Mr. America’s
Shape-Up Series
By
John Heart
1
Get Lean First!
Eat More, Train Less, and
Get LEAN!
Size Matters!
Breaking All The Rules!
Peaking!
2
***The Mr. America’s Shape-Up Series is a year-long program designed by
John Heart. It is intended to show how John designs his annual program in
order to achieve peak condition with maximum muscle mass. It is a
requirement that any individual undertaking such practices have a full
physical exam and consult with their personal physician prior to attempting
such a program.***
Copyright Gen3Inc. 2013 All rights reserved.
Jesus is Lord
3
Contents
Get Lean First!
6
Eat More, Train Less, and Get LEAN!
24
Size Matters!
41
Breaking All The Rules!
63
Peaking!
83
4
A note from John
Friends,
It is my honor to share with you the exact routines and dietary practices that
I have come to rely on as a result of these last 30 years of competitive
bodybuilding and training hundreds of clients. In this series I am joining you
step by step with my own journal entries and pictures.
I want to be clear that I am a Natural Bodybuilder. In 2013 I was blessed and
honored to have achieved a lifelong vision of winning the Mr. America title
along with a Pro card in the WNBF (World Natural Bodybuilding
Federation). This became possible when the title and show was brought out
of retirement as well as it being run for the first time as a drug-tested event!
The Mr. America Shape-Up Series that I use throughout the year is exactly
that….the program that I use.
These are the same techniques and thought processes that I use on my
clientele that hire me to get them in their best shape possible. The principles
that took me to the Mr. America stage are the same that I use to get anyone
in their BEST shape possible.
I challenge you to be a thinker when it comes to your training and dietary
practices. Regardless of what I or anybody else would have you do, you
remain the captain of your own ship and must make your own decisions on
what course to take.
I pray that you benefit from reading my program.
Sincerely,
John Heart
5
Get Lean First!
6
Where does the Get Lean First program fit in?
Get Lean First is the first program I use in the Mr. America Shape Up series,
which is designed to bring a peak in conditioning along with maximum
muscle mass. Reducing body fat levels to extremely low levels at the
beginning of the program will serve 3 main purposes;
1.) Being extra lean allows you to see your muscles clearly. As you
train your muscles, you will be able to see them transform as
they pump up. This is extremely motivating.
2.) The metabolism becomes very efficient at everything.
3.) There will never be any doubt as to whether or not your routine
and diet is paying off as you can see clearly & get very accurate
measurements when there is only skin, muscle and bone (with
very little surface fat) between the tape! Adjustments to your
routine can be made much quicker as you will have quick
answers to the question of ‘Are you reaping what you've sown
into your body?'
Advice from Zabo
For nearly a decade I was one of the personal trainers at world famous
World Gym in Venice. During that time, I was on the receiving end of
thousands of stories and pieces of advice from many of the old-time
bodybuilders that have been training for more than 50 years. These weren't
just the gym rats of the past half century, but rather, they were the Mr.
Californias, the Mr. Americas, and the Mr. Universes of their time. Guys
like Eddie Giuliani, Jim Morris, Zabo Koszewski, Dennis Tinerino, Tom
Platz, Samir Bannout, Robby Robinson, Joe Gold, Ali Malla, and a
multitude of others, are some of the men who have shared their personal
training insights and advice with me. I call many of these men ‘friend' after
so many years of seeing them day in and day out.
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For those of you who don't know who Zabo is, I'm going to tell you now;
Zabo was a fixture at World Gym. He was a personal friend of Joe Gold's for
decades. He broke ground in 1964 with Joe Gold when they both dug out the
foundation of the first Golds Gym in Venice. He was one of the premiere
bodybuilders of the 50's, 60's, and early 70's! He was well known for both
his phenomenal conditioning as well as his abdominal development.
On one particular day, I had been feeling quite good about my condition. It
was two months after winning the 2001Tall Class Natural Mr. Universe and
I had a photo shoot scheduled with Max Muscle Magazine the upcoming
weekend. Zabo was working the front desk at the gym that day and a friend
had dropped by who asked to see my condition, so I obliged by taking my
shirt off and hitting a few poses right there in the large office. Zabo peeked
from behind his newspaper and simply says, "I'd drop 10 lbs. and start
training from there." START TRAINING FROM THERE!?!?!?! He must
have been seeing a mirage or something, right? I was in great shape, or so I
thought. I took his comment with a nervous laugh and tried to ignore it until
the week was over, but even while shooting the magazine
cover and having a beautiful girl hanging all over me, it stayed in the
forefront of my mind.
It was a week before I ran across Zabo at work behind the newspaper again
and I took full advantage of his 50+ years in the gym and on the stage. I
grilled him for all the information I could get. He was in a rare mood and felt
like talking, so he imparted his bodybuilding wisdom upon me;
---He trained most of the year at a bodyweight which was 10 lbs. below his
competition weight.
---He had fun with his training and trained hard in the off-season, but it was
that concentrated training along with dietary regularity, which would cause
him to gain muscle as he hit his precontest mode (which was only about 6
weeks long).
---As he would gain the 10 lbs. his skin would literally become tighter on his
body. His skin was fully adjusted to his "10 lbs. below" mass and had not
fully adjusted to the new contest mass, so it would initially be tighter on his
body than, say, 4 weeks after the contest.
---By practicing this type of cycle his skin never really had to deal with a
bulking phase and retained a youthful, tight appearance well into his fifties.
---His unemotional advice for me was to do the same and I've done it
annually since 2001. The results are awesome.
8
Squatting Away!
How to Get Lean First
I believe Zabo's practices had one slight flaw. He would simply eat less food
and eat less frequently in his off-season. This, in my mind, is unacceptable
as it spells L-O-S-E M-U-S-C-L-E. I am totally against giving up muscle
that you've worked hard to build. If anything, it makes sense to stay extra
lean and train hard all year to gain just muscle. When a contest or allimportant event is drawing near it becomes obvious how much harder you
9
begin to train. Each workout has such enormous value and meaning that
motivation is at a peak, which will drive the intensity of those workouts even
higher than you thought you were capable of. Every change in the muscle is
quickly evident with such low body fat and that also drives you to go for
more!
This is how to Get Lean First!;
-Correctly assess how much body fat must be lost in order to
achieve an extra-lean state.
-Calculate daily maintenance caloric needs.
-Adjust those calories down to the lowest tolerable levels.
-Add one extra-high calorie meal per week.
-Determine how long it will take to reach that extra-lean state.
-Training will be brief, intense, and infrequently performed.
-Additional activities or "cardio" is unnecessary.
1.) Correctly assessing how much body fat to lose
In order to correctly assess the number of pounds of body fat that you would
need to lose, it would mean that you would have had to be in great shape at
one time or another and then you should add a certain number of pounds to
that former body weight in order to account for any muscle that you've
added since such a time.
The following example represents such a case;
Tom had been training for 5 years, weighed 185 lbs. @ 6'2" tall with
defined abdominals and a slight role of fat/skin around his belly button. It
had been two years since he had been in this condition (highly defined with
long, swimmer looking muscles) and had grown steadily stronger over that
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time period on a brief, intense three day per week training program. He is
noticeably bigger in his clothing and currently weighs 210 lbs. with a larger
role of fat around the entire midsection. His abdominals are somewhat
visible but hidden for the most part.
Tom never took steroids. His strength and size gains would indicate
that some good muscle had been created.
Most natural bodybuilders/trainees that have trained for more than a
few years can gain anywhere from 2-10 lbs. of pure muscle in the course of
a year. If we say that Tom has had good strength/size gains, but not great,
then we have to go with a conservative gain of 5 lbs. per year for a total of
10 lbs. of muscle gained. Add the numbers up;
185---starting weight
+10---2-year muscle gain
195---approximate lean weight
At a current body weight of 210 lbs. and an approximate lean body
weight of 195, Tom should correctly assess that he would need to lose 15
lbs.
of body fat in order to achieve a similar highly defined state as two years
previous.
***This example illustrates the kind of thinking that it takes to estimate
what one would weigh in great shape. Even if the individual took a good
guess, it could always be adjusted "on the fly" as the personal goals are
reached sooner/later than expected.
2.) Calculate Daily Caloric Maintenance
The best way of doing this is to write everything down that you eat and drink
in the course of one full week. Get a good nutrition book that contains the
calorie, protein, carbohydrate, and fat contents of the foods you eat and
simply record the meals you ate, when you ate them, and the amounts of
each food eaten. Once you have these numbers, simply add them up, divide
by seven and you have your average daily consumption of calories. If you
haven't gained or lost any weight over the course of those seven days, then
that number represents your Daily Caloric Maintenance.
11
Now do the math over the course of the week. Your numbers may look
something like this;
Day
# of calories eaten
1
2255
2
2575
3
2315
4
3010
5
2725
6
2900
7
2455
Total----------18235
Divide by 7--Daily Avg----2605
This Daily Caloric Maintenance number of calories is important as it offers a
starting point from which you can deduct calories to start starving the fat
cells. The high intensity workouts will send a strong signal to your body that
it must retain and even gain muscle if possible while using its stores of body
fat to make up for the deficit you created by deducting calories from your
Daily Caloric Maintenance.
The amount of time that a person's body will continue to give up calories
from stored body fat before adjusting metabolically (slowing down) varies
from one person to the next, and this is where the balancing act begins (more
on that later).
3.) Adjust the calories down to the lowest possible level
Over the course of the last 30 years of training myself and hundreds of
clients, I have tried and prescribed many different diets and caloric schemes
in order to lose maximum body fat while retaining/gaining muscle mass.
God gave humans the awesome ability to survive under many conditions.
The human metabolism functions primarily for survival with little concern
for the aesthetics of a pleasing physique with lots of muscle and low body
fat. In recognition of this fact, it becomes important to stay one step ahead of
12
the metabolic changes that can be incurred by prolonged dieting. Short term
changes barely ring your "metabolic bell", but if you go too long on a
particular low-calorie plan without making proper adjustments
along the way, WATCH OUT! Five alarm bells go off internally and the
battle to retain every available calorie for survival begins…….you've hit a
plateau and have even begun to gain body fat on the restricted diet plan that
saw you peeling pounds of fat off just weeks earlier.
With an eye on the finished product, I boldly drop my clients’ and my initial
average Daily Caloric Maintenance to the lowest healthy level possible
during the Get Lean First Program. The lowest that a small female
should ever go is 900 per day, with a small male hitting 1200. Add 100 extra
calories per day for medium and another 100 for large framed male &
females, respectively. In the example offered in the previous section on how
to calculate Daily Caloric Maintenance the average daily balance came out
to 2605 calories per day. Let's assume this is a male.
His Daily Caloric Maintenance is 2605
Subtract…………………………-1405
Starting reduced calories
1200
At a deficit of 1405 calories per day this male will burn 9835 calories per
week. There's 3500 calories in one pure pound of human body fat;
Total calories burned per week….9835
Divide by………………………..3500
Total lbs. of fat loss per week…… 2.81
X4
Fat loss per month………………11.24 lbs.
It is very important that a proper, healthy ratio of calories between
carbohydrates: protein: fats are maintained even while reducing calories to a
low level. At this point in the year, a ratio of 60:25:15 will get the job done.
Ideally, each meal should contain this ratio of the macronutrients (with the
exception of the last meal-see tip #2 below).
On a 1200 calorie diet, that would break down to;
720 calories from carbohydrate = 180 grams carbohydrate
300 calories from protein = 75 grams protein
180 calories from fats = 20 grams fat
13
Tip #1: It would be easy for me to leave it at that and let you eat any
kind of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. The fact of the matter is that I eat
high quality foods as often as I can. I avoid most high sugar sources of
carbohydrates (with the exception of the time period immediately following
my workouts), I eat grass-fed beef, hormone free chicken, High Omega-3
eggs, organic fruits/vegetables, gluten-free bread, healthy oils, and even
grass-fed butter. It's better for your health and helps your body function at its
highest levels.
Tip #2: Drop all forms of carbohydrates at the last meal of the day
and have a large amount of fibrous vegetables instead. This is a great habit
to keep when dropping body fat. The lower blood sugar levels combined
with the high fiber content of the meal will allow you to wake up each day
looking leaner and leaner.
4.) Add one extra-high calorie meal each week
Adding a planned extra-high calorie meal just once each week is one way in
which we can convince the metabolism to keep on functioning at a fast pace
and continue to give up body fat for energy. When you've gone for seven
straight days consuming low calories and losing fat fast, the body may be on
the verge of reconsidering the great idea of using stored body fat for fuel.
