (if you can find any unbiased results that weren't produced by the machine manufacturers themselves) will imply the opposite. It seems that the very act of lifting an unguided (i.e. "free") weight recruits more muscle fibers than performing the same movement on a guided machine (even bodyweight Pull-Ups have been shown in MRI analyses to intensely recruit more muscle fibers than Pull-downs with a cable.) Perhaps that helps explain why there hasn't been a drug-free bodybuilding champion in history who trained predominantly with machines. Even Arthur Jones' (inventor of the Nautilus line of exercise machines) proteges either didn't initially build their muscle using his machines or they used free-weights and higher volume routines behind his back (for example, Sergio Oliva, Casey Viator and Boyer Coe).

But to keep this plain and simple, I have one reason for you right now as to why most of your training should be done with free-weights (and it has nothing to do with lab coats and test tubes): If you spend your time on exercise machines you will limit your progress as compared to if you lifted free-weights. I spent YEARS wasting my time - and so have countless others. Don't become one of those people who hits yourself on the head a little (or long) ways down the road and says, "Why didn't I do the free-weights in the first place? Look at the time I've wasted!"

What makes the machines so appealing, along with all the "scientific" sounding bullshit, is that they are easy to learn to use, and comfortable when you do use them. But ease and comfort are NOT what builds muscle. And what good is something being easy to learn if it's not worth learning in the first place? The free weight movements will take longer for you to learn but you will be more than rewarded when you do. If you don't believe me then feel free to waste your time.

Earlier I mentioned that fitness is a multi-billion dollar industry. Do you know how much those machines cost? You'd be amazed. We're talking sometimes over a thousand dollars for each unit. Arthur Jones became a multi-millionaire (listed by Forbes as one of the country's richest people) because he invented the Nautilus line of exercise machines back in the late-1960s/early-1970s. He used "scientific" principles to hype the bejesus out of those things and they were bought all around the world. Nautilus gyms were everywhere. Their memberships were huge. The philosphy was "get people in, get people out", as was conveniently supported by Jones' recommended style of brief, infrequent training. And the gym owners were satisfied because the machines were difficult to steal (free-weight theft is often a problem in city gyms). The industry thrives on machine use because the average person doesn't have the money or space to equip a home gym with them, making gym memberships a necessity if they can convince you that free weights are "old-fashioned" or dangerous or inferior. The bodybuilding magazines push this as well because they are paid by exercise machine manufacturers for advertising space or they make and sell machines themselves (the even more profitable supplement industry operates much the same way). Trust me, it's bullshit. Don't be a sucker.

After having said all that, I'm going to seemingly contradict myself a little and add that some machines actually can have their place in productive training routines. No, I'm actually not dogmatically set in an "anti-machine" stance (or any other for that matter). Not all machines are created equal and some, such as the old Nautilus 4-way neck machine, can be quite useful. (Something similar can be said about some cable exercises.) Beginners, however, having little experience and without expert guidance, have no way of assessing a particular machine's worth (and most are practically useless); so the safer route is to just avoid them until you're advanced enough to make your own judgements or find someone who really knows his stuff to advise you (which is unlikely in today's gyms). Intermediate and advanced trainees (as well as beginners) will learn through experience that for the greatest and fastest general muscle mass gains free-weights are superior anyway. So, unless you're very advanced, rehabilitating an injury, or are using anabolic drugs, put exercise machines way down on your priority list.

Vince Gironda and Reg Park, who both had over 50 years training experience with everyone from the kid down the street to Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia had this to say on the subject of exercise equipment...

"The more you know about exercise, the less complicated the equipment you need." - Vince Gironda

"Barbells, dumbbells and a chinning bar. ...A lot of people think, "I've gotta have this and I've gotta have that," but that's all bullshit, quite frankly." - Reg ParkArthur Jones himself wrote this little jewel ten years after he sold the Nautilus line of exercise machines for 23 million dollars (to the company that now sells Bowflex)...

"Apart from a rather limited number of hardcore bodybuilders who are misguided enough to believe that they have a chance to compete against the outright genetic freaks that now dominate bodybuilding competition, just about anybody else in this country can produce nearly all of the potential benefits of proper exercise without spending much if anything in excess of about twenty dollars. You can build both a chinning bar and a pair of parallel dip bars for a total cost of only a few dollars, and those two exercises, chins and dips, if properly performed, will stimulate muscular growth in your upper body and arms that will eventually lead to muscular size and strength that is very close to your potential.

Adding full squats, eventually leading up to one-legged full squats, and one-legged calf raises, will do much the same thing for your legs and hips. Using this very simple routine, when you get strong enough to perform about ten repetitions of one-armed chins with each arm, your arms will leave very little to be desired. Or, instead, you can do what many thousands of others are now doing and piss away thousands of dollars and years of largely wasted effort while producing far less results. The choice is yours. One of the best pair of arms that I ever saw on a man belonged to a guy that I knew about fifty years ago in New York, and he never performed any sort of exercise apart from chins and dips, and damned few of them." - Arthur Jones in 1996Trust me, 345 million years of evolution is not wrong. It is completely illogical to think that after millions of years of evolution in a free weight, constant gravity environment we would be able to invent machines that are better suited to training the human body than free weights and gravity. We are products of our environment, our bodies are actually the result of the need to lift free weights against gravity - that is what they are specifically designed and specialized to do. Why try to create machines to train our bodies when our bodies are, in fact, machines created to lift free weights??? It doesn't exactly come as a shock to me that MRI and hormonal assays show that machines don't train muscle as well. Use your brain on this one. Perhaps if human beings evolved on planet Cybex things would be different - but we didn't. If for some erroneous reason you don't agree with this, then you are wrong, and I'd also wager that for your efforts in the gym you've built about as much muscle as my cat, and unless you either get your priorities straight, or resort to drugs, that's pretty much all you'll ever have.

Rule #3: Genetics DO Matter - But WHO CARES!Some people will progress much faster than others. Some people will grow into solid chunks of muscle within a few months, while others will have to work for years to get half the gains. I've seen it a thousand times. And it's not just training routine design, effort, desire or diet. If these things were all equal it would still happen. But there's nothing you can do about your genetic inheritance - so GET OVER IT. You can only work with what you've got, so do that. I've seen some very genetically gifted people come into the gym and pass my overall strength and muscle level within 6 months of steady training (though they rarely have the same proportion of balanced development and "quality") - and I've been doing this for over 20 years. But I lived, and I'll be in the gym again tomorrow. Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare.

The supplement and magazine sellers hate to acknowledge any of this, and they do their best to keep you in the dark about it because they don't want people to stop clinging to the unrealistic dreams that drive them to buy yet more supplements and magazines. They'd love to have you believe that anyone can have 20" arms if they just have access to the right supplements and latest training knowledge. "Buy our new product and you'll pack on the mass!" What bullshit. The human body can grow only so fast and there's nothing legally on the market that can significantly change that, and none of the latest training protocols produce faster gains than what enlightened bodybuilders have known for the past 60 years. I've sunk money into their scam products since the 1980s and I can count the "good" ones on one hand.

I know it can be discouraging. I've already told you that without massive doses of drugs you'll never be built like Jay Cutler and now I'm telling you that the guy next to you might progress ten times faster than you. Well, take heart. Everyone can build an impressive physique. I've seen some pretty puny fellows put a great deal of muscle on their bones. I've also seen some pretty fat fellows lose the fat and build impressive physiques. I started off with both of those problems - 150 lbs overweight, weak as a rat, and with the upper body musculature of a 12-year old girl. Now, I may never have become a prime Steve Reeves, but I'm no fat weakling any more either. If you stick with it you WILL progress, you may not have the genetic gifts to become a Greek god but you can improve yourself incredibly. And if you don't let the industry garbage lead you down the primrose path who knows how far you can go? One thing is for sure, you won't know until you try and you won't get anywhere complaining about your "bad" genetics.

Rule #4: Don't Train More Often Than Three Days Per Week (Four Under Certain Circumstances) If You're Trying to Build Maximum Muscle Mass and StrengthThis rule often comes as a big shock for people in light of modern commercial bodybuilding industry "advice", so I'm going to try and be as clear as possible. I am not saying that no one, at no time, should ever train more than three or four times per week. What I am saying is that to build maximum muscle mass that's all that's needed and is, by far, the best approach for most genetically typical drug-free trainees trying to get bigger and stronger.

"But Jay Cutler trains six times", I can hear you saying - go back and read Rule #1 again. Unless you are very genetically gifted, you do not have the hormone levels or joint structures to train that often and make maximum progress in size and strength. It's true that some gifted/advanced drug-free trainees do well training 5-6 times per week, and those types of routines can have their place, but for most people such routines are best suited to very specific purposes (such as contest preparation or for the sake of variety) and are generally NOT ideal for typical drug-free trainees trying to increase their basic muscle mass. Personally, as I look back on my bodybuilding "career" I realize the times I made my best mass gains were when I was working out a total of three times per week (sometimes four at max) most of the time. Generally, drug-free strength athletes make the fastest gains when they spend more days out of the gym than in. Don't believe me? Hey, it's your life, do what you want... but after 20+ years of training both the genetically gifted and the cursed I know the score.

"But so-and-so in Muscle-whatever magazine (or website) said that for maximum hypertrophy you must train at least five times a week... and he's a respected author who trains professional and Olympic athletes." I don't care if he's ordained to teach bodybuilding by Jesus Christ himself, in this case, he's wrong... and there's nothing his credentials (of which a very large portion are most likely self-appointed) can do to change it. I once trained with a rather arrogant student of a very famous bodybuilding magazine "coach" - the only practical thing he seemed to have learned from him was how to pass a drug test. That's right, "Coach" himself was a steroid-user and was quite skilled at slipping his athletes by the tests. How else would he be effective at "coaching" high level amateur and professional athletes, most of whom use performance enhancing drugs during at least part of the year? Surprised? Then don't be so naive. Besides, how could a man who spends his days with the country's best, full-time elite athletes (and steroid-using elite athletes at that) possibly know how to train a genetically typical person? And if you think about it, besides their own claims, have you ever seen or heard of any of these guys actually at the Olympics? Funny that when the Olympics are on magazine "coach" is nowhere to be found and doesn't seem to be associated with it or the athletes in any way. Again, don't be naive. I personally know two former Olympians (one in Weightlifting), and when I dabbled in Olympic Weightlifting earlier in my "career" I was getting advice directly from a former Olympic Weightlifting gold medalist and world record holder, a former national coach and a current nationally ranked lifter. Guess what? They all told me that until I reached at least the regional or state level (and/or was taking steroids) there was no need for me to train more than three times per week... and even then I should be doing mostly light technique practice on the other days.

"But Mr. So-And-So said that he trained five times a week when he started out. He couldn't have been on steroids then." That's right, now go back and read Rule #3. The fact that he's Mr. So-And-So tells you that the guy's probably got well above average genetics - he could get away with it. If you can too then you're a lucky individual. But there's still no need to train more than 3-4 days per week if you're after maximum muscle mass and strength. Reg Park didn't, and even by today's standards he was one of the biggest and strongest drug-free men who ever lived. So, if you are genetically gifted for building muscle, a 3-day-per-week training program won't hold you back ...but if you are not it might make the difference between some gains and no gains.

What about the idea that training three times a week is only for beginners and more advanced trainees should train more often? Again, bullshit. Dave Goodin, the current era's most winning drug-free competitive bodybuilder, trains three times per week in the off-season and he's certainly no beginner. Park built up to 230 pounds of solid muscle, with a 500-pound Bench Press and over 600-pound Squat to boot, by training "only" three times per week. He also won the Mr. Universe title twice around that time. How many drug-free men do you know who can Bench Press 500 pounds, with no bench shirt or assistance gear, while still being lean enough to see their abs. Let me guess. None.

There are certain circumstances when training four times per week can promote fast gains also. Specifically, some larger-boned trainees with robust joints react quite well to such a frequency. Some less gifted intermediate and advanced trainees can benefit from a 4-day-per-week training cycle thrown in periodically, as well. In fact, it can sometimes be quite beneficial to do so... but bear in mind that more is not necessarily better and three is often better than four. It certainly worked for Park, and Dave Goodin said he experienced a clear increase in muscle mass and strength when he reduced his training to three days per week after years of training on four.

But perhaps you don't feel like believing me. In that case, I challenge you to scour the published research regarding strength and hypertrophy training. See if you can find "proof" that 4,5 or 6-day-per-week programs are more effective than 3-day-per-week programs. I did. Guess what I found? The answer is not so cleverly hidden in the title of this rule.

Here's how pre-drug era bodybuilding legends George Eiferman and Clancy Ross put it...

