CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF THE OLYMPIA

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SEPTEMBER 2014

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 COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY
PAVEL YTHJALL
38
Phil Heath

FEATURES
38 THE DEFINITION OF PHIL 190 THE FLEX DOCTRINE
An A–Z lexicon of all things Heath. The top 10 training tenets of Olympia 212 Showdown
champ Flex Lewis.
108 MEAN GREENE BACK MACHINE
Kai Greene’s instinctive methodical training. 202 TAKING IT SUPER SLOW
Big Ramy’s mass-building leg routine for the
132 WAR ZONE 2014 Olympia.
The ultimate insider’s view of the historic 50th Mr. Olympia.
214 DON’T SLEEP ON THE
154 THE LEGENDARY 13, PART 2 GIANT KILLER
Our homage to the icons who made the Mr. Olympia David Henry wants bodybuilding to know he hasn’t
the greatest bodybuilding contest in the world. gone—and isn’t going—anywhere.
PAVEL YTHJALL

176 MACHINE GUNS 220 2014 OLYMPIA EXPOW

Shawn “Flexatron” Rhoden takes his aim at building What to expect at bodybuilding’s biggest bash.
massive bi’s and tri’s.

16 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

 SEPTEMBER 2014

DEPARTMENTS
20 CHAIRMAN’S
LETTER
22 ARNOLD’S PAGE
30 BIG NEWS
Olympia on NBC,
Phil Heath renews AMI
contract, BPI FLEX Bikini
Model Search, 2014
Mozolani Pro
63 GYM BAG
Our usual mix, including
training tips, research,
and more.
70 H.U.G.E.®
How to improvise and
innovate on training days.
82 ADVANCED
BODYBUILDING
Train your brain.
84 THE POLIQUIN
PRINCIPLES
Stay lean with strongman
training.
86 ADVANCED
NUTRITION &
SUPPLEMENTS
Our top nutrition tips and
supplements picks of
the month.
226 HARD TIMES
234 ONLY THE STRONG
Part 1 of an eight-week cycle
to max out your bench.
236 NPC REPORT
Insider industry news
246 THE DIET DOC
Carb loading: Find the
formula for you.
248 THE SHOT
All-stars.

18 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

 Nutrex.com
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Your muscles won’t know what hit them

 Chairman and Chief Executive Ofcer DAVID PECKER
President of the IFBB Professional League JIM MANION
Founder and Chairman Emeritus JOE WEIDER (1920–2013)
EDITORIAL
Editor-in-Chief ROBBIE DURAND
Executive Editor ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER
Managing Editor, Enthusiast Group/Books BRIAN GOOD
West Coast Editor DAVE IAN LEE
Chief Medical Adviser CARLON COLKER, M.D., F.A.C.N.
Senior Writer GREG MERRITT
Senior Web Editor ANGELICA NEBBIA
Copy Chief PEARL AMY SVERDLIN
Copy Editors NINA COMBS, JEFF TOMKO, HEIDI JACOBS
Research JAMES RILEY
Editorial Production Director RUSSELL MENDOZA
Editorial Production Coordinator VICTOR KIM
Associate Editor NICOLE ADAMO
Editorial Assistant TIFFANY GAGNON
ART
Art Director SEAN OTTO
Senior Designer STEVEN BARBEAU
Deputy Photo Editor SAMUEL WILSON
EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS

50TH MR. OLYMPIA

J.M. MANION, MIKE BERG, TONY MONCHINSKI,
ANITA NIKOLICH, DAVID SANDLER
PHOTO & ART CONTRIBUTORS

BACK ON NATIONAL TV! Staff Photographers

JASON BREEZE, CHARLES LOWTHIAN, PER BERNAL
Contributors
RON AVIDAN, ALBERT BUSEK, CARUSO, ISAAC HINDS,
KEVIN HORTON, CHRIS LUND, J.M. MANION, PAVEL YTHJALL,

Q September 18–21, the best

bodybuilding, figure, fitness,
bikini, and physique competitors in
Ashley Kaltwasser, Women’s Phy-
sique Showdown winner Dana Linn
Bailey, Men’s Physique Showdown
ART ZELLER, BILL COMSTOCK
INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING, ENTHUSIAST GROUP
Managing Director, Weider Pub. Ltd. (Europe)
MARTIN CHEIFETZ
the world will converge on Las Ve- winner Mark Anthony, Ms. Olympia (UK) 44-142-350-4516; fax: 44-142-356-1469;
gas to celebrate the ultimate quest Iris Kyle, and many others. e-mail: [email protected]
for human physical perfection as The Olympia Expo ofers more FOREIGN EDITIONS
Ultimate Nutrition presents the than 500,000 square feet of Algeria Argentina Australia Bahrain Belarus Belgium Chile Croatia

2014 IFBB Joe Weider’s Olympia exciting action, including powerlift- Ecuador Egypt France Germany Gibraltar Guatemala Ireland Italy

Fitness and Performance Weekend, ing, grappling, strongman, MMA, Jordan Kazakhstan Kuwait Latvia Lebanon Lithuania Luxembourg Malta

brought to you by Bodybuilding.com. kickboxing, and arm wrestling, plus Mexico Netherlands New Zealand Oman Paraguay Peru Philippines Qatar

This year is shaping up to be new events like the Olympia Rhino Russia Saudi Arabia Spain Syria Turkey United Kingdom Uruguay Venezuela

an epic battle between defending CrossFit Championships and Olym- ADVERTISING

three-time Mr. Olympia Phil Heath pia Combative Sports. EVP/Group Publishing Director CHRIS SCARDINO
Advertising Director DARA MARKUS
and last year’s runner-up, Kai When the late, great Joe Weider Managing Director, Digital Sales STEVE HIGGINS
Marketing Solutions Director ANGIE WALKER
Greene. Other contenders are also started the Mr. Olympia contest in
EASTERN SALES OFFICE
hungry to take out the champion, 1965, Larry “the Legend” Scott won 4 New York Plaza, 4th Floor, New York,
NY 10004; (212) 339-1900; fax (212) 510-1947
including Dennis Wolf, Shawn the inaugural event and the quest Digital Sales Manager MIKE MYERS
Rhoden, Roelly Winklaar, Dexter for glory began. Since then, 12 other Business Manager IVELISE ESTREMERA
Administrative Assistant TRACY GUNTHORPE
Jackson, and Mamdouh “Big men—Sergio Oliva, Arnold Schwar- DETROIT SALES OFFICE
Ramy” Elssbiay. Order your tickets zenegger, and Ronnie Coleman RPM Associates, 285 Coats Road, Suite 206,
Lake Orion, MI 48362; (248) 690-7013
now at mr.olympia.com! among them—have etched their Detroit Sales Representative JAY GAGEN
This year’s 50th Olympia event names into the tome of bodybuild- MIDWESTERN SALES OFFICE
1005 West Grove Street, Arlington Heights,
is bigger and better than ever, as ing immortality. IL 60005; (312) 545-8041; fax (847) 749-0469
we have exciting news: American We’re also proud to present the Sales Director DARRIN KLAPPRODT
Media, Inc. and NBC Sports Group 50th anniversary digital edition WESTERN SALES OFFICE
6420 Wilshire Blvd., 15th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90048; (818) 595-0473
recently announced a partnership of FLEX, which can be found at Account Manager TALIN BOUSTANI
to televise the 2014 Mr. Olympia FLEXonline.com. Read about the SOUTHEASTERN SALES OFFICE
contest on NBCSN, with two proud heritage of past and present 1000 American Media Way, Boca Raton, FL 33464-1000;
(800) 500-1012; fax (561) 266-0664
90-minute telecasts of the 50th Olympians, find Olympia record PRODUCTION
annual Mr. Olympia from Orleans facts, training tips, and interactive Production Manager ANN MCCAFFREY
Arena in Las Vegas. videos, and learn much more about Distribution Manager MARC MELCHER

The partnership brings the bodybuilding’s greatest contest. WEIDER PUBLICATIONS, LLC
A SUBSIDIARY OF AMERICAN MEDIA, INC.
Mr. Olympia back to TV for the This is a free digital download dedi- CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
first time since 1984, when Lee cated to all things Olympia—with DAVID PECKER
Haney won his first of eight titles. incredible photos of bodybuilding’s Executive Vice President/Chief Marketing Ofcer
KEVIN HYSON
The initial telecast will take place greatest athletes—so be sure to go Executive Vice President, Consumer Marketing
DAVID W. LECKEY
BILL COMSTOCK; GETTYIMAGES.COM

on Oct. 18 at 1:30 p.m. ET, and to FLEXonline.com and download Executive Vice President/Chief Financial Ofcer/Treasurer
the second will air on Oct. 25 at the free Olympia Special. CHRIS POLIMENI
President/CEO, Distribution Services, Inc.
5:30 p.m. ET. Each telecast will JOHN D. SWIDER
Executive Vice President/Chief Digital Ofcer
highlight various aspects of the Mr. JOSEPH M. BILMAN
Olympia competition and feature Executive Vice President, Digital Media Operations/CIO
DAVID THOMPSON
the sport’s biggest stars, including Senior Vice President, Operations ROB M. O’NEILL
General Manager, AMI International & Syndication LAWRENCE A. BORNSTEIN
the aforementioned athletes as
DISCLAIMER Please consult your physician before beginning any exercise or diet
well as 212 Showdown champ Flex DAVID J. PECKER program, or when making changes in an existing program.
Chairman, President, and
Lewis, Figure Olympia winner Nicole Chief Executive Officer of
PRINTED IN USA
WE ASSUME NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR RETURNING UNSOLICITED MATERIAL,
Wilkins, Bikini Olympia champ American Media, Inc. INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO PHOTOS, ARTWORK, MANUSCRIPTS AND LETTERS.

20 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

 AVAILABLE AT

†
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA.
This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease.
HARD-
HEADED
Build championship-caliber
triceps by adding creativity
to your routine

Q The triceps brachii muscle, as

the name implies, consists of three
heads (medial, lateral, and long). So why
do so many people employ so few angles
and variations when training their triceps?
It seems as though the typical routine
involves pressdowns with a bar or rope,
some lying extensions, and little else. But
to fully develop mass, shape, and detail
in the muscle, you need to run the gamut
of exercises. Here are some guidelines on
hammering out your horseshoes.

TARGET: LATERAL HEAD

MOVES: Close-grip bench press, weighted dip.
Lying extensions are a great mass builder,
but nothing beats the close-grip bench for
adding size to the backs and sides of the
upper arms. The key is not using too narrow a
grip—keep your hands about 12 inches apart
so you can use a fairly heavy weight, which is
crucial for developing size.
Weighted dips are another great mass-
building move. Keep your body upright to
maximally impact the triceps; don’t angle
your torso forward as you would to focus on
your pecs. I always preferred using enough
weight to fail at 10 reps or fewer; save the
sets of 12–15 reps for exercises such as

ZELLER, © FITNESS PUBLICATIONS, INC., COURTESY OF WEIDER HEALTH AND FITNESS

pressdowns and kickbacks.

TARGET: LONG HEAD

MOVES: All overhead extensions.
Overhead movements are clearly the best
way to hit the triceps’ long head, but I sug-
TRI’D AND TRUE
QHere’s a triceps routine to test over the next
gest using as many diferent variations of few weeks. It may be diferent, but if it’s new
overhead extensions as possible. One of my TARGET: MEDIAL HEAD for you, it’ll prove that much more efective.
favorites is the one-arm overhead dumbbell MOVES: Reverse-grip pressdown,
extension. Most bodybuilders rely on the lying extension. EXERCISE SETS REPS
two-arm version, but if you have any size If you want great triceps, you should never Close-grip Bench Press 4 8–10
imbalance from arm to arm, you’ll only per- neglect the medial head. Using a reverse grip on
Weighted Dip
petuate it by doing two-arm moves. That’s pressdowns is a great way to do this (an EZ-bar (body upright)
3 6–8
where one-arm extensions prove efective. attachment can alleviate stress on the wrists).
Another personal favorite is the overhead For a more novel exercise, try reverse-grip lying Overhead Cable
3 10–12
cable extension, in which you attach a straight barbell extensions (again, an EZ bar may be Extension*
bar or rope to a low-pulley cable and follow more comfortable). Just keep in mind, you’ll Reverse-grip
3 12–15
the same technique as with a dumbbell. want to use a significantly lighter weight than Cable Pressdown**
These can be performed seated or standing. you would for standard lying extensions. *
Alternate with one-arm dumbbell overhead
What I like so much about the cable version extensions every other workout.
is the constant tension it provides. If you’re **
Alternate with reverse-grip lying barbell/EZ-
used to doing only dumbbell extensions, you’ll bar extensions every other workout.
definitely be sore the day after using a cable.

22 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

© 2013 MUSCLEPHARM CORP. * These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

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Q American Media, Inc.

(AMI) and NBC Sports
Group announced a partner-
youngest competitor
to claim the title and went on
to win seven more before retir-
ship to televise the 2014 Mr. ing from competition (1970–
Olympia contest on NBCSN with 1975, 1980).
two 90-minute specials, the first “I was very excited when
on Oct. 18 at 1:30 p.m. ET and I heard that NBC would be
the second on Oct. 25 at 5:30 televising this year’s Olympia
p.m. ET. Weekend,” said Jim Manion,
“We are pleased to partner IFBB Professional League
with NBC Sports Group to bring president. “People will see
the excitement of the 2014 Mr. what bodybuilding and
Olympia, and all of the events fitness is all about and
of Olympia Weekend, to a getting an up-close view
national television audience,” of the larger-than-life
said AMI chairman, president, personalities of superstars
and CEO David J. Pecker. like reigning and three-time
“The Olympia Weekend Mr. Olympia Phil Heath, No. 1
is an extraordinary event challenger Kai Greene, Dennis
that underscores the Wolf, Shawn Rhoden, and others
passion and commitment will surely grow the fan base
that every competitor brings even further. And who knows,
to the stage, and the exhilara- in the vast television audience
tion of the more than 40,000 watching NBC’s broadcast of this
spectators that will attend this year’s contest, it may inspire a
year’s event.” future Mr. Olympia.”
The partnership brings the In addition to crowning
Mr. Olympia back to TV for the Mr. Olympia, the telecasts
first time since 1984, when will also showcase how the
Lee Haney won his first of Mr. Olympia competition
eight titles. has grown from its humble
“We look forward to bring- beginnings in 1965 into a
ing the bodybuilding world’s four-day extravaganza
most prestigious event featuring the Fitness,
back to television for its Figure, and Bikini
50th annual contest,” said Olympia contests, the
Lou Ferrer, the director of Olympia 212 Showdown,
programming acquisitions Men’s and Women’s
for NBC Sports Group. Physique Showdowns,
Each telecast will highlight and the excitement of the
various aspects of the Mr. Olympia Expo. Last year, more
Olympia competition, featur- than 40,000 people passed
ing the sport’s biggest stars through the doors for The Mr.
including Kai Greene, Dennis Olympia Fitness and Perfor-
Wolf, Shawn Rhoden, and mance Weekend.
Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay The 2014 Mr. Olympia Fitness
as they attempt to wrest the and Performance weekend
coveted title from three-time takes place Sept. 18–21 at
defending champion Phil Heath. Orleans Arena in Las Vegas,
One of the most notable winners NV. Tickets are available now
of the contest was a young at mrolympia.com or by calling
Austrian bodybuilder named 888-234-2334.
IAN SPANIER

Arnold Schwarzenegger who For listings and the NBCSN

won the Mr. Olympia in 1970 at Channel Finder, visit nbcsports
age 23. Schwarzenegger was the .com/tv-listings.

30 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

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 THE
RUSSIAN
BEAR
RETURNS
Q At 6 feet and 280
pounds, Alexander
Fedorov was hyped as
a real-life Drago and
one of the biggest
threats to then-Mr.
Olympia Ronnie
Coleman’s reign. The
older generation of
fans will remember
him as the man-child
who burst to inter-
national awareness
on the heels of his
third-place finish
behind Coleman and
Jay Cutler at the 2003
IFBB Russian Grand
Prix. In his pro debut,
the 25-year old had
the mass and density

Q In the early half of 2005, the buzz in the bodybuilding world centered on a 25-year-old for- to stand toe-to-toe
mer college basketball player from Colorado who had just won the NPC Junior Nationals Champion- with two of the big-
gest bodybuilders in
ships. That buzz was so loud that AMI/Weider Publications signed the amateur to an exclusive contract.
the world. A year later
In an age when pro hopefuls typically put in several years of efort to make the leap into the big league, at the same contest,
Phillip Jerod Heath did it on his very first try at the NPC USA, in only his third year as a competitive body- Fedorov placed
builder (whew, the gamble paid of!). A new star was born and the Gif was being talked about as a future second to Coleman,
Mr. Olympia. But the same had been said about Kevin Levrone and Flex Wheeler, whom he was compared setting himself up
with regularly. Although both Hall of Fame bodybuilders had come close, neither had managed to win the as a front-runner
big one. But Heath grew and grew, making the kind of dramatic improvements seen only in the beginning leading up to the
stages of a bodybuilder’s journey. Afer several shining moments, and a few minor speed bumps, in 2011 2005 Olympia. That
contest turned out to
Heath did what only 12 men before him had done since 1965: He won the Mr. Olympia. Now, three years later be a disaster—as he
and heading into the historic 50th Mr. Olympia, Heath is shooting for his fourth consecutive Sandow. And failed to place—and
in early May Mr. Olympia signed an exclusive two-year deal to remain a Team AMI/Weider athlete. We sure 2006 was no better,
know how to pick ’em…and keep ’em! with ninth being his
COURTESY OF PHIL HEATH; IGOR KOPCEK OF EAST LABS

highest placing in
the three contests
he did that season.
BPI SPORTS OFFICIAL SPONSOR OF Fedorov retired and
(EASTLABS.BIZ); FLEX WHEELER: CHRIS LUND

2014 FLEX BIKINI MODEL SEARCH

promptly disappeared
from the bodybuilding
landscape, but on Nov.
QBPI Sports, one of the industry’s leading sports nutrition manufactur- 1, the Russian Bear
ers, is the ofcial sponsor of the 2014 FLEX Bikini Model Search Championships, held will make his return to
Sept. 19–20 at the 2014 Joe Weider’s Olympia Fitness and Performance Weekend in the contest stage at
Las Vegas, NV. With hundreds of the hottest bikini competitors in the world, it’s no the 2014 IFBB Grand
wonder the FLEX Bikini Model Search has become one of the most popular events Prix Fitness House Pro
held at the Olympia Expo. BPI Sports has been the fastest growing supplement in Saint Petersburg,
brand over the last two years, and sister brands like Image Sports, Pro-Nutra, and Jay Russia. Keep an eye
Cutler Nutrition are contributing to an outstanding 2014. For more on BPI Products out for our exclusive
and their related companies, check out bpisports.net. Go to FLEXonline.com for rules Fedorov feature in
and registration for the 2014 FLEX Bikini Model Search. next month’s issue.

32 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

FLASH REPORT May 3–4, Zilina, Slovakia
2014 IFBB MOZOLANI PRO

WOMEN’S
212 RESULTS FIGURE BIKINI PHYSIQUE
1. Sami Al Haddad* 1. Natalia Revajova 1. Christina Strom 1. Nathalie Falk*
2. Khalid Almohsinawi Lenartova* Fjaere* 2. Olga Beliakova
3. Marian Cambal 2. Kati Alander 2. Jana Majernikova 3. Aurelia Grozajova
*Qualified for 2014 3. Zsuzsanna Toldi 3. Nikola Weiterova *Qualified for 2014
Olympia 212 *Qualified for 2014 *Qualified for 2014 Women’s Physique
Showdown Figure Olympia Bikini Olympiaa Showdown

BREAKING NEWS
FLEX WHEELER
COMES BACK!
Q You know the name. You know
the physique. With four Arnold Clas-
sics, five Ironman Pros, and three
runners-up at the Olympia, Flex
Wheeler is without question one of
the greatest bodybuilders to ever
step onstage. In addition to the
phenomenal physique that racked
up 16 wins over a nine-year pro
career (counting only the years
he competed), part of the whole
Wheeler package was his larger-
than-life personality, which was
at times outspoken, cocky, and
almost always controversial. Wheeler
has been busy covering the sport in
print and video since his retirement
in 2003, and he brings his insight
to FLEX (the mag) as the newest
member of Team AMI/Weider. We’re
thrilled to have him onboard, and you
can check out his debut in this issue’s
Olympia preview.
 BREAKTHROUGH
NON-STIM
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The state-of-the-art venue will also include a 12,000 sq. ft. The University of Toronto has been around since 1827 and was the first
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RESEARC H & DEVELOPMENT

STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING

The 12,000 sq. ft. area will serve the training and recreational
needs of students, intercollegiate athletes, and high-performance
athletes. The space will offer a spectacular view of Varsity
Stadium and beyond. The facility will house everything from
Olympic heavy-lifting platforms to yoga and Pilates, and even
specialized equipment for athletes with disabilities.

Patkau Architects / Maclennan Jaunkalns Miller

Architects / Associated Architects for Varsity
Centre for High Performance Sport SPORT SCIENCE LABORATORIES
The labs will be a hot spot
for cutting-edge research in
sports science, with far-
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 BY GREG MERRITT

ou know what a gift is. But do you truly

know who Phil “the Gift” Heath is? What
distinguishes him from the rest of the
world’s best bodybuilders and from the
legends who preceded him? What drove
him to win the last three Mr. Olympia’s
and what’s driving his quest to win
No. 4 this year and more in future years?
We provide the answers in an A–Z lexicon
of all things Heath.

ARNOLD CLASSIC
This is the one that got away. To a remarkable degree,
Heath’s career has unfolded according to his long-range
plan. The one exception is his failure to win the Arnold
Classic. He competed in the A.C. three times and was
second twice—most controversially in 2010 when he
led after prejudging but lost to Kai Greene. He still talks
wistfully about possibly returning to the Columbus, OH,
stage and collecting an Arnold title, but if he continues
his September winning streak, a detour to this March
contest is unlikely. It’s possible that never having won in
Columbus is the best thing that ever happened to him,
because the painful knowledge that even the best-laid
38 FLEX | SEPTEMBER Õ14 plans can go awry fuels his every workout.
 PAVEL YTHJALL; GETTY IMAGES.COM

mrolympia.com
39
 BASKETBALL DENVER
A little-known fact is that Heath This has been Heath’s adopted
was an accomplished sprinter hometown since he entered the
in high school, ranking near the University of Denver in 1998. He
best in Washington state in the and wife Jen currently live in sub-
100- and 200-meter dashes. But urban Denver. There he prepares
his passion was bodybuilding. His for the Olympia out of the Los
senior year, he captained his high Angeles and New York spotlights.
school basketball team when it The central location also prevents
won the state title. Subsequent- him from enduring coast-to-coast
ly, this defensive specialist and flights for his frequent of-season
three-point marksman earned a guest appearances.
scholarship to the University of
Denver. He played in 65 games EVOLUTION
during his college career, but No Mr. Olympia has transformed his
stardom eluded the 5'9" guard. physique more over his pro career
His true gift lay elsewhere. than Heath. The 26-year-old won
his pro debut in 2006 at a mere 206
CHEST (high-def) pounds. The following
This is his secret weapon. His year, when he was fifth at the Ar-
arm size, back detail, and overall nold Classic, he was still undersized.
aesthetic-yet-freaky look draws But in 2008, he unveiled Gift 2.0,
most of the praise. But in his O 230 pounds with delts that obliter-
wins, his chest thickness gave ated his narrowness. He finished
depth to his upper body that third at the Olympia that year. And
top challengers Jay Cutler, Kai afterward, he kept right on evolving,
Greene, and Dennis Wolf lacked. morphing into 250-pound Gift 3.0,
He hits his pecs with a variety of the current king of bodybuilding,
PAVEL YTHJALL(2)

exercises (up to six per workout) with enough mass to hang with
from diverse angles and with a anyone and with a clear edge in
special emphasis on incline work crispness and aesthetics. And he’s
to fill out the upper region. evolving again even now.