The only way to keep the metabolism firing on all cylinders is to give it a
little more to work with, which will signal a "feast" phase as opposed to the
"famine" it was about to perceive. I have not done double-blind placebo
studies on how many days are best before upping the calories, but have
simply used the old bodybuilder technique of a "cheat meal" once per week
with great results.
Once the metabolism is allowed an extra-high calorie meal, it seems to be
satisfied that emergency measures need not be taken at this time.
How many extra calories should be consumed?
More than you think.
I advise my clients to eat all their regular meals throughout their day and
their extra-high calorie meal at dinner.
Why do I do this?
Because eating that huge meal early in the day will make them feel full all
day long. They won't feel like eating much of anything else. The total
14
number of calories consumed really won't get high enough that way, so I
save it for dinner.
I usually don't count these calories with myself or with my clients. I simply
tell them to do the opposite of what they had been doing up till that point;
---Eat a high carbohydrate, high fat, high sodium, low protein meal
---This usually translates into Italian-American food with all the
cheese, pasta, bread, and dessert they wish to have!
The practice of consuming an extra-high calorie meal is continued
throughout this entire program.
5.) Determine how long it will take to reach an extra-lean state
There are several different types of metabolic fluctuations (which I will go
into in the upcoming months) that can happen as you lose fat and retain/gain
muscle. Determining how long it will take to achieve the desired condition at
the end of the Get Lean First Program is an approximation at best.
Generally speaking, the rate at which one can expect to lose stored body fat
will vary from 2-4 lbs. for men and 1-2 lbs. for women each week. Once you
have correctly assessed how much body fat you need to lose, it is only a
matter of mathematics to arrive at a length of time. In our example of Tom
in section 1, we calculated that he would burn approximately 10.44 lbs. of
stored body fat per month, with 15 total lbs. of fat to burn;
Total lbs. of fat to lose…………………….. 15
Divide by approximate lbs. lost per month... 10.44
Total months to get extra-lean…………… 1.44
It should take Tom approximately one and a half months, 6 weeks, to reach
an extra-lean condition.
After assessing how much body fat you need to lose, you can simply
approximate how many pounds of body fat you would lose each month as
we did for Tom and divide that number into your total assessed number of
15
pounds that you need to lose to arrive at how many months it should take to
get extra-lean.
6.) Training will be brief, intense, and infrequent
The weight training routines that are performed during this phase are very
short, very intense, and done only once every 4th day or longer if more rest is
needed or a scheduling conflict arises.
Repetition speed on most exercises is done with a base cadence of 4-0-2 that
is a 4 second eccentric; 0 second static (actually more like ½
second), and 2 second concentric contractions. I say a "base cadence"
because this is one of the variables that I may change every few workouts
just as occasional forced reps, negatives, rest/pause, omnicontraction,
infitonic, pre-exhaust, and static hold techniques are used. In any given
workout, I might choose to perform 5-1-5, 10-0-10, 10-0-5, 4-2-2, or even 42-4 cadences. The base cadence mentioned is the absolute fastest cadence
used during all major exercise
16
High intensity techniques as mentioned in the previous paragraph are added
only when you are well rested and highly motivated. Otherwise, train only to
concentric failure.
Each workout is timed from the start of the very first working set
performed after warming up. Warming up can take as little as 5 minutes or
as long as 20 minutes. This is one of those variables that must be determined
by the individual. Warming up is done only to get warm and feel ready to
train at full throttle. Warm up as needed.
I use the following routine;
Workout #1-Chest & Back
1 Day off
Workout #2-Legs & Abdominals
1 Day off
Workout #3-Shoulders & Arms
2 Days off
Repeat the entire cycle
A yearly appointment book is used in order to record the workouts on their
proper dates, have easy access to previous workout stats, and have room to
write any notes in between each workout date if necessary.
The following is my favorite way to design the workout for maximum
efficiency and intensity;
Chest & Back
DB Bench Press
Incline Bench Press
T-Bar Row
Jesus Christ Lifts (others call ‘em Deadlifts)
Legs & Abs
Real barbell Squats!
Reverse Hypers
17
Standing Calf Raise
Reverse Crunch on incline
Supersetted with Crunches
Shoulders & Arms
Seated Barbell Press
Rear Delt Raises (again on a machine)
Bicep Curl
Undergrip Chins
Barbell Pullover/Presses
Rope Overhead Tricep Extensions
***There are literally hundreds of sources online that describe each exercise
efficiently and with accuracy. Look for one that includes video examples of
each exercise.
7.) Additional activities or "cardio" is unnecessary
Performing additional cardiovascular work in an attempt to burn off more
body fat is not recommended. The absolute best scenario at the conclusion of
the Get Lean First program would be that you will have actually added new
muscle to your frame while losing body fat. The minimum acceptable result
is that you will have lost pure body fat, but retained all of your existing
muscle mass from the beginning of the program. Adding "cardio" will send
mixed signals to your body. Performing repetitive and lengthy periods of
low intensity aerobic work will send the signal to
your body that it should shape itself in the form of a long distance
runner…skinny and soft, with very little muscle mass! This is the opposite
thing to do when maximum muscle mass is desired with extra-low body fat
levels.
Training hard and progressively (adding weight and/or repetitions with the
same weight) each workout will send signals of GROW!!! My calories are
low, but I need all the muscle I can have in order to survive!!!
The end result will look much better than if cardio had been added on top of
everything else.
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HERE IS MY OWN JOURNAL ENTRY AT THE END OF
THE GET LEAN FIRST PROGRAM;
On Diet:
I began the Get Lean First Program with an estimated 12 lbs. of body fat to
lose. Although my extremities were very lean, a slight amount of fat
surrounded my mid-section. The top two rows of my abdominals could be
seen when flexed, but fat covered the lower abs and obliques.
Mathematically, this didn't seem like much of a big deal, but then again, it
had been a full year since I had been on a serious calorie restricted diet.
My starting numbers looked like this;
My Daily Maintenance Calories
Lowest Caloric intake per day
Net Loss per day
Estimated time to lose 12 lbs. body fat
2700
1700
1000
42 days
On Training:
Although I began the program training my entire body over 7 days, it
became obvious that I needed more days off in between workouts when I
had to train again and I was nowhere near ready. Just two days before this
leg workout was due, my nervous system was still feeling the effects of the
previous workout and so I made the decision to go to two days off between
workouts. Immediately I felt better and my workout intensity shot up!
The leg workout entry looked like this;
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Full Barbell Squat 315 X 12 non-stop reps
Leg Curl
140 X 12 + 1 forced
Standing Calf
600 X 10
402
402
412
Seated Calf
120 X 8 + 2 forced
412
Length of workout
28 minutes (rather long, deconditioned, and
training with a partner)
On Energy and Food:
Energy levels are fine. The habit of eating certain larger amounts on the
other hand, is being broken right now!!! I am taming my flesh with the most
unemotional attitude towards food; last night while I waited for my last
client of the day, it was cold in the gym, I was underdressed (t-shirt and
shorts), and those all-natural cookies at the juice bar were looking great. It
took 2 seconds for me to recognize the desire of my flesh and how much
better I would look today after eating just my own prepared foods. That's all
it took, then I let it go.
My food today looked like this (carbs were a little low);
6am
2 Whole Eggs
1 c. cooked Brown Rice
Green Tea w/ 1 tbsp. Raw Honey
140
320
70
8:30am
2 scoops Whey
Pineapple
1 tbsp. Udo's 3-6-9 Oil
140
90
125
11:30am
4 oz. Chicken Breast
2 Slice Bread
½ tbsp. Mayo
Green Tea (Plain)
100
160
55
0
20
3:00pm
1 oz. Almonds
1 med Apple
160
85
6:30pm
4 oz. Chicken Breast
Asparagus
Total Calories
100
50
1595
On how I look
---These are completely unscripted photos. In all photos I have no pump
whatsoever and am totally cold with absolutely no color. As you can see, in
the first photo I was pretty bulky.
---Overall, I'm pleased with the result at the end of GLF. I am keeping in
mind, as you should with yourself, that this is not the finished product but a
crucial step on the year long plan. Keep training intensely and head into the
2nd part of this series entitled "Eat More, Train Less, and Get Lean!"
Start of GLF
21
Finish of GLF program 7 weeks later
***Next up… "Eat More, Train Less, and Get Lean!"***
22
23
24
Shape Up
With
Mr. America
Eat more, Train less, and Get
LEAN!
25
“For everything there is a season…”
Before getting into the specifics of this next phase of the Shape-Up Series
it’s very important to understand why I restrict myself and my clients from
continually attempting to burn off body fat. By “continually” I mean
anything more than 6- 9 straight months of focusing on getting leaner. Why
is this a problem? The human metabolism is an amazing creation by God
which is designed to save an organism’s life…period. In order to be able to
get the metabolism to work with our goals of being super lean while
gaining/retaining as much muscle mass as possible, it must be understood
that there is a survival mechanism which we all have been given which will
detect when your body fat has been tapped over and over again. At some
point (depending on several factors like the individual’s recent eating
history, genetics, and whether or not the individual is weight training) the
body will resist all attempts to burn off any more stored body fat
REGARDLESS OF HOW MUCH IS LEFT.
That’s right. It doesn’t matter how over-fat you are when you start to get
lean. Whether you’re 20 pounds over-fat or 200 pounds over-fat, your body
will accept the order to burn stored body fat for only so long before it detects
that your survival is more important than continuing on that path. At that
point the metabolism potentially slows to a crawl and dropping even a
fraction of a pound of body fat becomes very challenging…no matter how
hard you diet and/or increase cardiovascular exercise.
It’s strictly my own observation that the maximum time period that most
individuals can tap their body fat stores without bad consequences is roughly
6-9 months. This doesn’t sound like much, and most of us know plenty of
individuals who seemed to be on a diet for 2 years and still hit their goals. In
fact, most of them hit many speed bumps along the way and did have to
back off slightly (whether they recognize/admit it or not) before taking
another run at the fat loss. Life happened for them at some point. Family
obligations, job, health challenges, and the simple desire to be normal for a
little while contribute greatly to many people backing off in their training
and eating programs for anywhere from a few weeks to several months. This
is actually helpful in preventing all those survival mechanism alarms inside
the body from going off. Letting the body know that it’s not constantly
living in a ‘wilderness/survival’ situation, and that it occasionally gets to
spend time in an ‘oasis’ where there is an abundance of food available and
eaten regularly throughout the day keeps it revving high and able to tap its
26
fat stores easily if another ‘wilderness’ is encountered in the months that
follow.
This is why I keep my clients, as well myself, to some form of an annual
cycle of attempting to get as lean as possible, accepting those results,
backing off for a period of time to finish the year, then taking another run at
it the following year before cycling down once again. It doesn’t have to be
an entire year (and certainly should NOT be if you are fairly lean already)
but can be 2 or more mini cycles within a year.
Go through these cycles often enough and you’ll find yourself living pretty
lean all the time!
A vision manifest!
27
Eat More, Train Less, and Get LEAN!
The Get Lean First! (GLF) program addressed the essential formulas that are
needed to calculate such things as your Daily Caloric Maintenance along
with the ways they can be manipulated in order to first achieve your leanest
possible state before training and eating to gain lean mass throughout the
following year. Eat More, Train Less, and Get LEAN! specifically deals
with training and dietary manipulations that will add several quality pounds
to a physique in the upcoming months.
Adjustment #1 is the adjustment to the training wherein it becomes
important to make changes that respect the fact that the body is getting
stronger and is able to generate a higher level of intensity, which will create
greater inroads into recovery ability. This all necessitates less total volume
of work...NOT MORE!
Adjustment #2 is the dietary adjustment that must be made to accommodate
the growth of the new muscle tissue that the body will want to develop in
response to those intense training sessions.
Bonus information offered—the specific supplements I incorporate at this
time of year!
Triceps Pressdowns are considered an Isolation Exercise
28
Adjustment #1—Lower the Volume
In GLF I chose and recommended a three way split which looked like this;
Workout #1
Chest & Back
1 day off
Workout #2
Legs & Abs
1 day off
Workout #3
Shoulders & Arms
2 days off
Repeat cycle
***Two or more rest days (with each passing month one extra rest day
should be added and/or dropping some isolation exercises in the supersetted
combos) were taken in between each workout and high intensity techniques
were used only when well rested and highly motivated, otherwise concentric
failure would at least be attained.