"I train on the average of 3 times a week, though directly before a contest, I may train more frequently..." - George Eiferman

"Experience has proven to me that for general training, three times a week is still the best. Only for specialized purposes, such as shortly before a physique contest, is training more frequently advised..." - Clancy Ross


Clancy Ross
1945 Mr. America
1946 Pro Mr. America
1948 Mr. USA
1955 Mr. Universe Tall Class

But just in case you think those old guys didn't know what they were talking about (after all, your 'most muscular' is better than Clancy's right?), let me spell it out even more clearly and with the training of modern drug-free bodybuilders (and most powerlifters as well) in mind:

If you are a genetically typical person trying to build maximum muscle mass and strength without the assistance of drugs then for the majority of your training cycles you should not train more often than three times per week. If you have attained at least the intermediate level, or have exceptionally robust joints (usually also large-boned), then you may be able to try 4-day-per-week training schedules from time-to-time (but typically going back to 3-day-per-week schedules as your base - especially if you have smaller than average joints).

5 or 6-day-per-week programs are appropriate for certain advanced and weight-loss training purposes - they are NOT optimal for building a base of muscle mass and strength in typical drug-free trainees. Unless you already have enough muscle mass built that you would not look out of place on a natural bodybuilding contest stage, or are just making a temporary schedule change for the sake of variety, then you have NO BUSINESS messing with such types of training routines and they will only be an inefficient use of your training time.Clear?

Rule #5: Do Mostly Compound, Multi-Joint ExercisesThe core of your routine should be made up of exercises that involve the use of large masses of muscle and the movement of several joints. Those exercises stimulate a lot of muscle and cause your body to release anabolic hormones. That means stuff like Squats, Deadlifts, Bent-Over Rows, Bench Presses, Overhead Presses, Dips, Stiff-Legged Deadlifts and Pull-Ups. These are the ones that will make you grow (incidently, they also typically stress the muscles heavily in the mid-range of motion, as mentioned in Rule #2). If you go filling your routine with single joint exercises such as Lateral Raises and Triceps Kickbacks (because you want to "isolate" this muscle or that) you will only be wasting your valuable time. Put hard work into the compound exercises, on the other hand, and you will be rewarded with the fastest muscle growth possible. And it's not just my experience that proves this, but the experience of thousands of weight trainers throughout the years.

Does this mean that there is no place for isolation movements in productive training routines? No. Exercises for the abs, lower back, rotator cuff muscles, etc, all can be very useful. As well, more advanced trainees can benefit from the judicious use of such things as Dumbbell Flyes, Lateral Raises, etc. I do so myself. However, as Rule #2 warns, isolation exercises with free-weights are almost always superior to exercise machines.

In any case, the vast majority of your efforts should go into the compound, multi-joint, free-weight exercises. Don't try to prove me wrong if you want to succeed at drug-free weight training.

Rule #6: Keep Your Workouts To An Hour Or Less, Most Of The TimeThis could become a very "scientific" rule, filling an entire article itself. But I'm going to try to keep it brief and simple. Testosterone levels (the body's main anabolic hormone) start to decline after about 45 to 60 minutes of intense weight training and catabolic (muscle destroying) hormones such as cortisol start to increase. This signals the point at which training is theoretically thought to begin losing it's effectiveness. In other words, based on the average person's hormonal response to training, it would seem that you'd be better off leaving the gym after about an hour and resting for your next workout because you're not going to stimulate any significant degree of additional muscle growth by training longer anyway. In addition, prolonged training requires the adrenal glands to produce elevated levels of epinephrine, cortisol and aldosterone. Over time, excessive training results in decreased adrenergic receptor sensitivity (making fat loss difficult and fat gain easier) and adrenal fatigue (as evidenced by fluctuating average daily body temperatures, decreasing blood pressure, low energy, joint pain and muscle loss). In short, your muscle gains will stop and you'll start getting fatter and feeling "run down". This probably won't happen in a few weeks, but over time adrenergic receptor down-regulation and adrenal fatigue due to overtraining (and psychological stress, lack of sleep, poor nutrition, etc.) is a large reason why many drug-free trainees keep working harder but get less in return. If you've had a life-long tendency to be fat and weak then you're especially at risk of this. As an advanced trainee you'll know where your personal limits are based on experience, but for beginners and intermediates that instinct hasn't been developed and they're best off just keeping the training session to about an hour or less.

So, unless you're advanced enough to reliably make the call yourself or are doing some sort of short-term, higher volume training routine for a few weeks (or months at the most), then most of your workouts should be one hour or less. For the vast majority of genetically typical trainees longer training routines, in the long run, are not more effective at building muscle and will most likely hold progress back. For intermediates longer routines are only useful for limited periods as part of weight loss phases or deliberately planned higher-volume phases (especially applicable to very advanced athletes). Practically all modern natural bodybuilding champions obey this guideline. Unless you are very genetically gifted (less than 1% of the population), 90% of your muscle mass will be built by hard workouts of about an hour or less.

If you do have the time and energy to devote yourself almost completely to bodybuilding, don't participate in any strenuous work or sports, then you may be able to push some of your training sessions to more than an hour. To do it successfully will require a very keen sense of your own recovery abilities (i.e. you're an experienced lifter) and the diet of a king. That's right, one of the very often overlooked aspects of hard training is a hearty diet to go with it. Don't think you can hit the heavy iron for an hour and a half or more and get away with eating like a mouse. One of the necessities of hard training is a big appetite. Big weights = big feeds. There's no way around it. Train like a maniac and eat like a bird and you'll burn out in no time. Eat like a pig and train like a wimp and you'll get fat. The two - heavy training and heavy eating - feed each other, so to speak, and one without the other just won't work.

But in any case, you must remember that weight training is not an endurance event. If you want endurance go for a jog. And how many big, muscular long-distance runners do you know? I'll guess again. None. Why? Because endurance training (such as jogging, cardio, weight training for long sessions) doesn't build muscle. Beginners - no more than an hour. Intermediates - no more than an hour unless you're trying to lose weight and know when to say when. Advanced - if you've a keen sense of your body's abilities you can try pushing it to 1:30 or so, but make sure you've got the food intake, rest and down-time to support that level of training. If all your ducks aren't in perfect line then it's an hour for you too. As Bob Hoffman would say, "Even the smallest hole will sink the largest ship eventually."

At least 95% of the people reading this should be working out for an hour or less, 95% of the time. You've got 60 minutes to send your body the signal to grow. Don't waste time on crap exercises. Lift the big weights and go home and eat something. That's how strong, impressive drug-free bodies are built, not loafing around the gym half the day, sitting on every useless exercise machine there, and deluding yourself into thinking you're working hard.

Oh, and even though most current "natural" bodybuilders no longer make such claims, what about the old-time guys who were often said to work out for three hours at a time? Well, keep some things in mind: 1) Those men were the extreme genetic elite who had built up tolerances to training that most people never can or will be able to develop. 2) Muscle magazines tended to focus on champions' short-term pre-contest training routines as those were what got the lifters in "competition shape" - they did not train like that year-round and that's not how they built their overall muscle mass in the first place. This goes for Clancy Ross, George Eiferman, Reg Park, Steve Reeves and practically everyone else from the era. 3) Most magazine articles were written by "ghost writers" and not by the listed authors at all. Bodybuilders' exploits were very often exaggerated to make them seem "super human" to the keep the readers idolizing them and buying the magazines. Chas Smith, who ghost wrote most of the articles in the early Weider publications, has explained this and Reg Park warned readers of the same thing through the pages of his own magazine (the Reg Park Journal).

Rule #7: Strive For Perfect Exercise FormCheating your reps builds nothing but ego - not muscle. If you have to cheat that means the weight's too heavy for you to lift properly. Cheating does not make a muscle contract harder because you can use heavier weights. A muscle can contract only so hard and that's that. All cheating does is bring other muscles into the movement so you can use more weight - that's not how to effectively train a muscle. And you can't argue for cheating by saying, "Well, I am using more muscles if I cheat." You are using muscles that the exercise isn't supposed to train and robbing the muscles you do want to target in the process. Besides, cheating can be DANGEROUS. Proper form is safe. When you start deviating from proper form you open the door for a potentially serious injury. Even minor injuries can cause you to miss workouts - and that's certainly not an effective way to gain muscle. When you are advanced you might want to experiment with some minor, "controlled" cheating. In that case, "controlled" cheating can be used by an experienced and wise athlete to subject his body to heavier loading than it's normally accustomed to - in fact, almost all advanced bodybuilders do this to some degree - but it's nothing magical. Until you've built a solid base of muscle (enough that you stand out in your local gym) and know what you're doing, avoid cheating as much as possible.

Reg Park was once touted as an early proponent of the "cheating style" of training. By his 30's his body was riddled with nagging injuries. From that point on he was a stickler for strict, controlled lifting technique. A few years later he won the Mr. Universe again and was a dominant force in international bodybuilding for almost 10 years after that. Even Park had to learn his lesson the hard way - learn from him.

Rule #8: Ignore The Guy Next To YouThis rule ties in closely with Rule #7 but isn't quite the same. Here it is: Don't be insecure. If you're lifting this puny little weight and the guy next to you is lifting 5 times that amount (or even 100 times) WHO CARES! He's not you, you're not him. Don't start cheating so you can use more weight. If he's using bad form and cheating a lot then that's his mistake. It reminds me of a story I heard from bodybuilding author Mike Brown: "...I saw [a fellow] years ago doing an exercise and bragging that he was 'using the same weight as Reg Park'. Reg Park at that time was almost as well known as Steve Reeves, having won the Mr. Universe a short time before. Mac MacFarland, the 1963 'Mr. Hawaii' winner, looked at this guy contemptuously and asked him, 'If a pudgy nobody like you is handling the same weight in the same exercise that Reg Park is, don't you think that maybe you're doing the exercise wrong?'"

Remember the tortoise and the hare. If you work hard enough, long enough, and never, never, ever quit, you'll get there too - well-built, safely and with proper form.

You have to swallow your ego. I had been training for almost 10 years when I decided to learn the Olympic-style Lifts (the Snatch and Clean and Jerk). I had to go from Squatting with 445 pounds to Snatching with 65. Do you know how foolish that made me feel (and look). Remember, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Do what's right for your body, not your ego. And through it all remember the golden rule of drug-free weight training: HAVE PATIENCE!

Rule #9: Spend Your Money On Plenty Of Good Food - NOT The Latest SupplementThis is one of the sadest things in the Iron Game today. Those supplements did not make Lee Priest, or whoever, huge. Go back and read Rules #1 and #3. The industry is big money. The athletes are paid to advertise those supplements. I remember cart loads of products from the 1980s (when the supplement industry really took off) up through to the present. I think I've taken most of them myself. So have my friends and people I've trained and trained with. I thought for awhile that the "secret" would finally get out about the bullshit supplement industry, but it's only gotten incredibly worse. I know that the latest magazine says product so-and-so has been scientifically proven to increase muscle mass. Don't listen to it! I could turn up studies showing that anabolic steroids don't build muscle if I had to (actually, studies reaching that conclusion were fairly regularly published at one time) . A lot of those studies are funded by the same companies that sell the products. That's right, they're paying the researchers' paychecks! That should tell you something. Even the most honest studies can be misquoted and re-interpreted to sound like they've found the breakthrough "key" to massive muscles. Believe me, I myself could describe chicken breasts so that people would be clamouring to buy them for their potent muscle building effects.

And speaking of the ridiculous, I was flipping through a current muscle mag just this morning and came across some miraculous claims for "high molecular weight glycogen replenishing waxy maize". "Maize" is just another word for corn. "Waxy maize" is a variety of it that has been grown in America for over 100 years. It's a cheap, mass-produced type of corn that's used as livestock feed to fatten cattle for market. The bodybuilding supplement industry picked up on it when they realized they could get it cheaply, market it to stupid bodybuilders with scientific sounding language, and mark the price up for a big net profit - something similar to how whey protein came to dominate the protein market. Anybody who's stupid enough to believe that powdered corn starch is going to "pack on the muscle mass" probably can't read anyway, so I don't know who those supplement swindlers thought they'd fool. In that same magazine they were touting the anabolic properties of Goat protein. Goat protein? Jesus. What will they come up with next? Milk from Ms. Olympia's tit (if she still has one)? On the other hand, they make millions of dollars a year selling that crap - more proof of P.T. Barnum's "a sucker born every minute" theory.


He should be ready just in time for the Olympia.Remember, I know how scientific research works. I've seen papers published that were the result of complete fabrication. I've seen grad students (who write the majority of the papers you'll see published), under extreme pressure to graduate, completely "invent" their results. I've seen professors with 30 years experience blatantly plagiarize (actually photocopy) the works of others so they could continue to get grant money. Just recently a major drug company got busted for "funding" research and deliberately keeping their involvement a secret from the publishers of the scientific journals the articles were being presented in. Trust me, everything that's in print - no matter what the source - is not necessarily trustworthy.