40 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

PAVEL YTHJALL
 FST-7
Fascia Stretch Training Seven is
the system developed in 2007 by
Hany Rambod and subsequently
followed by Heath. Its greatest
distinguishing feature is the
concept of sevens. These are
typically seven sets of an isola-
tion exercise done at the end of a
routine with only 30–45 seconds
rest between sets. Sevens infuse
the targeted muscles with a
final, nutrient-rich pump.

GENETICS
No definition of Phil would be
complete without a discussion
of genes. After all, he is the Gift,
a nickname which virtually pegs
him as “the chosen one” be-
stowed with flawless DNA. The
truth is more complicated. Even HANY RAMBOD through the pain zone. He leaves
before he turned from basketball Heath met his nutritionist/ the theatrics for the stage.
to bodybuilding, he was blessed trainer in 2005. After watch- Nevertheless, Mr. O does boost
with better-than-average arms. ing Rambod prep his athletes intensity with techniques like
And he blew up rapidly when he for the 2005 NPC Nationals, sevens, supersets, and dropsets.
first started weight training. But Heath hired him. They’ve been
no one gets everything. He didn’t working together ever since JAY CUTLER
get wide clavicles. What’s more, in a relationship that is more In 2003, at his first bodybuild-
Heath explains that his true gift brotherly than business. ing contest, the 190-pound
is not granted to him. It’s what Heath met guest poser Jay
JASON BREEZE

he does with what he’s been INTENSITY Cutler. By 2005, they were
granted. It’s his drive to be the He’s not known for howling, curs- friends. Eventually, when
best he can be. ing, take-no-prisoners excursions Heath ascended through the

42 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

pro ranks to Cutler’s lofty level, contentious. This is due to their
they became rivals, too. The Gift widely divergent personalities and
lost to Cutler three times before physique types, but also because
turning the tables at the 2011 of their repeated close proximity
Olympia. Appropriately, Heath has on score sheets. Familiarity has
now evened the score. Each has bred contempt. They’ve finished
beat the other thrice. just one place apart six of the last
nine times they’ve squared off,
KAI GREENE including Greene’s runner-up fin-
Whereas Heath vs. Cutler was one ishes behind Heath in the past two
of the most cordial clashes in the Olympia’s. The Gift’s main nemesis
history of bodybuilding, Heath continues to drive him to greater
vs. Greene is one of the most heights, and vice versa.
 CHARLESLOWTHIAN.COM

44 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

 LATS rent three-time Mr. O’s workouts.
If we look back at his first three A key component of Heath’s long-
years of bodybuilding fame, from term strategy is injury avoidance.
2005 to 2007, the knock on Heath Accordingly, he sticks to moderate
wasn’t just that his shoulders were volume and does mostly straight
narrow, it was that his back was sets (usually four per exercise) for
lagging, too. To a large degree, lat 10–12 reps.
width is limited by clavicle length.
But don’t tell that to the Gift. For NUTRITION
years, he made back his first prior- Tell Mr. O you’re struggling to gain
ity. Remarkably, he pulled off the muscle, and he’ll turn to your meals
rare feat of turning a weakness instead of your workouts. It’s more
into a strength. Will his lats be the probable you’re not consuming
broadest on the Olympia stage enough of the right foods than
this year? No. But, from traps it is you’re not doing the right
to spinal erectors and to all the exercises or getting enough
lumps in between, his will likely be rest. Heath started working in a
the densest and most complete supplement store after college, and
back in the lineup. from the beginning of his 12-year
bodybuilding journey he understood
MODERATION the importance of quality protein,
Eight-time Mr. Olympia Lee complex carbs, and supplements for
PAVEL YTHJALL

Haney once famously stated his maximizing muscle.

training philosophy in three words:
“Stimulate, don’t annihilate.” OLYMPIA
The same could be said of the cur- This is the ultimate. The “Super
Bowl of Bodybuilding” is this year back or quinoa farmer. No, this gym to develop areas like inner tri’s ever seen. Heath usually
celebrating its 50th anniversary. one comes down to quality or traps, rear delts, and calves starts his triceps workout with
Heath, who has competed in the quantity—the yin and yang of that many undertrain, and also rope pushdowns and ends it
last six Olympias and won the bodybuilding. Either works. He who put in the work during their with dips and does extensions
last three, is only the 13th mem- has them both—a gargantuan prep to shed virtually all body and sometimes close-grip
ber of the Sandow Society. He quantity of quality muscle. But fat and subcutaneous water. If bench presses in between.
goes for Sandow No. 4 on Sept. if the choice is between one or you’re looking for one reason But the truth is this is the
19–20. If he wins it, he’ll be tied the other, Mr. O’s going to side why Heath is going for his fourth area where he is most gifted.
with his good friend Jay Cutler for with quality every time. He’s straight Sandow this year, it’s He had good arms before he
the fifth-most Olympia wins ever. never simply piled on pounds in because he made the PTMM his even began bodybuilding. And
a quest to weigh an ever greater best pose. once he started repping out
PROPORTIONS number, blowing up his arms, pushdowns and extensions, he
When people talk about body- for example, simply because SEATTLE quickly turned tri’s into stare-
building aesthetics, it can mean they grow easily. Instead, he’s Born December 18, 1979, and inducing trafc-stoppers.
several things. Let’s check them methodically added quality flesh raised by his mother Rosella
of for Heath: A slim waistline is that enhances his overall shape. Braxton and stepfather Jerry USA
paramount. Check. The shape Dorsey, Phil Heath spent his first This is the title he won in
of the muscles is also crucial REAR DOUBLE BICEPS 18 years in Seattle. He had no 2005 after catapulting to
(we’re talking fullness and deep This is it—the PTMM (pose interest in bodybuilding then. In- prominence with his Jr. USA
separation). Check. Finally, all that matters most). When a stead, he was a classically trained victory two months prior, and
of those muscles need to be bodybuilder going through pianist and a street-trained this one sent his stock soar-
in proper concert with each his mandatory poses turns to b-baller. But, with the love and ing. By qualifying for the IFBB
other. Check. Throughout his face the curtain, spikes a calf, support of his parents, this was Pro League on his first try, he
career, Heath has brought up his locks his arms into position where his character and drive was the rare bodybuilder to
weaknesses and downplayed his and flexes, the judges get not originated and blossomed. go “one-and-done.”
strengths, always endeavoring just their first and ideal view
to keep all areas of his physique of a wide variety of muscles TRICEPS VISUALIZATION
properly proportionate. from head-to-toe, but they The essence of Heath’s greatness Working out without knowing
see the best barometers of is his combination of pleasing aes- how you want your future
QUALITY conditioning: definition in the thetics and gasp-inducing freaki- physique to appear is like
When assembling an A–Z spinal erectors, hamstrings, and ness. And no body part better shooting a movie without
lexicon, Q can be problematic. glutes. This pose demonstrates embodies both qualities than his a script. Any director who
Heath was never a quarter- both who put in the work in the triceps. He has two of the meatiest goes script-free will likely

: PAVEL YTHJALL

46 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

: PAVEL YTHJALL
 film useless scenes. Similarly, a
bodybuilder without an image
of what he hopes to achieve is
prone to focus more on his
pluses than his minuses and
grow increasingly out of bal-
ance. Heath is forever taking
stock of what he needs to
emphasize and de-emphasize
to improve his physique and
achieve his visualized ideal.

WEIGHTS
Mr. O readily admits he sees guys
in the gym all the time putting up
bigger numbers than he does. And
yet they don’t carry around half as
much muscle as him. Weights are
just tools. Choose the right tool to
best work your muscles. You could
PAVEL YTHJALL; INSET: CHARLESLOWTHIAN.COM

use a sledgehammer to pound a

nail, but you’ll likely miss the nail
and you may do unintended dam- X-FRAME history of bodybuilding has
age. A standard socket hammer The Gift was not gifted with done a better job of overcom-
is going to work best precisely a classical X-frame: wide ing structural deficiencies than
because it’s smaller and you can clavicles, narrow hips, expansive Heath. He did so by packing
handle it properly. With the right outer quad sweep. When he first inches of flesh onto his deltoids,
tool, you can hit the target every catapulted to fame in 2005, maintaining his svelte hips and
time. Likewise, a weight that lets he looked positively narrow in waistline, and muscling-up his
you get 8–12 reps with precise street clothes. Many experts outer lats and outer quads.
form is better than a heavier prognosticated that this would When he locks in his standing
weight that lets you get only a few prevent him from ever collecting relaxed pose, it looks like a
reps with looser form. a Sandow. But no one in the gargantuan X.

48 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

 YOUTH advantage he can exploit over more important, because Heath
Heath got a late start in body- most of his top challengers. shares it with all bodybuilders,
building, but he grew so quickly He won’t be 40 until the 2020 from the rawest beginner to
that he earned professional Olympia. How many Sandows Kai Greene. He wants to push
status at age 25 and won his pro will he have by then? himself to ever higher heights,
debut at 26. When he became to see how great his physique
Mr. Olympia at age 31 in 2011, ZENITH can be. He’s curious and excited
he was the youngest champ What motivates a bodybuilder about what he can look like at
since 30-year-old Dorian Yates once he has become Mr. Olym- this year’s Olympia, and next
took his first Sandow in 1992. pia? Two things. First, more year’s, and the one five years
Because he’s now 34, you might Olympias. Once you join the from now. The zenith is forever
think Heath’s age advantage Sandow Society, your competi- moving, because however great
has vanished. Wrong. He was the tion becomes the legends who he is now, he wants to be better
youngest man in the Olympia made it there before you. Heath tomorrow. Like a horizon, he can
top seven last year. And in the has stated his ultimate goal: never reach perfection, but the
PAVEL YTHJALL

top 10, only Mamdouh Elssbiay 10 Olympia wins, breaking the drive for him and for all body-
(8th) and Lionel Beyeke (10th) current record of eight and builders is to keep reaching,
were born after him. Heath’s tacking on one more for good keep growing, keeping chasing
relative youthfulness is still an measure. The second thing is the horizon. FLEX

50 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

 OFF-SEASON MEAL PLAN
SUNDAY: QUADS, HAMSTRINGS & CALVES FRIDAY: BACK
MEAL 1
EXERCISE SETS REPS EXERCISE SETS REPS Q 10 oz chicken Q 1 cup egg whites

Q 1 cup grits
Leg Extension 4 8–12 Wide-grip Pullup 3 10 MEAL 2
Q 12 oz 94% ground beef
Front Squat 4 10–12 Power-grip Chinup 3 10
Q 2 cups white rice
Leg Press 3 10–12 T-bar Row 4 10–12 MEAL 3
Q 12 oz beef tenderloin
Hack Squat 7 5–7 Bentover Row 4 10–12
Q 8 oz whole-wheat pasta

Stif-leg Deadlift 4 10–12 One-arm Dumbbell Row 3 10–12 MEAL 4

Q 6–8 oz beef tenderloin
Lying Leg Curl 4 10–12 Straight-arm Pulldown* 7 12
Q 10 oz white potato

Seated Leg Curl* 7 5–7 SATURDAY: CHEST & ARMS MEAL 5

Q 12 oz chicken Q 1 cup spinach
Standing Calf Raise 4 15–20 Dumbbell Incline Press 4 10–12
MEAL 6
Leg Press Calf Raise 4 15–20 Hammer-Strength 3 10–12 Q 1 2 oz 94% ground beef

Bench Press Q 1 cup broccoli

Seated Calf Raise* 7 12–15
Pec Deck* 7 10–12
MONDAY: CHEST
Close-grip Bench Press 3 10–12
Dumbbell Incline Press 4 10–12
Lying Triceps Extension* 7 10–12
Dumbbell Incline Flye 4 10–12
Standing EZ-bar Curl 3 10–12
Hammer Strength 3 10–12
Bench Press Hammer Curl 3 10–12
Pec Deck* 7 10–12 Concentration Curl 3 10–12
Dip 3 12 *FST-7 (30-40 seconds rest between sets)
TUESDAY: BACK
Wide-grip Pullup 3 10
Power-grip Chinup 3 10
T-bar Row 4 10–12
Bentover Row 4 10–12
One-arm Dumbbell Row 3 10–12
Straight-arm Pulldown* 7 12
WEDNESDAY (A.M.): QUADS
Leg Extension 4 8–12
Front Squat 4 10–12
Leg Press 3 10–12
Hack Squat* 7 5–7
WEDNESDAY (P.M.): HAMSTRINGS & CALVES
Stif-leg Deadlift 4 10–12
Lying Leg Curl 4 10–12
Seated Leg Curl* 7 5–7
Standing Calf Raise 4 15–20
Leg Press Calf Raise 4 15–20
Seated Calf Raise* 7 12–15
THURSDAY: SHOULDERS
Dumbbell Military Press 4 6–8
Dumbbell Front Raise 4 6–8
Upright Row 4 6–8
Dumbbell Lateral Raise* 7 6–8
Dumbbell Shrug 3–4 6–8
Barbell Shrug 3–4 6–8
PAVEL YTHJALL

Bentover Dumbbell Raise 4 6–8

Reverse Pec Deck* 7 10–12

52 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

 CHARLESLOWTHIAN.COM

54 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

HOW TO BE A LEGEND

I KNOW
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If you want to gain lean, rock hard muscle or shred
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- Jay Cutler
4x Mr. Oympia

When it comes to picking the right ONLY ONE that comes with the
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 3 MUST DO EXERCISES FOR

NE
BUILDING MUSCLE

W
!
A lot has changed in the bodybuilding world in the last 20 oing.
and doing exercises the competition may not be doing.
years. Training methods that were “cutting-edge” in the
1990s have become yesterdays’ science. One thing that Dumbbell Pullovers are an exercise many people simply
hasn’t changed though is the impact Jay Cutler has had in forget. Bench and Dumbbell Press are great for throwing
the pro bodybuilding ranks. the weights, but you need to stretch the muscle to force
the tissue to grow. Not only do Pullovers allow for a
As a Mr. Olympia, Jay is in pretty elite company, but what great, growth-stimulating stretch, BUT they also deliver
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has been at the top of our game for 20 years now. Having
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than just about anyone. With Cutler Nutrition supplements Exercise #3:
now available, Jay is able to deliver his nutrition secrets to
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SIDE LATERAL (THE JAY CUTLER WAY)
Cutler has always been known for some crazy leg
Jay’s training.
development, but one bodypart that really puts his physique
ahead of the competition are his Delts… Big Delts are the
Jay identified 3 exercises he’s relied on to build an Olympian
key to making you look wide and huge, and there is no better
physique and we’ll explain how to fit them into your workout
way to build those cannonball Delts than Side Laterals.
routine…
One thing Cutler will tell ya, this exercise is more complicated
Exercise #1: than just swinging a pair of dumbbells around. In fact the
swing negates a lot of the movement, and for this reason,
2 ARM DUMBBELL ROW Jay recommends sitting for the side lateral raises (as
This exercise builds a great Back! This is a power exercise, opposed to standing where people’s natural body movement
and these will leave you sore! can influence the lift).

Bodybuilders always want detail in the lats and that …Jay’s final tip, keep the palms of your hands facing the
“V-Taper.” Rowing exercises are a very popular way to ground as you raise the weight. This puts the tension
achieve this, and there are machines in every gym to right into the shoulder muscles, right where you want it, to
simulate this movement – but this is one exercise where a stimulate the most growth.
simple dumbbell movement beats the fanciest machine every
day of the week!

Jay puts his own twist on this by using an incline bench to

brace his chest… this prevents cheating and forces you to
really squeeze and contract the back. One final tip from
Mr. Olympia, turn or “Supinate” your wrists as you pull the
dumbbells up in order to really engage the muscles in the
back! For sports training and bodybuilding alike, 2 Arm
Dumbbell rows are a must.

Jay puts his own twist

by using an incline bench Exercise #2:
to brace his chest…
DUMBBELL PULLOVER
Chest training is only about how to increase your bench
press. To compete at the highest levels, it’s not just
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 From the first timer to the most
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Most people who really have their

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 FIN
AL
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CARDIO AND during recovery for up to two days,
which may possibly be detrimental

WEIGHTS TOGETHER?
to optimal muscle growth and
strength development. However,
this initial diference between the

DOES IT MATTER?
recovery times was no longer
observed after the 24-week training
period, and both groups actually
increased physical performance and
muscle size to about a similar ex-

Q For years there has been

debate on the role of cardio
and its impact on muscle growth.
efect. The researchers wanted to
investigate whether a moderate
volume of aerobic exercise and re-
by six months of training. Before
and after the trial, the researchers
measured physical fitness and body
tent. 1RM strength, total lean mass,
and muscle cross-sectional area
increased similarly in both groups at
Some trainers advocate a lot of cardio sistance training combined into the composition. The aerobic exercise Week 24 to a similar extent.
leading up to a contest, whereas same training session is sufcient program involved a cycle ergometer, The amount and/or frequency of
others recommend little to no cardio to lead to significant changes in and the resistance-training program training may play a key role.
because they feel that cardio has a physical fitness, body composition, included exercises for all major Based on these findings, the
negative impact on muscle growth. It and blood lipids. They also wanted muscle groups but had a focus on training order of combined
is thought that combining cardio and to investigate whether there was an the lower body. The overall duration cardio and resistance training does
resistance exercise into a concurrent order efect in these variables. Re- of the strength workout within each not seem to have an efect on
training program leads to suboptimal searchers had 42 males participate concurrent training session was biological adaptations. Performing
adaptations. For example, a previous in the 24-week study. 30–50 minutes, and the overall two to three combined cardio- and
research study found that the gains The participants performed training session involving both resistance training sessions per
in lean muscle mass were less when either supervised cardio, immedi- endurance and strength training week, of 90–120 minutes each,
combined resistance exercise and ately followed by strength training, sessions was 60–100 minutes. does not lead to diferences in
cardio were performed, whereas the or vice versa (two to three combined Despite diferences in recovery the adaptations of overall fitness
group that did resistance exercise cardio and resistance sessions per time, training order did not afect and body composition between
only gained greater strength and lean week). The researchers investigated long-term adaptations the two training orders. However,
muscle mass. whether the immediate anabolic The anabolic responses of one whether the present results may
Some researchers have proposed efects of one single exercise ses- single training session seemed to be ultimately applied to fitness
KEVIN HORTON

that the excessive volume of train- sion would difer between the two be less favorable in the training enthusiasts with a longer training
ing when both aerobic exercise and training orders and whether these group starting with cardio. This was history or athletes, typically training
resistance training are employed diferences would be reflected in the especially indicated by reduced con- a much greater amount, remains to
together causes this interference physiological adaptations induced centrations of serum testosterone be investigated.

FLEXonline.com 63
FLEX EXPERT

BY BRYAN HAYCOCK, M.S.

remaining five weeks. To give you

a better idea of what 80% HRR
means, it’s about 50% of your
max heart rate.
At the end of 12 weeks, several
diferent measurements of mus-
cle size and function were taken.
Of interest to us of course is the
efect on muscle growth. Quad-
riceps muscle volume increased
~5% in younger and ~6% in
older subjects. That’s nothing to
sneeze at so I kept reading. Upon
closer examination, it was only
type-I (slow-twitch) fibers that
actually grew. Type-II (fast-
twitch) fibers actually shrunk in
the younger subjects although
this did not reach statistical
significance by 12 weeks.
Afer reading the study
closely, I think the implied
claim made by the title of the
study, aerobic training induces
skeletal muscle hypertrophy,
probably requires an asterisk
with the disclaimer, “only in
untrained young and elderly
men.” If you train your legs with
weights regularly, jumping on
a stationary bike and pedal-
ing at 50% your max heart
rate is not going to do jack to
build mass in your quads. This
is a perfect example of the
Hypertrophy-Specific Training
principle, which states, “the
efectiveness of any given load is
determined by the condition of
the tissue at the time the load is
applied.” There is a load-stress
and metabolic-stress threshold
in muscle tissue that must be
crossed for significant hyper-
trophy to occur. The process

BUILD MUSCLE
of adapting to that stress
pushes this threshold up over
time, rendering previous loads

ON A TREADMILL?
inefective at inducing growth.
If it weren’t so, we could all just
skip the squat rack and jump on
the bike until we had quads
Tom Platz would be proud of. In

Q A recent study by a group

at Ball State University
in Indiana claims that signifi-
size to facilitate aerobic metabo-
lism with long-term training. So
I thought this study deserved a
set according to each subject’s
“heart rate reserve” (HRR). Your
HRR is the diference between
the real word, it just ain’t so. To
the authors’ credit, they do
come clean in the final conclu-
cant muscle hypertrophy can be closer look. your resting heart rate and your sion by clarifying that aerobic
achieved with aerobic exercise. The first thing to figure out predicted maximum heart rate. exercise should be considered
This piqued my interest because is what exactly do they mean So the bike was set up so each a viable option for “combating
it has been well established that by aerobic exercise? They had subject pedaled for 20 minutes the decline of aerobic capacity
aerobic exercise is not an efec- untrained young (~20 years) and at 60% of their HRR initially and loss of muscle mass that
KEVIN HORTON

tive means of inducing muscle older-aged (~74 years) subjects and worked up to a maximum occurs with the normal aging
growth. Not only that, there work out three to four times per of 45 minutes at 80% HRR by process.” Until then, you and I
is some evidence that muscle week on a stationary bike for 12 the seventh week and then this will have to stick with good old
fibers may actually decrease in weeks. Exercise intensity was intensity was maintained for the weight training.

64 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

 RETRO ATHLETE

MUSTAFA
MOHAMMAD
The mysterious tale of one of the thickest physiques ever

Q The tale of Mustafa

Mohammad is like MOHAMMAD
to achieve the arid look neces-
sary to collect the biggest checks
a book with the middle
chapters ripped out. With- ON CHEST in even the smallest pro shows,
but fans celebrated his startling
out them, we’ll never know
how great he could’ve been.
TRAINING level of thickness. His pecs,
abs, and quads were especially
Q “The secret to
The Jordanian-born Moham- dense. There are shots of him
my chest size is
mad rose as high as he could I don’t use any striking poses next to Branch
in non-IFBB contests, winning machines. I use Warren in the 2005 Charlotte
two world titles in 1992 at age only barbells, Pro, and Mohammad has the
26. Then he vanished—for dumbbells, and clear edge in density even when
nine years! That temporary dip bars.” looking at their legs and chests
retirement should’ve been (and those are Warren’s strong
his physique peak, but Q “Sometimes I points, too). But the Jordanian-
he stayed of stages and divide my chest Austrian didn’t have as many
instead focused on his new training into details. Warren was victorious
life in Austria—raising three three three- that day and has since won two
children with his wife and week stages. Arnold Classics and finished
The first three
running his own gym. When second in the Olympia. Moham-
weeks I do flat
he finally made his IFBB pro barbell presses, mad was fourth that day, and
debut in 2001, he was 35. His flat dumbbell he never made much of an
subsequent career was disap- presses, and flat impact aferward.
pointing. In his 24 contests flyes. The next Still, whenever his photos
between 2001 and 2006, three weeks, I appear on bodybuilding mes-
he never placed higher than do those three sage boards, fans marvel at
third. Seven times he failed to exercises on an how thick his physique was a
even crack the top 10. incline and the decade ago. They wonder how
last three weeks
The problem for Moham- great he could’ve been—if only
on a decline.”
mad was always conditioning, he could’ve dialed it in. And what
never development.
p He failed if he had continued compet-
Q “I always warm
ing those nine years when he
up for 5–15
minutes with
should’ve been at his best?
very light sets Could he have had a career of
before my first big paydays similar to Warren’s?
set of bench We’ll never know. Today he is
presses.” retired from competition, seem-
ingly half the size he once was,
Q “For dips, I and managing his gym in Vienna.
lean slightly Those middle pages were ripped
forward and get out long ago, so the story of
a full range Mustafa Mohammad will forever
of motion,
be a mystery.
lowering
myself as
far as I can MOHAMMAD’S
to stretch CHEST ROUTINE
my outer EXERCISE SETS REPS
pecs, then
Barbell Bench Press 4 8–10
power
myself all Dumbbell Incline Press 4 8–10
PHOTO CREDIT
CHRIS LUND

the way up and Incline Flye 3 10–12

squeeze.” Dip 3 10–2

66 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

 BY GREG
MERRITT

Mohammad
FLEX FACTOID

began
bodybuilding at
age 19 when he
was serving his
compulsory two-
CHRIS LUND

year stint in the

Jordanian army.
 by KEN “SKIP” HILL

BRAIN POWER Train your brain for greater gains!