***If you choose to skip the GLF eating plan due to being very lean already,
then the three way split is the routine to start off with and train on for as long
as you see the numbers climbing in your training log. Once it gets to the
point where things start to slow down a bit, then it’s time to shift to the next
routine I am about to outline.
After training on that three way split for anywhere from two to ten cycles,
most trainees will have noticed the slowdown in progression which will
signal the need for change. Along the way, the isolation exercises should
have been dropped more and more frequently and extra rest days added so
that the overall routine should have been self-adjusting and headed towards a
shortened version of itself with more like two or three days off between
workouts.
29
It then becomes more important to focus on the big compound movements
such as the Squats, Jesus Christ Lifts, Incline Presses, etc. The energy used
while on the GLF program came mainly from stored body fat. After a while
on that lower calorie diet, the body has no idea that we’re planning on giving
it more food in the near future. All it knows is that if it keeps going at this
rate, then its very existence may be threatened. After the fat stores start to
diminish, it starts to cannibalize all other expendable tissue before things get
out of hand. The next tissue in line to be sacrificed after stored body fat is
MUSCLE. Long before the body starts to metabolize muscle tissue for
energy we’re going to give it more than enough reasons to hold onto that
muscle and create new layers in response to the intense training placed upon
it while supplying the material needed for building that tissue.
By focusing mainly on the compound movements as energy becomes scarce,
larger masses of muscle will be stimulated to grow and therefore the
metabolism will remain in high gear. Your muscle basically IS your
metabolism. People with more muscle can eat far more calories than those
with little muscle and still remain very lean as the muscles, which are
responsible for moving your body around and successfully accomplishing all
the tasks you would demand of it, burn up huge numbers of calories.
The new routine will look something like this;
Workout “A”
Squats
Reverse Hypers
Incline Bench Press or DB Bench Press
Chin Ups or Pulldown (with Palms Up, or Curl-Grip)
Rest 2-4 days
Workout “B”
Jesus Christ Lifts
Pullover/Presses
Donkey Calf Raises
Abdominal Crunches
Rest 2-4 days then repeat the cycle
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At first this may seem like a very simple and even easy program, but it’s far
from that when performed correctly. Here are some of the rules of this
routine….
1.) Warm up thoroughly on each main exercise to be used that day before
going “all out”…..which is to say training to at least concentric
failure. In workout “A” for example, doing progressively heavier
warm-ups of all three exercises back to back without racing through it
for 1 to 3 cycles (depends on climate and personal comfortability with
feeling ready to go.)
2.) After warm-ups, the workouts will be timed with a stopwatch. Record
it in your log and each time that specific workout is performed in the
future, you will know how long it should take without allowing the
intensity to drop significantly. The pace in between exercises is rather
quick, as the next exercise should be performed at full intensity once
the heart rate begins to drop from the previous one, not when one is
fully recovered and rested. If you’re in reasonable shape and workout
“A” or “B” took longer than 20 minutes, then you took too long.
3.) I say the routine looks “something like this” because you may have to
choose different exercises based on your body’s structure. Use
compound movements that stress the related muscle mass. Check the
myriad websites that provide exercises videos for alternatives.
4.) Train to concentric, or positive, failure, wherein you cannot
accomplish another perfect rep no matter how much effort you put
out. Use Fractional Plates or Platemates to add weight to the bar
regularly in increments smaller than even the common 2.5lb plates in
most gyms. Add more if possible, but make sure perfect form is
maintained!
5.) Initially start with taking 2 or 3 days’ rest between the A and B
workouts. As the weeks go by, keep a careful eye on the numbers in
your log and as soon as the repetitions achieved or weight used slows
down, add an extra rest day. Continue this pattern.
Adjustment #2---Eat more
In the Get Lean First Program a formula was given for calculating an
individual’s Daily Caloric Maintenance levels. It looked like this;
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I call them Jesus Christ Lifts!!!
1.) Calculate and add up 7 days’ worth of calories ingested
2.) Divide by 7
3.) If bodyweight remained the same by the 7th day, that number
represents the individual’s Daily Caloric Maintenance
The next step in the GLF was to reduce the calories ingested each day to the
lowest tolerable levels. This really makes the body chew up some fat stores
for quite some time as long as the other tips that were suggested are
followed.
Now it becomes necessary to immediately shift gears and start to build the
metabolism back up by increasing calories. Psychologically, this part only
sounds good to my clients as they sometimes get caught up in the belief that
eating any more than they are at the end of the GLF will make them get fat.
In fact, getting fat is quite hard to do for most people, as they have to overeat
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by huge quantities of food for long periods of time in order to store up
enough calories to reach the same level of fat that they once had. They think
they’re gaining fat when it’s actually a combination of several things.
How so you ask?
The following example involves one of my long-term clients who recently
went on vacation in Mexico for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays;
Mark----Height--6’1”
Weight (before the vacation)---230 lbs.
Weight (2 weeks later)----------242 lbs.
Net gain--------------------------- 12 lbs.
Mark left in reasonable condition. He has an extremely large amount of
muscle mass with some noticeable body fat when the shirt is off, but he
really looks super muscular while training. He is a classic mesomorph.
When he returned, he used the words “fat”, “pig”, “obese”, and “sloth” so
many times to describe himself and his eating orgies that I finally had to shut
him down by taking out the notebook and showing him how utterly
ridiculous it was for him to assume that the 12 lbs. was all accumulated fat.
Here are some of the calculations that he saw that day;
1 lb. of human fat contains 3500 calories
12 lbs. contains 42000 calories!!!
***He would have had to overeat by THAT many calories in order for all of
it to have been body fat***
His normal Daily Caloric Maintenance was 3600 calories per day prior to
leaving for Mexico. When I asked him to give me an idea of how far off the
deep end he went each day we conservatively estimated that he ate about
2000 calories per day over and above what he normally needed.
2000 calories per day X 14 days = 28000 calories
28000 calories divided by 3500 (# calories in 1 lb.) = 8 lbs. of fat
Mark ingested enough calories to account for the accumulation of 8 full
pounds of new body fat. It truly would have been an 8 pound body fat gain
IF his body absorbed every single one of those calories, but we were about
to find out how it didn’t…
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Mark was only a little relieved knowing that he didn’t cause 12 pounds of
fatty damage. I quickly explained how there were still several pounds sitting
in his gut in the form of solid waste. Each day that passed would see him
lose bodyweight with each trip to the bathroom. There also was a significant
amount of accumulated water weight attached to his body, which became
obvious when pressure was applied to the skin of his lower leg and an
imprint remained for several seconds afterward. He had a good case of
edema, or water retention, and gravity dragged a lot of that water to his
lower extremities. Simply drinking a lot of water and keeping sodium levels
from going too high would also reduce the edema.
Based on the fact that Mark’s metabolism was running at peak efficiency
prior to his vacation, and that he was practically a fat burning machine for at
least a year with all that muscle on his body, I estimated that he probably
only gained 4 full pounds of fat with the remainder being waste and water. I
had him go on 3000 calories per day (600 below maintenance), increased his
water intake up to a one and a half gallons and had him add some psyllium
husk powder 3X per day.
The reduced calories would see him lose fat at the following rate;
Deficit of 600 per day X 6 days = 3600
Every 6 days he would lose about 1 lb. of body fat
4 lbs. to lose X 6 days per lb. = 24 days
Even though we estimated 24 days as being the longest that it should take
him to lose the added body fat, he actually lost 8 pounds in the first week.
The edema and waste in his intestines left immediately along with a little
body fat and the rest came off as expected by the 20th day! His metabolism
was so efficient from the work we had already done throughout the year that
it stepped up right away and got the job done faster than calculated.
Increasing Daily Calories by 200 each week
If you’ve done the GLF program, your body has been casting off all
expendable tissue, mainly fat, as it had no other choice with the reduced
calorie diet it was forced to live on. At this point, the muscles will do well
with a few additional calories and the new muscle that has been created will
require extra calories in order to survive. Annually, I consider late
November through January 1st to be deep off season diet and training as the
34
holidays are upon me (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s) so if there is
any time of year that I’m going to allow a little looseness in the diet, it will
be then as family and friends usually spend time and money preparing lots of
food in expectation that I am going to eat, so I do it with no guilt.
***If I didn’t need to do the GLF program and were already extra lean, then
I bypass the GLF program and go straight to the following dietary
adjustments***
Adjustment #2 is the beginning of a nice caloric increase that will help put
your body into a highly anabolic state. High intensity weight training
sessions are being conducted, so new muscle tissue is in demand. Since
caloric intake has been on the low end, a corresponding increase will assist
in producing the new muscle. This is not to say that a huge amount of extra
food is necessary, as the metabolism has been trained via the GLF program
or simply by extra lean trainees eating their Daily Caloric Maintenance.
Whatever the amount of calories has been over the last few months,
bodyweight will be somewhat stable at this point, which indicates that the
caloric intake is enough to maintain current bodyweight. (If the GLF was
followed, the program should have been followed until weight loss will have
slowed down significantly.)
I choose to add in 200 extra calories above the daily average at this point
simply because those muscles are like sponges and they will soak up those
calories with some good water and immediately grow and/or get harder.
Depending on the individual’s metabolic rate and how diligent they were up
till this point will determine exactly how their body reacts to the additional
calories. I’ve seen myself and others actually CONTINUE to lose fat even
with the increase in calories. Even though we knew that the increase in
calories should have slowed it down or even stopped that from happening, it
acted more like kindling on a fire that was about to go out…………the
kindling (200 extra calories) just ignited the fire (the metabolism) to such a
level that it simply tore through all the extra food we would give it for a time
until larger amounts were added.
***The 200 calories are added in a “Front-loaded” manner. That is, start
with adding the 200 at breakfast only with the remainder of the day’s food
staying the same as before. As each week passes, the additional calories
added are always added to the first few meals of the day while maintaining
the corresponding percentages of carbs-60/protein-25/fats-15***
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Yes, this requires some homework to be done by the individual. Meal
planning while using a good food counting book or website will assist in
knowing exactly where the calories and macronutrients stand.
2013 Overall Mr. America
MY PERSONAL JOURNAL ENTRIES AS I COMPLETED THE Eat
More, Train Less and Get LEAN! PORTION OF THE SERIES;
On Training:
Long before the end of the GLF program I was ready for the A/B Routine
described in this book. Most of the clients I train, as well as most trainees,
would do well on the three-way split described in the GLF. In fact, they
enjoy many months of uninterrupted progress before any changes are
necessary. This was the case for me as well when I tracked my progress in
the training journal. It worked so well and for so long that I was completely
resistant to downscaling as I knew I should do in order to get even bigger. It
seemed that with my every annual attempt to go back to the three-way split
in GLF it would take even less time before I would be forced to go to this
A/B Routine. This makes complete sense, as I am able to generate so much
more intensity as each year goes by. The higher intensity creates a much
36
greater inroad into my recovery, which means I must downscale the number
of exercises performed each month to allow the growth of new muscle to be
realized.
As each year has passed, I spend less time doing isolation exercises and
focus more on the compound ones in order to get the biggest bang for my
effort and get out of the gym as soon as possible so I can start growing.
I favor compound exercise routines that are intense and very brief, wherein I
time the workout from the first working set (after all necessary warm-ups) to
the end of the last one. I chose to split the exercises EXACTLY as described
in the 1st adjustment with two different workouts, each performed once every
3rd day.
Here’s an example of one of my “A” workouts:
***20 minutes warming up with progressively heavier sets of each exercise
done in the same sequence as the actual workout***
Full Barbell Squats—335lbs X 15 reps
Reverse Hypers—220 X 12 reps X 2 sets
Incline Bench Press—225 X 8 + 2 rest/pause
UnderGrip Pulldown—230 X 8 + 2 rest/pause
I only took enough rest between each exercise to allow my heart rate to drop
slightly before jammin’ on the next exercise. Since these are all big
compound movements, my heart rate got quite high and I was gasping for air
by the end of the last exercise. Progress on this routine as well as the “B”
routine has continued steadily for the entire length of Eat More, Train Less
and Get LEAN!
On Diet:
Increasing my calories at regular intervals has felt really great. For the first
two weeks after the end of the GLF, I did increase my calories by 200 each
week and actually seemed to get even lighter (I don’t weigh myself during
that entire GLF process…my own personal preference) and more drawn.
This continued until I had added a total of 600 calories above the amount I
ate in the GLF. At that point it became obvious that I started to grow. This
confirms what happens occasionally when a person goes on a low calorie
37
diet but gets off of it before the metabolism has shut itself down. The high
calorie meal that I recommended and did from the GLF worked perfectly to
keep my metabolism burning at a high rate.