But as I said, I am a scientist. Not all science is "bad". In fact, some research is simply invaluable to our body of weight training knowledge. Knowing how to separate the wheat from the chaff is a job best left for the true "experts", not the guys in bodybuilding magazines or on websites who stand to make millions by selling some supplement. If you have the scientific background, I encourage you to review the published research yourself, or subscribe to Alan Aragon's Research Review or get his book "Girth Control: The Science of Fat Loss & Muscle Gain". You may be surprised that the only scientific "proof" you find regarding most popular bodybuilding supplements is proof that they have no effect on building muscle or reducing body fat. But even a minimum amount of "research" (and a small dose of common sense) will tell you that all of the major bodybuilding magazines and internet websites have supplement lines or make money directly selling other supplement brands. Pick up a modern bodybuilding magazine - at least 70% of it's content will be supplement ads (often disguised as articles to further mislead you) featuring bodybuilders who are practically 100% anabolic drug built and dependent. Do you think for a minute you can believe anything they say about supplements? If you do, you're incredibly naive and it's time you grew up.

The sadest thing is when I hear a naive beginner talking about a top bodybuilder and the supplements he takes as if the supplements actually had anything to do with his muscle development ...something like, "Do you think this guy could get so big without steroids or supplements?" Let me tell you something. There isn't a supplement on Earth that's 1/1000th as strong as even the weakest of anabolic steroids. And I'll go even further... there isn't a supplement on Earth that's stronger than even a glass of milk. It's seems that the latest rash of them aren't even any stronger than corn ...literally. Sorry for bursting your bubble, but that's the truth. All those fancy packaged "anabolic, extreme, bio-, -test, -abol" whatevers are nothing but the height of pure, unadulterated bullshit designed, first and foremost, not to build muscle but to get your money. Any gains you do seem to get from them are placebo effect. When asked about "fat burners", Rob Hope (he's one of the most muscular natural bodybuilders to ever live) said, "Nothing works better that a strict diet and the right amount of cardio."

Several years ago I noticed the supplement industry starting to use the term "stacking" to describe the practice of taking several supplements at the same time. "Stacking" actually originated as the practice of combining anabolic steroids that worked by different mechanisms in order to produce a greater effect than taking either of them alone (the "synergy" effect that the fitness industry loves to harp on so much). Stacking useless supplements is akin to throwing good money after bad - 99% of the supplements on the market do nothing, so 0 + 0 is still 0. The supplement industry latched onto the concept simply to get you to buy more than one of their supplements. I think for supper tonight I'm going to stack a chicken breast with some rice and a glass of milk or, even better, Reg Park's favourite stack of steak, eggs and wine ...or maybe the real anabolic secret would be some goat meat and corn?

Perhaps a few words from Joe Weider himself would be in order here. When asked by Ken Leistner as to why the supplements he bought as a teenager didn't produce the results as advertised, Joe had this to say:

"My job was to pull as many young boys off the street and into the gym as I could using the advertising that I did. By the time you realized it was bullshit, I already had you hooked into a healthier lifestyle of working out and eating better." - Joe Weider [1]...and so another supplement customer was born. But Joe obviously did know where true gains in size and strength came from. Again, I'm making myself a few enemies in the industry here because I'm telling the truth about their sham. Good.

But don't get me wrong, after that fairly vicious attack on the bodybuilding supplement industry, I'm actually not saying that all supplements are completely useless - for example, high-potency multi-vitamin/mineral tablets are what I'd classify as a "good" supplement. Your body needs vitamins and minerals to grow. If you're short on just one the whole muscle growth process can be halted. I recommend you take two a day - one with breakfast and one with supper. There's nothing wrong with a little extra vitamins C and E either. And if you're in really hard training some extra B-Vitamins can help. Nutritious supplements such as these can help give your body what it naturally needs. I've found that old-fashioned desiccated liver is one of the most effective supplements there is ...if enough is taken (it rarely fails to get moderate strength gains going for awhile in myself or my "clients"). Creatine also gives a mild strength boost to most trainees - at least while they're still taking it. But these things aren't miracle pills and elixirs, they're convenient ways of getting more of the healthy things that should be in your food. I know a few other supplement "secrets" that apply to people with certain "metabolic disorders", but if you're already "healthy" then practically every supplement is irrelevant compared to proper training, nutrition and rest.

Almost every supplement you see advertised in the muscle magazines and online is a waste of your money. They do nothing. On the other hand, don't ruin all your hard work and dedication in the gym because you didn't swallow a little vitamin/mineral tablet a few times a day ...but don't expect it to magically grow muscle either. The real function of supplements, in a bodybuilding sense, is to build health, as only a healthy body will grow muscle at the fastest possible rate. Incidently, this is how you should view ALL supplements: As nutritional back-up for an already sound diet and lifestyle. Think of them as a nutritional insurance policy - nothing more.

What about prohormones? Well, since the FDA crackdown in 2004 there have been two types: Ones that don't work and are just another supplement industry rip-off of your money, and what I call legal loophole prohormones, which are essentially compounds that the FDA hasn't caught up with and yanked off the market yet (remember, anabolic steroids themselves were legal until the 1980s - still are in some countries - and until late 2004 so were the previous generation of prohormones). Of course, these second types are a fine line from being steroids themselves and carry the same risks and dangers as well. Not all "prohormones" actually "work", however. The problem is that just because a molecule is similar to another molecule doesn't mean that it will behave the same way in the body ...and you can't count on your own enzymes to convert them into active steroids in the proportions that you would like - if your HPA axis (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal) and enzymes functioned so favourably you probably wouldn't be interested in "prohormones" anyway. If you do find one that "works" then how's that any different than taking the "real thing"? It isn't, and if that "prohormone" is a little too close to testosterone in structure then it's just a matter of time until the law classifies it as the "real thing" anyway.

Any "prohormone" that actually works does so via the same exact mechanisms as FDA-identified anabolic steroids, though legally cannot be based on the testosterone molecule, and carries the same risks and produces the same exact side-effects as those steroids. And the simple rule is the same: The more you gain while on them, the more you lose when you come off (due to your own choice or when the government catches up). Just look at any drug-built bodybuilder who stopped using steroids and you'll see this for yourself. In the long run, chasing gains out of a bottle is a futile endeavour. In fact, if you even have the attitude that you need such things then you have a major problem and need an attitude adjustment ...not to mention the fact that "prohormones" are banned by the drug-free bodybuilding and lifting federations and if they work they'll also show up on drug tests the same as anabolics (after all, the drug-test has no idea about your drug's FDA status). So if you ever plan on competing in natural bodybuilding or lifting contests and you take "prohormones" you'll either flunk the drug test outright or the polygraph will catch you. Look inside yourself to build true muscle, not to the "miracle" supplement manufacturers who are in no way qualified to play with your hormones anyway. In the worst case, if you go chasing gains out of a bottle it could cost you your health, but most likely you'll just end up wasting your money and wind up no further ahead ...with the exception of expensive urine and maybe a few moments of temporary "glory" with the meatheads in the gym. In the end, wouldn't you rather be able to say that you built your physique yourself, through your own dedication and persistence? Take steroids or legal loophole "prohormones" and you no longer have that right.

If you're tempted to go to the "dark side" of steroids or "prohormones" then ask yourself, are you really doing what's necessary to get your best gains naturally? Are you eating right? Are you getting enough protein? Are you sleeping right? Have you got stress and outside influences under control? Have you been training with passion or have your workouts gone flat lately? If you even suspect that you haven't been giving any of these things your all (and be honest), then address those problems first, before you start risking your health and denying yourself the personal reward of knowing you succeeded because of you, not because you were weak and took some pills that any dick could have taken. If you've done all that, if you can honestly say that you've truly exhausted every avenue for natural improvement (and we're talking a process of years here) but you still can't build the physique you want then ask yourself whether your desires are even reasonable. Read my article on natual potential and see if your expectations are realistic at all. A lot of advanced trainees are carrying plenty of muscle but simply don't know it because it's been under a layer of fat for years. If you're smooth and can't see your abs then get lean before you assess your physique. You might be surprised, even shocked, at what's under that layer of fat (I was). If you can honestly say that you've devoted years to correctly applied training and nutrition, have realistic expectations, are lean enough to be able to make an accurate assessment of your physique, and don't have any psychological body dysmorphia problem, only then may you have to accept that you've hit your genetic ceiling. At that point you have to ask yourself are you content to accept the hand nature has delt you, or are you willing to risk your health and sacrifice your "natural" status to get bigger? How many people are actually in that situation? Very few of you reading this ...a helluva lot less than those who are interested in shortcuts regardless of the risks, or excuses to take those shortcuts.

See the bodybuilding and supplement industry for what it really is and stick to basic, hearty, healthy nutrition. Earn your muscle by training hard and eating right. Learn from what I've learned the hard way in the past: SAVE YOUR MONEY! If you have some extra money spend it on some steak (or other good, high protein foods like milk, eggs, liver, yogurt, etc), not on the latest fad - no matter how enticing the advertising is. Some supplements, such as vitamins, minerals, protein powder, desiccated liver and perhaps creatine are worthwhile and convenient, but they don't perform miracles. Which leads me to the next rule...

Rule #10: Eat More Good, Nutritious Foods And High-Quality ProteinWeight trainers need more protein than the normal individual. Each weight training session causes your muscles to be broken down and rebuilt a little stronger than they were before. If you want to progress at the fastest possible rate then you'll need a healthy dose of daily dietary protein to fuel the process. The FDA and most physicians would argue this ...but they know absolutely nothing about bodybuilding. Roughly 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day has been reliably shown many times to be a near optimal amount (actually, a bit less than 1 gram seems to be optimal, but 1 gram keeps the math easy). The muscle magazines and commercial websites may sometimes tell you that you need even more than this, but that's simply because they want you to buy their protein powders - they've been enthusiastically pushing high protein intakes and the use of protein powders as a main means of profit for their supplement companies since the 1950s. Just get about 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day and you'll have the bases covered. More than that and your kidneys will simply break it down and excrete it, a lot less and you might not gain muscle as rapidly as possible.

Eat lots of stuff like eggs, milk, beef, tuna, chicken, cheese, liver, etc. Essentially, if it comes from an animal it's good. Get yourself one of those protein counter booklets at the bookstore or supermarket and pick out some high protein, animal-based foods. Then use these to meet your protein quota. If you're healthy don't worry about the saturated fat and cholesterol in these foods. You need both to grow properly (especially since you're drug-free). Every bit of testosterone in your body is made from cholesterol (if you don't believe me, look it up yourself - try "steroidogenesis" in Google). Trust me, I've read a lot of research dealing with dietary fats, cholesterol and health - they aren't the villians the profit-driven food and drug industries would have you believe. Am I a "conspiracy theorist"? No. But you won't bullshit me either. Natural foods are wholesome, healthy, conditionally anabolic, and quite safe. If they weren't, humans would have died out thousands of years ago.



It might be a good idea for you to buy a protein powder and some desiccated liver. Those are okay "supplements", but remember this: There's nothing that protein powder and desiccated liver can do for you that food couldn't. But the powder may allow you to mix up convenient shakes and it may turn out to be cheaper. Liver is an all-round worthwhile supplement because it has many nutrients important for building muscle and fueling heavy workouts (including enzymes that process steroid hormones and break down estrogen). Don't spend your money on the most expensive supplements you can get, either. Any protein powder made from whey, milk and/or eggs will do fine. I know there's much more to the protein story than that, but right now those details simply aren't worth your attention. Most of the brands of desiccated liver I've seen on the market are made from Argentine beef liver, which is, by law, free of artificial hormones. Go for the cheapest ones and build up to taking about 20-30 per day if you want the best results.

You also need plenty of healthful fats, such as those found in fish, olive oil, coconut oil, seeds, nuts, dairy products (remember CLA? - it's found in dairy fats) and meats (yes, I said meats) to support and promote growth. Like I said, as a drug-free trainee it's a mistake to avoid all saturated fats and cholesterol - that would decrease your testosterone levels. You should eat plenty of natural, unrefined carbs such as vegetables and rice, but avoid products laden with sugar and while flour. "Good" carbs give you energy to train and also provide your body with the energy (in the forms of muscle and liver glycogen), vitamins, minerals, enzymes and phytonutrients that it needs to build and maintain muscle. Too many "junk" carbs only make you fat and sick.

