Tabla de contenidos para Oct/Nov 2015 en FLEX Australia

Q Everyone focuses on the top two. What do you think about the other athletes? It’s definitely not a two-man show. There are many great athletes out there. It’s my job to knock the up-and-comers down. I have to be ready to do the work, and it’s not easy because they all want to kick my ass out there. In the end, though, it’s not about beating the others. I have to respect myself, and I have to compete against myself. To win, I have to be better than Phil Heath. Q HOW MUCH LONGER DO YOU THINK YOU’LL BE COMPETING? I figured out the other day that Ronnie Coleman won his first of eight Sandows at the age of 34. I won four by 34, and I’m 35 now.…

Name: Oscar Warren Vigor City: Melbourne Age: 25 Off season weight: 85kg Competition weight: 79kg Marital status: single Occupation: Personal trainer for Iron Game Fitness at Doherty’s Gym, Brunswick; and butcher. Interests: art, music and nutrition. Began training: 2012 Training programme: chest and triceps; back and biceps; shoulders; legs and arms Currently trains at: Doherty’s Gym, Brunswick Favourite exercise: deadlift Reason for starting training: to add size. I was always a skinny kid. Role models/inspiration: Ronnie Coleman, Branch Warren, Dexter Jackson, Tony Freeman. Plans and ambitions: current plans are to continue to progress in this sport I love so much, inspire others and, in years down the road, to have some good quality experiences under my belt, maybe even a title or two. Mostly, just enjoy the journey. I would…

Doggcrapp is like “Gangnam Style” – an internet sensation that everyone has heard of but few understand. When Dante Trudel posted his philosophy to an internet discussion board in 2000, he never thought more than a few dozen meatheads would read it. That explains the moniker. It was his spur-of-the-moment screen name for what he anticipated would be a single post. But Trudel was deluged with questions, the original post grew to 118 pages and his writings were copied and pasted around the web. Doggcrapp became the most revolutionary bodybuilding system since HIT arrived more than 40 years ago. In retrospect, the name seems oddly appropriate in a punk rock sort of way because Doggcrapp is an anarchic ideology that challenges the status quo. POWER-BUILDING ATTACK “I thought about what…

OPENING ARGUMENTS Defense Free weights force you to use auxiliary muscles to stabilise the weight and control the movement. This involves greater muscle recruitment and thus better gains in size and strength. Prosecution Modern machines are more ergonomically designed, allowing natural planes of motion. In addition, more weight can be used on a well-designed machine than with free weights. EVIDENCE 1 Studies comparing barbell bench press with Smith machine bench press show greater muscle activation of shoulders using a barbell. 2 Studies show lifters can use up to 1.5 times more on plate-loaded machines than with free weights. 3 Machines are a fixed-form exercise and are limited to moving through fewer planes of motion. 4 Free weights are a free-form exercise that allow for movement in multiple planes. 5 Most…

Broccoli has long been known for being one of the most nutrient-dense vegetables. Now research published in Molecular Nutrition and Food Research shows that a specific type of broccoli, Beneforte, contains large amounts of glucoraphanin (21.6 micromoles per gram). This nutrient is particularly beneficial for helping to reduce cholesterol levels. Researchers think it does so by encouraging your body to make less LDL, the “bad” cholesterol. Other strains of broccoli are also good sources of this nutrient, containing about 6.9 micromoles per gram, as is cauliflower. Otherwise, this nutrient is difficult to come by in nature. Competitive bodybuilders often have issues with high LDL levels - or bad cholesterol ratios. FOOD OF THE MONTH BLACK COFFEE For years FLEX has recommended that bodybuilders drink plenty of black coffee every day.…

BREAKFAST 100g of slow-digesting, fibrous carbs Example Oatmeal, orange MID-MORNING SNACK 40g of slow-digesting, fibrous carbs Example Brown rice, broccoli LUNCH 60g of starchy carbs Example Baked potato PRE-WORKOUT 50g of fast-digesting, starchy carbs Example Sugar, white rice POST-WORKOUT 50g of fast-digesting carbs Example Sugar DINNER 60g of slow-digesting, fibrous carbs Example Yam, spinach BEDTIME SNACK No carbs TOTAL CARBS 360G…