The steady increase each week had me back up to an average of 3100
calories in no time (actually 6 weeks.)
Bonus Diet Info: The Supplements I Use
At the end of the GLF, I took a few extra days off, ate a pizza and some
cheesecake then got right back on the eating plan with the additional 200
calories. I also add the following supplements:
**A Preworkout Drink –rather than name certain companies, I’ll just say
that there are more than a few reputable companies out there that have been
around for years and put out good Preworkout powders
**Creatine Monohydrate—Loaded for 7 days at 25gr per day, then took 5gr
per day maintenance…just plain old Creatine Monohydrate
**BCAA’s—Drink immediately after training or sipped near the end of a
workout…adds rebuilding material immediately for recovery
**A good multi-vitamin/mineral, Glucosamine Sulfate/Chondroitin 1500mg
per day.
**Whey Protein (Concentrate, or in combination with Casein) as a snack
**100% Whey Isolate---For immediately after workouts
On How I Look:
At 3100 calories my skin has gotten tighter around my midsection as well as
the rest of my body since the end of the GLF. I am noticeably bigger,
especially in the thighs and torso. My bigger body parts seem to take the
biggest hit as I lose weight, but they also blast up the most on the way back
up. As the weeks have passed my muscles are obviously filling up and
growing.
38
Start of Eat More, Train Less and Get LEAN!
6 weeks later
Up next is Size Matters! Part 3 in the Mr. America Shape-Up Series!
39
Moments after winning Mr. America
40
Mr. America’s
Shape-Up
Series
Size Matters!
41
If you choose to use…
The workouts and eating programs/adjustments that I present in “Mr.
America’s Shape-Up Series” is again, what I do with my clients as well as
myself. If the reader chooses to use any of these tools in their own program
it’s essential to have a qualified trainer make any and all adjustments for the
individual. Experienced professionals can easily identify when
changes/alterations need to be made to a program.
Later in this book you’ll read how I tailor a popular routine for my needs.
Humans all react to various stresses in similar ways, but it’s the rate at which
we react that can vary. As an example, if we were all to walk barefoot for a
given time, we would all develop callouses on the soles of our feet. Some
would develop callouses faster than others, but we’d all grow callouses. The
same holds true for how we react to proper weight training and developing
muscle. Any and all adjustments or tailoring of a particular routine for a
person will depend on their injury/medical history, time allowed for
workouts, likes and dislikes where foods and exercises are concerned.
Remember, that even the most dedicated individual will always find
something else to do if they just don’t find some kind of enjoyment in their
activity and lifestyle!
A Quick Review
In the course of “Mr. America’s Shape-Up Series” the initial phase of the
program focused on obtaining the leanest condition possible BEFORE
starting a mass-gaining cycle. The Get Lean First! program may last
anywhere from 1-6 months depending upon how much body fat needs to be
shed. The 2nd book offered, Eat More, Train Less, and Get LEAN! involves
the beginning phase of a mass-gaining cycle that might last 6-8 weeks. That
cycle begins by taking a few days off and letting the diet go a little loose to
refresh the body and mind. This next cycle will also begin with a full week
off of training. Since the calories are already at a nice level at the end of Eat
More, Train Less, and Get LEAN! it is unnecessary to loosen the diet for
that week of rest before moving to the next stage.
Size Matters! will also last 6-8 weeks with slightly higher calories and a new
routine.
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Why you want more muscle…even if you’re a girl!
In this five part “Shape Up with Mr. America Series” we’ve gone through
two stages so far; Get Lean First! , then Eat More, Train Less and Get
LEAN! The GLF focused on dietary strategies designed to strip off excess
body fat to the lowest levels very fast while training to at least maintain
existing muscle mass. In “Eat More…” there were changes made to the
training and diet that slowed the overall weight loss and started to increase
existing amounts of muscle.
One fact about our bodies is that once it has grown enough muscle to handle
its daily activities, including workouts, it has no reason or motivation to
create more than that. Higher intensity levels and more intense muscular
contractions are required for that muscle to grow. The gyms are full of
trainees who faithfully show up weekly and earnestly attempt to lift more
weight than in previous workouts. Now lifting heavier weights than
previously attempted is one way of raising the intensity on muscle, which
will make it grow. It’s just not the ONLY way of raising intensity levels, and
beginner/intermediate trainees usually increase the weight by too much. This
will cause a sacrifice in form which opens up the possibility of injury.
In Size Matters! We are going to specifically focus on what is needed to
stimulate muscle growth. Yes, I said it…growth. Others have tried to soften
that word in an attempt to market themselves and their products. Words like
“tone”, “tighten”, “firm”, “harden”, “lengthen” are used to describe gaining
muscle…especially when they are addressing women. Anything but the
word “growth” is used. Why? Women are convinced that they will look like
a man if they trained to increase their muscle mass. Many have attempted to
use weights WITHOUT decreasing their body fat levels and noticed that
they got bigger or a little bulkier. This is to be expected if body fat is not
decreased. Equal amounts of fat and muscle do NOT take up the same
amount of space. One pound of human body fat takes up over three times the
space as one pound of muscle. The public has heard and repeated sayings
like “Muscle weighs more than fat”, but the fact is that one pound of
anything still weighs one pound. A pound of feathers weighs as much as a
pound of steel. The feathers will take up a larger area, or volume, than the
steel even though they weigh the same. This is true for human body fat vs.
human muscle as well. A pound of the fat will still weigh the same as a
pound of the muscle. The fat will take up several times more space though!
Dropping a pound of fat and replacing it with new muscle results in the
person shrinking, plain and simple.
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Muscle does only 3 things;
1.) It grows
2.) It shrinks
3.) It remains the same
It does not do anything other than the 3 things mentioned above, and it does
these things in response to the stress placed upon it. The amount of muscle
that you possess on your body is a direct reflection of how much, and the
kind of work you most recently told it to do.
--Run several marathons recently and you’ll start to look like a marathon
runner with low body fat, but also next to zero muscle…it’s just excess
baggage on those runs and your body doesn’t want it hanging around
unnecessarily.
My wife’s shoulders & arms
--Lift heavy weights for relatively few repetitions once every few days and
your muscles will start to get harder and larger.
Of the 3 things that muscle does, remaining the same is the most difficult.
Here’s why; in order for that muscle to remain exactly the same, the
individual would have to perform the same amount of work each day with
the same amount of weight moved…no more, no less. They also would have
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to eat precisely the same amount of food each day…no more, no less. When
we’re talking about a machine as dynamic as the human body and combine
that with varying habits of individuals, remaining exactly the same would
appear next to impossible. On any given day your muscle can be in the
process of fluctuating slightly up or down depending on the situational needs
and food/water/rest/sunlight given to that body.
Carolina…there’s nothing manly about her!
Training to gain new muscle should be the focus of any individual as this
will serve to increase the speed of their metabolism, give further stability to
each joint in the body, and finally have them looking pretty good! The shape
of each individual’s muscles are simply gifted by God and maximizing those
muscular curves looks great on both men and women IF THEY ARE
TRAINING NATURALLY without the use of anabolic steroids or other
growth promoting drugs. Altering hormonal levels will alter the look and the
end result.
I say everything in the previous paragraph as a statement of fact. I don’t
judge those who choose to use growth enhancing drugs, and I have many
friends who do, but the result still looks different than their natural
counterparts
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Credit to Mike Mentzer
Mike Mentzer was a Mr. America and Mr. Universe who became even more
famous for his Heavy Duty™ system of training. Mike trained me on it in
the 1990’s and I have used many of its core principles on my clients as well
as myself to this day.
Mike taught me how to use his Ideal Routine (see www.mikementzer.com)
for maximum progress in my physique as well as for others. It’s been
documented many times over how much I enjoy his Ideal Routine. At this
time of year, I do use a routine similar to his IR with regards to
organizational format (again, see his website for the actual routine since this
is NOT the IR exactly).
Here’s what I do;
#1
Chest & Back
#2
Legs & Abs
#3
Shoulders & Arms
#4
Legs
***I start with 4 days off between workouts, then add rest days whenever
necessary as intensity drives upward and the weeks pass***
Two points worth mentioning here is that;
1.) If upper body musculature is lacking in certain areas, those workouts
are repeated in successive cycles several different times
2.) The repetition range varies slightly for different exercises on the same
body part
To be clear on point #1; if I need to add more mass to my shoulders/arms
(which I have needed at times) then I will bypass the chest/back workout
occasionally on its specified day and repeat my shoulder/arm workout
instead, which DOES include some chest/back work anyway. The way I
46
look at the #1 and #3 workouts is more like an “upper body” workout while
#2 and #4 are “lower body” workouts. It’s just that I like to emphasize
different parts of that upper or lower body at different times based on need
of development.
In point #2; the repetitions for the exercises for each body part (when doing
more than one in a given workout) will vary slightly. As an example, if I
were to do a Triceps workout using Pullover/Presses and Triceps Cable
Pressdowns, the Pullover/Presses would be performed for 5-9 repetitions
while the Pressdowns would land more in the 8-12 range. Generally, the
compound moves are done for lower reps while the isolation ones (that use
primarily one joint for movement) are done in a slightly higher range.
My choice of exercises and order of performance follows;
Chest/Back
Low Incline Barbell Press 8-12 reps
Dips 6-10 Negatives
Undergrip Pulldown 8-12
Undergrip Barbell Row 10-15
JC Lifts (Deadlift) 8-12
Legs & Abs
Squats 8-12
Reverse Hypers 12-20
Donkey Calf Raise 12-20
Towel Crunches 20-30
Shoulders/Arms
Seated Barbell Presses 8-12
Rear Delt Machine 10-15
Preacher Curl Machine 8-12
Triceps Press down 8-12
Pullover/Press 5-9
Legs
Front Squats 10-15
Hack Squat 15-25
Iso Leg Curl 10-15
Seated Calf 15-25
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At 19 after training exclusively with Heavy Duty™
Number of Sets
High volume training (3-5 sets per exercise or more) never worked well for
me. The fact is that I’ve always been a low set individual. I started training
on Mike Mentzer’s original Heavy Duty™ courses (which involved 1-2 sets
per exercise) for the first few years and I made great progress.
I’ve always seen training as a big long term experiment. Within it I would
want to make as few errors as possible in order to get the results desired. We
don’t know exactly how many sets of any exercise will grow bigger muscles
best so it becomes an experiment. One set was the logical place to start, so
Heavy Duty™ was my training program for the first few years.
I took a short time period after that to experiment with doing 2-4 sets per
exercise and found that I never would go with 4 sets but rather defaulted
almost every time on 2 or 3 sets per exercise. This much work proved costly
in the way of my recovery from my own workouts as I had gotten pretty
48
strong. At the time, Mike and his newer version of Heavy Duty™ were
becoming popular and caught my attention once again as an answer. I took
several weeks off then started once again on his routines, which were based
on 1 set training per exercise. Once again, there was an immediate
progression in my physique.
I bring all of this up to say that in a perfect world one set of any exercise
should get the job done. I am not a masochist and take no pleasure or wear a
badge of courage for having tried to outdo others with marathon weight
training routines. Marathon weight training routines, to me, are more like
actual marathons in running…simply exhausting and resembling an
endurance activity, which I don’t want to do.
After years of training and using low set workouts as my base, I’m pretty
sure that neurologically I can recruit quite a large number of fibers during a
high intensity set of any given exercise. Again, in a perfect world that would
be enough, but since we live in an imperfect world there are times wherein I
may go and hit a second set of something if the first didn’t get the job done.
This decision is usually made based on my somehow “missing it” during a
given exercise, usually one that didn’t feel right for my body at the time I
used it.
I train a lot of my clients on 2 set per exercise routines and that’s due to
most of them being practical beginners that don’t know how to make an
exercise harder rather than easier. If some of them remain on my schedule
long term I do move them to 1 set per exercise, which they love.
How Intense?
Years ago, I pretty much would have bombed and blitzed my way
throughout the entire year, cycling high intensity techniques. It worked
rather well, but eventually I have to admit that it became a grind wherein I’d
have to drag myself into the gym rather than go in like I was a conqueror.
The key became taking a short period of 6-8 weeks to train on a program
like this one in Size Matters! Once I have gone through the 6-8 week
program of Eat More, Train Less, and Get LEAN! and have included some
high intensity techniques in those workouts, like rest/pause and the liberal
use of forced reps, I take a week or two off then hit the routine in this book.
It’s a set-up for the most intense cycle to come right after Size Matters!