Another thing, as soon as you get up eat a good breakfast - and that doesn't mean Pop-Tarts and Fruit Loops. Get some of the good carbs, proteins and fats that I spoke of above. After sleeping all night (and, therefore, not eating) your body needs nutrients to grow with. If you deny it that you will hamper your growth. Have some milk, eat some eggs, eat a steak if you want, but get some protein. Add a little oatmeal (it digests slowly and will hold you over until your next meal) or some whole-grain bread and you have a good breakfast shaping up. Have an omelette and a glass of orange juice. If you can get some natural sausages, the kind that aren't full of processed "meats" and artificial flavourings and preservatives, then that's good too. In other word's, eat a man's breakfast. Don't be some castrated pussy who's afraid of an egg because it has cholesterol in it. Natural, hearty foods never hurt anybody ...and don't believe the pseudo-expert fools who tell you otherwise.



And eat some protein before you go to bed. Overnight your body will need protein, so give it some just before you go to sleep. It could be some meat, some cheese, a few hard-boiled eggs or something else solid. Solid proteins, generally, take longer to digest than liquids, giving a steady supply of amino acids to your body - so use them.

What about eating 5 or 6 meals per day, like most mainstream sources recommend? Well, research doesn't appear to clearly support or refute that. My advice? Eat three good meals per day and add a couple of nutritious snacks in between. If you want to lose weight eat smaller portions and if you want to gain weight eat larger ones. For people without thyroid and/or adrenal problems, it's as simple as that, and for now it's all you really need to know. Save the "tricks" for when you're more advanced and really need them. Trust me, I'm not holding out on you - I'm giving it to you straight. And in case you don't believe me, you should know that I lost 170 pounds of fat before I began seriously training, then I built back up 25 pounds of drug-free muscle to settle at about 10-12% body fat. I've read almost everything there is to read about nutrition that's been published since the 1800's (no joke) up to the latest research. I know a thing or two about diet.

Before I leave this rule, heed this warning: If you skimp on your nutrition you may potentially cancel ALL of the growth that you stimulated in the gym. Yes, nutrition is THAT IMPORTANT.

Rule #11: Get Plenty Of Good, Sound SleepMost beginner's don't realize this but let me assure you, sleep is just as important as training and nutrition when it comes to muscle growth. DON'T just skip over this rule and think it isn't that important. Critical repairs and maintenance are done by the body (muscles, organs and nervous system) when you sleep. If you skimp on your sleep then you won't recover from your workouts properly and your nervous system won't fire your muscles optimally. Sleep deprivation results in reduced glucose sensitivity of the muscle cells, higher resting cortisol and decreased testosterone levels (and that's bad). There are reasons why training, nutrition and sleep are considered to be the "big three" keys to weight training success. PLEASE, treat good, sound sleep as a full ingredient of your weight training program.

Rule #12: Immediately After Your Workouts Consume Some Carbs and ProteinAfter your workout your body needs carbohydrates, protein and electrolytes - and it needs them fast. There are lots of ways of getting them, but I'm going to give you a simple, quick-digesting shake recipe to illustrate the point. Of course, this shake isn't at all a "magic bullet", and of all the Rules covered in this article this one is probably the least critical, but good post-workout nutrition is still an important factor if maximum progress is your concern (and of course, it is) and the shake given below is an example of that. It won't do anything for you that a good meal wouldn't, but it often isn't easy or convenient to have a good cooked meal immediately after training ...use this instead.

Here's what to do: Get some dextrose (you can buy this at any brew supply shop - it's usually called "corn sugar" - and it only costs around $1 per pound. Supermarkets often have it too). Get some potassium-based salt substitute. You can get this at the supermarket - stuff like "Nu-Salt", etc. If you're not sure about it just look at the ingredients for "potassium chloride". If that's the main one then you've got it. Get a bottle of some magnesium tablets. These are only a couple of dollars and you can get them at any health-food place (again, probably the supermarket). Anything with 250 mg of magnesium per tablet is good. Get a box of regular table salt (i.e. sodium chloride). And you should get some protein powder, like I recommended in Rule #10. So here's your grocery list:

• Bag of dextrose (also called "corn sugar")
• Potassium-based salt substitute
• Bottle of magnesium tablets
• Box of table salt
• Protein powder

To make the shake, first figure out how much dextrose you need. Divide your bodweight in pounds by 2.2. If you're a naturally thin guy trying to build up, then this is the number of grams of dextrose you need after a tough workout. Each heaping tablespoon of dextrose contains 20 grams. So if you weigh 154 pounds this would be 154/2.2 = 70 grams of dextrose. That would be equal to 3 and a half heaping tablespoons. Then put in 1/4 of a teaspoon of salt substitute and 1/4 of a teaspoon of salt. Throw in one magnesium tablet. Use one-third the amount of protein that you did dextrose (by the gram). So if you used 70 grams of dextrose then you'll want 70/3 = 23 grams of protein. You can figure out how much this is by looking on the label of your protein powder and seeing how much protein is in one scoop. Now, add at least 1 quart/liter of water (more if you can) and blend it all up until the magnesium tablet is dissolved. Put it in a container and take it with you to the gym. Drink it immediately after you finish your workout (you may sip on it during the workout if there's enough to make it worthwhile, but leave at least half of it for afterwards).

If you have a tendency to get fat, or are planning to do an "easy" workout, you'd be better off if you didn't use as much dextrose as suggested above. Go through the calculations as usual but after you've calculated the amount of protein you'll be using double this and that will be the amount of dextrose you should actually use. So, in the above example we first calculated 70 grams of dextrose and 23 grams of protein for a 154 pound person, well now we'd use 23 grams of protein and only 46 grams of dextrose (23 x 2).

As a note regarding protein powder after training, the idea is to get protein into the system fairly quickly, so the best kind of protein would be a pre-digested whey type. I really don't trust many of the supplement companies, though. After all, several of them have been busted, several times, for lying on their product labels - and there is no regular testing of their products by any government establishment. So, really, why would I trust a company who has some drug-built monster in their ads, trying to mislead me into thinking that their product is responsible for such muscle? I usually just go with the cheapest protein powder, or the ones with no drugged-up bodybuilders endorsing them, because there's probably not a great deal of difference in them. On the other hand, possibly the most reputable and established brands do contain what they say - but it probably doesn't amount to a hill of beans anyway.

Getting back on track... Believe it or not, that shake doesn't taste too bad. I've been using only Strawberry flavour protein powder for the past several months, so I don't remember what the other flavours tasted like, though.

If you just don't want to make the above shake, you can always go with yogurt. Yogurt contains high-quality protein and carbs and it digests very quickly ...and if you make your own it can be pretty cheap. All you need is a packet of active yogurt culture (you can get that for a couple of dollars at a health-food store) or even just a few tablespoons of store-bought yogurt and some milk (use skim milk powder and mix some milk up - it's cheaper). The instructions to make the yogurt will be on the culture packet or you can find it online if you're using store-bought yogurt as your "starter". If it's too tart when you make it just add some dextrose (which would be ideal for after a workout) or sweetener like stevia or "Splenda" or something (especially if you're trying to lose weight). 2 cups of yogurt will have around 18 grams of protein and 26 grams of carbs (without the dextrose added).

That's sort of the sophisticated approach. If you can't afford any of that, or haven't got the patience to bother with it, then buy a bag of skim milk powder and mix up 1 - 1.5 liters (or quarts) of milk and drink it immediately after your workout - 1 liter if you're under 170 lbs and did a fairly "easy" workout, and 1.5 liters if you're over 170 lbs or had a "tough" workout. (I believe regular milk is better than powder - it's less processed - but I know a lot of you might be pinched for money and milk powder is cheaper.) Milk has been supporting muscle building for a long time. In fact, some research in 2007 actually showed milk to produce a greater anabolic response after weight training than a store-bought bodybuilding supplement ...sort of a slap in the face for all those companies pushing "metabolic optimizers" and supplement "stacks" based on "modern science" and nutrition theory. Modern science actually seems to support very old-fashioned milk in this case. Don't underestimate "simple" nutrition.

Rule #13: Before Your Workouts Consume Some ProteinRecent research has shown that eating protein before your workouts is even more anabolic (as compared to training while fasted) than taking it afterwards. So why didn't I put this rule before #12 instead of after? Well, for one, these rules are not in any particular order of importance, and two, if you're eating properly (3 meals a day with nutritious snacks in between) then you should always have some protein floating around in your bloodstream anyway. But in case you train in the afternoon (before supper) or early morning (before breakfast) it's a good idea to get some protein before you go to the gym (or your basement, or wherever you lift weights). It isn't clear what type of protein is best at this time, so don't worry about it too much ...just get some.

You might want to avoid carbs before training, particularly if you're trying to lose fat. Eating carbs will blunt the growth hormone response of your body to training. That may or may not be important (it simply isn't known for sure, but I tend to doubt that it happens for no reason), but I thought you might want to know because you might come across it elsewhere. There are arguments against eating carbs before training and arguments for. Generally, if it's most important to you that you lose weight then don't eat carbs before training and if it's most important to you to gain muscle then eat some carbs with your pre-workout protein. In either case, it really just isn't that important - if it was, the best option would be more obvious from people's experiences. Guess what? It isn't. You should worry more about your lifting and less about silly details anyway - and that's one of the the most important things you can take away from this article.

Rule #14: Progression Is KINGThis may be the most important rule of all so I'm going to be as clear as I can. Building bigger muscles and increased strength is not determined by training to failure, taking any supplement, using secret exercises or anything else equally, or even more, appealing. Getting bigger and stronger is a product of progressive resistance. You simply MUST improve your training performance - either by using more weight or doing more reps, particularly in the 5-20 rep range on most exercises - in order to get bigger and stronger. Training reality is as simple as that, and nothing in history or in the future has ever, or will ever, change it.

Even more simply put, if this time next year you are still using the same weights for the same reps, then you will not be any bigger (unless you get fatter). I've just written the most important sentence in the history of bodybuilding.

Don't, however, use this rule to allow yourself to start cheating to lift more weight. If you have to change your technique and start cheating then you aren't get stronger at all. Stay "honest" or the only one you'll be fooling is yourself.

Advanced trainees often fail to continue making gains because past the beginners' "strength spurt" it's practically impossible to add 5 pounds to the bar each week (the minimum weight increase possible with most weight sets or in commercial gyms). Doing an extra rep is roughly approximate to a 3% increase in strength (assuming you couldn't do another rep), which is an impossible rate of progression to maintain in the long term. Because of this, most advanced trainees ignore the principle of progressive resistance and focus on things such as training to failure, workout variety, different exercises, etc. That's all fine, but the fundamental law of all resistance training, which you must not be distracted from, is that of progressive resistance. If you are past the beginner stage, either get some fractional plates (the best set I know of is sold by Iron Woody Fitness under "Fractional Plates") or use extra collars on the bar to make up a pound or two (Olympic collars usually weigh from 1/4-pound for the spring type to 5 pounds for the large clamp type). In any case, when you're training close to your peak you won't be able to add a full 5 pounds to the bar or get an extra rep each time you train - but that does not mean you can forget about improving your performance every week. Add a pound or two (or even less) to the bar and do just a little more than you did last time -otherwise your training is not productive and is, at best, maintenance.

Alternatively, if you're performing several sets per exercise with the same weight then you should be able to consistently add one rep to just one of those sets... provided you aren't already at your limit and hitting failure on any one of those sets. For instance, let's say you performed 3 sets of 10 reps with 100 lbs this week, and your last set was difficult because you were fatigued by then, but it wasn't an absolute failure effort. Then you shouldn't have a problem adding just one rep to the first set next week - after all, the first set isn't that hard. In that case, you'll do your first set with 100 lbs for 11 reps and then the next two sets at 100 lbs for 10 reps. The week after that you'd do two sets of 100x11 and one set 100x10. The next week you do all 3 sets with 100 lbs for 11 reps. Then you'd go for 12,11,11, then 12, 12, 11, etc. It would look like this...

Week 1: 100x10, 100x10, 100x10

Week 2: 100x11, 100x10, 100x10

Week 3: 100x11, 100x11, 100x10

Week 4: 100x11, 100x11, 100x11

Week 5: 100x12, 100x11, 100x11

Week 6: 100x12, 100x12, 100x11

etc...If you performed that lift more than once per week then you wouldn't try to add a rep every session, just once per week. So if you did an exercise on Monday and again on Thursday, you wouldn't try to add a rep on Thursday, you'd just repeat Monday's workout again with the same sets, reps and weight and wait until next Monday to add the extra rep again. This is a sustainable rate of progression. Even though it might seem "gentle" and perhaps even easy at first, you won't get away with trying to add a rep more than once a week for any amount of time. This is about the long game. At the more advanced stages you may not even be able to repeat the same workout twice. In that case, you'd have to train lighter on the second day so as to avoid overtraining. If you're following a full-body routine you might have to impose a heavy/light/medium scheme over your weekly training - Monday could be your "heavy" day, Wednesday would be "light" day (with about 75% of the weight you used on Monday for the same number of sets and reps) and Friday would be your "medium" day (with about 85% of Monday's weight for the same number of sets and reps). Regardless of how you do it, you'd only go for a rep increase on one set, once a week.

