Tabla de contenidos para Aug/Sep 2016 en FLEX Australia

THE BODYBUILDING WORLD is on the edge of its proverbial seat right now, waiting to see who will be crowned champion at Sepetmber’s Mr Olympia in Las Vegas. It could be Phil Heath. It could be anyone. As you’ll see in this issue, there are plenty of massive contenders who reckon they’ve got what it takes to win. Old faces and new will be gearing up to pose down at the O, and I’m stoked to see some Aussie and Kiwi young blood in the mix. Check out our stories on Josh Lenartowicz (page 42) and Steve Orton (page 80). Obviously a strong body and a strong mind can equal big gains – both on the bodybuilding stage and in life. You’re going to find plenty of inspiration in this…

What music is on your gym playlist? I usually listen to rap and heavy metal. These two types of music hit the spot no matter what type of mood I’m feeling walking in the gym. On a regular day, when you’re not preparing for a contest, how many calories do you try to consume? My typical diet is around 4000– 5000 calories each day and I will have “high days” which can go as high as twice that. Which Olympia competitor are you most looking forward to competing against? I would say all of them, since they’re all seasoned and proven professionals. I’ve looked up to many of these champions for years, growing up reading the magazines and watching them move up through the ranks.…

What is it like guest posing alongside pros you’ll be competing against at the Olympia? It feels pretty good, actually. Sure, you get a glimpse of what everyone looks like, but it isn’t really competitive at all. There was a big group of pros onstage guest posing at May’s Pittsburgh Pro, and it really was a good experience. Favourite meal to cook for yourself? Steak and pasta. Do you think comic book artists are inspired by pro bodybuilders? I went to Marvel Comics in New York and got to speak with some of the artists. I saw something they’d drawn and said, “That looks like Lee Priest’s biceps,” and even though they didn’t have the slightest idea who Lee Priest was, I’m still convinced that without the influence of pros…

SERVES 2 Protein 61G Calories 523 Carbs 25G Fat 21G INGREDIENTS CHICKEN 2 170g skinless chicken breasts 1 tbsp extra- virgin olive oil ½ tsp cumin 2 pinches sea salt and black pepper MEXICANA MIXTURE 2 tbsp red onion, chopped ¼ cup corn kernels, drained ¼ cup black beans, drained ¼ cup yellow capsicum, chopped ¼ cup green capsicum, chopped ¼ cup red capsicum, chopped 2 tsp fresh coriander, chopped Juice from 2 limes 1 tbsp extra- virgin olive oil 2 pinches sea salt and black pepper DIRECTIONS Heat grill to medium-high. Pour olive oil on chicken. Mix cumin, salt and pepper, then rub on chicken. Cook on each side for 4–5 minutes, or until cooked through. In a mixing bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Place chicken in a serving dish…

If Phil Heath wins his sixth straight Sandow this year, he’ll tie Yates and turn the quartet of top Mr Os into a quintet. When I asked him if the kind of training that resulted in Coleman’s injuries was worth the eight Olympia titles, he said no. “I think there comes a time when 800-pound deadlifts and squats and four or five plates on bentover rows, it’s just not worth it,” Heath stated. “That kind of training was cool for Dorian too, until he tore his biceps. Staying injury-free is a big thing for me. I want to be healthy during my career and after my career.” Of course, it’s not an either-or question. Haney demonstrated a very different path to eight Sandows, just as Arnold mapped out a unique…

250,000 The average number of muscle fibres believed to comprise the biceps. TRUE & TRI’D • Universiti Malaysia Perlis researchers wanted to see if the three heads of the triceps worked as a single unit by measuring fatigue. The highest fatigue rate was observed in the long head, followed by the medial and the lateral head. The triceps do not work as a single unit, and fibre composition is different for each head. CLENCH TIME • Clenching your jaw may increase strength output. This is called “concurrent activation potentiation”. Researchers from Spain showed that a customised bite-aligning mouthpiece provoked a significant ergogenic effect on measures of maximal upper body isometric strength and lower body muscular power. STAY SINGLE • A Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research study showed that…

MAMDOUH ELSSBIAY Is bodybuilding popular in Kuwait? It wasn’t always, but now, yes, it is very popular. The fans are very supportive. Do you have a training DVD? If so, where can I buy it? I don’t have one, but I do have some training videos on YouTube, and I put a lot of short videos from my daily workouts on Instagram. How big are your legs and arms? The last time someone checked, my quads measured 35½ inches (90.1cm) and my arms were 24 inches (60.9cm). But measurements are not really important to me. It’s what they look like onstage that matters. Do you think you can beat Kai Greene and Phil Heath at this year’s Olympia? Yes, I believe I can beat them both. That’s what I’m working…

One of the most common questions I get asked is about injuries and how to avoid them when training with heavy weights. Although it is impossible to eliminate the risk of injures with resistance training, here’s what I do to try to minimise the risk of nagging or debilitating injuries. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY Everyone has heard the saying “No pain, no gain”. While this is true to some extent, there certainly is a line that you don’t want to cross. Depending on your training plan and how hard you’re pushing yourself, it can be very easy to get to a point of overtraining. Once I start warming up in the gym, my body will let me know how hard I can push it and I never go past that…

The way to build muscle is to create as much tension as possible in the target area to elicit a hypertrophic response. It’s all about recruiting as many muscle fibres as possible. If you cannot stimulate and recruit them properly, you’ll struggle to see any real growth. Many people fail to reach the above goal when training back because they often find that their secondary muscles (biceps, deltoids) fatigue before their primary muscles do. Ultimately this leads to failure before the target muscle has been broken down properly, which obviously limits your progress. The good news is that there are things you can do to immediately improve the isolation and recruitment of muscle fibres within this very important muscle group, which is actually made up of several muscles, not just…