Rather than overload myself with high intensity techniques I will continue to
micro-load with fractional plates (ones that are ¼, ½, ¾, and 1lb.) on almost
every exercise that I can in order to get stronger while training to positive
49
failure along with timing those workouts. Almost every workout is
completed in under40 minutes, including any and all warm ups, which can
vary a lot.
I make every effort to make each exercise harder rather than easier. That is,
whatever way I need to lean or move in order to place more stress on the
target muscles....I’ll do it. Beginners tend to do the opposite.
When I add all that up and combine it with the body part/exercise format
about to be outlined, the muscles grow! I’ve used this format on many and
they too have experienced the same. Having records and pictures of myself
from the last few decades has enabled me to see clearly what routines
worked and why. When I perform the routine I have outlined in these pages,
as well as the first years I did Mike Mentzer’s Ideal Routine (5 years to be
exact!), there was a common result; both routines brought a “look” to the
physique that I like very much…full, strong looking muscles with striations
and veiny veins (you gotta be lean to see ‘em!)…a bodybuilder’s look!
Notes---You’ll notice in the routine that I do only Negatives on Dips. This is a high
intensity technique and the only one I use pretty regularly on this exercise as
I can still Dip very comfortably if I stick with negatives. Regular reps do not
feel comfortable on my body when performing the Dip.
--If you think of the 4 workout protocol as an upper body workout alternated
with lower then you will not get hampered with thoughts of “Why am I
training legs more than upper body?” It would be a mistake to eliminate the
second leg workout #4 in favor of getting to the upper body muscles sooner.
The upper body workouts involve quite a bit of overlapping no matter how
you think you can split it. There is no “push-pull” system that doesn’t
involve overlapping, which means you’ll be indirectly training certain parts
of your upper body EVERY time you do upper body training, which may
result in smaller/weaker, NOT larger muscles.
Think about it…what fly motion for the chest does not get your biceps
pumped/stressed as well? Your triceps are also heavily involved in all
pulldowns and rowing motions as well. The advanced 4 way split is the only
answer, other than full body routines, to avoid overlapping and still train to
build muscle. I didn’t say it’s the only routine, just that it’s the only one to
use if you want to avoid overlapping and build muscle. Yes, it was worth
repeating.
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Warm ups
Warm ups are performed as needed BEFORE starting the actual workout.
It’s ridiculous to continually do warm up sets, or even “feel” sets right in the
middle of the workout when everything is already warmed up. The best way
to warm up is to choose 1 or 2 of the bigger exercises for the day and run
through them 1 to 3 times (depending on how cold you are, the time of day,
mental preparedness, etc.) with progressively heavier weights in whatever
order you choose or are comfortable with. When warm ups are done like
this, the body temperature rises at a better rate and the body is also prepared
to give an all-out effort repeatedly (set after set in a workout) rather than
giving 100%, resting, warming up again on a different exercise thus giving
more like 50%, then all-out again at 100%…………this is just plain
confusing and time consuming.
Warm ups are just that…warming up.
My clients and I do as much as we want in order to warm up.
Some consider them part of a workout that needs to be considered when
accounting for energy spent. This really isn’t rocket science. Training hard
with the weights opens joints, muscles, and tendons to injury if they’re too
cold. Warming up and feeling completely “ready to go” is up to the
individual in their given circumstances and conditions on the day they go to
train.
Not warming up could be disastrous.
The Food
During Get Lean First! I dropped my overall calories from an average of
2700 per day down to 1700. I maintained that number until Eat More, Train
Less, and Get LEAN! wherein calories were increased in a slow and
methodical way (200 cal per day with 200 calorie increases every week). I
raised them up to 3100 over the course of 7 weeks, or 7 adjustments of 200
calories each. This was done while maintaining a macronutrient percentage
of 60% carbohydrate/25% protein/15% fat. By the time I was ready to head
into this, the Size Matters! phase of my year, I had a good launching point
of 3100 calories from which to build. Looking back for a moment to the
beginning of Get Lean First! I can see clearly that this entire process has
51
built my metabolism from an average intake of 2700 calories per day to
3100 per day while being leaner and bigger!
Going at it on Rows!
At this point 3100 calories is the number that I use daily as I head into the
Size Matters! routine. There will, however, be further increases calorically
along the way.
Here’s how I do it;
Week #
1
2
3
4
5
6
Calories
3100
3200
3300
3400
3500
3600
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7
3700
8
3800
The idea behind the increases is this; there is no contest or pressing
engagement requiring ultra-low levels of body fat in the immediate future. I
want to maximize the potential of muscle growth for my clients and myself
at this point. If we over shoot the calories by a few each day, we know that
there’s 3500 calories in 1 pound of human body fat, so it’ll be a while before
a noticeable pound will show up. On the scale we expect a few pounds here
and there, but if bellybutton/hip/glute measurements are being taken, we can
see right away what kind of weight is being gained. For the most part, my
clients and I experience a similar rise in strength and size with a minimal
rise in body fat. The body fat rise will show on the area that our bodies tend
to accumulate fat the most. Most men carry more in the abdomen while
women gain more noticeably in the hips/pelvis and thighs. Of course these
are generalities and can vary on each individual. Nevertheless, if strength,
size and bodyweight are slowly rising up with a minimal move to the tape
measure on those fatty areas we will continue to go with the increase for the
entire 6-8 weeks.
The Size Matters! routine will be followed for somewhere around 6-8 weeks
depending on several factors like motivation, recovery and if there are any
minor challenges like small injuries or fighting off an attack from a cold/flu.
If any of these factors present themselves as a problem around the 6 week
mark we will discontinue the program right then and there. If everything’s
going great and progress is still happening while motivation is still peaked,
we will go the full 8 weeks. In either case, another 7-14 day time out will
come at the conclusion of the Size Matters! routine. This rest and recovery
period will be needed in preparation for the most intense part of the annual
schedule, which will be followed in part 4 of the “Mr. America Shape-Up
Series”!
53
Some specific dietary changes I made on myself during Size Matters!;
While I generally like to eat plenty of carbohydrate (60% of my calories)
with a control on the number of calories, I generally avoid simple sugars
with the exception of raw honey in my tea and how I eat during and after my
workouts. After training for the last few months and growing larger due to
the increased calories, I start to play with what and when I eat. At this point
in the program, my clients and I are eating an amount of calories that are
higher than where we started before the Get Lean First! program, yet we’re
much leaner.
--Before workouts I will eat a banana and 1 tablespoon raw honey on a
gluten-free English muffin with a pre-workout energy drink
--During workouts I will drink a mix consisting of water, BCAA’s (2
scoops), and 5 grams Creatine Monohydrate
54
My condition 3 months AFTER winning my class at the Natural Mr.
Universe and the beginning of this phase…Size Matters!
--Immediately after training I down ½ cup white rice (measured before
cooking) mixed with 40 grams raisins, another banana, and one scoop whey
protein isolate
--30 minutes after training I will eat a meal that contains easy to digest
protein such as eggs along with both complex and simple carbohydrates. My
favorite is 6 egg whites, 1 whole egg and 4 slices Bread with 3 tablespoons
raw honey spread on the bread.
--For my clients I adjust the amounts of everything just mentioned to suit
their bodyweight. If they’re more than 20 lbs. below 200, I cut all the
numbers by 25%. If they’re more than 20 above 200, I need to increase the
numbers of everything (including the bread) by 25%.
55
There’s something very special about the first couple of hours after an
intense workout. Magazine articles have been written by the hundred at this
point along with plenty of research conducted to back up the practice of
increasing caloric intake during and after the workout (if trying to gain lean
mass).
Long before the recent stack of research on the topic became a common
subject of training and nutrition articles, I had been taught to eat foods with
plain sugar in them immediately before and after my workouts. Most times, I
would go to a local coffee shop and order up a huge piece of cake during the
hour before my workout. Often I would be “caught” by one of the other gym
members or trainers and they never believed me when I told them I did this
before every workout. For the most part, I don’t do this anymore as I train at
5:00 am and prefer the lightness of the foods I’ve presented in these pages,
however if I find myself training in the afternoons I will always have a hunk
of cake first!
As a point in fact, I would freak out the members and staff of World
Gym/Marina Del Rey when I was training for the Natural Universe by eating
a gigantic slice of triple layer chocolate cake as I sat in the office talking to
Joe Gold before I would workout. He claimed that the veins in my calves
came from the cake, ha! The girls at the café across the street knew me and
would cut half the cake and call it a slice. It was incredible, AND it still
allowed me to get in great shape as I continued this practice right up to the
week of the show!
The lesson I learned is that when calories/simple sugars…even massive
amounts of them…are ingested before, during, or after an intense workout,
the NEED for those calories/sugar has been created BY the workout. When
these calories are made available during this time it is taken up by the
muscle rather than stored as body fat (which generally happens to those who
eat large amounts of simple sugars when NOT training.) The other
advantage to this practice is that it speeds up recuperation, and therefore
growth.
HERE ARE MY PERSONAL NOTES AND JOURNAL ENTRIES;
56
After Get Lean First!
6 weeks later at the end of
Eat More, Train Less, and Get LEAN!
57
8 weeks later & growing during
Size Matters!
On Diet
I have to admit that I am a little disappointed in my own effort as far as diet
goes during the last 7 weeks. Several situations occurred early in this
training cycle that required my mental attention more than anything else. As
a result, I found myself so mentally tired by mid-day that I simply got too
loose where counting my calories is concerned. I took in the right amount of
proteins and fats but took in too many simple sugars on non-training days.
Most people who have unusually high mental stress levels can usually be
found to be consuming more sugars than those who are not (this is my
opinion after having managed so many clients’ diets over the last two
decades.) Even though I knew this, I allowed it, and probably would have
gotten a better result at the end of this cycle if I had kept the calories under
control at all times.
***Having said this, I must make mention of the fact that I carry no guilt
about how I over-ate slightly and over-sugared myself. In the course of any
58
long-term project there are times when motivation and attention are at a
high, and there are those times wherein “life” happens and one has to handle
it. I did the best I could at the time, yet I always feel I can do better when
viewing with hindsight. When my clients have gone through similar
circumstances, I’ve instructed them to take it easy on themselves for a
minute, regroup, rest up, and then get back in gear. I plan on doing the
same***
Nevertheless, here are the facts:
I ate 3600 calories most days. I’ve done no cardio at all. My diet looked like
this on a non-training day………………..
Upon Awakening—5:00am
2 scoops Whey
140
½ cup Raisins
320
Breakfast—7:00am
2 Omega-3 Eggs
5 Egg Whites
1 c. cooked Brown Rice
1.5 tbsp. Honey
140
100
320
105
2nd Breakfast—9:00am
Same as 1st
665
Shake—11:30am
3 scoops Whey
210
Frozen Pineapple
90
2 tbsp. Coconut Oil
250
Snack—1:30pm
2 pc. Bread
2 tbsp. Peanut Butter
1.5 tbsp. Raw Honey
200
220
105
Shake—3:30pm
Same as 1st w/1/2 Oil
425
59
Dinner—7:00pm
8 oz. Chicken
200
Huge Salad
150
2 tbsp. Fish Oil
125
Total Calories
3765
On Training
Training, on the other hand, has gone EXTREMELY well. The extra
calories combined with the simple sugars I ingested on training days (as well
as the non-training days as discussed already) served my muscles well. I got
stronger and stronger by the workout and increased in both reps and weight
on many occasions. I have grown.
Here was one of my Leg workouts:
Front Squat
265 X 10
Hack Squat
270 X 20
Reverse Hypers
240 X 12
Vertical Toe Presses
450 X 10
**The front squats were performed wearing only a lifting belt and were
LOW**
**I did do my reverse hypers instead of any leg curl…I just plain like
reverse hypers better for hamstrings most times**
On How I Look
---Muscles are much bigger, full and rounding out
---Body Fat and water weight crept up slightly as a result of the diet
and stress but isn’t a problem going into the next training phase
---My V-taper seems to be getting a little more dramatic regardless of the
obvious weight gain
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Now I take some time off and get ready for the next ultra-intense phase of
the
“Mr. America Shape-Up Series”…
Breaking All The Rules!
61
62
Mr. America’s
Shape-Up
Series
“Breaking All
The Rules!”
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Breaking All the Rules…How So?
By far and away this is my most favorite time of year. Training the last 6-8
weeks to positive failure in the “Size Matters!” program with a focus on
nudging the weights up each week usually leaves me looking forward to
change.
