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.
THE RECENT AUSTRALIAN Arnold Classic and NZIFBB Pro/Am have made one thing abundantly clear – bodybuilding in Australia and NZ has never been bigger, stronger or better. We now stand proudly on the international stage; with our own local athletes competing side by side with the world’s very best. Around the world, bodybuilding has demonstrated time and again that it’s no flash-in-the-pan, CrossFit-style exercise fad. It’s a serious sport with a massive following. And, whether you’re Mr Olympia or Mr At-home Gym, major advances in our understanding of training, nutrition and supplementation mean that building greater size and strength is more attainable than ever. When it comes to the latest in training, food and supplement knowledge, we here at FLEX are definitely at the forefront. Just as a bodybuilder’s muscles…
A SHOE-IN A study conducted at the University of Central Lancashire in the UK compared the effects of squatting wearing an athletic shoe with squatting barefoot. In comparison with barefoot, wearing the athletic shoe was associated with increased squat depth, knee flexion and rectus femoris activation. STRESS RELIEF Researchers working at the Institute of Sports and Sports Science in Germany found that exercise appears to be a useful preventive strategy to buffer the effects of real-life stress on the nervous system. So don’t skip your workouts! UNLOAD IN 60 When our joints support heavy loads, the cartilage is compressed. University of Calgary, Canada, research in lab animals showed that it takes a full minute of unloading before cartilage thickness returns to normal after unloading the joint. GO MULTI Researchers from…
KEEP IT UP A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition noticed that men with diets high in flavonoids from foods like blueberries, apples and citrus – and who drank red wine – had a 14% lower risk of developing erectile dysfunction. GRAPHIC RESULTS A Boston College, US, study found that a single-number nutrition score for packaged food encouraged people to choose healthier products about 20% of the time. ENDURING FRUIT Scientists at the North Carolina Research Campus gave 20 male cyclists water, bananas or pears during a 75km ride and found that the fruit consumers had faster times (5% more for bananas, 3% for pears), plus an improved rate of recovery, more energy and better mental focus than those who just drank water. 92 Percentage of meals from…
A lot can be said about enigmatic Kevin Levrone, arguably the best bodybuilder to never win the Olympia. No one has been runner-up more than he without hoisting a Sandow. His four seconds span his pro career, from his rookie year in 1992 to his next-to-last in 2002. Along the way, he earned 20 pro titles. And that’s not even getting into his music and acting or the time, when weighing 114kg, he raced an Olympic sprinter. Then there were his stupendous triceps. The upper lateral and long heads were so enormous they gave a rare “hang” to his arms, even in his side chest pose. Yet another interesting thing about the two-time Arnold champ was how remarkably strong he was. There’s a video of him benching 225kg for a…
Have an Instagram account? Then chances are you’ve seen one of Jon Call’s (aka @jujimufu) videos. The 30-year-old produces some of the most outrageous 15-second clips on the Web. At 14 years old, Call’s introduction into fitness began with taekwondo and his first true passion: tricking – a combination of spins, jumps and flips. As far as bodybuilding goes, that started four or five years ago. Despite the absurd exercises found on his Instagram account, Call’s routine is quite simple. He trains in blocks of three to four months, splitting time between tricking and a basic bodybuilding routine. As for his nutrition, Call eats a standard bodybuilding diet but focuses on more nutritionally impactful food such as beef heart, liver, cinnamon and fresh-pressed vegetables and fruit that he drinks. It’s…
Q If the lightweight division had a ceiling of 230 or 240 pounds (104-109kg), do you think you’d eventually bump up against that, too? Moving the weight class once, as they did to 212, didn’t undermine its credibility, but continuing to move it around might. Let it remain. Two classes is a way of giving light-heavyweights a better chance to compete. Q That being said, what limit do you think would be an ideal weight for you to grow into? Maybe in the low 220s. Q How many hours of sleep do you try to get every night? On the one hand, I know eight hours is the ideal and best for your body. On the other hand, with a newborn [Adiena, now 5 months old], who is, after a…