This fad promised weight loss by eating as much cabbage soup as you wanted so long as you cut calories elsewhere. The downside: without protein, you’d lose muscle and fat. However, with a high-protein diet, the soup can help you shed body fat. Ingredients 1 large head of cabbage 2 large brown onions ½ bunch of celery 1 packet French onion soup mix (2 servings) 3 chicken stock cubes Directions Chop the vegetables and dump all the ingredients into a pot with 1 litre of water. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer until the vegetables soften. Use this broth as the basis for your meals. Add beef, chicken breasts or boiled eggs. Spice it up Add coriander, jalapeños, garlic, dil and other spices. You can also include other…

KEEP IT LIGHT Remember, it’s a snack, not a meal. So cap calories at about 350. UP THE PROTEIN To keep muscle growth going in full force all day long, be sure your snacks contain some quality protein. Shoot for at least 8 grams. EAT CLEAN Snacking is an opportunity to work toward your daily macros and get the right vitamins, minerals and fibre into your diet. But this will happen only if you stick to whole foods and avoid the packaged crap that dumps unwanted calories and synthetic ingredients into your gut. PLAY THE CLOCK To avoid packing on fat, most of your snacking calories should come mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Try to limit late-night snacking to only items rich in protein, such as cottage cheese.…

THE FIFTH ELEMENT What is it with German bodybuilders and fifth place at the O? In 2002, Günter Schlierkamp, who, in his previous four O appearances had never cracked the top 10, leapfrogged to fifth. In 2006, Dennis Wolf’s Olympia debut ended with a big fat DNP. But the following year, a new star was born as Wolf took fifth. Both men went from good to elite-level bodybuilders. GREATEST ARMS EVER Arms, the showstopper body part adored by all. There have certainly been some great arms raised in victory on the Olympia stage, but which pair can lay claim to being the greatest of all time? Here’s what the FLEX staff thought: 1 PHIL HEATH 2 RONNIE COLEMAN 3 ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER 4 SERGIO OLIVA 5 LARRY SCOTT 6 DEXTER JACKSON…

Q To get to the O stage, what’s more important: hard work or natural talent? It’s a double-edged sword. I know guys who are the hardest workers in the world, but they don’t have the genetics to make a go of it in bodybuilding. You’ve got to work hard, because natural talent will take you only so far. But I think genetics plays a huge role, and a person might not ultimately succeed without genetics on his or her side. What I can say for sure is that the combination of the two is lethal. Typical lunch? Chicken and quinoa. Q DO YOU SEE YOURSELF AS THE RONNIE COLEMAN OF THE 212 DIVISION? I’m relatively young, got a few years left, and there’s currently no thought of leaving. But I’m…

One hundred. It’s crazy, right? It’s the length of two Olympic pools. It’s a century. It’s enough kays per hour to earn a painful fine. In those contexts, it’s big. But in regard to reps per set, it’s huge. Dorian Yates didn’t do 100 working reps in an entire workout! You may not have ever considered cranking out a set of 100 – until now. The training style popularly known as 100s targets slow-twitch muscle fibres and permanently enhances blood flow to your muscles. In other words, it’s a unique and effective means of boosting growth. And there’s nothing crazy about that. TRIPLE DIGITS “ONE HUNDRED IS A GOOD ROUND NUMBER TO AIM FOR ON MY LIGHTEST, LONGEST SETS.”- MOE EL MOUSSAWI THE CENTURY CLUB Rory Leidelmeyer, one of the…

Q What is your strategy for building big legs? When I’m working legs, there’s pretty much no leg exercise I’m not doing. I like to train quads and hamstrings in the same workout. I try to hit one part as hard as I hit the other, because the hams matter, too – especially in side poses. And when I’m prioritising legs, I will double down on them, training them twice a week, with each session lasting at least two hours. If I can hardly walk when I’m done, I’ll do calves the following morning. I start with leg extensions as a pre-exhaust. Then hack squats, stiff-leg deadlifts, seated leg curls, lunges and sumo squats, machines and free weights, FST-7s – all of it to attack legs from every direction. HEATH’S…

OPENING ARGUMENTS Defense Use a full range of motion for maximum benefit. Prosecution A partial range of motion is just as effective. EVIDENCE 1 Researchers at the University of Southern Mississippi, US, compared full and partial ranges of motion and found that both were equally effective at increasing maximal strength. 2 Partial range of motion allows the use of more weight, which can help bust through plateaus. 3 Using a partial range of motion tempts lifters to use too much weight and bad form, increasing the risk of injury. 4 A 2012 study comparing full and partial ranges of motion showed the same increases in both size and strength for both methods. VERDICT PARTIALS HAVE GOT A BAD RAP SENTENCING No one will disagree that good form is important to…

