Tabla de contenidos para Jun/Jul 2016 en FLEX Australia

There were actually three comebacks. The first was his reappearance on a stage in Columbus – site of his greatest bodybuilding victories – six years after he last posed there. The second was his return to any competition after forgoing last year’s Mr Olympia. The third was his overcoming a three-point prejudging deficit to Cedric McMillan to secure his third Arnold Classic title. Kai Greene made all three comebacks on March 5. But they were only part of the story of the 28th Arnold Classic and what it portends for the rest of 2016 and beyond. In the aftermath, we’ve got questions, and we’ve got answers. Did aesthetics lose to freakiness? Before we get to the duel between Cedric McMillan and Kai Greene, let’s travel back in time to the…

WITH ITS SECOND YEAR, the Arnold Classic Australia has grown to become Australia’s biggest multi-sport festival. Held once again at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, this year the event attracted 60,000 visitors and showcased more than 30 different sports. We saw an enormous number of pro athletes and fitness models make the trip to the event from overseas and within Australia, with some competing at the event and others working at their sponsor’s booth greeting fans. A man of his word, Mr Arnold Schwarzenegger, who’s known for his famous line “I’ll be back”, made several appearances at the expo, visiting a whole heap of booths and attending sporting events such as the karate, Rubik’s cube, chess, kettlebell sport, darts, powerlifting and the professional strongman to name a few. The…

“THE SIMPLE TRUTH IS THAT I LOVE THE FEELING OF GOING ALL OUT TO TEST MY LIMITS OF MENTAL AND PHYSICAL STRENGTH.” Dorian Yates LESS IS MORE The weeks decrease in conjunction with the reps, because the heavier you go, the less time your body can handle such an extreme overload without risking injury and stagnation. STAGE II: WEEKS 6–8 3x3 Choose a weight you can handle for three sets of 3 reps with three-minute rest periods between sets. The goal is to increase the amount of weight you use over three weeks. *Lying, seated or standing † Or power rows…

Salad. The word itself connotes health. After all, how can you go wrong with a dish dominated by vegies? But for protein-obsessed musclemen, the overabundance of vegies can be a problem. While a daily bowlful will go a long way in keeping your body full of powerful phytochemicals like flavonoids and lycopene, salads are not normally something that will help you pack on noticeable mass or tame a lion-size appetite. That is, unless you look at a salad as a blank canvas in which you can incorporate any number of bodybuilding power foods so it becomes hearty enough to be the star of the show, not just a feeble side dish. Think of it as a way to assemble all the necessary components to build muscle, fend off disease and…

MAKE A CONNECTION “A lot of guys have a hard time getting a strong connection on back. There are certain things you can do to help that, like leading with the elbows. I may be doing heavy rows, but I’m still contracting my back muscles hard because of that strong mind-muscle connection. I’m not just throwing the weight around.” EXPLODE FOR GROWTH “Even though I’m focused on muscle contractions, I still prefer explosive movements. I’m not big on slow reps or anything like that. It’s kind of that Ronnie Coleman mentality – go in there and battle the weights.” STICK WITH NO-NONSENSE MOVES “I don’t get too cute or creative. It isn’t a back workout if it doesn’t have deadlifts, pull-ups and bentover rows in it.” FOCUS ON WIDTH AND…

IT’S NOT AS EASY TO GET AHOLD OF PHIL HEATH AS IT USED TO BE. For years after he won the 2005 USA, his most pressing obligation on a typical day was another round of Guitar Hero. But that was before he’d won one Sandow, let alone five, before he was president of Gifted Nutrition, before the continuous travel, the barrage of endorsements and obligations and conference calls. Now he has to wedge the time in, sometimes while driving to the gym, sometimes just after a meal and just before another call on another matter. After some catching up, our conversation segues to the Denver Broncos, reigning Super Bowl champions and the Gift’s home team. They need to re-sign key free agents, but players want to cash in once they…