When you get to 3 sets of 12 reps with the same weight you'd add 5-10 pounds and start the procedure over at 3 sets of 8 reps. So your next phase would be...

Week 1: 105x8, 105x8, 105x8

Week 2: 105x9, 105x8, 105x8

Week 3: 105x9, 105x9, 105x8

etc...At this rate - starting out at 3 sets of 8 reps and adding just one rep per week until you get to 3 sets of 12 reps, then adding 5 lbs and starting over at 3 sets of 8 reps again - in one year you'll have added 20 lbs to your working weight. That's for "lighter" exercises where you're handling 100 lbs or so... a 20% increase in workload in one year. On heavier exercises such as Squats, Deadlifts and perhaps Bench Presses you could try going up by 10 lbs when you reach 3 sets of 12 reps. That would be a 40 lb increase in a year. For a drug-free trainee, especially past the beginner's stage, that's some good going. Let's say you can Bench Press 155 lbs for 3 sets of 8 reps now - the last set being "tough" but not your extreme limit. If you added just 20 lbs a year for 3 years you'd be handling 215 for 3 sets of 8 on the Bench Press. In five years you'd be Bench Pressing 255 for 3 sets of 8. And, don't forget, that's for three sets. Your true max for one set of 8 would probably be at least 265 lbs - that translates to over 320 lbs for one rep on the Bench Press. If you could add 10 lbs each time you reached 3 sets of 12 reps then you'd be up to using over 355 lbs for sets of 8 on the Bench Press - your one-rep max would be well over 400 lbs in less than five years. Don't think that's impressive? Think you can do it faster? Rather stick to your hit-and-miss training routine? See you in a few years and you can reflect on the time you wasted and how much further ahead you would have been if you had followed a long term, sustainable program such as this. The human body just cannot be forced to adapt faster than its genetically determined rate. In fact, for most of you, adding 10 lbs every time you reach 3 sets of 12 reps won't be possible most of the time - you'll have to stick to 5 lb increases for the majority of your cycles (sometimes you'll feel stronger and be able to go up by 10 lbs, sometimes you won't). Don't get greedy and try to force progression too fast - it comes as the body allows, not necessarily how you'd like.

The scheme outlined above is the classic double progression training scheme that was used by practically every successful bodybuilder of the pre-drug era - Reeves, Grimek, Park, all of them. When used with lower reps (anywhere from 1 to 5 reps per set and for 3 to 5 total "working" sets), it was a favourite of strength athletes like Doug Hepburn, Tommy Kono and even Ted Arcidi. It's sustainable (provided you don't start off too heavy) and it works.

But these are just two examples of how to implement performance progression; no matter how you choose to go about it, progression of workload is the be-all and end-all of productive training. Never allow yourself to forget that or your training will be hit-or-miss, at best. All the other "rules" are irrelevant without progression of training load.

Rule #15: Stick To A Routine As Long As It's Still Working, But No LongerMoving to an "advanced" routine before one is ready is one of the most common mistakes in bodybuilding. Exotic "advanced" routines will not be effective (if ever) until you've exhausted the gains to be had from more "traditional" routines. The variety and long breaks between body part training sessions typical of these "sophisticated" types of routines are applicable only to trainees who already have a high degree of neural efficiency (i.e. very experienced) in the exercises used in the system, otherwise they are just ridiculous and inappropriate.

Make sure you truly plateau on any effective routine before you move on to the next one. Otherwise, you'll just jump from one routine to the next, accomplishing nothing in the long run. Stick to a routine as long as it's still working (i.e. your training weights, reps and/or muscle mass are increasing), but no longer. Reg Park, Harry Paschall, Louie Simmons, the Bulgarian Olympic Weightlifting team and many others realized that in advanced trainees that tends to be between 6-9 sessions on any one routine (typically 3-6 weeks) - that's why "formal" advanced training programs typically recommend some sort of routine change and/or a complete break from training after every 3-6 weeks. But for beginners and intermediates a productive cycle may run for many months.

When you do hit a legitimate plateau, then change your rep count, set number, or even exercises themselves and start over, slowly and deliberately building up your training loads and performances again. If you've gone stale on sets of 10-12 reps then try a cycle of 5-6 reps; if you've gone stale on 5-6 reps then switch to 10-12. Start over and build up the weights progressively again - slow and steady wins the race. Don't get hung up on "this rep range is for hypertrophy and that rep range is for strength". The fact is, if you're not improving in a given rep range then, for now at least, it's good for nothing.

Perhaps you've truly gone stale on an exericise or routine. In that case, whatever you do, don't switch from a sound, basic routine to some exotic bullshit you found in the mainstream bodybuilding media. Heed these rules and stick to mostly free-weight compound exericses. Perhaps switch Bench Presses to Incline Presses, Military Presses to Behind-the-Neck Presses (if you have the necessary shoulder flexibility and robustness to do them productively), Squats to Front Squats, etc, etc, etc. Make changes, but never forget your all-governing goal of performance progression, and stick to the "rules" - the flexibility needed to keep the gains coming is in there.

Don't abandon an effective routine just because you're bored or something fancier caught your attention in a muscle magazine or on a website, but don't dig yourself further into a rut by sticking to a routine that's already run it's course.

Rule #16: Keep A Training LogTommy Kono (2-time Gold, 1-time Silver Olympic Weightlifting Medalist, World Weightlifting Champion for 7 consecutive years, setter of 27 World Records, the only lifter to set World Records in 4 different weight classes, Coach of the U.S. Olympic Weightlifting team and 2-time FIHC Mr. Universe) once warned me to always keep a training journal. Always record your poundages, sets and reps, he told me, quoting the Chinese proverb, "The palest ink is better than the sharpest memory." In fact, Kono insisted that all his trainees keep a training journal.

Why? Simple. Because the ultimate determinant of your long-term training success, as Rule #14 warns, will be whether or not you can continuously, though gradually, increase your training poundages. If you don't keep track of your performances, how can you know if you're improving or not? You can't.

Write down everything you do in the gym - every set, every rep, every rest period - and next time try to beat it by just a little. Do an extra rep on one of your sets of an exercise, or even on all of the sets if it's one of those rare days when the weights feel exceptionally light and you feel exceptionally strong (what Vince Gironda called an "Alpha day"). Add a few pounds (or as little as one pound if you have access to small weights). Do an extra set if you're feeling extra spunky. But improve in some way, just a little ...not too much or you won't be able to keep it up and you'll hit a wall. Push yourself, but don't kill yourself. When you go home, take out your training log and review how you did that day. Resolve that, come hell or high water, you will do better next time ...just a little.

Your training log allows you to plan your next workout and tells you whether you're improving or not, and without it, both in the long and short terms, you're lost.

Rule #17: Get RealI know you want to have the body of your dreams and you want it now. I know you want to have all the pretty girls smiling at you and all the guys in awe of your strength and you want to take the fastest possible route to get there. And since there's so much conflicting advice and information in the bodybuilding world, you don't know who to trust or who to listen to. What about so-and-so who says if I buy his instantly downloadable "get huge muscles fast" program for just $34.95 I can gain 30 to 50 pounds of muscle in a few months?

Let me tell you, once again, that's all bullshit. I've trained in gyms all over the world and have corresponded with some of the most knowledgable and successful people in the world with regards to drug-free training. In those years of heavy involvement with the Iron Game I'venever seen or heard of anyone who built that much muscle without being emaciated, or very young (and therefore not fully grown), to start. (In fact, Arthur Jones and Rheo H. Blair were notorious for exploiting these types of situations and then making outrageous marketing claims based on them.) Look at the guys who write those courses ...if you can find a real photo of them. They either have unimpressive physiques or they're obvious steroid users. So if their programs are so great, if they know so many "secrets of explosive muscle mass gains", why do they look like any other dude who's worked out for a few months? Off the top of my head I can think of four authors of such internet courses whom I've seen photos of. (I'm not mentioning names because I don't want pointless flame wars with them.) Three of them look like average intermediate trainees and one of them is an obvious steroid user. If I had to sum up their physiques, the phrase "big deal" comes to mind. I've confronted a few of them over the years and they typically say something like, "I used to be bigger and leaner but I didn't like having all that muscle so I deliberately slimmed down." Jesus, don't insult my intelligence with such pure, unadulterated crap. I'm more than sick of it.

Another thing, growing young men cannot be used as examples of extreme muscle growth due to weight training alone. I have two friends who put on at least 50 pounds between the ages of 17 and 25 with no training whatsoever. Sure they got fatter too, but they didn't exactly turn into blimps. If they added 20 pounds of muscle on top of that (over a couple of years of dedicated training) their total gains would be up to about 70 pounds. Does that mean that they gained 70 pounds of muscle? No. They would actually be carrying just 20 pounds more muscle than they would if they never even touched a weight, and compared to other advanced trainees of their heights and bone structures they would be just average. Yet most people in similar situations proudly proclaim that they've gained 50 to 100 pounds of muscle since they started training. Such talk is utter nonsense, yet stories like this are rampant in the bodybuilding world and do a tremendous job of clouding reality. The greatest drug-free bodybuilders in history carry/carried less than 40 pounds more lean body mass than average individuals of their heights and bone structures, yet some dude who doesn't even stand out in the local gym claims he gained over 50? Please.

Then there are the internet discussion forum guys who make miraculous claims of personal muscle gains in only a few weeks or months (without steroids). If you ever see photos of these guys you'll usually notice two things: 1) They're usually no leaner at their heavier weights than when they were lighter (often, they're significantly fatter) and 2) They don't look very impressive. That tells you that they didn't gain pure muscle but at least a few pounds of fat and fluid also. Automatically, their claims of "I gained X pounds of muscle in Y weeks" are knocked down a notch. On top of that, rarely do these people accurately know their body fat percentages (other than very optimistic guesses) and even when measurements are taken almost all body fat estimation techniques (including skin-folds, BIA, etc) are subject to up to 4% error. That means a guy who says he was "tested" at 12% body fat may actually be as high as 16%. Compounding this uncertainty is the fact that skin-fold equations are especially inaccurate for heavily muscled individuals and BIA techniques are extremely sensitive to hydration levels. Furthermore, anyone with experience manipulating his/her weight knows that hydration, food in the stomach, constipation, even the time of day, etc, can alter body weight by several pounds. According to skin-folds, BIA and anthropometric measurements (all cross-validated for agreement), I've personally gained up to 5 pounds of lean body mass over a weekend of heavy eating. Unfortunately, this additional "lean body mass" was actually a combination of food still in my intestines, fluid retention, glycogen storage and labile proteins - in a few days my lean body mass was back to "normal". (Anybody monitoring their weight and body fat percentage while on any form of cyclic diet will notice the same thing.) In reality, that guy who claims to have gained 20 pounds of muscle in a few weeks or months will really have ended up with less than 10 pounds of actual skeletal muscle, if he's lucky - and he'll probably lose a fair chunk of that when he goes back to his "normal" diet. Sorry, but I've seen this too many times to continue to believe in miracles ...even in people who've sworn to have done it (and truly believe it themselves). One thing I have learned from this, however, is that a good delusion weighs at least 10 pounds.

Perhaps some of the confusion surrounding this issue comes from the fact that there actually are very specific circumstances under which anybody can rapidly gain muscle without the use of anabolic drugs. I've seen trainees gain up to 15 pounds (though typically less) of lean body mass in the months following weight losses due to prolonged, restricted diets or serious illnesses. I routinely gain about 7 pounds of lean body mass in two weeks under such circumstances. At these times, muscle mass that was lost during the diet or illness can quickly be "rebuilt" as sort of a rebound effect after the period of weight loss - but this isn't really true muscle growth above what a normal, healthy body would naturally carry. In this case, the body is simply recovering it's genetically determined "normal" amount of lean body mass (in both the muscles and internal organs) ...and if the trainee gets everything just right, perhaps a little extra. If you're healthy and haven't recently experienced a significant weight loss then this situation doesn't apply to you.

It took Bill Pearl 3 months to gain 25 pounds when he went on his first cycle of anabolic steroids in 1958, and he was one of the most genetically gifted bodybuilders in history and was taking three times the maximum daily dosage of Nilivar (a strong anabolic steroid). And don't forget, Nilivar causes bloating and water weight gain - even Pearl didn't really gain 25 pounds of pure muscle in those 3 months.

