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.
There’s more than one way to skin a cat, as the saying goes. In bodybuilding, everyone has their own preferred ways of doing things, and that makes perfect sense, as every body is unique in its own way. But ultimately, it all comes down to two crucial elements - good nutrition and consistent hard training. One thing our cover man, Frank Zane, says in this issue particularly resonates with me: “One workout doesn’t lead to anything,” he says in “The Zane Way” on page 44. “It’s continuous workouts, and how that goes depends on my motivation. You’ve got to have a reason for doing any kind of hard training. That’s what it takes to get in shape.” While every workout counts, it’s your training as a whole, not just what…
HAVE ANOTHER CUP Researchers from Stanford University, US, conducted a multipart study that found that regular caffeine consumption may keep levels of a protein linked to inflammation tamped down. And don’t stress over that fifth cup of coffee, dietary guidelines say that it’s cool to get around three to five cups of coffee (or about 400 mg/d caffeine) a day and that the brew is “not associated with increased long-term health risks among healthy individuals”. BUGGED OUT Scientists at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland have developed a ground-bug meal that they found is the perfect structure and flavour for mixing into other foods to enhance protein content without adding extra fat or carbs. They derived this culinary delight by figuring out a special method to grind up the…
JUST ONCE… OR TWICE Sometimes a workout just isn’t in the cards, but as long as you get to the gym at least once or twice a week, you’ll still be able to keep yourself in the healthy lane, says a new study out of the University of Sydney. Scientists analysed data on more than 60,000 people and discovered that active adults — including those who exercised only once or twice a week — had about a 30% lower risk of death from all causes than adults who pretty much never got off their arses. GET FIT FAST Exercise scientists at McMaster University in Canada put the stairs to the test to find out how much work you need to put into climbing them to get a good health benefit.…
Q I am a uni student with a schedule that allows me to get to the gym up to five days per week. However, I know that more is not always better and that training needs to be balanced with rest, or else growth will not occur. What kind of body-part split would you recommend for me? You are absolutely right when you say that more is not always better and mention the need for ample rest. What I will suggest in your case is something I call a rotating split. During Week 1 you will train five days per week; during Week 2 you will hit the weights four days per week; and in Week 3 you will work out only three days. Then, after Week 3 is complete,…
Moe Elmoussawi liked high reps — did he ever! For a while he cranked out 1000 per body part in sets of 50 to 100. The routine below was the one he used before placing ninth in the 2008 Olympia — his career high point — and it’s a little less of an endurance test (he alternated it with a moderate-volume workout). Still, its tally of 625 reps is about four times what most bodybuilders do in a biceps routine. The mega reps didn’t transform all of the 175cm Lebanese-native into a Goliath, but his arms were two of the best in every contest he entered, including the 2008 and 2009 Olympias. Though he cracked the top 10 in both of those appearances, ahead of several legends, he never won…
Q WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE FUTURE OF THE SPORT OF BODYBUILDING? If you listened to what David Pecker said at the last Olympia, he was stressing that everyone who has an interest in the sport needs to stop being so negative. Stop the hate that comes after someone wins. That negativity is dragging us all down. Everyone who competes and wins should be exalted. Everyone likes to say that bodybuilding is dying. It’s growing! It’s growing in so many ways! Be positive about that fact. This is all David Pecker’s way of saying “I’m all in — show the world that you like this sport. Don’t let the internet drag us down.” Q DO YOU HANG OUT WITH OR TRAIN WITH OTHER PROS MORE WHEN YOU TRAVEL FOR…