There is no handbook that came with our bodies which describes exactly
how we are to use the weights in order to stimulate the growth of new
muscle. Everything has been learned through a trial and error OR a trial and
success process. The accepted rules or standard with which most trainees use
the weights involves lifting and lowering a weight for a goal number of
repetitions until they can no longer lift the weight in good form. This
formula has proven itself time and again over the course of at least a century
to be great at overloading muscle tissue, which stimulates it to grow.
But is it the ONLY way of doing this?
Several high intensity training advocates have thought “outside the box” on
this topic which has led to the following discussion about concentric (lifting,
or positive), static (holding), and eccentric (lowering, or negatives)
repetitions;
We have the ability to lift a certain amount of weight, as well as the ability
to hold a certain amount of weight in place, and lastly the ability to lower a
certain amount under control. If a trainee were to lift and lower a weight
until they could no longer complete a full repetition in good form, that
person would have exhausted only their concentric ability. They would have
done so with a certain weight for a certain time under tension (TUT). If the
trainee were to bypass the lifting of the weight entirely and simply hold the
weight near the fully contracted position they would find that they could
hold roughly 30% more than they could lift and do so for the same TUT. If
they were to bypass entirely the lifting and holding portion of their reps by
simply lowering the weight under control (with an assist into the top position
of the exercise from a partner) for that same TUT they would find that they
were capable of handling upwards of 60% more weight than they could
during a set of positive reps. Wow! This means we can subject our muscles
to much heavier weights in both static “holds” as well as lowering
“negatives” repetitions.
The third training technique that I use extensively at this time is Partial Rep
Training (PRT). Somewhere along the line, it also became standard gym lore
that in order to develop a muscle fully one must train it over the full length
of its range of motion…all the way up, and all the way down on each
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repetition. For performance purposes this would seem to be true, but for the
purpose of increasing lean mass the muscle only knows what hit it. In any
muscle’s range of motion there is a portion of the rep where the fibers line
up in such a way that the muscle exerts maximum power. The opposite is
also true. Therefore, if one were to train with weights that are limited by the
weakest part of that range of motion, not the strongest, the muscle will never
be maximally stimulated to grow. This happens to be the case with barbells
and dumbbells. Some companies, such as Nautilus (the big blue machines
that most gyms had back in the 70’s and 80’s) and Hammer Strength, have
addressed this issue by creating machines that involve variable resistance. At
the weakest section of the range there is less resistance, and at the strongest
portion there is more resistance. If one is using exclusively Nautilus and
most of the Hammer Strength line, that will answer the problem for certain
movements. Without those machines available a workout can be developed
using Static Holds and Partial Reps which will hit those muscles hardest in
the areas that they are the strongest. We’ll get into my specific routines in a
few pages.
The “all or nothing” principle
If muscles operate on the “all or nothing” principle, which they do, then our
bodies will only use the exact number of muscle fibers necessary to lift the
exact weight of the thing we are trying to lift…no more and no less. The rest
of the fibers do not fire. This has been known as fact and taught in every
Biology 101 class for centuries.
Armed with this info, we can see that in order to involve and stimulate more
muscle fibers in our training sessions, we have to do whatever is necessary
to get the maximum number of muscle fibers to fire. Using some higher
intensity techniques will get to many more fibers than could be tapped from
simply lifting and lowering weights until positive failure.
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Nutritional Rule Breaking
During the first month or so of Breaking All The Rules! I do the unthinkable
during a deep off season and reduce my calories…I go on a reduced calorie
eating plan!
Reducing calories once during my year after a lengthy period of steady
increases encourages my body to get used to burning some fat for fuel. I
believe that my liver retains a high level of efficiency at burning fatty acids
for fuel when I “keep it in the habit” more than once per year. The added
side effect, of course, is lower body fat levels!
During the second half of Breaking All The Rules! I go back to my
methodical and small caloric increases.
It’s the way that I combine the eating with the training that matters most.
Some of the workouts can look a little strange during the initial lower calorie
period of Breaking All The Rules! , and I’m about to give the specifics in the
next few pages.
First, it’s time to review some food facts from earlier in the year;
Most bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts have come to believe that they
should eat, and eat a lot in order to gain lean muscle. While one pound of
human body fat contains 3500 calories, one pound of human muscle
contains only 600 calories. For some reason, that 600 number is never
mentioned in even our most basic biology courses in school. In articles
aimed at the extremely thin person who needs to gain weight there has, in
most cases, been a focus on that 3500 calorie number. This is wrong
thinking and assumptive on the part of the writers who think the reader
doesn’t care if they gain muscle PLUS a large amount of body fat. It would
be assumptive, of course, if the writers of such articles even knew that
muscle contains much fewer calories!
How do I use these numbers for my clients’ and my benefit?
In order to grow that single pound of muscle it will be necessary to take in
an extra 600 calories. That is all.
Is this an additional 600 calories per day?
No. That’s 600 extra calories over the period of time that it takes to build
that pound. This can be over the course of a week, or longer.
For the sake of easy math let’s assume one can build the pound of muscle in
one week. 600 calories divided over the course of 7 days comes out to an
average of 86 extra calories per day. This is less than the amount of calories
in a single slice of bread!!! Any amount taken in excess of that number will
be stored as body fat if only one pound of muscle growth were stimulated.
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Bodybuilders who eat 500-1000 calories above their maintenance levels will
be storing body fat at a fast pace!
Keeping in mind that I ended the last part of this series, in Size Matters! , at
an average of 3600 calories daily, my caloric patterning will look like this
during the next 8 weeks of Breaking All The Rules! ;
Week/Calories per day
1 3350
2 3150
3 2900
4 2650
5 2850
6 3050
7 3250
8 3500
Here’s my reasoning;
The first four weeks involve steady 250 calorie reductions per day each
week. Over the course of those four weeks I use Static Holds as often as
possible when training. I have found that performing Static Holds while on a
calorically restricted eating plan is extremely intense on the muscle BUT
very do-able! When I’m on low calories I like holding heavy weights in
place rather than moving them over long distances, so Static Rep Training
has become a favorite of mine during those times.
I will have reduced my calorie intake over the course of those four weeks by
a total of 16,450. This number represents the amount of calories I take in
BELOW what had been my daily average at that point in time. I know most
people don’t care to look at the numbers and prefer to “eat clean” or just “go
low carb”, but those approaches require that the individual make up for their
mistakes and miscalculations involved with overeating by doing lots of
cardio! Doing it my way means I have a predictable outcome each week
(without doing cardio!) of a fat loss and if we divide 16,450 by 3500 that’s
4.7lbs of potential fat burned off! By doing this reduction in the pattern I use
there is less likelihood that the metabolism will attempt to overcompensate
for my moves. By the time my body’s “alarm bells and whistles” are about
to go off I reverse the pattern with smaller 200 calorie jumps for a follow-up
month. The 200 calorie number acts more like kindling on a fire rather than
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a big old wet log, and the metabolism chews it up and fills the muscle up
nicely as well!
The four weeks of caloric increase become an all-out last attempt on my year
to squeeze out every last bit of potential muscle growth. I use heavy Partial
Rep Training as often as possible during these four weeks.
Knowing my numbers frees me up from any anxiety related to gaining
unnecessary body fat. If I notice any appreciable body fat increase due to a
miscalculation on my part with a corresponding body weight increase of
more than a few pounds within a short time period, I will either lower the
calories slightly for a week or shut down the calorie increases immediately.
If I shut it down, I just lower the calories by 500 and see if that reverses the
fat gain before making any other adjustments.
Nevertheless, once I get around the 8th week my body once again has been
pushed to an extreme and is in need of some time off.
So I take it.
“Training and recovery are to be given 50-50 consideration.
Each is equally important when considering the overall
success of any training program.”
--Mike Mentzer
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Static Rep Training
Static Holds involve holding a heavy weight (approximately 30% heavier
than used for conventional reps) for the same total amount of time under
tension (TUT) as a regular set. To maximize the amount of weight used, the
strongest point of the range of motion is used. This takes a certain amount
knowledge regarding strength curves of muscles. For most body parts, the
strongest point will be at or near the fully contracted position, where all the
muscle fibers are fully contracted. The exceptions are the lats, biceps, and
hamstrings;
Lats—the strongest position is when the elbows are exactly at the side of the
rib cage…not behind the torso!
Biceps—like the lats, the biceps are strongest at a point just a few inches shy
of the fully contracted position.
Hamstrings—this one is the exact opposite of what one would expect. The
hamstrings are strongest with the knees slightly bent and weakest when the
heels are close to the buttocks. Doubt me on this one? Try going on any
Lying Leg Curl machine for the hamstrings and load it with 30% more
weight than you’d normally use for a set of 8 reps. Have someone help you
lift the weight to the fully contracted position and try to stop it. That thing
will fall slowly to a point several inches from the bottom, where your knees
are slightly bent, and it will sit there for 20-30 seconds before you cannot
hold it any longer. THAT was the strongest point in your hamstrings’ range
of motion…on a leg curl.
In 1994 my training partner and I read Mike Mentzer’s Heavy Duty 2 Mind
and Body. One of the most interesting techniques mentioned was the use of
Static Reps. I decided to give them a shot in my training and specifically
used them on Pek Dek, Pulldown, Lateral Raise Machine, Bicep Curl
Machine, Leg Extension, and Calf Raise.
The results were amazing for certain body parts, and just OK for others. My
biceps, in particular, benefited the most with a noticeable change in size and
thickness. The change was so obvious that I never wanted to do a regular set
of curls ever again! Next, my chest, delts, quads, and calves improved as
well, but my lats saw no difference. At first, I didn’t understand any of this
as I used proper exercises and time under tension with correct adjustments to
accommodate my personal fiber-type makeup in the body parts I trained
with Statics. Eventually though, I had the benefit of gaining some extra
wisdom from some good friends that had speculated that the body is too
69
complex to use a “cookie cutter” formula for every body part. Take the
quadriceps for example versus the bicep:
The bicep’s involvement in the raising of the forearm is at a maximum
during the top 80 degrees of motion while the brachialis handles the initial
20 degrees or so. The quadriceps is four muscles with similar attachments
and different origins. At any given point in the range of motion of the
quadriceps there are varying degrees of involvement of those four muscles
with the last 15-20 degrees being taken over mainly by the Vastus Medialis
(VMO), or the “teardrop”. That muscle is vital to proper knee tracking and
stability. During my Static Leg Extension experiment my VMO was being
worked extra hard to the exclusion of the much larger parts of my quad. The
VMO certainly did improve, but it hardly put a dent in the overall look of
my thigh. The bicep on the other hand, when my arm was in the fully
contracted position (which really was when my arm was at approximately
95-100 degrees) was getting near maximum stimulation, so it would make
sense that the bicep would benefit more from Static Rep Training when
conducted in the sense of using the point of full muscular contraction as the
best place to hold the weight for the duration of the set.
Since my quads and lats have never been a weak point, I have altogether
chosen NOT to run the obvious experiment of Static Rep Training in other
points in the range of motion for those body parts, but have chosen rather to
use the technique solely for my biceps, pecs, delts, traps, quads & calves
during this cycle of the year.
The routine I use looks like this;
Day 1
Chest/Front & Side Delt/Biceps/Triceps
Pek Dek---30-40 second Hold
Military Presses---1 set X 6-10 reps
Lateral Machine---30-40s Hold
Bicep Curl Machine---Two 10s Holds
DB French Presses---1 X 10-15 reps
4 Days Rest
Day 2
Legs
Leg Extension---45-60s Hold
Full Squat---1 X 10-15 reps
70
Toe Presses---30-40s Hold
Abs---random
4 Days Rest
Day 3
Back/Rear Delt/Traps
Row Machine (elbows held exactly at my side)---45-60s Hold
Undergrip Chin---1 X 6-10 reps
Rear Delt Machine---30-40s Hold
Shrug Machine---30-40s Hold
4 days rest then repeat cycle for only 4 weeks
***This cycle specifically lasts only 4 weeks as it’s VERY intense and
longer cycles did not bring better results***
Partial Rep Training
Partial Rep Training (PRT) is a type of training that involves the use of very
heavy weights lifted over a short range of motion (usually the strongest part
of that range). Because the weights do not travel over the full range of
motion up to three times the normal number of reps are performed in order
to reach a target TUT. Side note: TUT is very important to consider as it
gives answers as to why some repetition ranges don’t help with the growth
of muscle, but simply increases strength or even the opposite…endurance
(more on this in another writing).