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…

OPENING ARGUMENTS Before the advent of machines, wide-grip pull-ups were the exercise of choice to build broad, flaring lats. But they are hard to do for most. With lat pulldowns, resistance can be accommodated to allow for proper execution. DEFENSE Lat pulldowns put you in a fixed position, allowing more focus on the lats and control over the amount of resistance you want to use. PROSECUTION Pull-ups have been considered a traditional width-builder, especially when executed with added weight. EVIDENCE A study at James Cook University, Qld, compared lat pulldowns with pull-ups using the same grip and hand position. Both exercises effectively activated the lats. Pull-ups produced greater activation of the biceps and spinal erectors. VERDICT TIE The data shows that there was no difference in activation of the lats…

MAINTAIN THE MIND-TO-MUSCLE CONNECTION. SQUEEZE THE MUSCLE ON EVERY REP. We all have stubborn muscle groups, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do things to bring them up. I’ve studied and analysed this for more than 20 years with a broad range of athletes, and I’m going to share my four key points to attack weaker muscle groups. But first, the three major reasons for stubborn muscles. GENETICS Some body parts will be weaker than others, which comes down to the muscle fibre populations within that specific area. The fullness of the muscle bellies will differ here as well. BIOMECHANICS This is related to genetics but focuses mainly on your individual leverage points at certain joints and how this contributes towards your biomechanical advantages and disadvantages. This has a major…

Even Arnold applauded. The ovation was thunderous when Hide Yamagishi was announced the winner. Partly, this was because of his perseverance. This was his 44th contest in a 12-year pro career, but only his third victory, and he reached this professional peak at 42. Partly, it was a tribute to his balanced physique and dramatic posing, the qualities Arnold himself champions. Like a wily samurai, Yamagishi bested defending champ Jose Raymond and the always dangerous David Henry to establish himself as the third Arnold Classic 212 champ. Here are six questions we had regarding the contest and what it portends for the upcoming Olympia 212 Showdown. How did the scoring of the posing round affect the results? At Arnold’s behest, posing routines were scored at this year’s contest. This may…

This is the good stuff. These are the things that they do that you probably don’t do. We’ve assembled the 40 most unique training tips from 40 pro bodybuilders, champs who span more than a half-century, from first Mr Olympia Larry Scott to fast-rising current superstars like Justin Compton. Though rarely performed or discussed, these exercises, techniques and set-rep schemes helped grow a tremendous amount of contest-winning muscle, and they can be incorporated into your program to generate similar gains. There’s no need to hack into any networks. We’ve got the secrets. 1 FLYES WITH A TWIST “The purpose of dumbbell flyes is to fully stretch and contract the pecs, so I try to maximise this by twisting the dumbbells through each rep. In the top position, the dumbbells are…

STAGE III: WEEKS 9–10 2x2 Choose a weight you can handle for two sets of 2 reps with three-minute rest periods between sets. The goal is to increase the amount of weight you can use over two weeks. *Lying, seated or standing † Or power rows LEE HANEY “KEEP TO BASIC, FREE-WEIGHT, COMPOUND EXERCISES, PYRAMIDING THE WEIGHT TO VERY HEAVY SETS OF LOW REPS TO FAILURE.” DAVID HENRY “I’M NOT GOING TO BE TAKEN DOWN BY AN INANIMATE OBJECT. I’M GOING TO MOVE IT FOR MORE REPS THAN EVER BEFORE. ” RONNIE COLEMAN “EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE A BODYBUILDER, BUT NOBODY WANTS TO LIFT NO HEAVY-ARSE WEIGHTS.”…

NZIFBB President Moe El Moussawi has pulled off yet another fantastic event. The NZIFBB Pro/Am is New Zealand’s most anticipated bodybuilding event of the year and this was the first ever international event to take place in New Zealand. The inaugural international event took place at the Victory Convention Centre in Auckland on Saturday, March 12. It’s the first competition of the year on the NZIFBB annual show calendar and what a fantastic way to kick start the year it was. Athletes from five different countries were in attendance. Top IFBB pro athletes and upcoming amateurs graced the stage, making a total of 146 tanned and conditioned competitors. Amateur categories included Bodybuilding, Men’s Physique, Women’s Physique, Classic Bodybuilding, Figure and Bikini, with the pro competitors representing Men’s 212, Figure and…