QNo matter what you do in to get huge and ripped takes you are starving and you start for mediocrity. Bodybuilding
the sport of bodybuilding, more than just action. You will looking at your next cheat should only be one part of a
to be successful, you must need to “trick” the body to get meal being a week away, you balanced life and the attributes
be psychologically strong. to a level of development that is are in trouble. Don’t even look you acquire in bodybuilding will
The physical aspect of this game not natural. to the next day—instead, look transfer over to the rest of your
is secondary—a very distant Hunger, in and of itself, is not to the next meal. life, whether they are positive or
second—to the psychological life-threatening—at least in So many of us focus on the negative. Remember: “The body
component. On the surface, you reference to everyone reading physical aspects of this sport, will not go where the mind has
might think this is nuts, but if this article. The “problem” with and there is a lot of informa- not already been.”
you dig deeper you’ll understand hunger is that it usually only tion available. There is much
what I’m saying. Success in this signals a lack of food, not a lack less information about the
sport appears to be about physi- of available energy. You might mental aspects of being suc-
cally moving weights—picking be lacking in caloric intake, but cessful. Accepting limitations,
them up and putting them down. if you are carrying even just 10 whether it be in the gym, while
Nothing could be further from pounds of body fat, you have an dieting, or even in your career
the truth. ample supply of energy at your or personal life, is a formula
When you go into the gym, disposal. In this case, hunger is
you need to approach that gym tricking you. Your body is essen-
session as your body being an tially lying to you.
extension of your psyche. You are If you have dieted for any

PANEL YTHJALL
basically going to tell your body length of time, you know how
what to do and push it to a point your brain plays tricks on
that your body has no choice but you. Many of you reading
to respond and follow suit. Most this have had yourself
people go into the gym and plan thoroughly convinced
to go as far as their body will that you need those
allow them to go that day. Those carbs because “I am
people don’t morph into contest- over-dieted” or “I
winning physiques that everyone am flat and losing
admires. Phil Heath wouldn’t muscle.” Nice try. The
be where he is today if he relied brain will justify a need
on his body doing what his body and that is all that is
was capable of. Sure, Phil Heath happening here. You need
is genetically superior to all of us to get leaner, you likely
reading this article, but what you don’t need the added
don’t see in his physique is how calories.
disciplined he is psychologically. You should understand
The latter controls the former. that this happens to
The mind plays a huge role in everyone who diets. The
training but an even more impor- diference is that people
tant role in dieting. It is not nor- who are psychologically
mal to have high levels of muscle trained and disciplined
and very low levels of body fat, will understand that their
either. Instinctively, and with an brain is playing them and
element of survival thrown in, that they should not
the body is made to store body give in. The thought pro-
fat. This is because throughout cess goes from, “I have
time, the body would need to have food because I am
to call upon stored energy to starving” to “I eat in an hour and
sustain life either during periods that will get me through.” I tell
of cold weather or long periods people to approach dieting on
where food may not have been a meal-to-meal basis instead
available. Circumventing nature of looking down the pike. If

PEOPLE WHO ARE PSYCHOLOGICALLY

TRAINED AND DISCIPLINED WILL
PHOTO CREDIT

UNDERSTAND THAT THEIR BRAIN

IS PLAYING THEM AND THAT THEY
SHOULD NOT GIVE IN.
68 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14
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 BY GREG MERRITT

HARDGAINERS ULTIMATE GROWTH ENHANCEMENT SYSTEM®

TRAINING STYLES

FREESTYLE
How to improvise and innovate on training days

Q In 2008, FLEX introduced a new concept to training—

freestyle. In an era of freestyle rap, freestyle skateboarding,
and even freestyle running (parkour, anyone?), some bodybuild-
ers improvise and innovate their way through their workouts.
Kai Greene has been at the forefront of this method. Sometimes
it’s difcult to tell which body part the Mr. Olympia runner-up is
KEVIN HORTON

training, because he’ll incorporate work for other muscles and

include unorthodox moves like handstands. However, it was afer
observing a Brandon Curry workout in the summer of 2008 that I
brought the freestyle label to bodybuilding.

70 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

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THE ANTI-ROUTINE
Shortly after Curry won the
2008 NPC USA Champion-
ships, I watched him train back
and spoke with him about his
workout concepts. His freestyling
manifested itself in three ways.
First, he sometimes did only
one exercise per workout. For
example, he’d do 15 sets of
barbell rows for back and noth-
ing else. Second, he created his
own exercises, such as a one-arm
standing cable “row,” which
was a contraction-only mini-
movement that kept constant
tension on his working lat.
Third, he mixed it up as he went
along, altering each workout
as it progressed depending on
biofeedback and intuition.

KEEP THE
CHANGE
FREESTYLE “I switch it up
like the wind
BASICS changes. I
don’t want to
Q This is an advanced training style. You need to get bored in
first learn how your muscles react to various
rep schemes and exercises. the gym. I just
Q Think diferent. Incorporate innovation and want to enjoy
individuality into your routine. it every time
Q Change workouts on the fly. I’m in there, so
Q Monitor your pump, strength, and energy I’m constantly
throughout each workout to determine what trying new
PAVEL YTHJALL

exercises to do in what manner.

things.”
Q Alter your split to incorporate styles like circuit
—Brandon Curry
training, powerlifing, and high-rep sets.

72 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

 FREESTYLE
TIP SHEET
Q When incorporating
something new, you
Freestyle workouts incorpo- more artistic bodybuilders like whether it’s a row that’s not a generally need to do
rate several classic Weider Greene and Curry, but it may not row, 15 sets of one exercise, or it for at least three
Principles: eclectic (change your work best for you. handstands. The downside to workouts to determine
workout, when necessary, as it Freestyle is the anti-routine. this is the potential for chaos. its effectiveness.
progresses); instinctive (experi- The upside of this is it wards Workouts can focus so much on
ment to determine what works of boredom, incorporates a lot doing something diferent that Q This style is especially
best for your body); and holistic of variety, and it can allow you you miss doing what works best. effective for your back
(include vastly diferent training to determine precisely what It’s a training style for advanced and legs—large body
styles). But what most animates works best for your bodybuilding bodybuilders who are both parts with multiple
freestyling is creativity. This suits goals throughout each workout, creative and disciplined. FLEX muscles.

Q Never leave the gym

thinking you could’ve done
H.U.G.E.® FREESTYLE
E more. When in doubt, end
your workout with a giant
BACK WORKOUT set or dropset to maximize
EXERCISE SETS REPS your pump.
Back Extensions 4 15–20
Q There are numerous vari-
Underhand Pullups 4 10 ables you can change,
superset with High-rope Pulls 4 20 including: exercise
Deadlifs 5 12–6 selection, exercise
order, number of sets
Rear Pulldowns 3 25
per exercise, number of
T-bar Rows 4 10 reps per set, rep speed,
A freestyle workout is dependent on your own rest lengths, and the
PAVEL YTHJALL

body and can change on the fly. This routine inclusion of intensity
merely illustrates how you can deviate from a techniques like supersets
standard exercise order and alternate between and rest-pause.
high and low reps.

74 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

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FLEX EXPERT
ADVANCED BODYBUILDING
BY MATT PORTER

INTRACELLULAR NUTRITION
FOR MUSCLE MASS The empirical experiment:
Part 2

Q I was so convinced that the form of

supplementation known as intra-workout
nutrition was “game changing” that I decided to
with blood, we’re talking rapidly! Keep in mind;
I began sipping my 64-ounce drink 15 minutes
before training so my blood was already primed
barley and does not send insulin levels skyrock-
eting nearly as high, potentially leaving you
hypoglycemic mid-workout. Gastric emptying is
perform a mini experiment on myself in a 24-hour with anabolic ammunition. I remember not being expedited through the small intestine and taken
period. I purposely lowered my carb intake to able to complete the same amount of sets as into the bloodstream rapidly, allowing fast ab-
minuscule amounts and began an upper-body the muscle fullness was too great. Once again, I sorption, yet prolonged blood glucose levels and
depletion circuit. I trained with high volume, and finished my workout around 9 p.m. and snapped manageable insulin secretion is maintained.
conquered several sets per muscle for more than photos in the same exact lighting, executing the I also still favor the use of essential amino
two hours. I was on a mission to deplete glycogen same exact poses. acids in this formula, as research has shown that
stores rapidly to capture a depleted “before” I am a very truthful person, and despise exag- free-form amino acids combined with carbohy-
photo. I finished my workout at 9 p.m. and took geration, but the before and after shots for these drates increase the protein synthetic response to
photos of myself in the corner of my gym in photos was impressive—solely from a cosmetic resistance training.
specific lighting. point of view. When I showed people the com-
I remained carb-free the next day, until it was parisons, they thought it was a diference of a few OTHER IMPORTANT ADDITIVES
time to train. This go around, I implemented my months...not 24 hours! IN MY CURRENT DRINK
intra-workout drink 15 minutes prior to beginning I now prefer the designer glucose polymer Q Agmatine sulfate: This by-product of l-argi-
the same upper-body circuit. As I began training, highly branched cyclic dextrin (HBCD). This car- nine is everything that arginine has been claimed
I started to immediately fill out my muscles bohydrate mixes better than amylopectin to do, and more. Increased nitric oxide production,
enhanced nutrient partitioning, and stimulation
of growth hormone and luteinizing hormone are
some key benefits.

Q Glutamine: Not much needs to be discussed

about this popular amino acid, as most of you
are familiar with the immune benefits, anti-
catabolic properties, and, most important, gas-
trointestinal health protection. Research shows
glutamine can protect healthy gut bacteria and
salvage key amino acids from degradation in the
GI tract.

Q Creatine gluconate: The creatine molecule

binds to a glucose molecule to increase creatine
uptake across cells. Think of the glucose
molecule as a vehicle transport system for the
creatine.

Q Electrolytes: Electrolytes were added to

ofset muscle cramping and increase exercise
performance from adequate cellular hydration.

IS POST-WORKOUT NUTRITION OBSOLETE?

ABSOLUTELY NOT.
The neat thing about partaking in intra-workout
supplementation is that you have essentially
flooded your body with muscle-building nutrients
all throughout your workout, making it unneces-
sary to immediately chug down a protein shake
after your last set of biceps curls. In fact, I person-
ally wait around 45 minutes after I finish my
intra-workout drink and ingest a whole food meal
consisting of a lean protein source, such as white
fish, and a fast-assimilating carb like jasmine rice.
I’ve been a big advocate of this intra-workout
movement and recommend you give it a try to
break through a plateau or improve your training
sessions. I advise people to be in appropriate
condition, meaning 10% body fat or less when
experimenting with heavier carb-laden mixtures,
with more than 100 grams of carbohydrates.
If you are above this body fat, stick to 25–50g
CHARLES LOWTHIAN

carbs per workout. Amino acid amounts need to

be in the 20–30g range to really make the most
Matt Porter is a sponsored athlete for true nutrition.com and also an accomplished NPC competitor,
of each drink per workout.
title holder, contest prep coach, and nutrition guru. Matt can be reached via his Q&A page in the forums
at truenutrition.com. If you’re interested in information regarding the intra-workout formula (MPA
An intense leg or back workout will need
Muscle Intrusion), check out truenutrition.com. more than the 6 grams of amino acids the
studies demonstrate.

82 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

BY STEPHANE CAZEAULT
their training). It is designed to be used twice a
week, with at least two days of rest between
training sessions.

DAY 1
A1 Standing Overhead Log Press,
5 sets x 10 reps, rest 60 sec.
A2 Backward Sled Drag,
5 sets x 40m, rest 60 sec.
A3 Farmer’s Walk,
5 sets x 40m, rest 60 sec.
A4 Prowler (low handles),
5 sets x 40m, rest 60 sec.

DAY 2
A1 Tire Flip, 5 sets x 6 reps, rest 60 sec.
A2 Prowler (high handles),
5 sets x 40m, rest 60 sec.
A3 Medicine Ball Slam,
5 sets x 10m, rest 60 sec.
A4 Bear Crawl Sled Drag,
5 sets x 20m, rest 60 sec.

Keep in mind that these workouts are con-

sidered end-stage, as it takes many workouts
for most trainees to be able to perform these
workouts with significant weights for the
distances and rest times prescribed.
You can work up to carrying significant
weights for these distances by increasing the
number of sets gradually, such as by doing a
single set for a first workout and then adding
one set per workout until you reach five sets.
Another option is to gradually reduce the
rest intervals, starting with 120 seconds and
gradually reducing that rest time to 60 seconds
(by decreasing the time by 15 seconds or so per
workout). Specifically, for the standing over-
head log press and the medicine ball slam, you
could gradually increase the reps, starting with
2–5 reps and increasing 1–2 reps each workout.
For the other exercises that involve moving
weight over a distance, you can start with a short-
For more information
on Poliquin Group, er distance than prescribed and gradually increase
visit poliquingroup.com. how far you move; for example, start with 10
meters on the farmer’s walk and increase that

STRONGER!
distance 5–10 meters each workout.
Stay lean with Here are a few tips about these exercises: For
strongman the backward sled drag, keep your body “quiet”
training when you perform this exercise, avoiding the
temptation to gain momentum by swinging
Although strongman training
Qcertainly develops strength and
on the conditioning level of the competitor, your shoulders. In contrast, for the bear crawl
many of the strongman events are completed sled drag, you can use your arms to assist you.
muscle mass, many of the events should within 40–120 seconds. Such training For the tire flip, focus on using your legs and
be considered interval training. You don’t just stimulates high levels of growth hormone, hips to lift the weight—don’t try to pull the
flip a tire once, but over a distance that can which in turn stimulates the greatest tire up with your biceps, as this technique
take more than a minute to complete. In the amount of fat loss. This is also the type of could easily cause injury. For the medicine ball
farmer’s walk, you don’t just take a few steps training protocol recommended in the popular slam, lift the ball as you would lift a barbell in a
holding a heavy weight—this is a race for German Body Comp Training program. deadlift—as you fatigue, avoid the tendency to
distance, and the weights are extremely heavy. If you need a break from your regular training round your back and keep your knees straight,
Strongmen have walked 20 meters in less than and want to try a challenging method to get as those techniques could easily injure your
COURTESY OF MHP

seven seconds holding 150 kilos (330 pounds) you lean fast, give strongman training a shot. lower back.
in each hand, and 50 meters holding 160 kilos Here is a program using strongman equip- For the farmer’s walk, use a normal walking
(352 pounds) in each hand in under 33 ment available in many gyms (technically, the gait; however, for the prowler, start with short
seconds—feats that are definitely not aerobic! medicine ball slam is not a strongman exercise, steps, then gradually increase your stride as
And since the duration of any event depends but it is often used by strongmen as part of your momentum increases.

84 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

 COFFEE
IMPROVES
CIRCULATION
Q A recent study presented
at the American Heart As-
sociation’s Scientific Sessions
2013 shows that cofee may
help improve the function of
small blood vessels. These find-
ings add to a growing body of
research of the health benefits
of cofee, the world’s most-
loved beverage (alongside
tea). Researchers analyzed the
finger circulation, heart rate,
blood pressure, and vascular
resistance levels of 27 healthy
adult volunteers afer drinking
cafeinated and decaf cofees.
On the first day of the
experiment, each volunteer
drank a five-ounce cup of either
cafeinated or decaf cofee and
were not told which type they
were drinking. Two days later,
the same volunteers drank the
opposite type of cofee. The
researchers then measured the

GENETIC DIFFERENCES
blood flow in a finger for each
participant, afer drinking both
cafeinated and decaf cofees.

INCARB METABOLISM This “finger test” is able to

exhibit how well the inner lining
of the smaller blood vessels
function throughout the body.

Q Dorian Yates was a

huge advocate of eating
carbohydrates leading into a
gene provided an evolutionary
advantage for some people
who had to rely on high-carbo-
higher blood glucose levels
than the high-amylase group
during starch consumption. This
Afer adjusting for the role
of hormones in the functional-
ity of the blood vessels, the
contest, whereas a bodybuilder hydrate diets where meat was increase in blood glucose levels researchers found that the
finger blood flow in the volun-
like Ben Pakulski is extremely lacking. This led to diversity in lasted for the two hours that
teers afer they drank a cup of
carb-sensitive. New research one specific gene responsible the participants remained at cafeinated cofee increased
suggests that it may be your for the breakdown of carbohy- the lab! Interestingly, when the by 30% over 75 minutes,
genes that determine how your drates, alpha-amylase (AMY1). low-amylase group consumed compared with the blood flow
body handles carb metabolism. This may be a major reason there the glucose, blood sugar levels afer the decaf cofee. Results
One study looked at a gene is so much variation from person remained relatively consistent also showed that afer the caf-
called AMY1 to measure starch to person when it comes to with the high-amylase group feinated cofee, the inner lining
digestion between difering carbohydrate intake. Research- and the blood sugar did not stay function of the vessels was
improved. Compared with the
groups of people. AMY1 is a ers examined diferences in AMY1 elevated as long as when they decaf results, heart rate levels
salivary enzyme that begins copies among individuals and ingested the starch. were the same, and blood pres-
the breakdown of starch in the how it afected blood glucose This is an extremely new phe- sure was slightly higher.
mouth. AMY1 variation exists levels after carbohydrate rich nomenon when looking at the
between diferent members of meals. The experimental group individuality of carbohydrate
the human species. Humans can was made up of healthy, non- digestion. All we know about
contain anywhere between two obese individuals, and they were this topic is that some people
and 15 copies of the AMY1 gene. divided into a high-amylase respond to the same meal of
The more AMY1 gene copies a group and a low-amylase group. starch diferently. This may also
person has, the better he is at They came into the lab twice, explain why some people such
digesting carbohydrates. once to ingest starch (ex- as Yates can handle high carbo-
The theory suggested by periment) and glucose (control). hydrates leading into a contest
researchers is that the AMY1 The low-amylase group had whereas other can’t.
CHRIS LUND; GETTY IMAGES (2)

CASHEWS CONTAIN NATURAL ANTI-ESTROGEN

Q Most bodybuilders know that broccoli contains a natural anti-estrogen, but new research also has found that cashews contain
a natural anti-estrogen as well. They also discovered that the anacardic acid found in cashews was found to prevent the estrogen
receptor from being activated. Chemists have identified dozens of variants of anacardic acid in cashew nuts, which happen to be the
best nutritional source of anacardic acid. Researchers did experiments with breast cancer cells to see how anacardic acid afected
interaction with the estrogen receptor. Researchers found that anacardic acid blocked the actions of estradiol by attaching itself to
its estrogen receptor. The researchers do not venture an opinion on the extent to which you might be able to deactivate estradiol by
including cashew nuts in your diet.

86 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

FLEX EXPERT
EXTREME MUSCLE
BY CARLON COLKER, M.D. , F.A.C.N.

“KAATSU!”
In 2013, researchers found no reports have been cited of
that blood flow restriction peripheral blood clotting, central
did cause large acute muscle stroke, cerebrovascular incident,
fatigue, but deduced it was or pulmonary emboli.
Japanese tourniquet training: fanatical not due to unhealthy damage So why aren’t bodybuilders
or fantastical? because the result was not raving about kaatsu training?
sustained. The answer probably has
Back in 2007 I presented
Qto readers the very
ject; they published their report And another study that same to do with the fact that, even
this year in the Scandinavian year looked at kaatsu training if there’s some mild degree
first review of its kind on the Journal of Medicine & Science in increasing acute determinants of of efcacy and no real harm
controversial vascular occlusive Sports. Among their findings: hypertrophy without increas- related to the use of kaatsu,
training technique known in In 2009, a study noted ing indices of muscle damage. the results aren’t enough to
Japan as “kaatsu.” The idea of significant increases in delayed Similarly, in this study it was warrant the discomfort. It’s
putting a tourniquet around a onset muscle soreness (DOMS) reported that the duration of that simple.
limb proximal to the muscle following kaatsu training. muscle swelling after kaatsu Of course, if it isn’t enough
you’re training in order to pur- In 2012, another study looked was not excessively prolonged, of a mind-bend to try and
posely restrict blood from easily at the acute efects of blood thus indicating that there was no fathom why researchers kept
exiting the pumping muscle as flow restriction on muscle activ- untoward muscle damage. examining kaatsu despite its
a way to promote better growth ity and endurance during fatigu- So, in terms of negative lack of popularity, try figuring
definitely shocked some people. ing dynamic knee extensions at muscle damage as a result of out why they’re now combining
In the late ’90s, Japanese low load. This study reported kaatsu training, there hasn’t it with vibratory stimulus to see
researchers observed that large reductions in force produc- been shown to be an issue. if that makes muscles grow more
performing only a light- tion following kaatsu training. Also, among study subjects, easily. The vibrating plate, an
weight training exercise while early technology science hoped
partially occluding blood flow might—if carefully applied—help
using a tourniquet seemed some subpopulation of elderly
to achieve similar or greater osteoporotic women was amped
muscle growth and strength up and pulled into the fitness
gains compared to those train- world, where the results are far
ing with moderate to heavier less certain. With complaints
weights but without the benefit like blurred vision, brain damage,
of the tourniquet. Subsequently, hearing loss, back pain, and
Canadians researchers helped muscle strains, the vibration
explain the reason behind this plate hardly became the fitness
fascinating finding by show- revolution it was hawked to be.
ing that the vascular occlusion So, why on earth would
spurs greater neuromuscular anyone think to combine this
motor unit activation. silly technology with kaatsu?
The problem with kaatsu, Probably because there’s an idiot
however, as I cautioned readers born every minute. Of course, I
back then, is that you have to don’t believe you can combine
be careful of the inherent risks one impractical technology of
of excessive and/or extended little or no utility among athletes
periods of vascular occlusion. with another to somehow make
When venous blood return to a breakthrough. I tried kaatsu
a pumping muscle is cut of, and didn’t see the benefits, but
blood will pool, as intended. definitely noticed the discomfort
As a result, blood will more and couldn’t wait to get the tour-
easily form clot that can break niquet of. When I tried exercising
loose and even be fatal. on vibrating plates years ago, it
When a tourniquet is used was quite challenging to squat
to draw blood, it’s really only and do exercises like pushups.
a matter of seconds up to a But difculty in execution
few minutes at most before doesn’t necessarily translate to
the tourniquet is removed. So, better muscle stimulation.
could this technique cause
blood clots? Could it damage
The latest edition of Dr. Colker’s
muscle by excessively swelling book, Extreme Muscle Enhance-
the cells? Is this technique really ment: Bodybuilding’s Most Powerful
useful? Techniques, is available online at
To answer some of these amazon.com. Doc’s Whey is available
from proteinfactory.com or by calling
PAVEL YTHJALL

questions, scientists Loen-

800-343-1803. In addition, if you
neke, Thiebaud, and Abe, et al., have a question for Dr. Colker, feel
undertook a critical review of free to e-mail us at peakwellness
available evidence on the sub- @peoplepc.com!