Q I’m a hard-gainer on a high-protein diet. But I’m still not adding much muscle mass compared with my training partner. How much more protein should I eat? You didn’t tell us how much you’re consuming, so let’s say you weigh about 72 kilograms and you’re consuming at least 2 grams of protein per kilo of body weight per day. You may even be taking in considerably more protein than this. The question you really want an answer to is: what adjustments should I make to my diet to add more muscle mass? EMPHASISE THE RIGHT CARBS While you can get away with a certain amount of junk food as a hard-gainer, specific types of carbs are important for supporting insulin release at the time of day when you want…

You just finished an intense lifting session. What’s next? At this point, you have your macronutrients covered in your post-workout meal. Proteins, carbohydrates, fats are all in check. But what should you take in between your workout and your meal? With your muscles becoming insulin sensitive - and depleted of nutrients - a post-workout supplement can be crucial for full recovery. One important nutrient in need of replenishing is creatine. During a weightlifting session, your body processes all of its creatine stores in order to generate strength. After finishing up the session, your muscle activity is significantly increased, making it the optimal time for you to replenish the stores to ensure recovery. Ensuring that creatine enters the bloodstream and that the muscles maximally absorb it are both crucial for recovery.…

With big-time wins earlier this year at the Arnold Strongman Classic in the US and the World’s Strongest Man competition in Malaysia, Brian Shaw has established himself as the top strongman athlete in the world. The 33-year old Shaw, who started his strongman career in 2005, is now a two-time Arnold Classic and three-time World’s Strongest Man champion. Here, he serves up the training and nutrition programmes that have made him, well, one superstrong dude! “I LOVE HAVING MY OWN GYM. YOU HAVE THE TYPICAL PIECES OF EQUIPMENT YOU’D EXPECT, BUT WHEN YOU LOOK CLOSELY, YOU’LL SEE THEY’VE ALL BEEN MODIFIED TO MY SPECIFICATIONS.” THE KILOS. STRONGMAN CAVE If you want to be the world’s strongest man, you’re going to need a place that has a lot of weights and…

We all love those stories where the little guy topples the big fella. Unfortunately, the Davids of the Olympia stage don’t have the aid of a trusty rock and sling to level their bigger foes. From 1973 to 1975, 188cm Arnold Schwarzenegger defeated 165cm Franco Columbu. And during his reign, 180cm Lee Haney beat out 157cm Mohamed Makkawy, 165cm Lee Labrada, and 160cm Mohammed Benaziza. And who can forget 147cm Flavio Baccianini next to 196cm Lou Ferrigno? Still, two “little” dudes did have their day: Columbu in 1976 and 1981, and 167cm, 106kg Dexter Jackson in 2008. Take that, big bullies!…

1 Were you athletic growing up? I did stunt cheerleading in college, where the girls are thrown in the air. It’s very technical and athletic and involves a lot of jumping, tossing and pyramid work. 2 Are your fitness goals different now from when you first started competing? At this point in my career, there’s no pressure. I’ve done the Bikini Olympia and placed in the Bikini International. Now I can just focus on being the best I can be with no distractions. 3 What’s your favourite body part? Glutes. I do the most work on them. It doesn’t come naturally to me, so I’m definitely most proud of my bum. 4 What’s a mistaken belief people have about bikini comps? That we don’t work out really hard. Or that…

The triceps make up two-thirds of the mass of your upper arm. If the tape measure isn’t moving like you had hoped, make sure you aren’t neglecting them. The term triceps means three heads: the medial, the lateral and the long head. The long head’s origin is on the scapula, or shoulder blade. The origins of the medial and lateral heads are on the humerus. The origin of the long head allows you to stretch it by raising your arm above your head. The medial and lateral heads do not stretch as you raise your arm because they aren’t connected to the scapula. To place more emphasis on the long head, use movements with arms extended or above the head. To place more emphasis on the medial and lateral heads,…

