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.
HOW OFTEN DO YOU SEE blokes at the gym using lousy technique? It’s a fairly common thing, but it goes against all the rules of gym etiquette to interrupt and correct them, especially if you’re not a qualified trainer. Still, it can hurt, watching an injury waiting to happen... Bad technique doesn’t just put you at risk of muscular or skeletal damage - it also means you’re not getting the full benefit of the intended lift, and therefore you’re not going to see gains. In this issue, we show you how to brush up your technique on everyone’s favourite leg day move – the squat (Get to know squat, page 66). This isn’t a move you can judge yourself on alone, even in a gym full of mirrors, so follow…
TRACK Fitbit Charge 2 Maximise your workouts with PurePulse heart rate, multi-sport modes and Connected GPS. Track all-day activity, exercise and sleep. And make the most of your routine with Reminders to Move and relaxing guided breathing sessions. fitbit.com/au PROGRESS Beast Sensor Take the guesswork out of lifting with this sensor that tracks the velocity at which you move weight. Once you know the zone in which you’re supposed to lift, you can monitor your progress daily. Is the weight moving too slowly? Reduce the load. Is it going up like cake? You’re ready to add weight. Bye-bye, plateaus. thisisbeast.com/en GO The Fitness Show Australia’s most inspiring fitness event is back. Explore all the latest fitness and health trends, products, events and experiences including live workouts, fitness classes, seminars and…
TENDON LOVING CARE Researchers wanted to know what happens to your tendons when you suddenly stop training (for example, after injury). After reviewing the literature, they concluded that when training stops, tendons undergo metabolic and structural changes that could predispose the lifter to injury if care is not taken when training is resumed. 286 The body weight in pounds of Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay at the 2016 Mr Olympia. That’s 130kg, more than 15 kilograms heavier than bigger-than-life Phil Heath, who took the title. RESISTANCE TEST A study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology compared the effects of variable resistance (such as machine with cam) to constant resistance (such as free weights) on fatigue resistance and hypertrophy. They found that although variable-resistance machines produced improved fatigue resistance, there…
FLEX FACT CINEMATIC HERCULES STEVE REEVES INSPIRED COTTRELL TO TAKE UP BODYBUILDING AT 12. If he had quit after his rookie year, Kevin Levrone would be celebrated as one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time on the basis of two pro wins and a second in the Mr Olympia. However, what’s largely forgotten about 1992 is Levrone’s loss in his pro debut to another rookie, Porter Cottrell, who won his first two pro shows. The two were going back and forth then. Levrone won the 1991 NPC Nationals as a heavyweight while Cottrell won the light-heavy class. And a week after Cottrell beat Levrone in Chicago, the results were reversed in a New York pro show. Cottrell’s success came despite his relatively diminutive size. He weighed only 90-95kg at…
“I look at competition this way: at the beginning of class, everyone has an A. Everyone can hold onto that A by doing the work that’s required. Some people drift – maybe their grade drops to a B or a C – before they get on it, and start working to bring it back up. For me, I’m going to stay at that A level from the start and not let myself drift. I’m going to get the work done to hold on to that A.” Q Did you take a break after the Olympia? Sure did. Went to Playa del Carmen, which is near Cancún, Mexico. It was an outstanding and much-needed chance to take a break from everything – no autographs, no posing for pictures, just me and…
Q What do you think is lacking in the sport of bodybuilding today? There’s a passage of scripture in the Bible (Proverbs 22:28) that says: “Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.” We can relate this proverb to bodybuilding: the “landmarks” are the criteria the bodybuilders and founders of our sport said our physiques should look like – specifically that, first and foremost, the physique had to be pleasing, with a foundation of balance and symmetry that includes having a nice waist and shoulder taper. The problem is, we’ve come to a place where that’s no longer the criteria, and in many ways this has blown the beauty and art of bodybuilding off course. As a result, fans and other members of the bodybuilding community have cried…