88 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

 BCAA
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Nitric oxide-driven sports nutrition typically has consisted of utilizing the arginine analog,
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 by ADAM GONZALEZ

JOIN THE
GROWTH CLUB
Ultimate Testosterone from Nugenix provides a range of supplemental
ingredients for greater muscle gains GET IT
TOGETHER
Q It’s no secret that increased levels of testosterone help you build more muscle mass.
Nugenix has formulated its product Ultimate Testosterone to boost this hormone through
several natural mechanisms. These include encouraging your body to produce more of this muscle-
Nugenix combines all of these
natural testosterone boosters in
Ultimate Testosterone.
building hormone, as well as improving the effectiveness of the testosterone that you’re already
FOR BEST RESULTS
producing. Here are some of the ingredients that Ultimate Testosterone from Nugenix contains, and You should take four tablets with
how they’ll help you pack on muscle and support libido naturally. a glass of water on a relatively
empty stomach—take this at
Q D-ASPARTIC ACID (DAA) testosterone. Much of the testos- ing the Leydig cells of your testes least 30 minutes afer a meal,
This amino acid has been recognized terone that men produce is bound to simply make more of this but before your workout. Also
by research to significantly boost to sex hormone binding globulin powerful hormone. take this dosage on non-training
testosterone. This is due to DAA’s (SHBG), rendering it unavailable days, getting in this same
ability to increase luteinizing hor- for supporting muscle gains or Q STINGING NETTLE ROOT amount every day for about four
mone (LH), which is an important libido. Fenugreek extract helps free AND BORON weeks. Then cycle of for two
precursor to testosterone produc- testosterone from SHBG so it can Nugenix contains many other to four weeks. Make sure you do
tion. DAA does this by encouraging provide its advantages. In addition, supplemental components that not exceed the recommended
Leydig cells in your testicles to boost fenugreek attaches to the same encourage greater testosterone im- dosage during your Ultimate
testosterone and sperm production. receptors as testosterone, increasing pact and production. Among these Testosterone-boosting phase.
While younger guys may take DAA sex drive and insulin release. The are stinging nettle root and boron.
CHRIS LUND; COURTESY OF MANUFACTURER

to increase T, it also has the side latter supports muscle building for Stinging nettle root contains a
benefit of improving libido, perhaps bodybuilders. compound called 3,4-divanillyl THF,
more important for guys as they that is a potent inhibitor of SHBG,
age. While both your pituitary gland Q TONGKAT ALI and this natural supplement also
and testicles produce this amino, Also known as Eurycoma longifolia, helps prevent testosterone from
you can gain even more advantages this medicinal herb improves the converting to DHT, the unwanted
by taking it in supplemental form. efectiveness of your natural pro- fraction of testosterone. Boron is
duction of testosterone by freeing a mineral that has testosterone-
Q FENUGREEK EXTRACT it from SHBG. In fact, research has elevating benefits in addition to
This herb helps increase your free shown that Tongkat Ali may reduce supporting bone strength. Nugenix
testosterone levels because it SHBG by up to 30%. In addition, contains boron citrate, the form
contains saponins, plant nutrients Tongkat Ali also encourages greater that encourages greater anabolism
that increase the bioavailability of testosterone production, stimulat- (muscle building).

96 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

by ADAM GONZALEZ

JACKED-IN-A-BOX

THE GOODS
Check out the latest oferings from our Jacked-in-a-Box program
IN JULY, WE DELIVERED A CRATEFUL OF PRE-WORKOUT POWERHOUSES.

PRE-SURGE BEAST MODE 1.M.R

ATHLETIC BEAST VORTEX
EDGE This mass BPI
Drive muscle and endurance Formulated
growth, blend helps to enhance
muscle-cell increase and intensify
volume, muscle-cell your work-
and NO volume with outs, 1.M.R
production glycerol Vortex delivers 1,705mg of

WHAT
with a combination of creatine, monostearate, NO boosters, and BPI’s full-speed vortex matrix
glycine, alpha-lipoic acid, and beta-alanine, among others. blend: glycerol monostearate

IT IS
other ingredients. This blend also Neurostimulating cofactors in- to pump up your muscle cells;
increases intensity and focus, clude forms of choline, tyrosine, cafeine to improve strength and
with tyrosine, cafeine (225mg), and ginkgo biloba. Also includes reduce workout pain; yohimbe to
Jacked-in-a-Box is designed and phenylalanine, and has B high-potency vitamin B, Cofea burn fat; and supplements like
to allow you to try all the vitamins and electrolytes for robusta, and Nelumbo nucifera white leadwort to boost focus
latest supplements before energy and recovery. (Indian lotus) seed extract. and energy.
you buy them. Each month,
members receive a hand- FIT TRAINER SURGE ASSAULT
selected assortment of MHP PRE-TRAINING MUSCLEPHARM
top products from the top This pre- MRI This formula
brands in sports nutrition workout Designed to includes
supplements delivered supplement drive ATP an ATP
directly to their door. supercharges production, amplifier
In addition to this monthly you before trigger optimal to increase
box of supplement samples, training and circulation, and muscle-
members also receive FREE helps recovery. drive nutrients contracting
shipping on all orders at Creatine, beta-alanine, and to working muscles, each dose intensity;
The M&F Store, plus a FREE NAC drive muscular power and contains more than 7g of a a cellular
subscription to their choice of endurance. Agmatine sulfate, proprietary blend. The advanced transport and insulin activator
Muscle & Fitness, FLEX, Men’s pine bark extract, and other NO booster contains multiple to shuttle nutrients into muscle
Fitness, or Muscle & Fitness Hers. ingredients support NO produc- forms of arginine; the power cells; a performance blend of
tion. Withania somnifera helps complex contains beta-alanine, NO boosters and BCAAs; and an
For more info on control cortisol, a catabolic glycine, citrulline, and others; energy igniter and hydration sys-
and the energy-boosting frac-
how to join, go to hormone that reduces your
muscles’ ability to grow. tion contains taurine, cafeine,
tem comprised of coconut water
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Each two-scoop contains a Ignite your Among the
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4g of citrul- producing two blends: in this propri-
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boosting ingredients, including
COURTESY OF MANUFACTURERS

more than 3g of pump and performance, and a anhydrous, 4-amino-2-

beta-alanine to increase muscular beta-alanine, agmatine sulfate, second that boosts mood. The methylpentane citrate,
endurance, and a phytoblend of and creatine. In addition, the first contains more than 3.5g yohimbine, and theacrine,
beet juice powder, grape seed ex- product’s powerful energy- of beta-alanine, plus beet root which provide energy and focus
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In addition, 200mg of cafeine uronolactone, tyrosine, cafeine, delivers cafeine, Mucuna pru- training sessions.
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workout pain. and other ingredients.
CONTINUED
98 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14
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before use. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
 AUGUST’S JACKED-IN-A-BOX SELECTIONS INCLUDED REFORMULATIONS OF SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE SUPPS.

RE-ANIMATE N.O. -XPLODE MYOFUSION

BEAST BSN ADVANCED PROTEIN
Recover and grow! The new N.O.- GASPARI NUTRITION
The glycogen-re- XPLODE is the This advanced formula
plenishing carbohy- original pre-workout provides fast-digesting
drate blend delivers igniter, now re- forms of whey protein as
25g of glucose engineered. The well as slower-digesting
polymers and waxy myogenic matrix casein and complete
maize. Hydrolyzed provides creatine, milk protein. Each one-
whey and aminos while the endura scoop serving provides
also provide more shot blend includes 25g of protein, with more than 5g coming
than 10g of whey, beta-alanine and from BCAAs without an amino infusion. The
taurine, glutamine, and alanine. Other betaine to boost performance. The product contains no gluten, added sugar, or
ingredients provide electrolytes, vitamins, shock composite blend includes cafeine synthetic colors. An enzyme matrix helps you
minerals, and insulin cofactors. (200mg), citrulline, and DMAE. get the most from every dose.

ULIFT PHENBUTEROL CARNITINE

LIFTAG SPORT MUSCLEMEDS COMPLETE
This pre-workout This potent fat MUSCLEOLOGY
product delivers three burner helps Carnitine is an
dimensions of pump, you get lean by important nones-
and enhances oxygen boosting un- sential amino acid
uptake with citrulline, coupling protein compound that helps
arginine, and agma- 1 (UCP-1) with shuttle fatty acids into
tine sulfate. It also grains of paradise the mitochondria of
contains beta-alanine and creatine to (Aframomum your cells, where they
boost strength and endurance. Other ingre- melegueta), and by activating thermogenesis. can be burned as fuel. Getting in a supple-
dients help sustain energy and focus and Other ingredients include cafeine anhydrous, mental dose boosts fat burning, muscle
support recovery. Ilex paraguariensis, Citrus aurantium, and growth, and cardiovascular health.
octopamine.

COMBAT PRECURSOR PROGLYCOSYN

MUSCLEPHARM SPS SNAC
This protein blend con- This explosive pre- This ultimate recovery
tains 25g of whey, casein, workout product will help product delivers nutrients
and egg proteins. Combat you maximize muscle to stimulate muscle growth.
delivers fast amino acids gains. The advanced Each serving provides 25g of
via whey, and provides pump matrix contains protein and 25g carbs. The
sustained delivery with citrulline malate, protein comes from instant
slower-digesting casein. beta-alanine, agmatine whey protein isolates, and
Plus, digestive enzymes sulfate, and other ingredients for strength, the carbs are from dextrose.
help break down and absorb protein. endurance, and NO production. The energy In addition, proglycosyn provides glutamine, argi-
complex delivers tyrosine, grape seed extract, nine, creatine, and electrolytes. Sent to Jacked-in-
and ancient peat and apple extract. a-Box members who like orange flavor.

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RAISEtheBAR Extreme Results.
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© 2014 Nutrition 21, LLC Nitrosigine® is a registered trademark of Nutrition 21, LLC U.S. Patents: 5,707,970; 6,156,735; 6,344,444; 6,803,456;
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and 7,576,132 1. Kalman D, Feldman S, Samson A, Krieger D. A clinical evaluation to determine the safety, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics
Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, of an inositol-stabilized arginine silicate dietary supplement in healthy adult males. The FASEB Journal 2014;28(1):SLB418. 2. Proctor SD, et, al..,
treat, cure, or prevent any disease. A Novel Complex of Arginine Silicate Improves Micro- and Macrovascular Function and Inhibits Glomerular Sclerosis in Insulin-Resistant,
JCR: LA-cp rats. Diabetology. 2005;48(9):1925-32. DRA0155NRBGA061814
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†These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to treat, cure, diagnose, or prevent any disease. This product
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 Kai Greene’s instinctive,
met hod ical back training

Q
b
Kai Greene has one of the best backs in th s s
the business.
Long after he’s retired from competition, his will be remem--
bered as among the best backs—alongside Lee Haney’s, Dorian
iinserting
ng so low iinto
to hi is it almost looks lik
his waist like h
he doesn’tt
have a waist from behind. He’s got so much muscle tissue
back there his lower lats actually hang over his spinal erec-
YYates’, and Ronnie Coleman’s—in the annals of this iron sport. tors and glutes. Greene’s wide shoulders only help his front
Some guys’ backs have good detail, which makes their rearr lat spread match his rear lat spread; when he hits the pose
ddouble biceps formidable, yet they lack width, which leaves from the front, he’s got meat hanging down of his frame. In
ttheir rear lat spreads lacking. Others have a wide lat spread a Kai Greene back double biceps pose, things come alive, fi-
from behind, but don’t look nearly as impressive in a front lat bering out, jumping of back there: his back is crisp, detailed,
d
spread. Others have gaps in their backs, especially in the area gnarly—add your own adjective. Greene’s back has been a
between where the latissimus ends and the butt begins. strength for him since back in the day when he was placing in
Not Greene. Greene won the jackpot in the back genetics the top 3 at the NPC Universe, the show he’d win in 2004 to o
llottery and milked it to the max. His lats are wide and thick, earn his p
pro card.
d

108 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

 BY TONY MONCHINSKI
PHOTOGRAPHS BY JASON BREEZE

WHERE LEGENDS ARE MADE

SEPT. 18–21, 2014
For the purposes of this article,
let’s stick to descriptions of the
exercises we have pictures for.
Does Greene actually do these
exercises? Greene does them.
Does he do all of them each
back workout? No. Sometimes.
Greene mixes it up. We’ve seen
him train using only a few
exercises and we’ve seen him
seemingly never leave the gym.
We don’t have pics here of
pullovers, dumbbell rows, lat
pulldowns, Jefferson deadlifts,
etc. Suffice it to say, Greene
has done ’em all at one time
or another and still does them
when he sees fit.
Whichever exercises he
chooses, however many sets
and reps he sets his sights on,
generally Greene is a volume
trainer. He’s also a very smart
trainer, attuned to his body.
He’s not in the gym to stroke
his ego setting a personal
record for weight lifted. Yeah,
he’s capable of moving some
very heavy poundages, but he’s
also methodical. His is text-
book form. He doesn’t jerk or
yank the weight solely to move
more of it.

EXERCISE SETS REPS MONDAY Chest and calves

Wide-grip Pulldown 4 12–20 TUESDAY Shoulders and forearms
ms

Close-grip Pulldown 4 12–20 WEDNESDAY Back

THURSDAY Of
Barbell Row 4 8–12
FRIDAY Legs and calves
T-bar Row 4 12–20
SATURDAY Arms
Seated Row 4 12–20 SUNDAY Of
Deadlift 4 20 *Greene’s workouts and the order in which he
performs them are highly instinctive.

110 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

I the photo, Greene is seated with his knees braced under the pad. Usually he’ll bring the bar down
In
t under his chin when he does them seated this way. However, you’ll ofen see Greene perform
to
t
these leaning into the seat, his legs out behind him rather than under the knee pads. This forces
him to use less weight, but allows him to focus more on the feeling in his back. It also lends itself
to pulldowns behind the neck, which Greene regularly does. Greene brings the bar down steady
and controlled, squeezing his traps, rear delts, and then lats, rotating his elbows slightly,
a
alternately abducting (opening) and adducting (closing) his scapula. Sure, he might use the whole
st
stack, but it’s not about pulling weight: it’s about contracting the targeted muscles.

mrolympia.com 111
 Don’t think this is
the second exercise
Greene usually does
because it’s listed
second here. There
is no “usual” Greene
back workout. You
might read this ar-
ticle, go to the gym,
see Greene training
back there, but
doing none of these
exercises you’re
reading about here.
He’s constantly
switching it up: reps
and sets, exercises
and how they’re
performed.
When he
does close-grip
pulldowns, Greene
doesn’t lean back
like a lot of guys
do to yank more
weight down. He
pulls the handle
into his upper
chest, squeezing
the heck out of his
lats, then repeats.
Greene envisions his
arms as hooks and
tries to take his bi-
ceps out of his back
exercises as much as
possible.

CAREER
HIGHLIGHTS
2013: Mr. Olympia. 2nd,
EVLS Prague Pro, 1st Q
2012: Mr. Olympia, 2nd
Q2011: New York Pro,
1st; Mr. Olympia, 3rd Q
2010: Arnold Classic,
1st; Australian Pro
Grand Prix, 1st Q
2009: Australian Pro
Grand Prix, 1st; Arnold
Classic. 1st; Mr. Olympia,
4th Q2008: NY Pro.
1st Q 2007: Colorado
Pro/Am Classic, 1st

112 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

BARBELL RoW
Many guys do these Dorian Yates
Yates-style
tyle now
nowadays:
d ys: standing at a near 75- or higher
higher-degree
degree angle
angle, pulling the bar into the lower abdomen with a
shoulder-width
ld underhand grip, and really feeling it in the mid back. Greene does barbell rows the old fashioned way, the way Arnold and
Lee Haney did them. He bends all the way over, his upper body parallel to the floor. He takes a wide grip, so wide in fact that his hands are within
a couple inches of touching the sleeve. He juts his ass out and sticks his chest up to contract his lats as he draws the bar into the area just below
his pecs (not his lower abdomen). You’ll see him do these with four plates on either side; Greene could do more if he altered his grip and stance.
But he won’t compromise form, feel, and efect for some meaningless number.

114 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

 GREENE’S
FAVORED
SUPPLEMENTS
QMuscleMeds N.O. Bull
QMuscleMeds
Methyl Arimatest
QMuscleMeds
Carnivor Shots

GREENE’S
“TYPICAL”
MEAL PLAN
QMEAL 1
Egg whites with cheddar
cheese and scallions,
Ezekiel bread, apple

QMEAL 2
Tilapia with veggies

QMEAL 3
Flank steak with
tomato and cucumber

QMEAL 4
Chicken breast with
dried cranberries,
veggies

QMEAL 5
Tuna steak with 7 oz
cod, yams, asparagus

QMEAL 6
Tilapia with
veggies

*There is nothing typical

about Greene’s diet, other
than the fact that he
eats a lot of food several
times a day. The amounts
he consumes also vary,
hence no ounces are
listed. This is a man who
has been known to eat
10–12 pounds of meat
a day.

Greene’s stance with these is similar to his barbell rows: he’s bent way over. H
His reps are fast, but not choppy.
He
H pauses
paus ffor a brief but discernible moment ment at the ttop p of each rep. He’s not yanking the weight up.
Greene doesn’t load eight or nine 45-pound plates on the bar. With his strength, if he loosened up his form,
he could. But again, that’s not what he’s about.

116 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

 Greene will change his grip on
these between and within work-
outs to target diferent areas of his
back. He pulls his elbows back
as he does before hitting a rear
lat or back double biceps pose,
squeezing the meat of his mid and
lower back together.

118 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

 H G
Here Greene
is doing this
movement on
a seated cable
row station.
He also ofen
does them on a
machine. Again,
it’s about
drawing his
elbows back,
contracting the
fibers of his mid
and lower lats,
then letting
his arms go
out far enough
away from his
body that he
gets a good
stretch in his
wings without
stretching his
upper body out
over his toes.
In a previous
shoulder train-
ing article it
was mentioned
how Greene
will bring the
handle into his
upper chest to
feel these in his
rear delts and
traps. When
he’s targeting
his back (as
he is here),
the handle
is brought in
toward the
abdomen.

120 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

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Greene likes deadlif
deadlifs bbecause,
cause much uch like squats
squats, they work everything
everything. Greene feels trainers who neglect their deadlifs are going
to have a lot of empty space between their lats and upper glutes. He gets his butt down at the beginning of the rep like he’s sitting
into the movement. His hands are usually both over, not one-over one-under like a powerlifer. Greene wants to feel these throughout the
rear of his body, especially in his spinal cords. FLEX

122 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

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Q For our preview of the 50th Mr. Olympia, we knew

we had to take it to the next level. And thanks to THE ANALYSTS
BERNAL; CUTLER & JAMES: PAVEL YTHJALL; WHEELER: CHIS LUND
GREENE & HEATH: BILL COMSTOCK; RAMY, RHODEN & WOLF: PER

the stars and planets aligning for us at just the right moment
in the space-time continuum, we assembled an all-star team
with nearly 40 years of combined pro contest experience,
including 30 Mr. Olympia appearances between them: Jay
Cutler, Dennis James, and the newest member of Team AMI/
Weider, Flex Wheeler. Their collective involvement in the
Olympia dates back to the early days of the ’90s, when Dorian
Yates ruled, through the Ronnie Coleman dynasty of the late
’90s to mid-2000s, and up to the present reign of Phil Heath. JAY CUTLER DENNIS JAMES FLEX WHEELER
From backstage to center stage, they’ve seen it all and, more YEARS IN THE IFBB YEARS IN THE IFBB YEARS IN THE IFBB
important, done it all, at the sport’s greatest contest. And PRO LEAGUE: 15* PRO LEAGUE:13* PRO LEAGUE: 9*
they’re sharing their unique perspective on all the competi- NUMBER OF NUMBER OF NUMBER OF
tors, including strengths, weaknesses, key matchups, and criti- OLYMPIAS: 13 OLYMPIAS: 10 OLYMPIAS: 7
PHOTO CREDIT

cal moments to watch for, which could make the diference

between victory and defeat. So without further ado, here’s BEST FINISH: 1st BEST FINISH: 4th BEST FINISH: 2nd
a look at the 2014 IFBB Mr. Olympia with Team AMI/Weider (2006–07, 2009–10) (2003) (1993, 1998–99)
athletes Jay Cutler, Dennis James, and Flex Wheeler. * Number reflects years of active competition

mrolympia.com 133
PHIL HEATH

“His back double

biceps is jaw-
dropping as are
his most muscular
and his side chest,
but his detail is
what separates
him from every
person onstage.”
—JAY CUTLER

BIRTHDATE 12/18/79 I HEIGHT 5'9" I WEIGHT 250 pounds

OLYMPIA HISTORY 2008, 3rd; 2009, 5th; 2010, 2nd; 2011–13, 1st

DENNIS JAMES Phil is going JAY CUTLER Phil is extremely FLEX WHEELER I don’t think anyone is
to be extremely hard to beat. focused on winning his fourth Olympia going to defeat Phil this year, when you have
He has to keep doing what he’s this year, and he has the size and someone like Kai, who is his biggest threat and
been doing and not worry about conditioning to beat anyone. No one has the size but does not have the conditioning
size and beat everyone with his has fuller muscle bellies than Phil, he of Phil Heath, I don’t think Phil has a lot of
conditioning, like last year. It has great tie-ins, and he keeps getting competition this year. There are people like
would be a mistake to change his better each year. He has overcome the Dennis Wolf, who has the height, but no one
contest approach. He has that width issue with his shoulders, and can pack the mass and conditioning on their
3-D look. He does not have to I don’t see his having any problems frame like Phil. Phil is probably at the peak
worry about a lot of people with anyone in this lineup. The advice of his career, and I don’t see anyone being
in this lineup—there are only I’ve always given Phil is to train smart able to take away the title from him this
three people who can catch and don’t get injured and don’t try to year unless he comes in off. Phil does not try
BILL COMSTOCK

him of guard and that’s Kai play the size game. His back double to compete with anyone but Phil, which makes
Greene, Dennis Wolf, and Ramy biceps is jaw-dropping as are his him a great champion. He loves being Mr. Olym-
(Mamdouh Elssbiay). most muscular and his side chest, pia and he’s not going to give it up easy. It’s his
but his detail is what separates him Olympia to lose, but I don’t see anyone within
from every person onstage. striking range.

134 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

 FW He is the only guy who can take

KAI GREENE the title away from Phil if he comes

in conditioned. I want to see Kai ar-
rive in shape like the first time he won
the Arnold Classic—that’s the Kai who
can win the Olympia. I have spoken
to Kai and told him to compare the
pictures of last year’s Olympia with
the pictures of him when he won
his first Arnold, and I asked him,
“Which physique would win?” If he
tries to get bigger, he’s going to lose.
He has to come in peeled and not try
to win the Olympia on size. He has
everything he needs to win; he just
needs to come in better conditioned
than he has ever competed before.
If Phil is not at his best, Kai can take
the title. If he comes in like he did last
year, he won’t be second.