Steve Reeves is said to have built 30 pounds of muscle in 4 months, without drugs. But keep in mind that he was still a growing boy at the time and was one of the most gentically gifted individuals to ever touch a barbell. He also gained weight quickly after he lost it due to malaria, which he contracted while in the army. And he gained weight quickly in the 7 weeks leading up to the 1950 Mr. Universe contest, after a many month layoff (though I've seen him exaggerate that time period down to less than 4 weeks). In all of these cases he was either a growing young man (in which case he was experiencing a typical puberty-driven growth spurt and would have gained weight anyway), recovering his normal muscle mass after losing a portion of it due to a serious illness, or gaining back muscle that he had previously developed through training (the well-known phenomenon of "muscle memory").

Reg Park is said to have gained 25 pounds in roughly 10 months when he first began serious training at the age of 20 (he had trained previously when he was 17). Park was a genetic super-freak - one of the most massively muscled and strongest drug-free bodybuilders of all time - he also trained on one of the soundest bodybuilding programs possible ...yet it took him 10 months to develop what most naive beginners think they can gain in a few months or even weeks.

Both Reeves and Park were over 6 feet tall and extremely genetically gifted for bodybuilding, yet at their peaks they carried "only" roughly 35 and 38 pounds more muscle, respectively, than an average untrained man of their heights and bone structures. And it took them both several years to reach their maximum development.

Dave Goodin, the most winning drug-tested man of the modern natural bodybuilding era, carried about 30 pounds more muscle than an average untrained man of his height and bone structure (at 5'7" he was much shorter than Reeves and Park). That's fairly typical for world-class drug-tested champions of his structure. By his own words, it took him 20 years of training to achieve that 30-pound muscle gain (though he almost certainly gained the majority of that muscle in his first few years of training). In my experience, it takes most genetically typical drug-free trainees 8-10 years of training to reach their peak weights ...I know that sucks, but if you follow the "rules" presented here you just might cut that time in half (or even better). If you don't follow the "rules", then I hope you've got lots of patience (which you'll need in any case).


Dave Goodin showing the fruits of a lifetime of natural hard work.Still believe the con man who wants to sell you his secret to gaining 50 pounds of muscle by summer? Get Real. The sad thing is, some of these "internet experts" are so brainwashed that they actually seem to believe their claims themselves. They don't even know enough about real bodybuilding to realize what they're saying is complete, 100% bullshit.

The fastest rate of muscle gain without anabolic drugs I've seen in previously well-nourished adults in a clinical research setting is 6.76 g/kg of lean body mass per week. Most trainees don't achieve half that amount. But if you want an ambitious goal to shoot for - something that's actually based on reality and not some childish delusion - multiply your lean body mass by 0.006754 and that'll tell you how many pounds of muscle you can possibly expect to gain per week in the first twelve weeks or so of serious training. If you don't know your lean body mass here's a general guideline: A genetically gifted male of 180 pounds at 15% body fat (an average body fat level for an active, healthy young man) can gain a maximum of about 1 pound of muscle per week for the first 12 weeks of serious bodybuilding training. Almost no man is naturally big enough to gain 1.5 pounds of muscle per week. Most men will be lucky to gain 0.5 pounds. After twelve weeks or so your rate of gain will start to slow down to half the initial amount. In another twelve weeks it'll be half that again. In his first year of bodybuilding training, under ideal conditions, our genetically gifted individual of average height and bone structure would gain about 20 pounds of muscle. If you're not genetically gifted (and you're probably not), go back and read Rule #3 again and remember that it takes most drug-free trainees 10 years to increase their lean body mass by 17% to 25% (and those numbers come from a compiled study of hundreds to thousands of trainees).

Another frustrating misconception that keeps arising on bodybuilding discussion forums and what-not is that people can just casually walk around at less than 6% body fat or so. In reality, few natural bodybuilders step onstage at much less than 5% ...and that is a temporary state that only the most experienced bodybuilders can attain and even then cannot be maintained for more than a few days at best. Essential body fat in human males is somewhere between 3% to 4%. Less than that and you die, and you won't be feeling too "healthy" long before you reach that low a body fat level that you're about to drop dead. That means sub-5% body fat levels are pushing what the human male body can tolerate and it will resist being that lean with everything it's got. To put it in context, back in the day, Arnold Schwarzenegger claimed to compete at around 9% body fat; Ray Mentzer caused a bit of a stir when he claimed to be in contest shape at 6% in the late 1970s. And these guys were both drug-users.

Part of the problem with routine claims of ridiculously low body fat levels comes from the fact that most body fat measurement methods use estimation equations calibrated based on the normal population (i.e. not contest-ready bodybuiders). As already mentioned, popular skin-fold methods in particular are notorious for underestimating body fat percentages in lean and dehydrated bodybuilders by up to 4%. So when a bodybuilding champion claims 3.5% body fat based on skin-fold estimations (or any other body fat estimation method) then that really could be as high as 7.5%. Yet I've had people tell me that the 6+ year study I've done on elite-level drug-free bodybuilders is flawed because so-and-so's uncle is 225 pounds at 3% body fat and Bench Presses 500 pounds in his basement every Saturday morning. I'd like to slap these people for being so stupid/naive, or at least tape their mouths shut so I don't have to hear the crap that comes out of them anymore.

I can't count the number of times naive young men have told me that my bodybuilding potential article and booklet (Your Maximum Muscular Bodyweight and Measurements) is "flawed" or "crap" because they're easily going to surpass the predictions. But I can count the number of people who have demonstrated to me that they've actually done it - zero. Put up or shut up. But on the other hand, one delusional forum poster did make this claim regarding the ultimate levels of muscle mass described in the above article - it never fails to put a smile on my face...

"His table, while decent, is far from the full story. I have two uncles who are already at the top of his charts and neither of them lift. Infact they are both alcoholics. And the biggest/strongest one hardly eats any meat. He lives on raw vegetables (seriously, the guy eat onions and radishes like others eat apples) and walks everywhere (thank God he doesn't drive drunk at least.)" - anonymous poster hiding behind a fake username and avatar on an internet bodybuilding discussion boardPerhaps Reg Park should have just quit lifting and become a drunk? - apparently he could have had the same physique. Such is the danger of listening to "experts" on the internet.

In almost 2 decades of serious involvement in bodybuilding, yes, I've seen a few legitimate 400+ pounds Bench Pressers. All but three of them were on steroids and they were well over 200 pounds and at least 15% body fat (and I'm being generous) - one of them was a drug-free raw Bench Press national record holder in the 242 lb weight category with a 440 pound lift. As of this writing, the current world record for the Bench Press (without a bench shirt) in the World Drug-free Powerlifting Federation (WDFPF) is 573.2 pounds and that was set by John Dolan in 2005 - a Bench Press specialist weighing over 310 pounds and well above 20% body fat. The fact of the matter is that most genetically typical trainees, even after many years of serious training will never be able to legitimately Bench Press 300 pounds. How do I know? Because I've known hundreds of serious bodybuilders (i.e. experienced and dedicated) over the past nearly 20 years and of them I can count the number of "average" guys who went on to Bench Press over 300 pounds on one hand (well, maybe two). Guess what, even though I classified them as "average", with the exception of maybe a couple, all of them had bigger than average bone structures (meaning 7.25" wrists and greater) and were known for being "big guys" from the start ...none of them did it at under 12% body fat or so. Of course, most delusional teenagers will cling steadfastly to the myth that anybody could Bench Press 300 pounds after a year of "proper" training, but all you have to do is go to a local gym and you'll find tons of experienced trainees who can't Bench even close to that. The ones that can are most likely either naturally built to Bench Press (thick joints, barrel chests, proportionately short upper arms, etc) or are on steroids (or both). Sure, it isn't exactly rare to find an advanced trainee Bench Pressing 300 lbs in a typical gym, but it's a lot more common to find advanced trainees who can't, despite years of trying. Sorry, but that's the reality of it. On the other hand, 90% of those gym goers will be following some sort of 5-day per week routine that "Mr. Olympic Coach" wrote in a muscle magazine or website ...maybe that's their problem. Oh, and claims of 300 pound Bench Presses don't count. Now don't mentally damn yourself from the get-go because of what I just said - after all, perhaps you will be one of those who goes on to surpass the 300-pound raw, drug-free bench press mark - but do keep in mind that for the average trainee such an accomplishment isn't the "walk in the park" most deceptive or delusion sources would have you believe.

But enough depressing talk of reality and limitations. The truth is 20 pounds of real, permanent muscle would transform your body. Most magazines and websites make it seem like 20 pounds of muscle is nothing ...like your grandmother could gain that much. The reality is, if you gain 20 pounds of muscle this year everyone will notice and they'll probably whisper behind your back that you're on steroids - my friends did and I didn't gain nearly that much in any one year. Gain 30 pounds of muscle (above your normal, healthy adult weight) and you'll be carrying as much muscle as a world-class drug-free bodybuilder. Even 10 pounds would put another inch on your arms. The body of your dreams is attainable and it's waiting for you to come get it, but it probably weighs less than you think right now. Like I said, there's a lot of bullshit in bodybuilding.

Rule #18: Keep Things In PerspectiveFor all it's postive traits, bodybuilding can destroy lives just as surely as it can enrich them. Each year countless young men start down an obsessive, destructive path because they let bodybuilding consume their lives and they lose all perspective of what's truly important. They allow obsession to destroy their relationships, their education, their jobs and their health. Don't let this be you.

Just because you've been bitten by the Iron Bug, don't neglect your studies, your work, your health, your family or your friends. In the long run, these are the important things in your life, not how you look or how strong you are. Use bodybuilding to improve yourself, not self-destruct. Applied correctly, bodybuilding can improve your health, improve your confidence, help build character and, of course, build your body. When obsession causes it to get out of control, however, bodybuilding can also destroy all of these things. Don't wake up ten or twenty years from now and realize the mistakes you've made in life because you allowed your bodybuilding to get out of balance.

After a lifetime of bodybuilding, including competition at the national and world levels from the 1940s to the 1970s, Reg Park gave these very wise words of advice just before he died...

"Stay away from drugs, stay away growth hormones, stay away from steroids ...Life goes by too quickly, and before you turn around it's all over. If you don't squeeze the last ounce of life out of you, of your life here on Earth with a good wife and a good family, then what are are you doing here? People in hospital are crying out for what you've got. Don't abuse it." - Reg ParkWhat do you do now?That's it. You now know the real "secrets" of drug-free bodybuilding. Of course, there is actually more to it than one article could cover, but the ground work has been laid. The rest is just icing on the cake and fine-tuning.

What you must do now is absorb the "rules" right down to the subconscious level. Hammer them into your brain. Never forget them and make them a part of your psyche. Forget the sensational commercially-driven bullshit you've been fed by the supplement, magazine and internet bodybuilding industries. I know much of what I've said here is very blunt and certainly not "pretty", but it's as true as anything you'll ever hear. Remember, I've devoted most of my adult life to the Iron Game, and I intend to devote much of the rest of it as well. But one thing I won't tolerate is bullshit, and I won't play the game merely for the sake of being popular or making money.

You now have enough knowledge about real drug-free bodybuilding to set out on the most productive, rewarding training path you could possibly take. From here on in it's up to you to provide the most important ingredients necessary to build a strong, healthy, impressive looking body: Dedication, Persistence, Hard Work and Patience. People just like you, and some who were much worse off, have built incredible, strong physiques, and you can too ...if you follow the "rules". Now, go to it...