HYPOTHESIS The “sticking point” is the spot at which the weight feels the heaviest before a full range of movement has been achieved. It is also where you are most likely to reach momentary muscular failure. RESEARCH Researchers at State University of New York, US, determined that a more useful and applicable understanding of the sticking point requires a multifactorial approach and a case-by-case prescription to address it. FINDINGS Sticking points are caused by the length-force relationship of muscles, speed of contraction, the elastic energy of the tissue dissipated in the stretch-shortening cycle and changes in biomechanical leverage. CONCLUSION The sticking point has several contributing factors that interact in different ways. Strategies to overcome sticking points should be specific to the lifter’s abilities as well as the exercise. APPLICATION Isolation…

OPENING ARGUMENTS Bodybuilders customarily train with “split” routines. Split refers to dividing body parts into muscle groups to be trained on separate days. This is in contrast with full-body routines which, as the name implies, dictate that all muscle groups be trained together during the same workout. Defense Split routines produce good gains in size and are used by nearly all competitive bodybuilders. They allow for adequate volume to be used as well as adequate recovery time to avoid overtraining. Prosecution Full-body routines allow greater frequency of training each muscle group for more growth stimulus. Volume can be adjusted to match the same total volume per week as with a split routine. EVIDENCE An eight-week study compared the effects of training muscle groups one day per week using a split-body…

THE ARNOLD AUSTRALIA competition is developing a reputation for bringing out the best of the best in the IFBB, and this year was no exception. With the introduction of the Fitness division in it’s first year, the event featured reigning Ms Fitness Olympia champion Oksana Grishina, as well as all category defending Arnold Classic Champions from the US including Kai Greene, Latorya Watts and India Paulino. For the first time ever the Men’s Pro Bodybuilding division was split into a two-day event, with prejudging on Friday night and finals on Saturday night. The Bikini and Figure prejudging took place during the daytime on Friday, with finals at night. The Fitness division shared the same set-up but was exclusively held on Saturday. A rematch from the Arnold Classic in Columbus, the…

Most of us care how strong we are because let’s face it, we like to show off a little. But truth be told, our ultimate goals involve putting kilos on our body rather than putting kilos on the barbells we lift. Still, increasing strength should be a priority, as being stronger can lead to bigger muscles. Enter our Pure Power Program. 225%: THE MAGIC NUMBER This is a 10-week linear periodisation program guaranteed to make you stronger. At the end of the 10 weeks, expect a 225% increase in strength. That’s a 25% strength gain over nine exercises for a 225% overall strength increase. The numbers in each of the three stages represent: Number of sets performed Number of reps completed on each set Number of weeks trained with that…

“I LEARNED HOW TO EAT PROPERLY AND GET IN AND OUT OF THE GYM.” “There is more to my story – it’s more of a journey for me,” insisted IFBB physique pro Chase Savoie. It was mid-February, a few months out from stepping onstage for his first contest of 2016, and Savoie was wondering just how to tell his life’s tale to this FLEX reporter. How do you turn 25 years of triumphs, struggles and the small yet measurable day-to-day minutiae that goes into his quest to reach his ever-greater goals into a mere question-and-answer session? The facts are one thing – born in Los Angeles, US on July 8, 1990. Played football and did athletics in high school. Absorbed a devastating blow when his beloved father battled serious illness.…

BARBELL BENTOVER ROW (OVERHAND) Start Hold a barbell with a shoulder-width grip and your knees slightly bent. Bend at your waist until your torso is between parallel and 45 degrees with the floor. Execution Contract your back muscles to pull the bar up to your navel. Squeeze at the top. Morel Says “Keep your back arched. You don’t want to round your lower back – you’ll end up getting hurt. Make sure your lower back is flat with a slight, natural arch in it.” WHAT’S THE MOST DEMANDING MUSCLE GROUP TO TRAIN? We can all probably agree that it’s legs. How about the second most demanding muscle group to work? That’s up for debate. Some may say delts, others abs. IFBB pro Juan “Diesel” Morel says it’s back, hands down.…