DJ He has proved that he is the most

serious bodybuilder in the of-season
by keeping his weight down and trying
to come in leaner this year. There is
no bigger threat than Kai Greene.
My concern with Kai is that he has
been dieting all year and keeping
his weight down—will this afect
him mentally when the Olympia
diet starts? Mentally, can he sustain
the fact that he has been runner-up
the past two years? Sometimes not
relaxing can negatively afect your
performance. He can’t make the same
mistake as last year and come in too
big—he has to come in shredded, like
the 2012 Olympia, and stay full. He
needs to arrive in the condition he
“He has was in when he won his first Arnold
everything he Classic in 2009 and if he does that,
needs to win; there is going to be a dogfight
he just needs to between him and Phil. If he comes in
come in better the same shape that he did last year,
conditioned than I can guarantee he won’t get second
he has ever com- place—he will slip to third or forth.
peted before.”
—FLEX WHEELER JC Definitely a top-three
contender. The big question mark
is what type of conditioning will
he show up in? People always
ask me, “Can Kai Greene win the
Olympia?” Absolutely, he can win
if he nails his conditioning. Phil is
going to have to be slightly of his
game, and Kai has to overcome this
mentality of being 300 pounds two
weeks out and then drop to 260
or 270. You can’t lose that much
weight and expect to look on point.
When he drops that much weight,
he loses his pop in the upper body
and flattens out. I have been 290
two weeks out before a contest and
competed at 260 and it’s too dif-
cult to manage your fluids—it never
worked well for me and for him
either. Kai has got to understand
that he has never won an Olympia
because he has yet to nail his con-
ditioning and have that thin-skin
appearance because he is dropping
BILL COMSTOCK

BIRTHDATE 7/12/75 I HEIGHT 5'8" I WEIGHT 260 pounds weight too fast and the muscle
can’t sustain the appearance. Kai
OLYMPIA HISTORY 2009, 4th; 2010, 7th; 2011, 3rd; 2012–13, 2nd looked his best a few years ago
when he was downsized in muscle
and had better conditioning.

136 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

 “He has finally
started living up
to the potential
we all knew he
had four or five
years ago with
his third place
finish at the
Olympia. ”
—FLEX WHEELER

BIRTHDATE 10/30/78 I HEIGHT 5'11" I WEIGHT 275 pounds

OLYMPIA HISTORY 2006, DNP; 2007, 5th; 2008, 4th;
2009, DNP; 2010, 5th; 2011, 5th; 2012, 6th; 2013, 3rd

JC I expect him to be in the FW He has finally started living DJ He’s finally starting to fulfill his potential as a
top three this year. Dennis has up to the potential we all knew he top-ranked bodybuilder who can win the Olympia
the height and size, and he had four or five years ago with his crown. Dennis has been steadily improving over
has found the formula for his third-place finish at the Olympia. these past few years, especially bringing up his
conditioning, but he needs to A lot of people had him second, back and hamstrings, which were his weak parts.
hold his size and not flatten even challenging Phil. He can still Dennis is tall and wide, which makes him look domi-
out or he will drop in placing. add more muscle to his frame nating onstage. His problem is his calves—there’s
If Phil or Kai is of on their with his height and structure. I nothing he can do about his calves, but I don’t think
conditioning, Dennis can win. think he will be an even greater this will hold him back from winning the Olympia.
Dennis has the size, but he contender this year based on There were plenty of Mr. Olympia winners with weak
PER BERNAL

lacks the conditioning of Phil the off-season pictures I’ve calves such as Dexter Jackson and Ronnie Coleman.
Heath and will outmuscle a seen of him. For Dennis to take the title from Phil, he needs
lot of guys on the stage. to come in razor sharp because Phil has the
complete package.

138 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

 FW He is like Jay Cutler—everyone

MAMDOUH ELSSBIAY “I will promise you

that at this year’s
Olympia Ramy
will be the most
shredded you
have ever seen! ”
—DENNIS JAMES
knew he would be Mr. Olympia, it
was just a matter of time. Jay got
better slowly and started picking me
and Ronnie and others of year after
year and that’s what Ramy needs
to do. I don’t think he should hit the
gas pedal and just exhaust his capa-
bilities. I would recommend a slow
progress. I know he does not want to
hear this but, “Be patient and con-
tinue to improve your physique year
after year!” He has competed less
than any other competitor on that
stage. Let his physique ripen, and
if he remains injury-free, I can see
him breaking Ronnie’s and Lee’s
record-eight Sandow wins.
JC: He is the X factor. He is not
going to win if he keeps coming in
as he has been; he has the size, and
he just needs to nail his condition-
ing. He has all the body parts and
no real weaknesses except for
his conditioning. He has the best
legs in bodybuilding to date; I have
never seen legs like his from the
front. He has a similar problem as
Kai; he gets so big in the of-season
that he has a hard time coming
down to competition weight. He is
only 28, he has all the tools, and
it’s only a matter of time before
he becomes Mr. Olympia. He has
to get that thin skin—even if he
loses some muscle, he is still going
to be the biggest guy on the stage.
Every 10 or 15 years, a guy comes
out of nowhere and blows everyone
away, and Ramy is that guy. I feel
that Ramy has had more of an im-
pact than Dorian Yates. Dorian had
that crazy conditioning, but Ramy’s
size and structure is something
that bodybuilding has not seen for
a long time.

DJ: He has the potential to dethrone

Phil more than any other body-
builder! He has size, shape, and
structure to be Mr. Olympia if he
comes in conditioned. Everyone
knows that Ramy has to be more
conditioned than he has ever been
to beat Phil. He is coming to train
with me two months before the
Olympia, so the world is going to be
shocked when Ramy gets onstage.
I will promise you that at this year’s
Olympia Ramy will be the most
shredded you have ever seen! Phil
is the champ, but Phil knows the
only person on that stage with the
potential to beat him is Ramy. If
Ramy comes in the same condition
as Phil or close to Phil, he will win
due to the sheer size. If Ramy is not
on, Phil will not be beaten.

BIRTHDATE 9/16/84 I HEIGHT 5'9" I WEIGHT 286 pounds

PER BERNAL

OLYMPIA HISTORY 2012, 8th

140 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

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 “If a few
guys are of,
Shawn can
take their
spots with
his combi-
nation of
condition-
ing and
symmetry. ”
—FLEX WHEELER

BIRTHDATE 4/2/75 I HEIGHT 5'9" I WEIGHT 235 pounds

OLYMPIA HISTORY 2011, 11th; 2012, 3rd; 2013, 4th

DJ: He can be as good as he was FW: That’s my Mini-Me. He is one of JC: He has the detail and symmetry, but as much
last year, but I think the best Shawn the more symmetrical guys onstage, as I would love to see him make the top three,
Rhoden we saw was at the 2012 Dal- and he continues to get better. He I don’t see him making it this year because he
las Europa. I don’t see him being able continues to put on size and it does lacks the size of the other competitors. He is
to make improvements being almost not afect his symmetry. If Shawn structurally perfect, but the perfect example
40 years old. He has beautiful lines, can continue to improve his con- is the Arnold Classic, when Wolf outsized
shape, and muscle bellies but just ditioning, come in a little bigger him. There was nothing more Shawn could have
does not have the size to compete while not afecting his symmetry, done. It comes down to a big man’s contest at
with the guys on the Olympia and bring up some of his lagging the Olympia, and Shawn just does not have the
stage. I think he can make top five if body parts, he can possibly be frame to be a mass monster without losing his
he is on and people like Dennis and top three. Structurally, he is more symmetry. Age is going to be a factor for Shawn;
PER BERNAL

Kai are of, but I think the injured foot complete than a Kai Greene. If a you have Phil in his prime and Dennis in his prime
is going to hurt his training. If he nails few guys are of, Shawn can take and Ramy has yet to reach his prime—how long
his conditioning like in 2012, I think he their spots with his combination of can Shawn push the limits at 40 years old? I see
will make top five. conditioning and symmetry. him and Dexter battling it out for fifth place.

142 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

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 JC He is the wild card. He
has gotten bigger this year
so it’s going to be interest-
ing to see how this added
size equates at the Olympia.
He got fifth last year, and he
can improve only so much
because of his age, but he
has that crazy conditioning
that seems to keep getting
better. Dexter is always on
point, and that’s where
he’s going to beat guys. I
expect him to be in the top
six, but if everyone is on, he
is going to get pushed out
of the top spots because
of his lack of size. Dexter
has lost some “pop” to his
muscle, but that just comes
with age.

FW He is living my dream.
When I competed with
Dexter back in the day,
he did what me, Shawn
Ray, and Levrone couldn’t,
which was win a Sandow.
If I were Dexter, I would
just be happy to be on the
stage—and since he has
been training with Charles
Glass, I think he has gotten
better with age. Dexter is
more consistent than any
other bodybuilder, so I
“With his think he can crack that top
trademark con- five this year. He knows his
ditioning, he is body very well, so I think his
going to edge consistency and his size and
out anyone conditioning will be able to
who tries to knock out those guys who
come in bigger come in out of shape.
but loses the
conditioning. ”
—DENNIS JAMES DJ I think Dexter is going to
shock everyone again this
year, he has put on more
mass in the off-season,
and he is going to edge out
those guys who come in off.
That’s what he has been
doing and he is not going to
stop. He is going to be full
and conditioned and he is
going to be in the top five
or six spots, depending on
if anyone is off. With his
trademark conditioning, he
is going to edge out anyone
who tries to come in bigger
but loses the conditioning.
Dexter knows that he can’t
come in bigger to beat guys,
he knows that he is going
to win with his conditioning
and fullness.

BIRTHDATE 11/25/69 I HEIGHT 5'6½" I WEIGHT 235 pounds

OLYMPIA HISTORY 1999, 9th; 2000, 9th; 2001, 8th; 2002, 4th;
2003, 3rd; 2004, 4th; 2006, 4th; 2007, 3rd; 2008, 1st; 2009, 3rd;
BILL COMSTOCK

2010, 4th; 2011, 6th; 2012, 4th; 2013, 5th

144 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

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 BRANCH WARREN
STEVE KUCLO

JUAN MOREL
BIRTHDATE 2/26/75
BIRTHDATE 8/15/85 HEIGHT 5'7" BIRTHDATE 4/2/82
HEIGHT 5'11" WEIGHT 245 pounds HEIGHT 5'11"
WEIGHT 265 pounds OLYMPIA HISTORY 2005, WEIGHT 230 pounds
OLYMPIA HISTORY 8th; 2006, 12th; 2009, 2nd; OLYMPIA HISTORY
2013, 14th 2010, 3rd; 2012, 5th; 2013, 9th Rookie

JC His structure is superb, he is big JC Branch has the conditioning, but he JC First time at Olympia is always tough
and wide, he has a lot of muscle on his does not have the separation. He is a for a rookie. He can possibly be a top 10
frame, but he needs to be fuller, and in shorter bodybuilder, and it is easy to guy because of his crazy conditioning.
the past I feel he has come in flat and get lost in a taller bodybuilder lineup. He still needs work on his posing and
emphasized too much on conditioning. He won the Dallas Europa, but I think the presentation. He has the width, but
I think it’s hurting him. He has the legs, wear and tear of heavy lifting has finally he needs to bring up his legs to be a
delts, and arms, and all he needs to do is caught up to him. I competed against contender. I don’t see him placing near
keep improving. He needs to be fuller. He Branch as a teen, so he has had an unbe- the top because of the wear and tear of
does not have a lot of flaws, but he needs lievable career. It seems that a lot of guys competing so much this year.
more pop to his muscle when he poses. who start of with a great career tend
When I competed, I sometimes sacrificed to slide as they approach the 40-year DJ He has earned his right to be
conditioning to come in fuller, and that’s mark—the muscle just does not seem to onstage at the Olympia with his victory
what Steve needs to do as well. pop as much. in Toronto. He is going to have a very
tough time being competitive with the
DJ He was at the Olympia last year, and DJ I don’t think he will make top six at the top-six guys. He has already done a lot of
he did not make top 10. I did not see Olympia this year because of his struc- contests this year—even if his head is in
any visible improvements this year, so I tural flaws—and his body is not getting the right place, his body will be tired. You
don’t expect him to place well. He has better. His conditioning is always spot can’t keep doing show after show and
the frame to pack on the mass, but he on but I think the years of heavy train- make progress. He is not going to have
is missing the mass and fullness. He ing have caught up to him. His body the fullness and roundness to his muscle
needs to get rounder and get that pop does not have the fullness that he used to bellies like the guys who have been
to his muscle that the other top Olympia have. His legs, which used to be his best rested. He is still young, so I predict in
contenders have. I don’t think he will be a body part, are not what they used to be the next few years Juan will have bet-
factor this year. He needs more time to fill since the injury. He may prove me wrong, ter placings at the Olympia than at his
out his frame and needs better condition- but I am doubtful that he will make the rookie Olympia debut.
ing to compete with the top six guys. top six this year.
FW He busted his ass to get to the Olym-
FW He had a controversial win in Brazil, FW He has amazed me each time he has pia stage this year with his win in Toronto,
but I don’t expect him to place in the top come back with injuries that would have but I think he will not make top six. He
six. He needs to fill out his frame more. He retired any other bodybuilder. As much needs time to fill out his frame. I am not
has yet to bring a combination of being as I like Branch as a person, I think the expecting Juan to do a lot of damage, but
BILL COMSTOCK; PER BERNAL (2)

full and being conditioned. I think he has younger bodybuilders in their prime are it’s going to be a great learning experience
the genetics to be a great bodybuilder, surpassing him. How much better can for him. He needs to bring up his legs to
with a frame that can pack on so much Branch get at the Olympia when guys match his massive upper body and not try
mass, but he has yet to bring to the such as Phil Heath, Dennis Wolf, and to play the size game and try to come in
stage the type of physique that I Ramy are hitting their prime? I am not conditioned. FLEX
want to see. going to count him out, but with his
height, he is going to have an extremely
difcult time cracking the top six
against guys with no injuries.

146 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

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BY

FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

greatest bodybuilding contest in the world
DAVE LEE PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF WEIDER HEALTH & FITNESS

Our homage to the icons who made the Mr. Olympia the
LARRY SCOTT: BALIK/COURTESY OF WEIDER HEALTH AND FITNESS; OLIVA: GARDNER/COURTESY OF WEIDER HEALTH AND FITNESS; ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER: ZELLER © FITNESS
PUBLICATIONS, INC. COURTESY OF WEIDER HEALTH AND FITNESS; FRANCO COLUMBU: BALIK/COURTESY OF WEIDER HEALTH AND FITNESS; DICKERSON: COURTESY OF WEIDER HEALTH AND
FITNESS; BANNOUT: BALIK/COURTESY OF WEIDER HEALTH AND FITNESS; DORIAN YATES: CHRIS LUND; RONNIE COLEMAN:KEVIN HORTON; JAY CUTLER: BILL COMSTOCK; DEXTER JACKSON:
BILL COMSTOCK; PHIL HEATH: BILL COMSTOCK
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 BORN Nov. 11, 1959 HEIGHT 5’11” WEIGHT 252 pounds MR. OLYMPIA 1984–91
MIKE NEVEUX COURTESY OF WEIDER HEALTH AND FITNESS

It was a no-brainer to predict that the first NPC National champ was destined for great things when, in his rookie year of 1983, he won
his pro debut at the Night of Champions and placed third in the Olympia. But no one could have foreseen just how “TotaLee Awesome”
23-year-old Lee Haney would become over the next nine years. At the 1984 O, the 238-pound, 5'11" sophomore started a win streak that
remains unbroken to this day.
Soon enough, the comparisons with Schwarzenegger started. Afer all, the Oak’s record was supposed to stand for generations. But,
taller and wider, with a chest, shoulders, and back leagues ahead of his contemporaries, the genetically gifed Haney removed any pre-
tense of suspense when the big O rolled around. With the exception of 1989, when a considerably downsized and flat Haney was pushed
hard by 5'5" 180-pound Lee Labrada, there was never any real doubt who would be the last man standing. Outside of his 1987 Grand Prix
Germany win, Haney competed exclusively on Olympia stages post-1984, bringing his career win total to 11. One can only wonder how high
that number would be had he competed more ofen.
Haney will not be remembered as the hardest-training or the most conditioned Mr. Olympia, but he will be remembered as possibly
the most gifed next to Sergio Oliva. He continued to improve throughout his reign; some years he was fuller (1985), some years he was
sharper (1986), and some years, much to the dismay of his competition, it was just a combination of the two. For his final and record-
breaking eighth win, Haney tipped the scales at 252 pounds. We didn’t know it then, but with his classic X-frame, beautiful shape, and
overwhelming size, Haney was not only a hybrid in the mold of Oliva, but also a throwback to the classical bodybuilding ideal that the
sport would come to miss.

156 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

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 BORN April 19, 1962 HEIGHT 5'10"
WEIGHT 270 pounds MR. OLYMPIA 1992–1997
A man of few words. While others talked a good game,
Dorian Yates simply toiled away in his dank, dark, hole-
in-the-wall gym (actually located below the city streets
like a proper dungeon) in Birmingham, England. Covered
up for most of the year, Yates rarely showed the world
the monstrosity he was constructing underneath those
baggy sweats—except for a brief few moments a couple
of months out from the contest in pictures that would
become legendary and ultimately psyche out the compe-
tition in the weeks before the show.
Yates didn’t have the pleasing shape and symme-
try of his predecessor Lee Haney, nor the charisma of
Arnold Schwarzenegger, but what he did have was size,
and plenty of it. Yates redefined the word big when he
stepped onstage at the 1993 Olympia at 257 pounds,
the heaviest Mr. Olympia to date, and he upped the ante
even more by coming in super-dry, super-hard, and super-
separated to coin a new term in the sport, grainy. Yates
continued to grow each year, competing in the high 260s
to low 270s. And that back. We thought backs couldn’t
get any bigger than Haney’s, but we were wrong. In each
of his Olympia wins, there were competitors who could
stand with him in front and side poses, but any shot at an
upset was lost by the fourth and fifh mandatory poses.
Yates’ rear double biceps and rear lat spread decimated
lineups, and he was truly the first bodybuilder to win con-
tests from the back. And thus it has remained ever since.
All things being equal, a better back will win the day, and
that can be traced back to the Brit.
With his no-BS attitude in the gym and his commit-
ment to absolute muscular failure, Yates was the first
blue-collar bodybuilder to sit atop the Olympia throne
(one report had him back in the gym three days afer
the Olympia). But he sufered his share of injuries—he
is the only bodybuilder to win the Mr. Olympia with two
torn muscles, a lef biceps and a right triceps, and there
are photos of Yates training with one-arm in a sling. For
the better half of the ’90s, the Shadow loomed large
each September to claim the Sandow, but even his body
KEVIN HORTON

could no longer endure the superhuman strain imposed

upon it by its master, and he retired afer his sixth and
final win in 1997.

158 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

 BORN May 13, 1964 HEIGHT 5'11" WEIGHT 296 pounds MR. OLYMPIA 1998–2005

No one cared when Ronald Dean Coleman turned pro in 1991 at the World Amateur Championships, because that same year, Mike Matarrazzo (USAs)
and Kevin Levrone (Nationals) also turned pro, and they were pros with potential, the kind you kept your eye on. And in his rookie year of 1992, both
Porter Cottrell and Levrone did far better, winning contests while Coleman failed to make the top 10 in all three contests he entered, including a DNP in
his Olympia debut. Just how anonymous was early-era Coleman? There was another Ron Coleman who competed then, and more ofen than not, you
had to clarify that you were talking about that Ron Coleman, not the one who would eventually be Mr. Olympia. It would be another three years before
Coleman won anything and a year afer that before he made his first Olympia posedown (sixth in 1996). He slipped back down again to ninth in ’97, but
in 1998, the Texas policeman upset all the favorites—Levrone, Flex Wheeler, Shawn Ray—to win the one contest nobody ever thought he’d win. Even
afer he won it, critics and competitors alike said he would never dominate like Yates and Haney before him. Were they ever wrong!
Afer two decisive wins in 1999–2000 and two close calls in 2001–02, Coleman lost the 2002 GNC Show of Strength to Günter Schlierkamp, the
man who had placed fifh just two weeks before in the O. The king was beatable. Despite being a five-time Mr. Olympia, Coleman once again as-
sumed the role of underdog heading into 2003—and that was the last time anybody would ever call him that again. His 287 pounds of shredded beef
elicited three responses from the audience: silence, gasps, and laughter, quickly turning it to a contest for second, third, fourth, etc. As if that weren’t
enough, he rubbed it in their faces in 2004 with 10 more pounds of added muscle at 297 pounds. And in what would be his final, fall-to-his-knees
Sandow moment in 2005, the king dressed for the occasion, with crown, scepter, cape, and all, for his posing routine.
As impressive as Coleman was on the Olympia stage, his ferocious workouts in the gym contributed as much to his legend as the eight Sandows
decorating his house. He trained heavier than any bodybuilder before or since, and the former football player turned powerlifer resurrected
the most old-school move of all-time: the deadlif. He turned a girly exercise, the walking lunge, into a staple in every serious bodybuilder’s leg
routine—though Coleman’s version involved up to 315 pounds done outside in the gravel parking lot of Metroflex Gym in triple-digit heat. The
800-pound deadlifs and squats, bench presses, whether done with a bar-bending 500 pounds or comical 200-pound dumbbells, were punctu-
KEVIN HORTON

ated with catchphrases like “light weight, baby; yeah, buddy; ain’t nuthin’ but a peanut!” that echoed in gyms across the country. The man who
started his career in anonymity finished it as an eight-time Mr. Olympia, and when, at the conclusion of his posing routine at the 2007 Olympia
he announced his retirement, the standing ovation from the crowd was a fitting thank you for the bodybuilder who will be, for many, the biggest,
baddest Mr. Olympia of all-time.

160 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

 BORN Aug. 3, 1973 HEIGHT 5'9" WEIGHT 265 pounds
MR. OLYMPIA 2006–07, 2009–10
“Never give up.” We’ve all heard it before, but nobody lived it quite
like Jason Isaac Cutler from Worcester, MA. By now, his rise to fame is
bodybuilding lore, starting with a heavyweight win at the 1996 NPC
Nationals to earn his pro card, his first win in 2000 at the Night of ,
and of course, the contest where he made his bones, the 2001 Olym-
pia, where he finished a controversial second to Ronnie Coleman.
For three more Olympias (he skipped it in 2002) he would have to
live with that placing and the special pain that comes with being
only one step removed from the top. In that span, he won every
other contest that Coleman wasn’t in, except the 2003 GNC Show
of Strength, where he was second to Dexter Jackson. Then in 2006,
Coleman, whose body was starting to show the trauma of his mythi-
cal workouts, couldn’t hold back the top contender any longer. The
second best bodybuilder of the past five years finally toppled the king,
and the roar of the Orleans Arena crowd proved that underdogs finally
having their day still make the best stories.
But glory was short-lived. Afer a controversial title defense in 2007
to Victor Martinez, Cutler was upset by Dexter Jackson in 2008. The one
thing in the whole world that he had labored so long for was gone in an
instant. People said he was finished. The years of chasing Coleman had
taken too much out of him. But none of those people were Jay Cutler. In
2009, he stomped onstage in his lifetime-best condition with details never
before seen on his 35-year-old physique and by Saturday, Sept. 26, the former
champ was once again the reigning champ and in the history books as the first
Mr. Olympia to regain the Sandow the year afer losing it.
He held of hard-charging Phil Heath in 2010 before succumbing to him
a year later. A torn lef biceps hampered his training for that show and afer
sitting out 2012, he was back trying to make lightning strike twice. But a
downsized version could only manage sixth. Cutler is on the sideline for this
Olympia, and even though there has been no ofcial announcement, even
money is that we won’t be seeing him on the Olympia stage again, at least not
KEVIN HORTON

in posing trunks—but who can say for certain? For now, Iron Jay is the loser who
never quit until he became the winner, and the dethroned champ who made the
turnaround of a lifetime to once again rule the bodybuilding kingdom.