As with my Static Rep training, there were some body parts that responded
better than others to PRT. The partials, when performed over a slightly
longer range, as on bigger movements like a Pulldown versus a Curl resulted
in getting a better “feel” for the exercise which ultimately gave better results.
My partials that are performed on the smaller body parts like biceps and
calves still bring results but never have matched up to what I get out of the
bigger body parts with this technique. Of course, these are quite simply my
own observations within the realm of my own training. There have been
many clients of mine who felt quite different than me about the “feel” on
different body parts.
In 2000 I experimented thoroughly with PRT. I was bored with the format of
training that I had been using and had already experimented quite a bit with
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most of the high intensity training techniques, but had never given PRT a
fair shot. I started by taking 10 days off entirely from training and then
spending the first several weeks playing with the techniques, exercises and
repetition schemes that I felt most comfortable with before settling in on my
own personal plan. From 1994 to this time period I had been training using
Mike Mentzer’s Ideal Routine from his book Heavy Duty 2 Mind and Body
(see www.mikementzer.com) with proper adjustments and rest periods,
which allowed me to build the physique, pictured here:
In truth, I had been meticulous with my diet and had plateaued somewhat so
the change in training really caught my attention and motivated me to train
harder than all the previous year. The results from PRT convinced me to
include them in my arsenal of high intensity weapons. Not only did the
routine increase my motivation, but it also brought new thickness to areas
that I had been lacking in, such as my middle back, shoulders, quads, and
even parts of my chest.
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The routine looked like this:
Day 1
Chest/Shoulders/Triceps
Day 2
Legs
Day 3
Back/Biceps
***Start with 4 days of rest between workouts***
The routine above is the one I settled on and happens to be the same exact
one I use today as part of my “Mr. America Shape-Up Series”.
The exact exercises and reps used are as follows:
Chest/Shoulders/Triceps
Incline Barbell Press---10-16 top ½ reps
Dips---6-10 Negatives
DB Laterals---16-24 bottom 1/3 reps
Close Grip Smith Machine Bench---10-16 top 1/3 reps
***This is the only time I EVER use a Smith Machine***
4 days rest
Legs
Squat---24-40 top 1/3 reps
Hack Squat---12-20 full reps
Straight Leg JC Lift---16-24 bottom ½ reps
Toe Press---16-24 bottom 1/3 reps
4 days rest
Back/Biceps
DB Rows---12-20 bottom ½ reps
Pulldowns---24-40 top ½ reps
Reverse Hypers---12-20 full reps
Cable Preacher Curls---10-16 mid 1/3 reps
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DB Hammer Curls---12-20 bottom ½ reps
4 days rest and repeat cycle for only 4 weeks
***Abdominals trained randomly with only 1 or 2 sets 12-25 full reps***
It’s my belief that the Smith Machine is never to be used for full range
movements, as it literally does not require your rotator cuffs to work as they
normally would and therefore creates shoulder injuries. For that matter, I’ve
personally known several trainees who have permanently damaged their
backs, knees, and have even torn their quads while squatting in the Smith, so
I don’t recommend it at all, except for Close Grip Bench Press during PRT.
In this movement I lower and raise the bar over just a few inches in distance
with pretty heavy weights, so the Smith is very convenient and safe for the
shoulders when performed this way.
Ultimately, the format, number of repetitions, and chosen exercises in any
routine is very unique to the individual. I have presented my own personal
routine and the likely routine for my clients. Any reader who decides to use
it will have to be quite advanced in his training and must have a good idea of
their personal fiber-type makeup (which no one will know EXACTLY, but a
good working knowledge is necessary in formulating one’s own routine)
along with an extensive training history to back it up.
Continuing the Caloric Climb
For every increase in muscle mass, it is necessary to raise the base number
of calories ingested on a daily basis (regardless of whether or not one is
dieting) in order to allow that new mass to exist and the system overall to
remain in an anabolic state. If I was on a low calorie plan, but recognized
that my strength and muscle mass had increased over the course of several
weeks, it requires me to increase my base number of calories in order to
allow that muscle to remain while continuing to lose body fat. People with
more muscle mass need more food! As a matter of fact, if any person grows
more muscle they will always require more food than when they had less
muscle. Muscle speeds up the metabolism. The day I realized this to be true
was the day that dieting became easier for me. In essence, I believe that any
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individual that has trained and added muscle during the course of any period
will NEVER have to return to their original low calorie eating plan in order
to lose body fat while maintaining/growing muscle mass. More calories will
be needed to accomplish the same fat loss but allow the new level of muscle
mass to exist. Conversely, as the calories climb during a mass gaining cycle,
strength and muscle mass should also be climbing which will once again
require a further caloric increase, and the cycle continues.
The calories should be adjusted upward with proper ratios of macronutrients
in mind. During the Partial Rep Training section of this book a slight
increase across the board is necessary in 200-calorie increments. I prefer
raising the calories in a “front-loaded” pattern, meaning I increase calories in
all of the earliest meals of the day and only when those meals are maxed out
do I increase dinner or late night snacks. This practice produces a lean
physique that will gain mainly lean mass with each caloric increase.
T-Bar Rows…one of my favorites!
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My body fat levels are usually this low prior to the start
of Breaking All The Rules!
MY TRAINING LOGS & NOTES
ALONG WITH PROGRESS PICS;
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On Training
Training during this entire cycle had been directly affected by the pregnancy
of my wife and subsequent birth of my youngest son. It was the first time
that I had such lengthy periods of sleep deprivation which ultimately
required more days off from training in order to allow for recovery and
growth from the training. In the middle of this training cycle I had to also
take a 3-week break entirely from training altogether just before and after
my son was born.
So the message here is; LIFE HAPPENED and I made adjustments.
--My strength continued to climb as well due to the higher intensity
techniques that I used as well as the obvious large amounts of rest that I gave
my body.
--While I’m not the strongest guy in the gym, I only base my numbers on my
previous numbers from my own notebooks. I don’t spend time comparing
my strength to others as I am a bodybuilder first and foremost.
-- I initially looked at some of these numbers and felt like I somehow let
myself and anybody reading this down by not making even better progress,
but after thinking about it I realized that these gains were made over the
course of 8 weeks cycles, yet I trained on each exercise way less than that as
I took a layoff and many more rest days between the workouts than my
initial standard of 4.
--Here are some of the increases that I made in training:
Partial Rep Training progress;
Incline Bench Press
CG Smith Press
Squat
BB Shrugs
Start
275 X 16 reps
225 X 12
315 X 30
365 X 25
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4 weeks later
315 X 10
265 X 10
430 X 22
450 X 25
Static Rep Training progress;
Pek Dek
Bicep Curl machine
Leg Extension
Rear Delt Machine
Start
90 X 30 sec
7 plates X 15
Stack X 40
190 X 25
4 weeks later
140 X 30
9 plates X 20
Stack + 45 X 60
220 X 30
On Diet
--In the past I would go much higher calorically but I prefer to do my lower
calorie eating plan and Static Rep Training during the first four weeks of
Breaking All The Rules! as opposed to the last four weeks. I also like to
make much smaller jumps in calories than most other people. This pattern
really doesn’t allow me to get too high calorically. It also means I stay leaner
heading into the last phase of my year!
--With the underlying stresses I experienced during this time I overate a little
too often. This made it harder to keep track of my calories which led to
slightly higher body fat levels than I wanted.
--In my world it doesn’t matter if I’m lowering calories or raising calories.
The focus is always on whether I am eating enough carbohydrates or not.
When adjusting calories I try my best to keep a high percentage (55-65%) of
my calories coming in the form of carbohydrates. Protein (25%) and Fats
(15%) also are considered, but if I find myself in a situation where the
quality or quantity of food available is in question, I’ll eat the carbs every
time as a way of making sure I get enough in.
--When I do have all the foods I like, with plenty of access to each main
macronutrient, I will eat the protein and fat source first. I believe eating the
protein and fats first (whenever possible) will slow down the flow of
carbohydrates into my system. Why is this important? If carbohydrates enter
the bloodstream too fast, insulin will rise rapidly. The only time I WANT
this is immediately after my workout as the higher insulin levels help shuttle
the carbs into the muscles. Insulin is a hormone that will shuttle excess
blood sugar to recently worked muscles OR straight to fat cells if the
muscles are already loaded. This is a simple view of what happens
biochemically, but one that we can use for our bodybuilding purposes.
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On How I Look
Honestly, I always want to be lean. Extra lean in fact, so this is the most
challenging time of year for me as I play around with a little body fat while
attempting to increase muscle mass. I continue to try to figure out the best
way of managing these last few months before heading into my real peaking
phase.
--So with as much transparency as I will allow, my opinion is that the body
is coming along as planned…it looks better to me in clothes as opposed to
out of them.
HERE ARE THE PROGRESS PICS;
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Start of Breaking All The Rules!
…then 11 weeks later
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Next up is the 5th and final phase of the
“Mr. America Shape-Up Series”…
PEAKING!
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PEAKING!
Mr. America’s ShapeUp Series
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Why Peak?
Here’s where the “rubber meets the road” so to speak. If, in fact, you spend
an inordinate amount of time and effort training and eating right in order to
raise the level of lean muscle you have, it would be nice to see it all by
reducing body fat levels as low as possible. Plenty of people are satisfied
with having a good looking beach body. Peaking! is the detailed manner in
which I take my clients (who are interested in going this far) as well as
myself from already having a pretty good looking physique to the point
where it is ready for competition or a photo shoot.
Over the course of the “Mr. America Shape-Up Series” I have focused a lot
on the training that brought about increases in muscle mass along with
dietary adjustments which supported that growth. At this point in the year
everything comes down to the eating plan. Training is still important, and is
necessary, but it’s the eating that separates the great looking physique from
the good looking one.
A decision needs to be made as to what is the motivation behind achieving
ultra-low body fat along with a maximum amount of muscle. Is it a
competition, or a special event that will be captured in family photo albums
for years to come? Whatever the reason, it has to be compelling enough to
keep an individual highly motivated for those moments when the thought of
quitting pops up in their mind. The battleground is in between the ears, not
outside the body. If the goal is important enough to the individual, then
simply remembering that goal during tough moments when no one is
looking will be enough to carry anyone through to their own personal
victory. With each time that an individual holds strong through their own
personal temptation, a new confidence is gained that their goal is within
reach.
The battleground is in between the ears, not outside the body!
The Peaking! process is most definitely an intense one where the mind is
concerned. If one can master the thought process and focus purely on the
goal at hand, the process ends up being more enjoyable. Being doubleminded creates instability in all ways, which won’t get you in great shape.
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Winning the battle!
Cardio…yes or no?
I am not a big believer in using cardio based exercise to burn off stored body
fat. If body fat levels are kept relatively low in the first place, then the focus
should be on gaining lean muscle with as little fat gain as possible. In other
words, overeating is unnecessary and will cause problems down the line. I
know this sounds basic and like it makes sense, but the question arises
regarding why so many find themselves 20-40 lbs. over fat. Unquestionably
this is the result of eating too much, too often.
What does it take exactly to gain even 20 lbs. of body fat?
1 lb. of body fat contains 3500 calories X 20 lbs. = 70,000 calories
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That’s 70,000 excess calories that have been ingested over and above
whatever was necessary for muscle growth, recovery, and every daily
activity. Let that number sink in for a minute.
There’s 400 calories in an average slice of pizza. Take that 70,000 number,
divide by 400 and you come out with 175 slices of pizza!!! Even though
most people don’t overeat that many slices of pizza, they usually have
overeaten many types of food to accomplish the feat of gaining 20 lbs. I’m
being facetious here of course, but it does take a decent amount of work (in
the form of eating) to gain even 20 lbs. of fat.
Bodybuilders and fitness competitors around the world seem unfazed by a
20 lb. gain in their offseason, but I personally see it as unnecessary and
didn’t realize myself how silly it is to allow that gain to happen in the first
place until I changed my own eating habits. During my preparation phase for
the Mr. America competition I did have to perform some cardio exercise
(mainly walking long distance) as a way of burning off the 20 lbs. of fat that
I allowed to accumulate in the prior year. During the prep phase I would
come home late at night after working all day, not spending any time with
my family, following my strict eating plan, training with weights, and
STILL have to go walking for up to an hour! Each time I came home I told
my wife to never let me forget how challenging this was to have to spend so
much time and energy doing cardio when all I really had to do was control
my eating habits the previous year!
Thankfully, she never had to remind me as I detested the cardio work so
much that I did change my eating habits.
