FLEX is Australia’s and the world’s leading hardcore bodybuilding magazine. It delivers cutting edge information on diet, nutrition and muscle growth that will help you grow stronger faster. For those who are serious about their bodies.
I was recently asked by a reader of FLEX’s brother publication, Muscle & Fitness, about winter training. Since it’s a season-appropriate subject, I thought I’d share my tips here. I trained through many a cold Austrian winter when temperatures would routinely drop to zero and below. I can remember workouts during which my hands actually froze to the bar and I had to rip them off! The main thing that I learned to make those workouts as productive and safe as possible was to take more time to warm up. Start your session with several layers of clothes on, and do what is today called a “dynamic warm-up”. This means calisthenics like jumping jacks and other body-weight movements that take your muscles through a full range of motion. The goal…
Q I’ve been killing it in the gym, but the gains are virtually non-existent. What am I doing wrong? Sometimes we push our muscles so hard that we don’t give our bodies the necessary downtime to repair and regrow. Competitors do it, too. Guys will prep for a show by hitting the same body part over and over without giving the muscle a chance to fully rebound. So the “push the weights up, push the weights up, push the weights up” method isn’t alwaysthe solution. Strength will come in time. The younger guys are hungry and want to build it all at once, but it really does take time – years, not weeks or months – for the muscles to come out fully and their details to mature. There is…
By its name you might think three-time Olympia 212 Showdown winner Flex Lewis’ Flextreme BullyCamp is a service that teaches adolescent punks and hooligans tolerance through hours of non-stop walking lunges. But, of course, if you thought that you’d be barking up the wrong tree. The BullyCamp is actually where Lewis breeds and sells American Bullies, a compact and muscular dog breed that is commonly referred to as the bodybuilder of the canine world. “It has been a low-profile business for a time now,” he says. “Some people associate a negative connotation with the breed… but these dogs are obedient, great companions, gentle with children and eager to please.” Head to flextremebullycamp.com for more info.…
Q HELP! MY BACK LAGS BEHIND MY CHEST AND ARMS, BUT I DON’T WANT TO LAY OFF CHEST AND ARMS ENTIRELY TO BRING MY BACK UP. It’s easy to create balance even if you suffer from lagging body parts. For a lot of guys, back workouts are not given the attention they deserve. But the bodybuilders who make an impression have more than big chests and thick arms – they have well-built backs. Intensity obviously is something many of us top pros discuss. Don’t underestimate the power of your mind to grow muscles. You need to learn how your body responds – to different exercises, to free weights versus machines – so you can establish a stronger mind-to-muscle connection. Feeling each rep rather than slinging weights is super important. Now,…
Q MY ARMS ARE GOOD, BUT I WANT TRICEPS THAT POP. CAN YOU GIVE ME SOME GUIDANCE ON BUILDING MY TRIS? I understand what you’re referring to. My arms were always pretty developed. Before I started training, playing basketball was a great workout for my biceps and triceps. But there were athletes like (former NBA player) Dan Majerle, who had impressive arms, and that motivated me to spend time on my triceps and biceps. I probably favoured triceps exercises because those muscles were useful in basketball. Later on, it was (pro bodybuilder) Kevin Levrone’s triceps that impressed me. It’s important to always keep changing up your training approach to every body part – the exercises, the angles and the variety of movements. Periodisation is important; train using higher reps one…
HIT happens. For the past four decades, high-intensity training – popularly known as HIT – has been bodybuilding’s revolutionary philosophy. Countering both the prominent crank-up-the-volume ethos as well as the stimulate-don’t-annihilate school of moderation, HIT calls for maximum intensity with minimum sets. This has never been the dominant workout strategy. In fact, in its purest form it has been scorned, despite the phenomenal success of devoted HIT-man and six-time Mr Olympia Dorian Yates. That said, its lasting impact on how most bodybuilders train and recuperate has been great. In the first of a three-part series, we’ll explore HIT’s origins, its basic principles, and why turning up the intensity and down the volume may be a revolution worth joining. KEEPING UP WITH JONES Journey back to 1971 when reigning Mr Olympia,…