162 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

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 BORN Nov. 25, 1969 HEIGHT 5'6" WEIGHT 235 pounds
Mr. Olympia 2008
By his own admission, Dexter Jackson was never supposed to be Mr.
Olympia. But he was and he beat the second most dominant body-
builder of the current millennium to do it. You have to go all the way
back to 1983 to find the last man weighing less than 240 pounds (for
the sake of argument, we’ll round up Lee Haney’s 238 pounds in 1984
by two) to win the O. The Blade, who started his career as a 137-pound
bantamweight at the 1991 Jacksonville Championships (the contest’s
first bantam to win the overall) earned the right to flex on IFBB pro
stages with a light-heavy and overall win at the 1998 North American
Championships. For the next four years, the undersized but razor-
sharp Florida native did well enough, never finishing out of the
top 10—including two ninths and an eighth at the Olympia—before
scoring his first win at the 2002 Grand Prix England, which was also
the year he made his first O posedown via his fourth-place finish.
The next four Olympias consisted of a pair of thirds and fourths (not
in that order).
Jackson’s 2008 will go down as one of the best years in the modern
era, for not only did he win the Olympia, he also won the Arnold Classic
(his third), making him, along with Ronnie Coleman, the only body-
builders to hold both major titles in the same calendar year. Oh, and he
also won three other shows, racking up his total to five. In an era of size
matters, Jackson’s O triumph proved that bodybuilding still rewarded
stellar condition, proportion, shape, and detail. In other words, you
didn’t have to be a near-300-pound mass monster to be the best.
Jackson held that title for a single year, a distinction he shares with
Dickerson and Bannout. Afer falling to third in 2009, fourth in 2010,
and sixth in 2011, a resharpened Blade surprised everyone by climbing
back up to fourth in 2012. That year he also won the Masters Olympia,
making him the only bodybuilder to hold the open and masters division
titles. Jackson’s edge is still as keen as ever with three contest wins last
year, including his record-tying fourth Arnold Classic and a fifh in the
Olympia. We’ll have to wait until the Blade is done before we close the
PAVEL YTHJALL

book on his competitive career, as he remains a perennial posedown

favorite in any contest he enters.

164 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

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 BORN Dec. 18, 1979
HEIGHT 5'9" WEIGHT 250 pounds
MR. OLYMPIA 2011–13
There’s an unmistakable swagger to his step.
He’s young and he’s the champ, so if you have to
face him, well, good luck. And if you’re a fan who
roots for the underdog, well, there’s not really
much you can do is there? Let’s be honest, most
of us like the real life Rockys of the sports world,
and with a nickname like the Gif, no one can say
Phil Heath ever played the role of underdog—at
least in his bodybuilding career. But don’t blame
Phil Heath for winning. It’s what he does.
Great expectations abounded when he won his
pro card at the 2005 NPC USA, and he answered
with wins in his first two shows the following year,
the Colorado Pro and New York Pro. Comparisons
with greats like Flex Wheeler and Kevin Levrone
followed. So when would we see Heath test
himself against the best on the Olympia
stage? That moment wouldn’t happen for
another three years, but it was well worth the
wait, as the then-28-year-old placed third in
2008. He slipped to fifh the next year, but the
Gif moved up to second in 2010, and it was a sign
of things to come.
The buildup to the 2011 Olympia centered on
the mentor versus student relationship between
the champion Cutler and challenger Heath. It
was the former who discovered the latter while
guest posing at the 2004 NPC Colorado State.
Since that fateful meeting, Cutler continued
to school Heath, albeit in an informal fashion,
as that relationship has been slightly exagger-
ated. Still the protégé (so to speak) proved a
fast learner. Fast-forward to the rematch for
the Sandow. Heath took the stage first, muscles
jumping to life with each move. He was big. He
was conditioned. All the weaknesses detractors
had said would keep him from making the jump
from “good” to “great” were gone. Clavicles
packed enough delt mass, medial heads in
particular, for two normal-size men, and com-
bined with flaring quads attached to a waist that
belonged on a light-heavy, the Heath “X-frame”
was a showstopper standing at center stage. Up-
per pecs threatened to swallow his chin in front
poses, and his back—wider, thicker, and gnarlier
than an ancient tree trunk and attached to the
driest hamstrings and glutes on the stage—lef
no doubt as to who would be winning this contest
in the critical rear poses. Heath was unstoppable,
and Cutler said as much in his gracious post-
contest speech onstage as he watched his good
friend hoist the Sandow overhead. But Heath was
just getting started.
In 2012, Heath had the supposed scare of his
life when a slimmed-down and detail-infused
Kai Greene took him to task. The crowd was
immediately behind the contender, and the buzz
BILL COMSTOCK

around Orleans Arena suggested an upset was

in the works. But interestingly enough, it wasn’t
all that close by the ofcial tally—in fact, not by
a long shot as Heath scored straight firsts (yes,
we remain suckers for the underdog story). Last

166 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

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year’s outcome was the same, but
unlike the previous year when one
and two were compared repeat-
edly, Heath was sent back to the
lineup afer one run through the
mandatories while the rest, includ-
ing Greene, fought it out to sort
out spots second on down. It was
clear that the perceived ambiguity
of 2011 had made the champ, well,
mad and delivering the proverbial—
and in our sport symbolic—knockout
early in Round 1, there was no
question who the superior body-
builder was.
Heath knows how far ahead of
the competition he is at this point,
and he intends to widen that gap.
For all his God-given talent, he is
where he is in life because he works
hard for it. He’s focused on being
better than his rivals, on being his
best, because as a wise man once
told him, his best is good enough. In
the weeks following his three-peat,
Heath stated his intended goal
of 10 Olympias. Ten. It’s a good
number; everybody likes 10, it has
a nice ring to it. And it’s two more
than the current record held by
both Haney and Coleman.
At only 35 years old, the current
Mr. O’s story is a work in progress.
As we count down the weeks, days,
and hours to the 50th Mr. Olympia,
we’ll see if he can hit the big 10.
Years from now, whatever his
final Sandow tally, Heath along
with the other Mr. Olympias will
always be remembered as those
who had their finest moments
on bodybuilding’s biggest stage.
BILL COMSTOCK

These 13 men did it their way to

stand above all others, rising from
champions to legends. FLEX

168 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

176
Arnold Classic runner-up Shawn “Flexatron” Rhoden takes aim at building massive biceps and triceps

FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

BY MICHAEL BERG, N.S.C.A.-C.P.T. PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHARLESLOWTHIAN.COM
SEPT. 18–21, 2014
WHERE LEGENDS ARE MADE
Copyright USPlabs, LLC. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Information in this ad should
not be used as an indication or prediction of your individual results. These products are meant to be used in conjunction with a proper nutrition & exercise program. Your results are completely dependent upon
the amount of efort you put into it, which includes eating & exercising properly. You should consult your healthcare practitioner before beginning any such plan. All examples are for illustration purposes only.
USPlabs is not afliated with, and its products are not endorsed by, the United States Pharmacopeia, Rockville, MD. Endorsers began their relationships with USPlabs as product users before endorsing the company.
USPlabs’ Endorsers may have been remunerated for their endorsement. *Per 1 Scoop. Per 3 Scoops. www.USPlabsDirect.com
“SOMETIMES…
DREAMS ARE
ALL THAT
SEPARATE US
FROM THE
MACHINES.”
So wrote Dan Simmons in his
1990 classic The Fall of Hyperion.
That sentiment—like much in
the realm of science fiction—
resonates in the nonfictional
universe as well.
Take bodybuilding, for
instance. Using complex
contraptions mechanically engi-
neered to provide resistance, we
borrow the ceaseless consisten-
cy of machines as rep by rep, set
by set, day by day, we methodi-
cally accomplish an immensely
challenging task. But why?
Dreams, of course.
We toil until the finished
product we desire emerges in
the mirror before us, muscular
and chiseled, born of the same
deliberate principles that power
our technological innovations.
Yet, as the quote implies,
men are not machines. Crafted
of flesh and bone, flawed and
fallible, we follow a course of
faith, all in pursuit of something
no machine can experience: the
exhilarating feeling of achieving
success and turning our dreams
PRE-OLYMPIA ARM WORKOUT
into reality.
At least that’s the code EXERCISE SETS REPS
programmed into the body- Triceps Rope 4–5 8–12
builder-slash-machine we find Pressdown
at Gold’s Gym in Venice, CA, on a
Standing 4–5 8–12
seasonably warm Friday in May.
Barbell or EZ-
Shawn “Flexatron” Rhoden, who bar Drag Curl
turned in top-five performances
in 12 of his first 15 pro contests, Lying EZ-bar 4–5 8–12
is training arms, all the while French Press
consciously aware that the end Hammer 4–5 8–12
result he desires—to topple Strength Biceps
all comers and secure the Mr. Curl
Olympia hardware—hinges on One-arm Over- 4–5 8–12
his ability to pursue his dream his way this past March. In Co- break a sweat, he’s carved out head Dumbbell
with machinelike precision. lumbus, Dennis Wolf earned the a spot at the cable station, Extension
victory, while Rhoden endured slipping a rope attachment
Cable Rope Curl 4–5 8–12
LASER FOCUS his close-but-not-quite second- onto the upper pulley’s
“I’m motivated for the Olympia,” place finish with a bitter mixture carabiner, slipping the pin One-arm 4–5 8–12
Rhoden says with more than of pride, disappointment, and in halfway down the dulled D-Handle Cable
a touch of understatement. a resolve to leave no room for metal stack and taking a Extension
Indeed, his reflective pauses and doubts next time. position for pressdowns. Dumbbell 4–5 8–12
visceral reaction when asked tell Still, he says, he doesn’t want With his feet set shoulder- One-arm
more than any words could. to linger over it. The memory is width apart and a slight bend Preacher Curl
The 39-year-old Jamaican only gas for the engine fueling in his knees, he grasps the Note: Rhoden starts with
import recalls vividly the Arnold his workouts. Today, after a rope—his pinkies against the a 10-minute fast walk on a
Classic decision that didn’t go 10-minute jog on the treadmill to rubber stoppers at the ends— treadmill to warm up.

178 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

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and brings his elbows down to his perspiration beading on his brow 80-pound preloaded EZ bar not worrying about how much
sides so his forearms are parallel with each successive set. “I don’t at his hips, holding it with a weight I’m lifting,” Rhoden says.
with the floor. From here, the always add the plate,” he says shoulder-width grip, palms “Other guys might think about
action takes place at the elbows, afterward as he racks the 45 on angled inward on the camber, that, but I have to keep reminding
going straight and then back a nearby tree. “But if I’m feeling elbows shifted back. From here, myself that I’m a bodybuilder,
to the parallel position, with an strong that day, I will.” keeping the bar as close to his not a powerlifter. I won’t get any
outward twist of the wrist at the body as he can, he curls it all the points onstage for how much I
very bottom. One, two, he pumps SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED way to chest level, then returns can curl. It’s all about how the
reps out fairly quickly, this being Next on Rhoden’s agenda? it along the same path. Beneath exercise impacts the shape and
a warmup set, as he seeks out a Biceps, specifically EZ-bar drag his skin, his biceps contort into a size of the muscle. Any exercise
steady rhythm, finally terminat- curls. It’s a pattern that will con- tight ball at the apex, writhing I do, I concentrate on using the
ing the efort at 12 reps. tinue throughout the workout, under the efort as the reps—and muscle and not momentum.”
Over the course of four more trading back and forth between then sets—advance. By the time The next stop on the arm
sets, he ends up doing the full triceps and biceps exercises. “I’ve he’s pumping out set No. 5, he’s assembly line also involves the EZ
stack for 10 in the penulti- had a lot of success training arms handling 120 pounds for 12 reps. bar, efciently enough. Rhoden
mate go-round, then places a this way,” he says. “It brings a lot That’s not light in the realm of claims a flat bench near the
45-pound plate over the pin for of blood into the upper arms, mere mortals, but among body- EZ-bar rack, adjusting it so it’s at a
the final set, getting 10 more and takes advantage of the builders, one might be surprised slight incline, the second pinhole
reps before faltering. His form (agonist/antagonist) relation- it’s not heavier. up from flat. Then he grabs the
remains constant, the only ship of the bi’s and tri’s.” “On curls, I’m concentrating 80-pound bar to start, first sitting
diference being the additional Rhoden begins with the more on the exercise itself and with it on his lap, then lying back
as he brings the bar to his chest
and then overhead, palms on the
inner grips, elbows straight and
arms angled slightly back.
STANDING EZ-BAR CURL At this point, a cool breeze
Yes, it’s an arm exercise, but your core is
key—keep your abs and lower back tight, so
tinged with Pacific salt is flowing
all the motion happens only at the elbows. through the wide-open garage
As you bring the weight up, your elbows door nearby, surely welcome as
should be tucked to your sides and not shif- Rhoden embarks on the first reps
ing forward. of skull crushers. His elbows bend,
lowering the bar all the way down
to within an inch of his forehead,
where he powerfully engages both
triceps to bring it back to the start.
The only motion is at the elbow
joint, and in his face as he breathes
in deep on the descent and force-
fully pushes air from his lungs and
through his lips on the ascent.
Between sets 4 and 5, just
before he prepares to hoist 120 for
12 reps, he stops to answer a ques-
tion: Why does he use the inner
grips versus going wider?
“The outer grip doesn’t work for
me because of a prior wrist injury,”
he says. “I cut a tendon in my
forearm at a young age, so since
then I’ve had to focus on exercises
that lessen pressure on my wrists.
My grip can sometimes look
strange, especially when I bench—I
grip narrower than most—but it’s
all about the feel and avoiding
reaggravating that area.”

BRING DOWN THE HAMMER

Now 20 minutes into the session,
Rhoden locks on his next target,
ambling over to a Hammer
Strength biceps-curl machine
just abandoned by a personal
trainer and his exhausted client,
a mid-40ish guy with graying
hair sporting a pair of Adidas
that probably last saw action in

180 FLEX | SEPTEMBER Õ14

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Dorian Yates’ heyday. Rhoden
quickly slides one plate on, then
lowers the seat to its bottom-
most position.
“Most people tend to sit for
this, but I prefer to drop the seat
and hover over it, which helps me
sink my armpits down nice and
deep and take the delts out of the
movement,” he explains before
settling in for 12 workmanlike reps.
The key here—as in all his
biceps training—is full, direct
engagement of the biceps, from
the very top of the muscle at the
shoulder down to its insertion
at the elbow. Observing him
in action, you can literally see
his biceps expand, filling like a
balloon until nearly bursting at
the peak of each rep, then slowly
dissipating on the negative. Like
everything in Rhoden’s workout,
that cadence is by design.
“You gotta picture it, the
muscle doing the work,” Rhoden
says. “My reps are steady, not so
fast that I’m just swinging the
weights around.”
Unlike many bodybuilders
who ratchet the reps downward
as the weight tallies rise from set
to set, Rhoden aims for a dozen
every time out. “I go for 12 reps
no matter what,” he says. “I may
not always get there, and if I fail
that’s OK, but I’m always trying
to get to 12. That’s where having
a good spotter helps, pushing
you those extra reps and giving
you just a little bit of assistance.”
This day, however, he’s
uncharacteristically alone—not
even his trainer, the legendary
Charles Glass, is on hand to
usher his mighty 280-pound
protégé through his workout,
as he does in the lead-up to
all Rhoden’s major contests.
But no matter, as Glass has
taught him well. Soldiering on,
Rhoden is soon in front of the
dumbbell rack, settling himself
onto a short-back bench with
a 40-pound dumbbell in one
hand for overhead extensions.
Without wasting a beat,
the ’bell is up in the air over-

ONE-ARM CABLE EXTENSION (D-HANDLE)

Notice how the elbow only bends to about 90 degrees, and not farther. This
is to maintain tension on the triceps—as you want to keep the weight stack
elevated throughout the set—and keep your upper arm in place, to avoid
bringing your delts into the exercise.
At full extension, make sure you’re hitting your tri’s with a strong squeeze.

182 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

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head in his left arm, his elbow to travel between start and finish. done, will span 47 minutes today. From there, the biceps
straight. Staring himself down “Try to bottom out,” he says Three more exercises remain grind back into gear, forcefully
in the mirror, Rhoden lowers the afterward. “A lot of guys, they’ll on the agenda, starting with contracting to bring the rope up
weight behind his head until it’s short-rep this exercise, but you rope curls from a lower pulley. toward his front delts. The range
nearly at his traps, then reverses want to bend that elbow as far He returns to the same station of motion is full, the motion
powerfully, his triceps whirring as you can and then drive the he used for rope pressdowns, itself pure and smooth as the
to life to hoist the load. Again, dumbbell out of the hole with then stands at attention with cable applies constant pressure
like clockwork, he completes five your triceps.” body flexed from head to toe, throughout each repetition—a
sets, 12 reps apiece, pyramiding holding one end of the rope in much-vaunted benefit of cables.
up to 60 pounds. Throughout, his GOLD STANDARD each hand with arms extended Another advantage of the
core is tight and his torso upright, As the lunchtime crowd finally in front of him. He leans ever rope? “The hammer grip brings
protecting his lower back from starts to disperse, Rhoden is also so slightly back, countering my forearms and brachialis into
undue strain while positioning his nearing the end of his arm ses- the weight now lifted up a few the move,” Rhoden points out,
body perfectly for the dumbbell sion, which, when all is said and inches, the stack cut in two. which helps develop the 3-D look
to the front of the upper arm
and accentuates the key tie-ins
between biceps and the lower
arm. “I’ll also sometimes use the
cambered short bar attachment
and take a reverse grip for this.”
With—what else?—five sets
complete, Rhoden remains at
the cable, switching his attention
to the top pulley by attaching
a D-handle to it for one-arm
triceps extensions.
For this, the weight drops pre-
cipitously, starting with about a
fifth of the stack. But as Rhoden
has already pointed out, the goal
is complete control, not personal
bests in the weight department.
He takes the handle in his left
hand first, palm up, positioning
himself so that his right side is
closer to the stack, and brings
his forearm to a position parallel
with the floor to disengage the
weight from the stack.
His tri’s leap into sharp relief
as the reps begin. The exercise
emphasizes the outer (lateral)
head of the triceps, but all three
heads engage in unison, as they
do in most triceps exercises. You
can target each individual head
for extra emphasis, depending on
your positioning: Moves with arms
overhead target the long head
because they put it in a position
of stretch to begin, while moves
performed with your elbows
at your sides rely more on the
lateral and medial heads. But all
three heads are designed to work
synergistically.
ONE-ARM PREACHER
DUMBBELL CURL COUNTDOWN
Tuck your armpit onto the bench. If For his final exercise, Rhoden
you find your arm separating from selects an old preacher bench,
the top of the bench, you’re likely
using additional body leverage to its gray sheen scufed from years
move the weight instead of just rely- of use and abuse. No matter, it’s
ing on your biceps to do the work. still up to the task as he takes a
You should be able to literally 45-pound dumbbell in hand for
feel the blood filling your biceps
peak at the top of the curl—visualize
one-arm curls.
the muscle contracting forcefully on “You really want to concen-
every rep. trate and squeeze every time

184 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

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 TRAINING SPLIT
DAY 1 Chest
up,” he explains between sets. DAY 2 Back
“You can either get a ton out of DAY 3 Thighs
DAY 4 Shoulders
preacher curls, or nothing at all,
DAY 5 Arms
depending on how you approach Note: Rhoden works in
them. For me, it’s the last exercise standing and seated
of the day, and I want to get ev- calf exercises every
erything I can out of the workout.” other training day. As
This is a goal he clearly meets. for abs, like many pros,
By the last set, he’s struggling he admits he works
for the final few reps, gamely them only as ofen as
he feels he needs to.
pushing toward that magic
number of 12. His left arm slows,
then almost reverses, before he
finishes with a grunt, then pulls
his elbow of the pad and lets
the dumbbell drop to the floor,
trading it for a towel. Rhoden’s
spent…but far from finished,
because tomorrow he’ll be right
back at it doing chest.
“Four more months,” he says,
and you know exactly what he’s
talking about. The Mr. Olympia
looms on the horizon, and this
year, he’s all business.
“Last year, I started traveling
in January and continued until
July. Trying to juggle that with
getting ready for the Olympia, I
didn’t end up with as much prep
time as I wanted. This year, I only
booked the bare minimum of
appearances, pretty much wrap-
ping those up in May.”
Last year, that July-to-
September spread yielded 14
quality pounds on Rhoden’s
frame. Now, as he says, “We’ll
find out what I can do with the
two extra months.”
As to what he’s aiming to
improve upon: everything. “I
plan to get beat up by Charles
Glass every day,” he says. “It’s
the old-school mentality—I get
that from training with Charles
and working with (contest prep
advisor) Chris Aceto. It’s diet
and heavy training first, and
I’m going to take that same
approach. We’re out to make a
statement.”
With that, iron clanging all
around him on this well-worn
shop floor in Venice where
dreams have been built for
decades, Flexatron switches SNAPSHOT l SHAWN RHODEN
gears. It’s time to feed the ma- BIRTHDATE April 2, 1975 l HEIGHT 5'9 ½" l WEIGHT 260 pounds (of-season), 235 pounds (contest)
chine, to maintain his clockwork BIRTHPLACE Kingston, Jamaica l CURRENT RESIDENCE: Los Angeles, CA
consistency on all fronts. This SPONSOR Weider, VPX Sports/Redline l MARITAL STATUS Single
particular meal is two scoops of CAREER HIGHLIGHTS 2014: Arnold Classic, 2nd; Australian Grand Prix, 1st; 2013: Arnold Classic Europe, 4th;
Mr. Olympia, 4th; 2012: Flex Pro, 4th; Arnold Classic, 8th; Europa Super Show, 1st; Tampa Pro, 1st; Mr. Olympia,
VPX Zero Carb SRO whey protein
3rd; Arnold Classic Europe, 1st; British Grand Prix, 1st; 2011: Europa Super Show, 3rd; Mr. Olympia, 11th; 2009 North
isolate, Graham Cracker flavor, American Championships, heavyweight and overall winner (earned pro card); 2001: North American Championships,
mixed with water. light-heavyweight, 2nd; Team Universe Championships, light-heavyweight, 2nd; 1999: Jan Tana Amateur Classic,
And then he’s gone, on to rest, light-heavyweight, 2nd; Team Universe, light-heavyweight, 3rd; 1997: Mid Atlantic Natural Bodybuilding Champion-
recalibrate, and repeat. FLEX ships, light-heavyweight, 2nd; East Coast Tournament of Champions, 1st. l WEBSITE shawnrhoden.com

186 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

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The top 10 training

tenets of Olympia 212
Showdown champ
Flex Lewis

WHERE LEGENDS ARE MADE

SEPT. 18–21, 2014

190 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

To the rare few, it’s that feeling of standing under the hot lights and receiving that hard-won trophy. After 20 weeks,
this is the payoff, the jackpot, the money shot that will be indelibly burned into your mind. This fleeting moment
embodies that sum total of all the hard work.
For many toiling on a smaller stage – basement gyms all across the country – it’s that glorious feeling when you
are resuscitated, when you finally break through the flat line of your plateau, and hit the PR you’ve been struggling
with for a year. The lights aren’t as bright, but the feeling is just as sweet.
Yet for a few, sometimes the smallest wins are the biggest triumphs... Like just being able to hold a dumbbell in your
hand.You’ve come a long way but you’ve still got a ways to go. Now that the feeling has come rushing back, never miss
a day again. Train hard but smart and take care of the only body you have. Raise your fist. This is what victory feels like.

For a free Animal Flex x-ray poster, go to www.animalpak.com/AnimalFlex while supplies last.
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 Quick history lesson. From 1974–79, the Mr. Olympia featured lightweight and
heavyweight divisions. Franco Columbu won the first three under-200-pound clashes,
and Frank Zane took the last three. Jump ahead to 2008–11 and the Olympia 202
Showdown. After David Henry won the inaugural title, Kevin English took the next three.
In 2012, the division limit was bumped up 10 pounds. This is Flex Lewis’ domain. He’s
collected both 212 O titles, so far. And on Sept. 20, he attempts to join Columbu, Zane,
and English as a three-time “lightweight Olympia” victor.
Flex is doing it his way. The Welsh Dragon and his nutritionist/trainer Neil Hill have
fresh ideas about working out. From rep ranges to rest to exercise selection, the 212
champ doesn’t do things the same old way, because he doesn’t want to achieve the
same old results. No, he’s striving for the ultimate. Rep after rep, set after set, Flex
Lewis is reaching for his place in history. Three is the magic number, but 10 is the number
of components that make his training unique.