"...all these exercises, as well as any other means outlined by me, or anyone else, for the development of the body, are merely a means to an end; the end itself can only be reached by hard work - by the diligent application of the means used to achieve the desired results. Wishful thinking won't do it. Complete knowledge of the proper exercises won't do it. But actually doing those exercises regularly WILL give you the body development you want." - Steve Reeves

(source: http://intensemuscle.com/showthread.php?t=9658)

a)I have no problem with anyone on leg training switching the exercises they do from the 6-8 heavy set to the 20 reppers on as long as the 20 repper gets done. Alot of the super large guys I train (270-340lbers) have serious trouble breathingwise doing a 20 rep free squat. Hell I have trouble doing it myself. You are carrying alot of bodyweight, breathing like a locomotive and hey lets not die on leg training day-LOL. Ill give you an example--One of my guys does smythe squats, free squats and leg presses as his three leg movements. On leg press day he does the heavy 6-10 (I make him do 10 reps on it) and then does the 20 repper on the same leg press. On smythe day he does his heavy 6-8 and then does the 20 repper on a horizontal hack machine. On free squat day he does his heavy 6-10 and does the 20 repper on a Cybex (different) leg press machine at a slightly different angle than the other leg press day. I got no problem with any of you guys doing that especially you large beasts. Now if you start doing only leg presses with the same leg press machine for all your 20 reppers then Im going to call you on it that your taking the easy way out.

b)Alot of people ask me how I come to conclusions on things.....alot of all this you can deduct from what you see going on around you at gyms and from just watching people. Alot of what I do is "reverse engineering"--I think things out backwards to find out the reasoning. You can sit there and study medline all day long but until you have a practical brain to think how it pertains to bodybuilding, your not going to get very far in applying it. For example alot of people freak out about the controlled negative on reps in DC training and why the heck its done. Besides what science agrees with, think of certain instances or hobbies or jobs with repetitive movements with the repeated same load. Boat rowers, sawing lumberjacks and gymnasts. They all do repetitive movements with the same load, a boat or canoist rower is trying to power along a boat as fast as he can, a sawing lumberjack is using power to saw down a tree, a gymnast does repeated movements with bodyweight. All are pushing the limits trying to use as much power as possible for the task at hand. Which one of those three has a discernable musculature? Boat rowers dont have huge backs, sawing lumberjacks dont have huge arms but gymnasts always have that musculature. They sure arent eating to get huge and most likely they arent doing incredibly heavy weight training but you can always see the musculature on a gymnast. Why? Well which one of those three does controlled negative movements? The rowers and sawers are just using positive movements and it does virtually nothing for their musculature (science agrees with that theory-concluding that the positive movment is a strength/priming phase and the eccentric is where the magic happens)--the gymnasts on the other hand are all doing heavy eccentric and controlled negative work (iron cross/rings, pommel horse etc etc etc)--the moral of the story is your whole thinking in all this should get to the point where your curling a weight up just for the simple reason of controlling the descent downward so you can get bigger

c)There was a study some years back which included 3 groups--elite sumo wrestlers who did no weight training whatsoever, advanced bodybuilders and advanced powerlifters--about 20 in each group. Now there is a lot of variables here but they took the lean muscle mass of each group and divided it by their height in inches. Surprisingly the sumo wrestlers came out well ahead of the powerlifters (2nd) and the bodybuilders (very close 3rd). This is a group who did no weight training at all but engorged themselves with food trying to bring their bodyweight up to dramatic levels. How is a group that is doing no weight training having more muscle mass per inch of height than powerlifters and bodybuilders? For anyone that doubts food is the greatest anabolic in your arsenal, you better get up to speed and on the same page as what my trainees have found out. Gee now what would happen if you actually ate to get dramatically larger like a sumo, but actually weight trained like a powerbuilder (which is what we train like), and also did enough cardio/carb cuttoffs etc to keep bodyfat at bay while doing all this? Are you guys coming around to how I think yet....in how to become the biggest bodybuilder at the quickest rate but keeping leaness on that journey?

d)Something you guys might want to try for your forearm belly that has worked better for me than alot of other things is a (belly of the forearm) extreme stretch done exactly after biceps or wrist curls or whatever you are doing for forearms. Its as simple as this--once youve done biceps and forearms and have already stretched your biceps--or directly after your last rep of seated wrist curls...sitting on a seat with your forearms resting on your legs and the barbell in your palms face up...let your hands sag downward and let the barbell roll down the palm of your hand and hold onto it with your fingers until you feel that stretch and then the fun begins (30-90 seconds thats what your trying for)..dont let the topside of your hands hit your shin because that defeats the purpose....at about 30 seconds youll start shaking...45 seconds your head will be twitching from side to side because there is so much pain and it feels like your going to lose the barbell with your grip and if you make it to 60 YOU ARE THE MAN...but 90 seconds is the goal...(trust me you wont make it--its too fucking painful)....youll get to the point youll have to drop the barbell on the floor and take 30 seconds just to get your wits about you. Be very careful with this movement, I dont want you tweaking your wrists here so be cautious. For those who do this, take a long look at your forearms the very next day in the mirror, flex your forearm and I think youll be very surprised at how different/swollen it is. Thats all that needs to be done---let me know 3 months from now how different they look

e)Its about time I start showing you guys some new exercises from the DC arsenal--I got about 50 you guys have never seen but Ill throw this one at you for now. Maybe Ill just have you guys throw out a bodypart one of these days in a post and ill give you new exercisesyou can do for that bodypart (time willing)
Pulley row high pulls-awesome for lat width here guys--this is going to be a pain in my ass to explain but lets see if i can do it--god its so much easier showing someone these in person. First up--do you know that position that is at the bottom of a stiff leg deadlift if you do it very deep (some people dont)--remember that position because that is key here ok?
Ok-Your on a seated cable row with a close grip parallel handle--your legs are slightly bent--your aiming for the greatest amount of stretch possible at the very beginning of the pull ok so remember that you should be in that "position" above or close to it (I talked about earlier) thruout this whole movement. With your back rounded and you leaning forward (huge stretch) you pull the handle to right about 3 inches above the kneecaps, thats it. At no point do you stick your chest out and arch your back and pull the handle into your midsection and sit straight up as in a seated pulley row, what you do instead is flare your lats at the stretch at the very beginning and keep your lats flared till you pull right over your kneecaps and then control the return to the stretch and repeat. Because your bent forward in a position that doesnt put your back in a precarious safety position you will have no worries with a rounded back. I guess a simple way i could describe it is
a)huge stretch at beginning
b)do half a pulley row movement but dont lean your torso backward or arch your back--keep it stabilized maybe only moving a few inches the whole movement
c)keep your lats flared outwards the whole way thru and dont crunch your scapula together--pull with your lats and pull the handle 2-3 inches over your kneecaps and return------15-30 reps rest paused is the deal on these and you will not be using the weight you use on seated pulley rows so wipe that from your memory banks

PAYING YOUR DUES

This post is for everyone in this forum--its very important to read over--VERY IMPORTANT. Want to know the average trainee that comes to me? He is 35-45 years old and after 10-15 years of lifting weighs 175 to 210lbs. He looks at me as the guy that somehow can pull a bunny out of a hat and make him that 250lb ripped bodybuilder walking the streets.... where he couldnt even get close to that level by himself. He is scrambling around because he doesnt want to get to 50 years old never feeling what it was like to walk thru a crowd and people gawk, stare, and point because he is a damn good bodybuilder. Well what the hell have you been doing all these years?!?!?! You should of put in your f*^&ing dues like the rest of us. These same guys think Im a miracle worker that can somehow add 80lbs of muscle mass on their frame while losing 30lbs of fat while keeping incredibly lean thruout the journey to get there. Well guess what? YOU FUCKED UP. Want to know the fastest way to walk around at 250 ripped--THE ABSOLUTELY G'DAMN FASTEST WAY TO GET THERE? TAKE 2 YEARS AND EAT HUGE AMOUNTS OF FOOD, AND TRAIN WITH BRUTALLY HEAVY WEIGHTS, AND BECOME A BIG FAT OFFENSIVE LINEMAN LOOKING GUY AT 330LBS....AND NO IT WONT BE PRETTY...AT ALL. MOST OF ALL DONT DO ANYTHING THAT COULD POSSIBLY EVEN IMPEDE THE SLIGHTEST IN MUSCLE MASS GAIN. Just eat copious amounts of food (up to 500-600 grams of protein) and bring your bodyweight up the charts which will allow you leverage and strength gains to allow you use the incredible weights you have to use in the gym to accomplish this. Then after being at that level for density reasons for awhile, you can slowly take it down and I mean slowly and most likely have the most muscle mass gain your genetics allowed in that time frame. That is the probably the fastest way in the shortest time to get there. But definitely not the most desirable but truth is truth. Am i recommending that approach--HELL NO, but if we are talking about getting this done as fast as humanly possible then I have to be blunt. Noone wants to look like a fat slob even if it means the end result will be much closer to their ideal. And these guys 35-45 years old want me to keep them pretty boy lean and wave the magic wand and make them into Milos Sarcev after they pretty much just wasted 10-15 years of training.
I dont like using myself for an example but I will here. I started training at about 20 at 137lbs and predominantly spent the next 15 years eating tremendous amounts of food, training with very heavy weights but keeping active so I am at a leaness I personally am satisfied with. I topped out at about 303lbs and but currently hang around 283-288 because thats what I like to be at. I put my dues in here. I might jump in a show if time allows but because of my schedule currently we will have to see how that works out. Mainly Im looking forward to the day I can kind of relax and not push the limits like I have all these years. The 6 meals a day every day, and the war with the logbook along with lugging around 285-300lbs sometimes becomes very tedious. I go to bed at nite thinking exactly what Im going to do and what all this hard work will easily allow myself to do when I decide to crank the dial downward. Cardio will be done 6 times a week for health and bodyfat reasons and that will take priority.
Back to the subject on hand here. So what will all this hard work for the past 15 years allow me to do? I'm in my mid 30's now so for the rest of my 30's and thru my 40' and 50's i can pretty much walk around at 250lbs hard as a rock at a very low bodyfat percentage. Ive set myself up so that will be very very easy. I actually have to do much less than everything I do now (except cardio) to be there. Ill use guys in this forum for examples, Inhuman and massive G are both around 5'9", 5'10" and are offseason 280 to 300. They have spent the time and food consumption and paid their dues to get there. Massive G I believe is mid 30's and Inhuman is early 40's I believe. Both these guys will be able to crank this down and enjoy walking around with full abs, hard as granite with veins everywhere at 240-260lbs. They have set themselves up and paid their dues in their 20's and 30's to do that. You guys that are 35-45 years old who want this but weigh 175-210lbs are playing catchup and are so behind the race its sad. My point of this post is to get guys in their early 20's to think, to get guys who just blew 10 years of training who are in their 30's to think, and to get guys who just blew 10-15 years of training who are in their 40's to think. Am I advising bulking up? No that was a hypothetical example. Im advising you get your freaking head on straight if you want this so bad. That means extreme food intake pronto, with the heaviest weights in good form that you can use progressively, extreme stretching and enough cardio (and bodyfat protocols) that it keeps you at a leaness your satisfied with as you get dramatically larger. This sport isnt unlike a career. You have to set yourself up early so you can be right where you want to be late. Theres alot of you guys 35-45 years old in this forum, some that I even train, that think they want it but really dont have what it takes to go get it. I see it in their workouts they send me (they take the easy comfortable road never pushing the limits) and for those that I dont train I sometimes see it in your posts---you just dont have what it takes. I can only provide a guide to get there, I cant create an inner drive for you.
You have to start thinking in terms of point B from point A. Do you really think that eating 3000 calories with 225 grams of protein and doing the Weider "confusion training principle" to keep your body offguard will somehow magically make your 175lbs into 250lbs of rock granite monstrosity? Every year of training is so damn important. If you just trained for a whole year and only gained 2lbs of muscle mass, you just pretty much wasted a productive year of training--its gone--its lost and you arent getting that year back. Three weeks ago I was contacted by someone in his early 40's who had been lifting for many years, weighed about 170lbs and showed me a picture of Geir Borgan Paulsen and said thats what he wanted to look like and can i get him there?!. Laughable. Geir Borgan Paulsen is 50 years old and looks freaking phenomenal. He is a tiny bit (and i mean every so slightly tiny bit smaller) than he was when he competed in his 30's. Instead of wasting years and years of lifting getting absolutely nowhere, Geir spent his 20's and 30's eating huge amounts of food and training with heavy heavy weights so that he could walk around all thru his 30's, 40's and now 50 years old jacked to the hilt. Not many people have a better front double biceps than Geir no matter what age they are.....here he is http://www.nutritionoutlet.nu/galler...02/borgan.html
What Im hoping to relay to you slackers and dreamers that are in this forum is that you have to put your time in and pay your dues in this sport. Your 2-3lbs gain a year arent going to get it done so unless you want to get to 55 years old and look back and think "wow besides the people I told and myself, noone even knew I was a bodybuilder and I never made it"....you better get your ass in gear and your head on right and get this done now. Gaining fat is easy but if you never lifted how long would it take for you to gain 80lbs of fat from 175 to 255lbs? Probably a year and you would have to forcefeed yourself to get there. Just think how long it takes to put on 80lbs of muscle mass which is an extremely "hard to come by" commodity. This sport is about extremes--using weights you havent used previously, taking in amounts of food to build greater muscle mass-in amounts you never have done previously, and GETTING THE CARDIO DONE to keep you at an acceptable offseason training bodyfat that keeps you happy. Get your act together and think this all out or quit your complaining and dreaming and take up tennis.