Later that year I would prepare for the World Championships. Since I didn’t
allow the body fat to raise more than a few healthy pounds it became very
easy to make some simple dietary adjustments over the course of only the
last 8 weeks and I found myself several pounds of muscle heavier as well as
leaner looking than the previous two shows.
How did I change my eating habits and have more self-control?
I had to start with a decision;
I own food…it doesn’t OWN ME!!!
When I have clients who need to drop some body fat, the first thing I do
after figuring their daily caloric average intake is to adjust their calories
down by at least 500 per day. By doing this, they are set to burn off one full
pound of body fat per week (7 days X 500calories=3500 total calories,
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which is equal to one pound of fat). If the client has less than 20 lbs. of fat to
drop in order to get in great shape, I let them know the eating plan will take
care of it all…cardio is unnecessary. Because they see everyone else doing
cardio they accept it as fact that they will have to do the same and they have
a hard time believing me. So I ask them to trust me and do the eating plan as
I wrote it for the first two weeks and observe what happens. In every case
they find themselves 4 or 5 lbs. down on the scale after 2 weeks. How did
that happen? Shouldn’t it have only been 2 total pounds? Technically, yes, it
was only 2 pounds of fat. Along with that fat usually comes 2-3 pounds of
excess water weight as well as poop that was stuck in their intestines. The
eating plans I write usually have higher fiber content than the way the client
used to eat, which usually had a lot of processed foods (most of them are
Americans, and access to processed foods in the American diet is very high).
When I write their new eating plan they usually feel very full from the
higher fiber content as well as the higher water intake. Most of them were
also severely dehydrated, which causes constipation.
Why do I have them go 2 full weeks without altering their eating plan at all?
It takes one second to change a habit. We’ve all seen it, especially with
smokers. Smokers are a great example of people who decide they’re done
with their habit, and they can quit cold turkey. There are, however, plenty of
smokers who unsuccessfully take alternate routes to quitting their habit and
subsequently find that they are back to square one…smoking again. The
ones who quit…really quit…decide it in an instant, usually without any
outside pressure, and they replace that old habit with good ones. Which good
ones? Any good ones!
When one of my clients decides they are ready to change their habit, I give
them a strict plan to follow for 14 days without really letting them know
what comes next. They begin the process and we start counting days. 7 days
later we weight them and see that in fact they are dropping weight. They
become encouraged, not even realizing that they have just fully replaced
their old habit of eating badly and/or overeating. I take them to 14 days
because I can. Their metabolism is so willing to give up unwanted body fat
that I know we can go after a few more quick pounds without raising red
flags to their “starvation mechanism”, which is their body doing everything
it can to preserve calories in events of starvation.
After the 14 day period I give the client a mental and physical timeout by
letting them know they can take 90 minutes to eat anything they want. At 90
minutes they must stop. I tell them to eat whatever they wish, and that we
won’t be stepping on a scale or measuring their body in any way until the
following week. The increased calories that they eat bumps up their
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metabolism and lets it know that there is no reason to conserve calories as
we have access to many “oasis’s” in the middle of the “wilderness” that it
may perceive we are in. The metabolism starts to become conditioned to the
regular feedings, regular exercise, and occasional over feedings, which all
encourage the use of stored body fat for energy.
Training in an empty gym before sunrise helps me focus!
The Peaking! process defined
The entire Peaking! process should not take more than 12 weeks. More than
that will be a grind at best and will leave the body and mind requiring rest.
The best situation would be one wherein we find ourselves so close to peak
condition that we won’t NEED more than 6-8 weeks to bring that peak
along.
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In the previous sections to this one I have discussed some of the thinking
behind why the first two weeks’ meal plan is important. In the first book of
the “Mr. America Shape-Up Series”, Get Lean First!, I used a similar plan to
initiate fat loss and once again we go down the same path. An initial drop in
calories is used in Peaking!, however, it’s not a severe one as in Get Lean
First!. After training and eating to build the metabolism over the course of
this 5-part series, there’s no need to be severe in the restriction. A 500
calorie drop initially should be the largest drop of the upcoming 6-12 week
period. I use several steps to get through the entire Peaking! process for
clients as well as myself.
It looks like this;
Step 1: First 2 weeks
-Calculate daily average caloric intake
-Drop 500 calories from that number
-Maintain 60% carbohydrate/25% protein/15% fat macronutrient ratio
-Eat exactly that amount for 14 days
-Take 1 meal off for 90 minutes
-Get back on the plan exactly, taking 1 meal off every 7 days (for 90 min)
Step 2: When fat loss slows down (approximately week 3-5)
-Drop another 500 calories from the meal plan in Step 1
-Rotate Low-Medium-High calories based on Step 2’s new base #
Low----------250 calories BELOW Step 2’s base calories
Medium------------------------------------Step 2 base calories
High----------250 calories ABOVE Step 2’s base calories
Step 3: When fat loss slows down (approx. week 9-12)
-Go to 7 day rotation of Low-Low-Low-Medium-Medium-High calories
using the SAME Step 2 base #
Low----------500 calories BELOW Step 2’s base calories
Low----------500 calories BELOW Step 2’s base calories
Low----------500 calories BELOW Step 2’s base calories
Medium------------------------------------Step 2 base calories
Medium------------------------------------Step 2 base calories
High-----------------------------500 calories ABOVE Step 2
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Step 4: When fat loss slows and to strip the last bits of fat left, if any!
-Start cardio of choice at THE LEAST amount necessary to get fat loss
going again
Here are my numbers as I head to the end of this yearlong process;
Step 1;
My daily caloric average heading out of the last segment (Breaking All The
Rules!) of the “Mr. America Shape-Up Series” was at 3850 per day. I
reduced that number by 500 calories and used 3350 as my new daily caloric
average. At the end of Step 1 I looked like this;
The end of Step 1
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Step 2;
At week 4 the fat loss slowed so I dropped another 500 calories from the
amount in step 1 for a new base of 2850. Then I started the 3-day rotation;
-Rotate Low-Medium-High calories based on Step 2’s new base #2850
Low----------250 calories BELOW Step 2’s base calories-----2600
Medium------------------------------------Step 2 base calories---2850
High----------250 calories ABOVE Step 2’s base calories-----3100
And I looked like this;
At the end of Step 2
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Step 3;
Week 8 the fat loss stopped so I went directly to step three’s 7 day rotation;
-7 day rotation using Step 2’s base 2850 calories
Low----------500 calories BELOW Step 2’s base calories-----2350
Low----------500 calories BELOW Step 2’s base calories-----2350
Low----------500 calories BELOW Step 2’s base calories-----2350
Medium------------------------------------Step 2 base calories---2850
Medium------------------------------------Step 2 base calories---2850
High-----------------------------500 calories ABOVE Step 2----3350
And I looked like this;
At the end of step 3
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Step 4;
At week 11 there was a trace amount of fat remaining and I wasn’t going to
play with the food anymore so I simply added 45 minutes of walking 4 days
a week and the result is below;
At the end of Peaking!...near ready for the stage.
The process of peaking properly is a methodical one. If you plan on being in
shape by a certain date then you better be prepared to do whatever is
necessary to get there. All of the special last minute tricks and emergency
procedures are just that…for emergencies!
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What constitutes and emergency?
Finding oneself a week out from the committed to date and not being in the
kind of shape required for that event.
More often than not, we hear stories of individuals doing radical things like
not drinking water for several days, dropping all carbs for 7-10 days, sodium
loading, carb depleting/loading, as well as doing massive volumes of cardio
leading right up to their event. They end up having to try all of these things
out of desperation as they attempt to right what is wrong. What is wrong is
the fact that they never did the work in the months leading up to the event!!!
None of those emergency measures leads to a better looking physique, plain
and simple. If body fat levels are reduced methodically over the course of
months the skin can shrink wrap itself nicely around the new shape, and
loads of definition can be seen (even if you’re completely white and in bad
lighting like I was in the pictures presented herein!)
Training to Peak!
It should go without saying that training needs to be brutally intense during
the peaking phase. The body will try to sacrifice any and all expendable
baggage…even muscle it thinks it doesn’t need…in order to survive during
this time where body fat levels are being brought down to unusually low
levels. Lifting heavy weights is a necessity.
During this time I have my clients and myself go with a 2 day per week
training cycle plus one for smaller body parts.
The cycle looks like this;
Workout 1
Upper Body
This workout involves every major upper body muscle to a degree. It may be
a simple Chest/Back workout with plenty of compound movements, which
would also stress the shoulders and arms heavily.
OR
It may be an upper body workout emphasizing Shoulders/Arms with
compound movements such as Close Grip Benches for triceps or Undergrip
Pulldowns/Chins for biceps, which of course stress the chest and back as
well.
OR
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It may just be a full upper body workout with one exercise directed at each
major body part (Chest, back, shoulders, bicep, triceps)
***Then take 2 days off***
Smaller Bodypart Workout
Calves, Forearms, Abdominals
***Then take 2 days off***
Workout 2
Legs
***Then take 2 days off and repeat cycle***
Training this way still allows for good recovery while being able to generate
great levels of intensity. I will use every high intensity technique I know in
an effort to hit those deep fibers. Techniques that require heavier weights are
favored such as negatives, static holds, and forced negatives.
The volume of exercises is kept to the lowest amount necessary in order to
stress the muscle deeply but NOT give it a chance to break down too much.
Rest periods between exercises can vary from a pretty quick pace to almost
as slow as a powerlifter during their heavy cycles. This is due to the fact that
I want the client and/or myself to be able to generate enough strength and
force on every given set without being blown out by their own
cardiovascular system…again; we’re NOT relying on the weight training or
even cardio to reduce fat stores…that’s the diet’s job! Rest periods can vary
due to the fact that energy levels can be different day to day depending on
how heavily the body is accessing stored body fat that week.
Remember how in the previous installments of “The Mr. America’s ShapeUp Series” I mentioned the “all or nothing principle” that every college Bio
101 student is required to know about our muscle fibers?
If a muscle is required to use a fiber in order to do work it will be stimulated
and fire, but if it’s not required to use the fiber, it sits there doing nothing.
Muscle fibers that sit there doing nothing are susceptible to being sacrificed
as unnecessary tissue and can be used for energy in times wherein the body
is seeking out ANY fuel to burn other than stored body fat. Let’s protect the
muscle by still requiring it to lift near maximum poundages.
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Occasionally I like good old Pullups, which hit my Lats HARD!
My own personal workout looked like this after warm-ups recently;
Workout 1
Incline Barbell Bench Press 1 set/6 reps + 2 Forced + 2 Negative
Dips 1 set/10 Negatives (w/weight tied around waist)
Barbell Rows 1 set/8 reps + 5 Partials
Hammer Strength Pulldown 1 set/6 Negatives
Dumbbell Laterals 1 set/10 reps + 5 Negatives
Smaller Bodypart Workout
Barbell Wrist Curl off Bench 1 set/12 reps + 3 Forced
Forearm Gripper 1 set/20 reps
Donkey Calf 1 set/12 reps + 5 Negative Accentuated
Seated Calf 1 set/20 reps
Plate Crunches 2 sets/20-25 reps
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Workout 2
Squats 1 set/6 reps + Triple Drop
Platz-Style Hacks 1 set/15 reps
Iso Standing Leg Curl 1 set/8 reps + 2 Forced + 2 Negatives
Reverse Hypers 2 sets/15 reps
The intensity and the weights were both very high which served to retain and
possibly gain muscle during the process. For those who believe muscle can
only be maintained during periods of fat loss, I offer virtually all of my
clientele from the last couple of decades. Some measured their body fat and
lean mass using very scientific highly advanced methods while others
simply weighed and measured. In almost all cases they gained muscle
WHILE losing body fat. I believe it AND I’ve seen it, so I won’t limit
myself by what I think. You shouldn’t either. It’s possible, therefore it can
happen.
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Some shots from my last Peaking! cycle;
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These shots are all examples of what is possible if one takes a methodical
approach to training and eating. There are no mysteries in bodybuilding if
the basic principles are understood and applied. When gym mythology and
fear of not doing enough take over people find they no longer enjoy the
process because they are training way too often, eating a very restricted diet
usually consisting of high protein and lower carbohydrates. Muscles and the
brain are fueled by carbohydrates. Without those carbohydrates, the muscles
and the brain suffer.
Hopefully you have found some inspiration through this series. Each time I
teach these principles I get inspired by what others have done when they
apply themselves. Now go build that muscle!!!
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Thank you for joining me in “Mr. America’s Shape-Up Series”!
Look for more writings at http://amazon.com/author/jheart
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