Blueberries make lots of things taste good. Add them to yoghurt, pies or smoothies for that extra-special flavour. But blueberries can also be a bodybuilder’s best friend, especially for that crucial time after workouts. Blueberries are chock-full of anthocyanins, a powerful antioxidant that gives them their colour. Antioxidants play a key role in the recovery process by removing free radicals caused by training. Free radicals can damage cells, but research shows that blueberries are particularly adept at combatting their harmful effects. In fact, blueberries bested 25 other fruits in both absorption by the body and performance. There is one caveat: avoid adding them to your pre- or post-workout shake, because their potency declines when combined with the proteins in milk. Instead, eat blueberries by themselves, one to two hours before…

LEMON GRILLED-CHICKEN SALAD SERVES 1 INGREDIENTS Mixed greens 1 chicken breast 1 medium cucumber, sliced ½ avocado, peeled and sliced Juice of 1 lemon 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 pinch dry oregano 2 pinches sea salt Black pepper, to taste ¼ tsp minced garlic 2 tbsp kalamata olives, sliced DIRECTIONS 1 Grill chicken breast. 2 In a large salad bowl, mix greens and all remaining ingredients. Place in a serving bowl. 3 When chicken breast is cooked, place on a cutting board, slice and distribute atop the salad. Serve. CALORIES 364 PROTEIN 40 G FAT 13 G CARBS 20 G ABOUT THE CHEF A three-time bodybuilding champ, Carlo Filippone is the CEO of Elite Lifestyle Cuisine. elitelifestyle cuisine.com…

When her heart stopped, the 777 was cruising at an altitude of 30,000 feet. Three hours prior, she’d suffered severe abdominal pain. Then, when an announcement asked if there were any emergency personnel on the flight from Rio de Janeiro to Miami, it was American firefighter-paramedic Steve Kuclo who responded to assist the Brazilian woman. She seemingly recovered. But later, her husband noticed she wasn’t breathing. A worried flight attendant retrieved Kuclo again. He carried the woman to the back of the plane. There, for 40 minutes until the jet emergency-landed in Costa Rica, he did all he could with the available medical equipment to save her life. She couldn’t be revived. Death is a familiar aspect in one of Kuclo’s jobs. What made this valiant lifesaving attempt unique was…

BOUNCE BALLS Bounce creates 100 percent natural and delicious energy balls that are free of all artificial ingredients. Keep a couple in your gym bag or desk drawer and you'll always have a high-protein snack ready to go. SIMPLY 7 HUMMUS CHIPS These have 50 per cent less fat than regular chips. Made from chick pea flour, with a tasty hummus flavour, they’re wheat- and trans fat-free, and contain no artificial colours or flavours. LUCKY SMART SNAX POWER A tasty and filling mix of oven roasted peanuts, almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts and dark chocolate, a handful of these mid-afternoon will get you through to your evening workout. GRAIN WAVES These have 25 per cent less fat than regular chips. They’re also made with wholegrains – one 50g serve gives you 13…

A STRONG, SYMMETRICAL SET OF SHOULDERS play a crucial role onstage by helping to create the illusion of a smaller waist and enhance the coveted V-taper. Offstage, broad shoulders create a more commanding presence and are recruited for virtually every upper-body compound movement. Overdevelopment or underdevelopment of your deltoids is common when attention isn’t given to all three heads: anterior (front), medial (side) and posterior (rear). Aside from being a glaring flaw in your physique – it doesn’t take a bodybuilding judge to spot it – weak shoulders will hold you back from making gains in other areas, such as the bench press and other press moves. So, how can you either A) fix or B) avoid the problem of inferior deltoids? Simple. Follow this four-week program. The routine relies…

The battle for the soul of bodybuilding has raged for decades. It pits those who want to impress with aesthetics versus those who want to shock with freakishness. The conflict heated up in the ’90s when classicists like Shawn Ray and Flex Wheeler unsuccessfully battled modernist Dorian Yates. Some can combine the best of both factions: sculptor and monster. But more often bodybuilders and fans have to choose sides. Put Henri-Pierre Ano squarely on Team Aesthetics. The 2013 Canadian Nationals champ vows to maintain his slim middle and pleasing lines as he continues fleshing out his tall frame. ARTISTIC INFLUENCE Ano was rooting for Team Aesthetics before he ever hoisted a barbell. “The first time I saw a bodybuilder was the winter of 1991 or ’92 [when he was 10…