OVERANALYZING

Im seeing a repetitive phenomenon with the people I train that I want to state here. Ive trained alot of people now in the last 2 years on the net and also in person previously. I keep noticing the same things-basically on how various trainees brain's work. When people contact me for training, the guys who have a big work ethic and believe in a system of training whether its mine or westside or 5x5 or whatever, and hammer it and hammer it hard come to me as big people already. These are the bodybuilders you see out there in the street. Big guys that you know lift, there is no doubt that they are bodybuilders. On the other hand I have gotten alot of guys who have been lifting 5-10 years and you would never know they lifted even once unless they made it a point to tell you about it (and many do--LOL). And Ill tell you what the overwhelming continual trait those guys have. THEY OVERTHINK THIS, OVERANALYZE, keep second guessing themselves, follow this routine this month and that routine the next, and Flex magazine the third month. It all depends on what they happen to read that week. HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW WHAT WORKS IF YOU SWITCH IT EVERY DAMN MONTH? Ive showed TPC some of these emails in the warehouse and he didnt realize the extent of what I was telling him about. Ive had a couple guys in the last 2 months who have been lifting for 5-10 years and by their pics it would be embarrassing to tell anyone that they actually lift. Both of these guys are sending me emails talking about iso-tension at the top of bicep curls, worrying up and down about the statics, should i flex the pinky finger inward to make more of a contraction on my alternate curl, should my forearm be perpendicular to the earths axis at the bottom of the shoulder press (you get the drift). I went off on one guy and felt bad about it after but he kept saying "well how I used to do it is..." and "well Ive always done it this way" My answer was "well why do you look like shit if your old way worked so well"? Noone will ever know who these trainees are because its my business only but I want them to read this to get it clear in their heads. If you double triple or quadruple your training weights in good safe form over the next year/s or so your basically (with diet) going to be double or triple your current muscular size. If your going to sit there and overanalyze this shit like its rocket science (which it isnt I dont care what anyone tries to make it out to be) and worry about things that really arent going to add up to pounds of muscle mass, then blame yourself when you never get there. Are you going to be a happy man at 50 years old when you look back and think "Wow I screwed up, I never looked like a bodybuilder, never achieved my goals, never got dramatically bigger, and its gone now.....IM too old to make up for that lost time" because thats where alot of you are heading if you dont get your heads on straight. I blame alot of the muscle magazines for this. Alot of articles are ghost written for pros or are solo articles by people who are 165lbs who never made a huge change in their physique themselves. They try to portray lifting weights as this huge science (and they splurge up their articles with 8 vowel words and searching thru the thesaurus to find a word that makes them look extremely intelligent)--I go back to the beggining of cycles for pennies on this---The absolute strongest you can make yourself in all exercises, coupled with food intake to eat your way up to the new musculature will allow you to hold the most muscle mass on your body that your genetics predetermine. You want to worry bout something? Worry about that damn logbook. Worry about staying uninjured in your quest. Worry about not missing any meals. Worry about somehow someway making yourself the strongest bodybuilder you can become. Im not talking singles here. Im talking 9-15 reps rest paused. A brute. A behemoth. A human forklift. I guess i had to use this post to vent because TPC saw me pissed off in the warehouse today after answering emails such as "Dante should I try to isolate the upper portion of the pec muscle and hold the peak contraction and flex hard at the top of every rep for about 5 seconds?" If you have been lifting many years with no muscle mass to show the last thing you need to worry about is peak contraction--GET THE DAMN WEIGHT UP AND BEAT THE LOGBOOK WITH BIG WEIGHT JUMPS (and then Ill and you will be happy)

MISCELLANEOUS

Someone asked about DC mods here in a post last week and I thought i would add my input here. I always stay in the scheme of things but I tune things to myself.
For example: I always look for ways to make an exercise harder and safer for myself. By safer-such as back thickness movements such as deadlifts, rack deads and rack drag deads....I have gotten very strong on these and now I will only do them with overhand grips instead of an over under. I dont want to be tearing a bicep due to the very heavy weight i have to use on these and going overhand forces me to lighten up somewhat and takes alot of stress off that undergrip bicep. (Ive gone as high as 765lbs on rack deads and really felt it pull there and will never tread those dangerous waters again)
Tricep exercises: i will not do any extension movements at any less than 15rp and ill keep the range 15-30rp on those. I can get very heavy on ez bar movements and feel the potential for a muscle tear is great when you start grinding out sets like 6+3+2=11rp
Bicep exercises I always keep in the 20rp range just because i seem to respond better that way and also for the safety factor
Quads, I tell everyone to do a 4-8 backbreaker set with very heavy tonnage and then a widowmaker set of 20 reps and i do this myself but honestly at this heavy of a bodyweight, there have been times where I really thought I was going to cease living after getting off a 20 rep squat because I was breathing so hard and couldnt get enough oxygen in my lungs to sustain me. My gym is on the second floor with no open windows at all, just central air ducts---for some strange reason, its ok breathing sometimes and other times (especially in a crowded gym) your gasping for air after a heavy chest set nevermind the 20 rep squat set. I do believe the lighter guys in the 150 to 250lb range in this forum can still get away with doing things normally but the very heavy guys might be biting carpet on a hot day after a 20 rep squat. So at times Ive done it like the following--on day one i do free squats shit heavy and then the hack for my 20 repper (which leaves me breathing like a locomotive anyway) and on the other day I do the newer leg press for both my heavy and widowmaker sets and on the last leg day i do smythe squats shit heavy and then the widowmaker on the older leg press. So as you see same scheme just some tweaks i do for myself if you were curious.

DC workout schedules for various people 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I probably should of written this a while back but I see alot of people asking about it now. Schedules. Most of the people I personally train I have them on the monday wenesday friday monday scheme with bodyparts split like this
a)
Chest
Shoulders
Triceps
Back width
BAck thickness

b)
biceps
forearms
calves
hams
quads

What is important about that is there is always a day between workouts and that lends itself to all important recovery/rest. Another variation of this above that some of the really heavy trainers I train like is Tues (full workout) Thurs (full workout) Sat (half workout) Sun (other half workout)

Some of my extremely advanced trainers and some of the guys who need very short workouts I have them do the following. What I do with those people works right along the same lines as the M W F M scheme I always use--almost the same frequency with extremely short workouts. And if anyone who has been doing DC training for a long while, likes this schedule better I have no problem with them going over to it. It is Mon Tues Thurs Fri (with weekends off) or something to that effect according to their schedule and the body is split up like this:

A)
biceps
forearms
back width
back thickness

B)
Chest
Shoulders
Triceps

C)
Calves
Hams
Quads


So you see that on Friday biceps and back is hit again and then the next week workout b will be hit twice and during week 3 workout c will be hit twice. The frequency of bodyparts hit is almost like the original M W F M plan. On this split which i use with highly advanced trainees I use it to bomb their weak bodyparts (which I dont feel you can do without potentially overtraining on the MWF scheme) The downsides to this 3 way split are the obvious non day off between workouts and you have to be very very careful with order of exercises on this plan. For example I would never have you doing full range deadlifts the day after a squat day--you would be destroyed. You have to look over the whole scheme and make sure your back thickness exercise is not going to be effected by your hamstring or quad exercise. I would probably skip stiff legged deadlifts for hamstrings totally during this routine because of the heavy back thickness exercises. I would probably rotate seated standing and lying leg curls for someone doing this. Your workouts though would be 30-60 minutes tops and thats tops and your out of there. The bad points of setting it up this way is that you lose that whole day of rest between workouts and Ive seen over time that most people seem to gain a slight bit better with that full day of rest. The other bad point is although the frequency of bodyparts trained is similiar, its a bit less over time (bodyparts trained about 81 times a year in the M W F scheme and 69 times a year in the second scheme above) .........

PS: I put back/bis before chest/shoulder/tri in the rotation because alot of people get really sore in the shoulder/chest area the day after chest. This can make it very hard sometimes on back width and back thickness exercises (especially back width) and Im trying to keep injuries to a minimum. The downside to this is when leg day falls directly after chest day, you are going to have to stretch out thoroughly in the delt/chest area to get your shoulders/arms on the bar for squatting.

Without a doubt--the mon wed fri split gets people bigger faster than any other split and the 3 way mon tues thurs fri split is a step below it on that front, but I am able to get up weak bodyparts a little bit better on the 3 way split--so remember that if you are overanxious to jump to the 3 way split, your actually gaining overall muscle mass slightly faster with the mon wed fri split

(source not available anymore; originally posted by Jason Mueller athttp://intensemuscle.com/)

One must temper their newfound strength and appetite with the wisdom to apply
them properly, we’re certainly not advocating that one lift weights to the
point of injury or that an endomorph stuff themselves with everything in
sight. Both Dogg and I are major advocates of stretching prior to working
out and MORE IMPORTANTLY STRETCHING TO THE POINT OF THRESHOLDS AFTER working out. I (Meuller) even more so after having torn a triceps and having 200 cc’s of pus removed from a bicep in May of this year. At a bodyweight of over 310 lbs, I am the very definition of “muscle-bound” and find it very difficult to perform actions that most people take for granted (like tying my shoes, and I’m not joking). As such, I am routinely stretched everyweek by another trainer to try and maintain some modicum of flexibility, and stretch prior to and while working out to avoid further injuries (or exacerbate the ones I currently have). I happily take my hat off to Dogg and give credit where credit is due, the guy is an amazing trainer and showed a young and cocky
Jason Meuller what hardcore was really all about back in ’94. He believes like Jon Parillo did, that "extreme stretching" directly after a bodypart is trained is key for recuperation, recovery, and a primer for growth via fascial stretching and maybe even hyperplasia (more on that in a future article). He’s outlined a series of stretches that he finds extremely effective at both avoiding injuries and adding size during cycles. These
includes the weights he uses, which readers will obviously have to adjust (more than likely down) according to their own strength levels. Every extreme stretch is done right after that body part has been trained.

Chest

Flat bench 90lb dumbbells chest high--lungs full of air--first 10 seconds
drop down into deepest stretch and then next 50 seconds really push the
stretch (this really, really hurts) but do it faithfully and come back and
post on the AE message board in 4 weeks and tell me if your chest isn't much
fuller and rounder

Triceps

Seated on a flat bench-my back up against the barbell---75lb dumbbell in my
hand behind my head (like in an overhead dumbbell extension)--sink dumbbell
down into position for the first 10 seconds and then an agonizing 50 seconds
slightly leaning back and pushing the dumbbell down with the back of my head

Shoulders

This one is tough to describe--put barbell in squat rack shoulder
height--face away from it and reach back and grab it palms up (hands on
bottom of bar)---walk yourself outward until you are on your heels and the
stretch gets painful--then roll your shoulders downward and hold for 60
seconds

Biceps

Just like the above position but hold barbell palms down now (hands on top of
bar)--sink down in a squatting position first and if you can hack it into a
kneeling position and then if you can hack that sink your butt down--60
seconds--I cannot make it 60 seconds-- I get to about 45—it’s too painful--if
you can make it 60 seconds you are either inhuman or you need to raise the
bar up another rung

Back

Honestly for about 3 years my training partner and I would hang a 100lb
dumbbell from our waist and hung on the widest chinup bar (with wrist straps)
to see who could get closest to 3 minutes--I never made it--I think 2 minutes
27 seconds was my record--but my back width is by far my best body part--I
pull on a doorknob or stationary equipment with a rounded back now and it’s
way too hard too explain here--just try it and get your feel for it

Hamstrings

Either leg up on a high barbell holding my toe and trying to force my leg
straight with my free hand for an excruciating painful 60 seconds

Quads

Facing a barbell in a power rack about hip high --grip it and simultaneously
sink down and throw your knees under the barbell and do a sissy squat
underneath it while going up on your toes. Then straighten your arms and lean
as far back as you can---60 seconds and if this one doesn't make you hate my
guts and bring tears to your eyes nothing will---do this one faithfully and
tell me in 4 weeks if your quads don’t look a lot different than they used to Calves
My weak body part that I couldn’t get up too par until 2 years ago when I
finally thought it out and figured out how to make them grow (with only one
set twice a week too). I don’t need to stretch calves after because when I do
calves I explode on the positive and take 5 seconds to get back to full
stretch and then 15 seconds at the very bottom "one one thousand, two one
thousand, three one thousand etc" --15 seconds stretching at the bottom
thinking and trying to flex my toes toward my shin--it is absolutely
unbearable and you will most likely be shaking and want to give up at about 7
reps (I always go for 12reps with maximum weights)--do this on a hack squat
or a leg press--my calves have finally taken off due to this and caught up to
the rest of me thank God.

If you doubt the extra muscle growth possible with stretching I urge you
to research hyperplasia (and the bird wing stretching protocols) where time X
stretch X weight induced incredible hyperplasia. Our stretching is done under
much lower time periods but fascial stretching and the possibility of induced
hyperplasia cant be ignored. I’ve had too many people write me or tell me in
person that the "extreme stretching" has dramatically changed their physique
to ever doubt its virtues.

For pictures of the extreme stretches, go here: EXTREME STRETCH PICTURES