FOR FERRIGNO, BEING A GYM MONSTER HAS BEEN A WAY OF LIFE. THESE PHOTOS CAPTURE HIM IN HIS 40S WHEN HE MADE HIS 1992–94 COMEBACK. Just as Bruce Banner mutated into the Hulk, TV’s original not-so-jolly green giant, Lou Ferrigno transformed himself into bodybuilding’s ultimate mass monster. At 195.5cm and 125kg while in his early 20s in the early ’70s, he was the hugest human to ever crunch out a most muscular. Even now, the legend – who gained 45 lean kilos in the five years that took him from high school to the Mr Olympia stage – has many lessons to teach about sizing up. To go big, let’s think small. By analysing how a single set of Lou’s monster-making workouts progressed from before the first rep to just…

He’s back. After years of flirting with the idea of a comeback, Kevin Levrone, arguably the best bodybuilder to never win a Sandow, will return to competition at the 2016 Mr Olympia (September 16–17). From 1992–2003, Levrone competed in 62 pro shows, winning 20, including two Arnold Classics. Most incredible were his 12 Olympia appearances, because he was always in the top six, including four seconds, the runner-up record for a non-winner. As he prepares for his 13th Olympia after a 13-year hiatus, can 51-year-old Levrone once again crack the top six? Twenty-four years after he first dueled Dorian Yates for the Sandow, could he actually challenge Heath? And will this be bodybuilding’s greatest comeback? THE END Levrone won only one pro show over his past five years (1999–2003), but…

61 % Percentage of Australians who are clinically overweight or obese, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. PICK PULSES TO DROP WEIGHT • Pulses (legumes harvested for the dry seed, like beans and lentils) may help cinch your waist, says a meta-analysis of clinical trials in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Subjects lost an average of three-fourths of a pound (340g) over six weeks by eating three-fourths of a cup of pulses per day, with no change to their diet or activity levels. HIGH-CARB HEART BARB High-carb shakes may damage your heart. In a study from Vanderbilt University, US, a study of 33 people found that in the six hours after drinking a 264-calorie high-carb mixture, they produced less than normal levels of…

How many hours a week do you spend managing your many enterprises? Every hour, every day, with every three hours designated to family, store, brand, businesses inside and outside of bodybuilding, 24/7. I don’t have downtime. I don’t know what I would do with downtime. I’m trying to grow a legacy – you can’t rely on a contest showing to do that. To create a legacy and brand, you need to work at it tirelessly. That goes for competing, travelling, making contacts, a nonstop hustle – and I become a stronger businessman every year because of it. What is the rebound effect that 212 guys talk about? Lots of competitors relax their diets after a show, and there’s a rebound effect when it’s very easy to put on 20 to…

HYPOTHESIS • It takes very little volume to elicit decent strength gains in novice lifters. But experienced lifters require higher volume. How much volume is optimal for experienced lifters? RESEARCH • Uni of Sydney researchers compared three different volumes of squats using experienced lifters. Group A did one set, group B did four and group C did eight. All groups used 80 percent 1RM for resistance. FINDINGS • All groups saw a significant increase compared with baseline by six weeks. The four-and eight-set groups showed a significant increase by Week 3. In the end, the eight-set group increased the most. CONCLUSION • In experienced lifters, four sets or less may not be optimal. The study notes that although there is a difference between one and even four sets, eight may…

Q I’ve dropped the processed snack foods I used to love and switched to nuts. Which ones will help me put on muscle? Nuts are a must for any guy looking to put on muscle – they have a great blend of protein, fibre and healthy fat, and provide high-quality calories that will help expand your muscles. Plus, research shows that nuts lower cholesterol levels, reduce the risk of heart disease, improved cognitive function and reduce belly fat. 1 WALNUTS High in the omega-3 fatty acid alphalinolenic acid, a 30g serving of walnuts has more omega-3s than a 115g piece of salmon. They’re a good source of antioxidants and phytonutrients, and they’re also helpful in lowering inflammation, which is key post-workout. 2 ALMONDS Gram for gram, almonds contain the most…

Decompression of L4-L5 spinal discs (December 2007), decompression of L3-L4 spinal discs (July 2011), fusion of C4-C5-C6 neck discs (December 2011), left hip replacement (July 2014), right hip replacement (August 2014), fusion of L3-L4 spinal discs (July 2015), refusion of L3-L4 discs (February 2016). With seven hospital stays since he retired, eight-time Mr Olympia Ronnie Coleman has almost as many surgeries as Sandows. What makes this especially noteworthy is that fact that Coleman isn’t just, arguably, the greatest bodybuilder of all time. He was also one of the strongest. His heaviest lifts include an 800-pound (363kg) squat and 805-pound (365kg) deadlift, both for doubles; and he toiled twice daily with only a little less weight but many more reps. How much did all that heavy metal contribute to his too-frequent…

You may have noticed that bowls are the new plates – from smoothie bowls to quinoa bowls to Buddha bowls, #bowl is having a food moment. But unlike red-velvet cupcakes and Cronuts, this is one photogenic culinary trend you want to wholeheartedly embrace. Beyond oatmeal and soup, a simple bowl can serve as a gathering place for a perfect balance of essential food groups all at once to keep you pumped up. Start with nutrient-dense whole grains and work your way up from there with muscle-making proteins, vegetables and flavourful sauces and you’ll have a recipe for a meal with a unique marriage of nutrition, flavour and texture. Plus, in a bowl everything is deliciously mixed together instead of getting pushed around on a plate like an unpopular kid at…