Before we can
discuss the next
nine things, we
need to start by
saying if you write
a rule for Lewis he’s
likely to tear it up
and write another.
Change is crucial to
his program. In fact,
it’s the very essence
of Neil Hill’s Y3T
(Yoda Three Train-
ing) system. Y3T
dictates that you
cycle through three
different styles of
training. It works
like this. The first
week the focus
is on compound
basics for sets
of 6–10 reps.
Week 2 you
do com-
pound and
isolation
exercises for
8–12 reps.
The third
week is an all-
out, high-rep,
high-intensity
barrage of super-
sets, dropsets, and
extreme pain. Then
the cycle starts
again. Y3T is still
the cornerstone of
Lewis’ training, but,
at the 212 king’s
advanced level, he
switches up when
and how he attacks
his muscles more
than the standard
Y3T protocol.

192 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

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 The Welsh Dragon flips
the script to focus less on his
strengths and more on his
weaknesses, all with the goal of
attaining ideal proportions. His
pluses and minuses have altered
through the years precisely
because his neglect-subject-
perfect plan works. When Lewis
first burst on to the bodybuilding
scene in 2004, his lower half
greatly exceeded his upper. What
did he do? He rarely trained legs.
For extended periods, he went
nowhere near a calf machine or
squat rack. Neglect strengths.
Simultaneously, he used the
extra time and energy to focus
more on lagging areas like arms.
Subject weaknesses. More
recently, his arms have grown so
much that he can curtail their
training. And now afer laying of
legs, they need his typical all-out
workouts to bring them back in
balance. All of this is with the
ultimate goal of perfect balance.

UPON WAKING
1 scoop Syntha-6 POST-WORKOUT
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1 scoop Amino X 20 MINUTES
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MEAL 1 1 scoop Isoburn
2 whole eggs
10 egg whites MEAL 4
4 oz oatmeal 9–10 oz baked potato
1 slice whole-grain toast 8 oz steak
with peanut butter 1 whole egg
3 oz yogurt 3 oz greens
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3 oz brown rice 9 oz salmon
8–9 oz fish 3 oz greens
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9–10 oz sweet potato 1 slice whole-grain toast
8 oz ground turkey 100g low-fat cottage
3 oz greens cheese
2–3 oz pineapple 1 tbsp natural peanut
butter
PRE-WORKOUT
1 scoop Hyper FX *NOTE: Lewis is beta- Over the years, Lewis has done a lot of hard labor in
testing an advanced car- power racks. He knows deadlifs are considered hard-
INTRA-WORKOUT bohydrate supplement he core while rope pushdowns are supposedly sofcore.
50g BSN Proprietary developed with the team He just doesn’t care. He’s going to do what best stimu-
Carbohydrate Formula* at BSN, which is slated lates his muscles. That might be rack deads or it might
1 scoop Amino X for release to the general be a row/contraction move he creates on the fly. And he might do them both in the same
10g L-glutamine public later this year. workout. The Welsh Dragon’s object is to push his muscles to new limits and thus force
5g creatine their expansion. If he does that with high-rep giant sets at a cable pushdown station then
so be it. He’ll take what is traditionally thought of as sofcore and make it hardcore via his
zest for journeying deep into the pain zone.

194 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

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 Forget about working in when you see Lewis at a pushdown station. He’s not paus-
ing, and he’s going to be camped there for a while. He does a warmup giant set and
then three or four working giant sets at the same station: five exercises in rotation for
20 reps each with no rest between sets. A typical giant set consists of: wide-grip rope
pushdowns, then narrow-grip rope pushdowns, then EZ-bar pushdowns, then one-hand As the preceding triceps
pushdowns, then overhead rope triceps extensions. barrage illustrates, Flex isn’t
“So, all told, including warmups, I’m doing either 400 or 500 reps for triceps in short afraid to crank up the rep
order,” Flex states. “Aferward, my triceps are already fully pumped, and I’ve spent a lot count. He’ll frequently push
of reps targeting strong contractions to really focus on my tri’s.” For comparison sake, a sets to the 20-rep mark. “The
typical triceps routine (three exercises x four sets x 10 reps) is 120 reps. Afer finishing of key isn’t how many reps you
tri’s with two compound exercises—Smith machine close-grip bench presses and dips— do, the key is how hard you’re
Lewis has racked up at least four times the typical tally. And he’s done most of those reps working the muscle,” he states.
in short order via giant sets. “And for me it might take 10
reps before I really start to
exhaust the muscle, so that
first 10 [reps in a set] is a setup
for the last 10 when I really
push it and keep the tension
on the muscle for as long as
possible. A lot of people think
sets of three or four reps really
heavy are harder than 15–20
reps with a lighter weight. But
if you do three reps, you get in
and you get out. I want to keep
the set going, keep the tension
on the muscle. That’s the hard
work that makes you grow.”
Lewis uses a variety of rep
schemes, so he might pyramid
up to a heavy set of eight reps
on one exercise, then hit 20 on
every set of his next exercise.

The Welsh Dragon

creates new exercises,
new set/rep schemes, and new
methods of upping intensity.
To illustrate all three of these,
check out his calf training.
Granted, his calves have
always been bulls, so he’s gone
long stretches without training
them. Nevertheless, when he
does work them, he stimulates
growth with what he calls
hybrid training.
“Hybrid training is basically
a triset or giant set, but it
involves exercises with weights
and exercises with just body
weight, and it incorporates lots
of stretching and squeezing,” he
explains. “It really started with
just me getting sadistic, doing
a lot of deep stretches for holds
and really strong contractions.
You can really go medieval on
your calves while just using your
body weight. With the weight
out of the way it lets you focus
on the stretches and holds for
as long as you can stand the
pain. I’ll go through three difer-
ent rotations. I call them giant
sets from hell, and if you try
them you’ll see why. At the end
of each rotation, I stretch for a
minute and then go back to the
first exercise. I go through each
rotation three times.”

196 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

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“They’re essen-
tial,” the two-time
Olympia 212 Show-
down champ says
of training partners.
“They don’t have
to be top-level
bodybuilders, but
they have to have
that drive to bet-
ter themselves.
Usually, the
guys who aren’t
top-level guys are
more motivated
to train harder
to gain size. The
crucial thing is
they have to be
dependable.
They have to
show up on time
and be ready
to go and want
to push me as
hard as they push
themselves. I like
someone in my face
aggressively when
I start fatiguing on
the last couple of
reps. I want them
to get in my head
and help me force a
couple of extra reps
out. So when I’m
home, I always train
with partners.”

The theme of most items on

this list can be summed up as “That mind-to-muscle connection is
“maximize intensity.” A decade the most important thing in my training
ago, Lewis trained under the king of success,” Lewis states. Without it, he
high-intensity training, six-time Mr. may have remained known mostly for
Olympia Dorian Yates. “At the time, I his legs instead of, arguably, the most
don’t think I had enough years under my belt to train that style,” he says. “I aesthetically pleasing shape in all of bodybuilding. “I’ve just recently learned
do sort of dabble in HIT in the of-season now. I like to mix up my of-season how to really hit my chest so my front delts don’t take over. Arms were the
training. But for me I like a little bit more volume [than HIT]. When I finish a first area where I really learned how to focus on them in a way I was missing
HIT workout, I’ll feel like things went too fast and I didn’t have enough sets before. Before, my forearms would always take over. And then I started do-
or reps.” Lewis does more volume than the six-time Mr. O did, but he never- ing certain exercises and really squeezing, and I became less concerned with
theless adopted the take-no-prisoners approach of his fellow British legend. the weights. And over time I taught myself to squeeze and get connected
The Welsh Dragon endeavors to bring the heat to his every working set. with the muscles, and the weights obviously came back up with time.”

198 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

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 EXERCISE REPS EXERCISE REPS EXERCISE REPS
CALF ROTATION 1 CALF ROTATION 2 CALF ROTATION 3
Seated Calf Raise 30 Standing Calf Raise 15 Calf Press 15–30
Body-weight Calf Raise 30 Body-weight Calf Raise (on plate) 15 Body-weight Calf Raise 15–30
(on block) (on plate)
Body-weight Calf Raise (top halves) 15
Body-weight Calf Raise 30 Body-weight Calf Raise 15–30
(on floor) One-leg Body-weight Calf Raise 15 (on floor)

eigning 212 champ always

The reigning
has a visio
vision of how he wants to
appear at his next contest. This
dictates what he does in each
workout. For example, he places
a greater emphasis on training his
spinal erectors with back exten-
sions than most of his competitors.
As a result, his Christmas tree back
details are a contest-clenching
strength. His next chest workout
will target his upper pecs. His
next lumbar workout will
likely have at least one
exercise that stresses his
inner traps.
Lewis neglects
nothing, because he
knows even the smallest
muscles can make the
diference between
first and fourth when
you’re going against
the best 212-or-under
bodybuilders in the world.
When he steps onstage on
Sept. 20 at the 2014 Olympia
212 Showdown, it will be the fulfill-
ment of a vision he had over and
over again during the previous 12
months and the culmination of all
those workouts, cardio sessions,
and meals, all those journeys
through the pain zone. For him,
it will be both the end and the
beginning of his quest for his third
212 Olympia title and his place in
history. FLEX

200 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

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202 FLEX | SEPTEMBER

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 you’ve undoubtedly watched a video of Ronnie Coleman lunging across a parking lot in the pun-
ishing Texas heat and told yourself you’d absolutely do that as part of your leg workout if only
your gym would let you take the barbell and plates outside. Although Coleman is one of his idols,
you’ll never see Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay hauling weights into a parking lot in summer in
temperatures above 100°. Elssbiay only trains inside a massive air-conditioned facility, but don’t
let that apparent comfort fool you. After his leg workout, the four-block walk home sometimes
takes him 20 minutes on shaking legs. Once you read about his workout, you’ll understand why.

BUILDING
TEMPO
It’s an age-old riddle
for bodybuilders:
Which exercises
and how many
reps of them will
make you bigger?
Often overlooked,
however, is the
tempo of those reps, as
well as the overall workout
duration. How quickly you lift a
weight is the tempo. For most
bodybuilders, the tempo is
pretty even for the concentric
(lifting the weight up) and ec-
centric (lowering it back down)
portions, maybe with a short
pause and a squeeze of the
muscle at the top portion. For
most beginners this is a good
approach. Articles abound on
the value of mixing up your
basic routine by doing “nega-
tives,” “controlled negatives,”
or some variation on lowering
the weight more slowly on the
eccentric part of the rep than
the concentric. But what if
you flipped that around and
instead spent more time on the
concentric portion?
This philosophy was
popularized in the early 1980s
with the superslow resistance
training movement. The
theory, backed by a small sci-
entific study, was that slowly
lifting very light weight would
improve your overall strength
due to the higher muscle
fiber recruitment that occurs
during the concentric portion
of the lift. Researchers used a
10-second concentric phase and
five-second eccentric phase. But
lifting light weights never made
anyone bigger, so the 1990s saw
trainers such as Charles Glass
having his clients experiment
with a variation of the basic
concept, which was known as
time under tension (TUT).

204 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

THE WORKOUT workouts, not just legs. He inter-
mittently throws MTUT sets into
ing 30–60 seconds. And James
uses MTUT sets a lot more as a
a month, or you can do slow
reps one week and go back to
Dennis James’ leg workouts the workouts if he sees a client client gets closer to a show. normal reps the next. Or do just
are legendary. Only the naive not making progress. “You can’t So how does this fit into one set of them per exercise.
take James up on his challenge do those sets every workout Elssbiay’s leg day? The unsci- Doing MTUT is much more
to finish. You’ve successfully because the body will adapt to entific answer is that it varies intense, creates more of a burn,
completed it if you don’t puke the technique. Use it if you’re not from week to week depending and the chance of injury while
in a trash can. James, who growing or if you need to change on how the body part looks doing it is almost zero. Even
oversees Big Ramy’s training and up your routine,” James says. and feels. James says, “You though you’re going a lot lighter,
nutrition, has his own system, Just one rep can take an agoniz- can either do slow reps for, say, it feels heavier.” By “light,” he
Menacing Time Under Tension means 50% of the weight you’d
(MTUT), which he uses for all normally use for 6–8 reps.

Elssbiay always begins his workout with barbell squats or hack squats. The hack squat provides very little tension at the top or bottom

HACK
position; the maximum resistance occurs in the middle of the range of motion. It’s an excellent machine on which to test out MTUT by your-
self, because the machine will catch the weight if the lif goes awry. Afer a few warmup sets done at a quick pace (never bouncing of the
bottom—a bad habit you ofen see on the hack squat), he gets to work with James’ MTUT. He unhooks the safety latch, squats down

SQUAT below parallel, pauses for three seconds on the bottom, then spends the next 30 seconds coming back up as James is yelling “Slow it
down! Slow it down!” The first few reps are no problem, but by the eighth one Elssbiay is grimacing and needs help with the safety. During
this particular workout, James allows him only 60 seconds of rest before the next set. He gives us a few tips as Elssbiay is lifing: “When you’re
coming up, focus on using the glutes and hams, lean back into the machine, and never lock your knees at the top.”

206 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

 ELSSBIAY’S LEG Q Never use more
weight than you
Q Don’t ever hold your
breath during time
Q Thoroughly
stretch afer
TRAINING TIPS can safely handle. under tension. training.

LEG
PRESS Elssbiay prefers
putting on his
headphones and
working out by himself
at Oxygen Gym, and the
leg press is another exercise
he can safely perform without a
spotter. He’ll ofen ask a friend or
gym worker to time him and make
sure he completes all his reps. He
throws on a few plates and does
20 reps to make sure his hips and
lower back are properly warmed
up. Doing TUT on the leg press
puts the back at risk for com-
pression, so you need to ensure
you don’t just jump right into it.
Elssbiay does eight long reps, this
time pushing up with a 15-second
count and down on a five-second
one. But just as he’s about to latch
the safety, James has him imme-
diately follow those eight MTUT
reps with five regular ones. Based
on the look on Elssbiay’s face, I ask
him if that was planned or spur of YOU HAVE TO DO
the moment, but I’m pretty sure
I know the answer. “We’re trying
ANYTHING YOU CAN
to get more definition these last
few weeks before the show, so you
TO STIMULATE THE
have to do anything you can to MUSCLE. WE MIGHT
stimulate the muscle. We might do
three superslow reps and 10 regu- DO THREE SUPER-
lar ones. I never really know until
that day, which is why Elssbiay
SLOW REPS AND 10
hates training with me!” REGULAR ONES.

208 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

If you’re lucky enough
to have a few varieties
LEG
of the leg extension
machine at your gym,
EXTENSION
pick one that you’ll be very
comfortable in for several
minutes, because that’s how long
a set of 10 reps can take. If you’re an
intermediate or experienced lifter,
you’ve probably done time under
tension for the eccentric portion
of the movement at some point,
lowering the weight down slowly.
Try doing it the other way—lifting
up slowly for up to 40 seconds then
pausing at the top for a full three
seconds. If you can do this for more
than one set, you’re doing better
than Elssbiay, who do only one set
this way before finishing the other
two sets with a regular tempo and a
three-second hold at the top.

210 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

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 ELSSBIAY’S LEG WORKOUT
EXERCISE SETS REPS
Squat or Hack Squat 3 (warmup) 20
3 6–8 (20–30 sec. pushing up,
5 sec. down)
Leg Press 1 20
2 8 (30–40 sec. pushing up,
5 sec. down)
Leg Extension 3 10–15 (3-sec. pause at
the top)
Lying Leg Curl 3–4 8 (20–30 sec. curling up,
5 sec. down)
Single Leg Curl 3 10

LYING LEG
CURL With his quads on fire, Elssbiay begins the hamstring exercises. The lying leg curl is
another machine for which MTUT is well suited because it directly works the hamstring more
than any other exercise. It helps to have a spotter to help push up the last few reps, but it’s not
totally necessary. In preparation for curling the weight up with a 20-second count, Ramy ofen
changes the flexion of his foot. One set he’ll keep the foot flexed toward the glutes, the next set
he’ll point his toes. He lets me in on a secret that he says he wish he knew as an amateur, which is that
pointing the toe actually puts more direct emphasis on the hamstring. I asked him why and he explains, “When
you flex your foot, your calf helps with the movement. When you point your toes you just use the hamstring.”

212 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

 IGINITE MUSCLE
GENES UP TO 5X

SINGLE
LEG
CURL
Because his hamstrings are strong, Elssbiay prefers to add an isolation movement in
the form of single leg curls. Doing them individually ensures that one hamstring doesn’t
overpower the other. Often if one side is stronger it will overcompensate for the weaker
leg. Similar to the lying leg curl, he will focus on foot flexion. On this exercise, however,
he flexes the foot as he curls up the weight, and points it on the way down, taking the
calf out of the movement. By this time, James has relented and allowed him to do three
straight sets of 10 reps with each leg using strict form.
Every workout always concludes with 15 minutes of static stretching, which Elssbiay
believes is one of the secrets to his quick muscle growth over the past four years. Since the
fascia—the tissues that surround the muscles—are very tough, Elssbiay holds his stretches
for at least a minute to get deep into both the muscle and fascia. The muscle is already
full of blood from his training, so stretching the fascia simply helps the muscles expand.
After another 15 minutes sitting on the couch just catching his breath, he finally hobbles
back the few blocks to his apartment into the air conditioning and collapses onto his
couch with his two daughters. And, you guessed it, he pops in a Ronnie Coleman DVD as
he mentally prepares for the next day’s workout. FLEX

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 TONY MONCHINSKI
BY
HS BY CHARLESL
OWTHIAN.COM
PHOTOGRAP

214 FLEX | SEPTEMBER

XXX ’11 ’14
 5 SUPER FAST
MUSCLE BUILDING
David Henry is
the Muhammad Ali PEPTIDES
of bodybuilding.
Q Which means he’s outspoken, never one to pull his punch-
es. Henry tells it the way he sees it. And his physique has been
backing up his words for over a decade on the pro stage. He turned
pro in 2002 when he won the middleweight class at the Nationals.
He held his own in the IFBB open division—placing 2nd at the 2006
Ironman Pro, winning the 2005 Olympia Wildcard Showdown—
well before there was a 212- or 202-and-under division. With the
advent of that class, Henry won the first Olympia 202-and-under
contest in 2008. Add to this, throughout his entire bodybuilding
career, he’s has served his country in the armed forces.
Like Ali in his heyday, if David Henry has something on his mind,
David Henry is going to let you know. He doesn’t like losing to Flex
Lewis, doesn’t feel the guy deserves to beat him. He’s the only
guy we should be talking about when we invoke the nickname
the Giant Killer. So, does that make Henry arrogant or supremely
confident? Is he brash, or does he simply tell it like it is? You read.
You decide. And while you do, David Henry is going to keep talking,
keep competing, and keep kicking ass onstage.

THAT “BULLS**T ternino, Jose Raymond—they’re

LEG THING” all good dudes; I hang around
FLEX: Right afer you com- and talk to them backstage
peted in the Arnold Classic’s at the shows. But each one of
first-ever 212-and-under us wants that first place nod.
division this past March, you All we can do is hold our own
competed in the Australian and wait to see how the judges
Pro, which was an open see it. Now with me, they keep
contest [Henry placed 7th]. bringing up this bulls**t “leg
Are you going to continue to thing,” and that pisses me of
compete in open contests? more than anything, because
DAVID HENRY: No, I’m not. you know what? You can only
This was a one-time shot do so much with genetics. I get
because they [the promoters] that. But, OK, then tell me, how
didn’t have the funding to put did I end up winning the first
on a 212 contest. So we can kill 202 Olympia Showdown [in
those rumors right there. 2005] if my leg development
was such a big question? Flex
But in the past you’ve held Lewis has always had big legs.
your own in the open… I’ve beaten him when he’s had
Yeah, but at this stage of my big legs. So what’s the difer-
life and bodybuilding career, ence now? Maybe because I
I’m more about trying to win stay of the radar, people tend FAST 5™
titles than place in the top 5. to forget I have one of those packs the
That s**t doesn’t cut it! glass Sandows in my house. latest scientific
So, no, when you’re used to research into a
Nobody trains for second winning things, taking second potent muscle building
place. How do you feel place doesn’t sit too well. powerhouse. Primarily an
when you don’t win, like at intra-workout product, FAST
this past Arnold Classic or CAN’T TOUCH THIS: 5™ can also be used pre-workout
Olympia? THE GIANT KILLER or post-workout. It can also be used to
Look, let’s take Flex Lewis FLEX: Is there a particular enhance any pre-, intra-, or post-workout
[Henry placed second to Lewis victory you’ll look back on as product. Furthermore, FAST 5™ can be added
at both shows]. He’s a good an old man that will make to protein shakes and/or meals to significantly
guy, there’s no doubt about you especially happy? increase muscle protein synthesis.
that. But I get pissed every DH: Yeah, that 2005 Olympia
PHOTO CREDIT

time I lose to him. We’re all on Wild Card Showdown. That’s AVAILABLE AT
that stage trying to beat one where Bob Cicherillo and Dan
another, trying to be the best in Solomon christened me the
the world. Flex Lewis, Guy Cis- Giant Killer. I won the Show-
†
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA.
This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease.
 THE GIANT KILLER
down Friday night, qualifying for diets I’ve done, that I’m not in clean: it’s steak, lean chicken,
the Olympia, and stepped on the worse shape than I am. I can still ground turkey, mixed vegeta-
Olympia stage Saturday at 187 get on the floor and play with my bles, carbs only after training.
pounds. Yes, 187 pounds! [Henry 1-year-old daughter Brynna. But from Friday afternoon to
was 203 at the 2014 Arnold Sunday night, if my family
Classic.] And I smoked dudes You’re famous—or wants to go out to eat and I see
who outweighed me [including infamous—for not doing something—even a rich, fat-
Markus Rühl, Alexander Federov, cardio and not missing out on laden meal on the menu—I’m
and Ronnie Rockel—Henry an of-season meal. going to enjoy it. I’m not going
placed 14th in the open]. Look, Again, at my age, there’s no need to deprive myself. It breaks the
I get it: Danny Padilla was the for me to put on 40 pounds in monotony and keeps you from
original Giant Killer. But there’s the of-season. Sure, I feel better going insane. I also feel, eating
guys using the name now, guys at a heavier weight, but not that like that, my body responds
currently competing who haven’t heavy! I remember when I was better when it comes time to
done what I’ve done. Know pushing 235 pounds—it was a diet. There are guys who eat
what? Use your own moniker. pain in the ass to tie my shoes. clean year-round, and then
Stop ripping of the one I earned I’d hold my breath, go down, do when it’s time for their contest
and you don’t deserve. a couple of laces, come up for diet, they wonder why their
air, go back down. It was a pain body doesn’t change.
BETWEEN in the butt. Now I have Brynna,
DOGGCRAPP who requires a lot of energy, and FAMILY, CROTCH
AND FORTITUDE I don’t want to be the old man ROCKETS, AND
FLEX: Have you moved who can’t get up and play with THE AIR FORCE
away from Dante Trudel’s his kid. I don’t need to blow up in FLEX: Are you still into
Doggcrapp training? the of-season. motorcycles?
DH: I haven’t abandoned DC DH: I’ve still got my Yamaha
training. The training [DC You told me once you ate R6. By the time this magazine
training is marked by the use of 90% clean during the week in hits newsstands, though, I’ll be
progressively heavier weights, the of-season. retired from the military and will
low volume, and training body In the past I’ve called it the have sold my bike. We’re moving
parts multiple times a week] 90-10, but then some idiot out to Massachusetts.
lent itself to a revision, if you there wanted to micro-analyze
will. Dr. Scott Stevenson took it. I’m like, if you’re overthinking Has it been 20 years already?
that existing training concept it, maybe this isn’t for you. It’s DH: Yep. I’m a Master Ser-
and turned it into something not rocket science; I’m not a geant in the Air Force. I’ve been
of his own [i.e., strength and dietitian. Of-season, from Mon- deployed to South Korea twice,
fortitude training]. He took it, day to Friday afternoon. I eat the desert twice—I can’t give
acted as his own guinea pig for specifics. I’m lucky because I’ve
several months, and found it been stateside my entire career; I
worked extremely well. Then he MAYBE BECAUSE haven’t been stationed overseas.
recruited me for its beta testing I STAY OFF THE My field is weapons maintenance.
stage and I used it, to amazing RADAR, PEOPLE I supervise individuals who do the
results. Scott moved away to TEND TO FORGET maintenance on the aircraft.
Florida before I got a chance
to get the “revised” edition of
I HAVE ONE OF You disappeared from body-
Fortitude training. You can’t tell THOSE GLASS building stages a few years
someone the training on paper SANDOWS IN back when you were deployed.
and expect it to work; to read it MYY HOUSE. Does something like that—
is like reading another language missing out on competing
you’ve never encountered when you’re at the top of your
before. He’s going to have to put game—mess with your head?
out a video diary or something DH: No. Duty first when it
to explain this to people. comes to that kind of stuff. I
was lucky because I’d man-
Whether it’s DC or Fortitude, aged to avoid being out of the
your workouts are marked country. What happened, up
by heavy weights and high until 2011, was that others had
intensity. Have you managed volunteered ahead of me to
to remain injury free? go. Then in 2011, I was what we
I’m 39. I’m getting older. I oc- called “the least broke” in the
casionally have elbow issues, military, meaning I didn’t have
creaky shoulders, but I’m glad family issues, I wasn’t injured—
I’m not broken. And I’m just glad so tag, you’re it! And I was like,
that with the amount of weight s**t! Because then you have
that I use, the frequency of the to go home and tell your wife
workouts, and the hundreds of and family that you’re leaving.

216 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

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PeopleTHE GIANT
always KILLER
think the worst: can’t stay on base when I am by legs that lack dramatic and I chalk a lot of that up to
You’re going to a war zone; retired. I need to thank Nicki sweep? Would that be a fair Fortitude training.
anything can happen. And yeah, too. Military spouses don’t get comparison?
those possibilities do exist. But enough credit. She was the DH: That’s fine. We’re given At the beginning of the
this is a volunteer military. We one taking care of the family what we’re given. With both of interview you said you would
all raised our hands to do what and household and holding it us, our upper bodies respond never compete in an open
we do. You can’t volunteer, come down when I was overseas. I’d faster than the lower half. The contest again. Next year
to the military, and then say you also like to thank my sponsor, only way for us to try and even you’ll be qualified to com-
don’t want to go somewhere 4 Dimension Nutrition. that out is to not train upper pete in masters level shows.
they need you. If that’s your body any more. Me, for instance, Would you?
game, then you should have LIKE BOOTIES I don’t train triceps directly. My DH: Oh yeah, man, that
stayed the hell out. When I’m ON THE BACK OF triceps are huge. They look like would be fun. I think I can
old and done with bodybuilding, MY ARMS two booties on the back of my hold my own in a Masters Mr.
I will have my military pay and FLEX: What if I said that David arms! [laughs] They only get Olympia. You know, I’ve made
all my medical benefits from the Henry and Johnnie Jackson are hit when I do chest movements. all my bodybuilding goals. I
VA. That is a blessing that no similar in that each has mon- People are amazed when I only wanted six titles in my
other competitor who competes strous, round upper bodies, tell them that. The greatest career; I’ve got nine. I’ll be back
at this level in this sport can say. great conditioning in contests changes to my physique have competing at the Olympia as a
and both are incredibly strong, been the muscularity of my legs fully retired Air Force vet in Sep-
Why the move to but each is held back onstage and my shoulder roundness, tember. Guys are still chasing
Massachusetts? after me, because if they can
DH: My wife Nicki’s family is say they knocked David Henry
out there. We’re in Arizona of in a contest, that’s a feather
now, and I’m from Texas, but in their cap. And I’m not going
I’m not close to my family. We to let that happen. FLEX

218 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

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 WHERE LEGENDS ARE MADE
SEPT. 18–21, 2014

BY TEAM FLEX

What to expect at bodybuilding’s biggest bash

Last year’s Olympia Expo was, in a word, awesome! It was a sea of people enjoying the two-
day event that has become the meeting ground for bodybuilding and fitness fans. With in-
dustry superstars, hot booth babes, thrilling events, and, of course, the most cutting-edge
fitness and sports supplements and nutrition, the Olympia Expo has it all. Here’s a rundown
of all the fireworks, plus a special preview of three new events! Download the Olympia app
at mrolympia.com to stay on top of everything.
SAMUEL WILSON

Olympia Pro Powerlifting Championships will feature the world’s

best powerlifters. World records will be shattered in the squat, bench
press, and deadlift. See light- and middleweights lift more than seems
humanly possible. The massive human beings in the unlimited class will
PHOTO CREDIT

also satisfy your taste for iron spectacle as they lift amounts of weight
that stretch the imagination.

220 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

 Combining a variety of ancient mar-
tial arts techniques, jiu-jitsu grappling
BOXING SAMBO
athletes from across the nation will
Assembled from Olympia Sambo is a
test their skills and stamina in a sport
local gymnasiums and Soviet-era combat
that can only be described as a chess
training centers across martial art. The word
game on the mat. Constantly ma-
the country, America’s Sambo is an acronym
neuvering for position, athletes must
hungriest amateur for SAMozashchita
work hard mentally and physically to
boxers will fight for Bez Oruzhiya, which
gain the upper hand. Don’t miss this
their place in history. literally translates as
event—as America’s finest athletes
Bout after bout will “self-defense without
grapple for the gold.
showcase the best weapons.” Sambo’s
that America has development began in
to ofer. the early 1900s by the
Soviet Army. Intended
KARATE to be a merger of the
USA Karate comes to most efective tech-
the Olympia for the niques of other martial
first time! From the be- arts, Sambo has roots
ginners to world-class in Judo, international
competitors, this event styles of wrestling,
promises to present plus traditional folk
the highest level of styles of wrestling such
karate competition as: Armenian Kokh,
for everyone to enjoy. Georgian Chidaoba,
As the U.S. Olympic Romanian Trînt , Tatar
Committee’s ofcial Körä , Uzbek Kurash,
governing body for Mongolian Khapsa-
the sport of Karate, gay and Azerbaijani
USA Karate features Gulesh.
present and future
superstars in action. TAEKWONDO
Originating in Korea,
KICKBOXING the Olympic sport of

MMA/KUNGFU: TEAM TOKEY HILL; KARATE: GETTY IMAGES; ARM WRESTLING: SAMUEL WILSON; BORN READY FILMS
If you’re looking for taekwondo has grown
some literal kick-butt to become one of the
competition, look no most popular forms
further! This event will of martial arts in the
feature a full range of world. This year, the
full-contact kicks and Olympia will host a
punches. KICK Interna- high-kicking spectacle,
tional is presenting this as some of the most
sanctioned event, a accomplished tae-
USA National Champi- kwondo athletes as-
onship featuring some semble for this event.
of the best athletes in
the kickboxing world. WRESTLING
Perhaps nothing
POINT MMA AND exhibits the spirit of
KUNG FU combative sports
Open to all styles! more than wrestling.
The tournament is With USA Wrestling
available for kids, assembling some of
After the huge success of Arm Wars “High Stakes” at Olympia 2012 and
teens, and adults, the best wrestlers
Arm Wars “Vengeance” at Olympia 2013, stand by for Arm Wars “High Roll- both male and female! in the nation at the
ers” this year. Pro rules and a range of signature and counter techniques Point MMA brings a Olympia this year, look
are all wrapped in a high-energy commentary by arguably the world’s new style of MMA for the competition
leading authority on the sport and creator of Arm Wars, Neil Pickup. Arm to Sport Karate in a to be fierce. As one of
Wars is the only global promotion showcasing some of the best wres- controlled manner. the most basic forms
tlers and characters from all corners of the globe, with athletes holding The program and divi- of combative sports
sions are designed for known to man, this
national, international, and world titles. The stage at the Olympia will
competitors young and brand of wrestling
be ignited by the energy and power of wrestlers such as America’s own old, men and women, ofers a competition
Arm Wars world champions Geof “the Haleraiser” Hale and Craig Tullier. to compete as com- that is up close and
Arm wrestling is one of the world’s oldest sports, and this series features plete martial artists. personal as athletes
jaw-dropping feats of strength and charged-up warrior characters as they Register now for Point face of with tech-
continue their ambition to become champion of Arm Wars! MMA and Kung Fu at nique, strategy, and
Olympia Combative brute strength to gain
Sports Festival 2014! advantage.

222 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

MEET ERIK
He’s a perfect example of why we do what we do.

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of health and fitness, I completed my certification as a
Specialist in Fitness Nutrition from ISSA.

I started reaching out via social media as an online

fitness coach. I believed through the use of
technology I can spread education about living a
healthy lifestyle and fight obesity across the world.”

Erik Mara, ISSA SFN

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 BATTLE OF THE BARS
This event is created by the World
Calisthenics Organization, the world’s
leading promoter of professional
calisthenics competitions—bar none!
WCO is the first of its kind to create
matched one-on-one battles with
weight classes, a rounds system,
10-point must scoring, and standard-
ized judging criteria with three
neutral judges. And now for the first
The 2014 Olympia Strongman Challenge will present a diferent set of athletes. To time ever, the WCO will bring Battle
of the Bars 5 “Proving Grounds “ to
celebrate the 50th Joe Weider’s Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend, American
the Mr. Olympia Expo Friday, Sept.
Strongman will bring the America’s Strongest Woman event along with the 105kg class 19. This is a can’t-miss event, with
America’s Strongest Man. Strongman fans will get to witness the strongest women in six matched battles, pitting the best
America compete over the course of two days for the title America’s Strongest Woman. calisthenics athletes on the planet
Who will be the first woman crowned America’s Strongest Woman at the Olympia 2014, against one another to see who will
and will Kristen Rhodes go on to clinch her seventh consecutive national title? The walk away with the weight-class
American Strongman Corporation continuously turns out top World’s Strongest Man interim title belt! Guaranteed to
competitors year after year, and 2014 will be no diferent. The 105kg men will battle it out be one of the most epic events in
calisthenics history!
in what has been referred to as the ultimate contest of athleticism and strength. The top Competition on Saturday will
competitors in this field will be selected to go on to compete for the title of China’s Stron- feature elite athletes from around
gest Man 2014. This year will also be the largest strongman event at the Olympia—with the globe vying for the title of
more than 50 athletes competing! Battle of the Bars Open Tourna-
ment champion. With no weight
classes and a three-round single
elimination system, this is a “best
man wins” event. The champion
is guaranteed a spot in the WCO
Battle of the Bars 1-on-1 Competi-
tion! The stage is set to ignite the
Warning: The following is for extreme athletes only. Combine crowd at the Mr. Olympia with the
CrossFit with the Rhino Obstacle Course to come up with 16 tests most incredibly talented athletes
of strength, speed, athletic prowess, and stamina, throw in the on the planet!
most hardcore fitness athletes in the world, and you have the
Olympia Rhino CrossFit Championships. You’ll need king-size RISTO SPORTS OLYMPIA CUP
stones and the heart of a champion to run the gantlet and win Risto Sports and AlaskaFit Produc-
the $5,000 first-place prize. tions are excited to announce
AlaskaFit Productions presents the
Risto Sports Olympia Cup. This is
the first-ever Olympic weightlifting
event to be featured at the Olympia.
The competition will feature weight-
lifters from around the world. The
cup will be contested across three
divisions for men and woman: youth,
junior, and open. Prizes, trophies,
and gift bags valued at more than
$1,000 will be awarded to the top
competitors in each division. Med-
als, T-shirts, and swag bags will be
awarded by weight class. Legends
of bodybuilding and weightlifting
will emcee and present awards.
This competition will be sanctioned
by USA Weightlifting and use
International Weightlifting certified
competition equipment.

POWERHOUSE FX CHALLENGE
SAMUEL WILSON (2); BILL COMSTOCK

PRESENTS Functional training allows indi-

viduals to build strength, mobility,
and prevent injury by combining
Ahhh, the bikini contest. This time-honored tradition of summer is one of the most popular the benefits of hardcore weight
events of the Olympia Expo (gee, wonder why?) and this year’s contest marks the ninth lifting with everyday functional
year in a row when lots and lots of lovely ladies flaunt their best assets to turn heads and movements. The Powerhouse FX
Challenge will put these skills to
get pulses pounding. The winner receives a cool $2,000, two VIP tickets to the 2015 Olympia
the test with a demanding course
Weekend, and gets to present awards at this year’s Mr. Olympia finals (ladies, bring your sexi- that includes prowler rope pulls,
est dresses). box jumps, suicide sprints, skipping
with a battle rope, and more! FLEX

224 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

 Photograph by ISAAC HINDS

HARDBODY
CONFIDENTIAL
LISETTE HOWARD, IFBB bikini pro
Languages I can One thing a dude
speak: should never say to a
Spanish, English, woman is:
Italian. “You look good for
My Favorite Quote: your age!”
“If God be for us, who Biggest pet peeve?
can be against us?” Uncleanliness. I
Romans 8:31. hate a mess or when
One word to describe my home is dirty or
living in Miami: disorganized. It makes
Colorful. me feel like my life is
One word to describe in chaos.
living in L.A.: Best way to pass the
Eclectic. time in trafc is to:
Best place to Listen to salsa and
vacation? dance in my car.
Turks and Caicos. Weirdest comment
One food I’d never ever lef on one of my
eat: photos?
Cow tongue. “I’d suck a plum out of
First thing I notice on that A$$.” Creepy!
a guy? Best thing to drink
His smile—I’m obsessed on a hot day?
with great teeth! Mojitos!

Go to hardbodynews.com or muscleandfitnesshers.com
226 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14
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 JAMES’
STATS
HEIGHT
5'10"
WEIGHT
175 LBS
BODY FAT
6%
BICEPS
18"
CHEST
45"
5

JUST ENOUGH
Don’t overstretch
the tendons and
ligaments by
dropping your
heels too low.

PICK IT UP
Our expert James Grage weighs in on a reader question in this column and in a
PAVEL YTHJALL; GRAGE: SILVIA CORTE; COURTESY OF MANUFACTURER
60-second video on our site. This month, he shows you how to add mass to the
most stubborn area of the body.
ASK
“Any tips for
getting my
Building bigger calves isn’t about how much weight you use
or even how many reps you do. It’s about the quality of those reps. AND WIN
When doing calf raises, whether seated or standing, explode the Submit your question at
stubborn calves to weight up. Your gastrocnemius muscles are made up of fast-twitch
FLEXonline.com/60seconds
grow? I can move a fibers, so they respond well to explosive movements. Go up as high
and it could be answered in 60
Seconds to Fit, the new interac-
ton of weight for crazy as you can on each rep, then pause and squeeze the contraction tive video series with James
reps, but I think I’m hard for an extra count before slowly going back down. I like to do a Grage. Did we mention you can
just prone to bad three-count on the way down to really work that eccentric phase. At
the bottom of each rep, contrary to popular belief, you don’t want to
also win assorted BPI products?

genetics in the calf overstretch the tendons and ligaments by dropping your heels too
department. I would low. Just drop them enough to get a slight stretch in the muscles.
really like to stop And don’t overdo it, either. I don’t train my calves more than
wearing long pants once per week. You may feel compelled to do more than this, but
to the gym.” it’s not necessary. Train them hard and get all the rest you can get.
If you do the exercises right, you’ll stimulate the muscles enough
—TOM T., LOUISIANA to start growing.
228 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14
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230 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

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 Big Ramy looked
happy successfully
defending his title
on the New York
Pro stage.

EAST COAST
MECCA

The Mecca’s Max Charles

impressed in his pro debut,
placing 5th!
PER BERNAL; COURTESY OF DENNIS JAMES

Juliana Malacarne
Dennis James outside the Tribeca Theater successfully defended her
women’s physique title for
with his No. 1 fan, Yosef Brodsky. the third year in a row.
FLEX EXPERT

BY JOE MAZZA, WORLD’S BEST BENCHER

BIG In Part 2 of this

article, we’ll

BENCH
dive into an
eight-week
program to
blast your bench
max into the
Part 1 of an eight-week cycle to max out stratosphere!

Q Everybody wants a bigger

bench press! There is no
hiding this fact when you go to
The key to being strong is
to focus on improving your
central nervous system (CNS)
lar and calculated basis. In
order to keep my CNS fresh and
constantly adapting—and my
pushing against the resis-
tance of the bands causes
my tendons and ligaments to
the gym on a Monday—which is response. If you keep your CNS muscles growing ever stronger—I get stronger, too, which helps
unofcially the National Bench fresh and avoid taxing your do a lot of training with bands. increase benching force and
Day! After a weekend of rest, neural response, you will take Jim has had me using bands prevents against injury. You
most guys are anxious to get un- your strength to a much higher from ironwoodyfitness.com for can significantly increase your
der the bar and push themselves level, and you will maintain that many years. strength without gaining exces-
to the max. I share your enthusi- strength over the long haul. I rotate through diferent sive muscle or mass (includ-
asm. When I first started working Two of the most common ways strength bands every time I ing fat) just by increasing the
out, I wanted to bench more and a lifter will tax his CNS is always train. Each band has a diferent strength of your tendons
more weight with each weekly benching in the one- to three-rep tension, which also forces me to and ligaments.
workout. After several years of range and overtraining on a regular change the bar weights every To build a massive bench
progression following routines I basis. Every time you do a workout week. This accomplishes three press max, the first thing
read about, I began to develop with sets consisting of 1–3 reps, important benefits: First, the you need to do is to order a
techniques to help me reach new a powerful neural response is neural input is vastly increased starter set of bands from
levels of strength and power. I required to focus the maximal mus- because of the proprioceptive ironwoodyfitness.com. You will
eventually paired up with Jim cular contraction in performance stimulation, whereby the bands also need to create a few thick-
Parrish, one of the brightest of the heavy set. But this maximal force your muscles to work nesses of boards to help limit
minds in the strength world, and efort is diminished with each harder to press straight upward. range of motion. Once you get
have been able to set numerous successive set and quickly leads to Second, by changing the weights these in your hands, take a week
world bench press records as overtraining—not to mention pos- regularly, I am able to generate or two to back of your current
a result. Now, I’d like to let you sible strain or injury to your shoulder maximal pressing force without program and do some high-rep
in on a few of my secret tips to joints and connective tissue. benching maximal weights every sets to reset your training form
help you also press more weight In order to avoid neural workout. Finally, constantly and neural response.
than ever. overtraining, you must reset your
The secret to a strong bench nervous system. So, if you should Joe Mazza was the first man
is to focus on the bench press. compete in a bench or power meet in history to hold the World
Simple as that. On my bench or have a few workouts consisting Bench Press record in three
separate classifications at
day I focus on the flat bench of sets of 1–3 reps, your next several
the same weight class. He has
only—no incline or decline, no workouts afterward should be your benched 705 lbs. (triple-ply
COURTESY OF MHP

dumbbell work. That’s not to say normal training range, consisting of shirt), 675 lbs. (single-ply)
assistance work isn’t important, sets at 8–10 reps each. and 482 lbs. (raw bench)
but it should be viewed only as The biggest mistake lifers at 165-pound body weight.
that: to assist in the develop- make is that they don’t change Mazza has been a Team MHP
ment of the bench press. up their routine on a regu- powerlifter since 1997.

234 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

FLEX CONTEST REPORT
PHOTOREPORT BY J.M. MANION

2013 NPC TEEN, COLLEGIATE &

MASTERS NATIONAL & 2013 NPC USA
BODYBUILDING, FIGURE, BIKINI
& PHYSIQUE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Q One of my favorite NPC
contests of the year is
always the annual NPC Teen,
IFBB pros
Allison
Frahn, Guy
Collegiate & Masters National Cisternino,
and eight-
Bodybuilding, Figure, Bikini & time IFBB Fit-
Physique Championships. ness Olympia
The main reason is that it’s champion
always held in my hometown Adela Garcia.
of Pittsburgh, so I don’t need to
travel like I do for all other NPC
national competitions.
2013’s contest had the most
competitors to date, with more
than 800 (before crossovers
were counted!). This was great
news for promoter Dr. Gary Udit,
who’s also the NPC Pennsylvania
district chairman and NPC Mid- NPC President Jim Manion (center) likes IFBB
Atlantic zone chairman. pros Jose Raymond and George Farah’s shirts.
As he did last year, Udit ran
this as two separate events. All
the women’s prejudging and
finals took place on Friday. They
didn’t compete at all on Satur-
day, as that was reserved for the
men’s competitions.
Besides the chance for
the masters competitors to
qualify for the IFBB Professional supplement-company booths or
League, one of the main draws just hanging out, such as eight-
for the teenage men is the op- time IFBB Fitness Olympia and
portunity for the overall winner five-time IFBB Fitness Inter- last weekend of July the past 14
to be flown to Los Angeles and national winner Adela Garcia, consecutive years, and 19 times
photographed for a feature Dennis James, Chris Cormier, dating back to 1983.
in FLEX. Even though it was Ashley Kaltwasser, Don Long, Dr. The competitor numbers
a long weekend, the level of Victor Prisk, George Farah, Jose this year were pushing close to
competition in these multiple Raymond, Guy Cisternino, Luis 800! That easily surpassed last
events gets better every year, Santa, Allison Frahn, Carolina NPC President Jim Manion did year’s contest.
particularly the events that Silva, Vanessa Campbell, Genni- own the gym from 1979 to 1985, As is typical with this
qualify competitors for the IFBB fer Strobo, Angelica Nebbia, Jes- when he sold it. The logo was particular event, there were
Professional League. sica Peralas, Meriza DeGuzman- something I designed in 10th- many IFBB pros in attendance,
The great thing is that you’d Ciccone, Amanda Hatfield, Brian grade art class, and I was very either working booths or just
probably recognize many of the Yerskey, Vinny Galanti, Sheilahe stoked to see it brought back to checking out the contest
masters competitors, because Brown, Dre Dillard, Kristina Curci, life! Many of the IFBB pros here itself. A few of the IFBB pros
they’re also competing in the Jami DeBernard, Alex Carneiro, quickly bought one of the tees who were in Pittsburgh the
open events like the NPC Junior Wendy Fortino, Mark Byers, and immediately put it on. prior week were also here in Las
USA, NPC Junior National, and Dean Michael, and Michelle One week later, the NPC crew Vegas, including Dennis James,
NPC USA Championships. So Johnson. Also having a lot of fun made their way to Las Vegas for George Farah, Angelica Nebbia,
don’t let the contest title fool throughout the weekend were the annual NPC USA Bodybuild- Meriza DeGuzman-Ciccone,
you into thinking these competi- my kids, Tyler and Cassie Manion, ing, Figure, Bikini & Physique Mark Byers, Jami DeBernard,
tors are past their prime. and Gennifer Strobo’s daughter Championships promoted by and Ashley Kaltwasser. Spotted
You also get to see some fu- Ryleigh McCuistion. Jon Lindsay. The NPC USA is throughout the weekend were
ture champions competing in the It was at this contest that now pretty synonymous with four-time IFBB Mr. Olympia Jay
teen and collegiate events. You NPC Active Wear debuted the Las Vegas—maybe even more Cutler, three-time IFBB Figure
can always find several IFBB pros Manion’s Gym Retro T-shirts in so than any other NPC contest, Olympia champion Nicole
in attendance, working various black and white versions. Yes, since it’s been held here the Wilkins, Flex Wheeler, Shawn

236 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

Ray, Bob Cicherillo, Heather
Dees, Amanda Latona, Mallory
Haldeman, Narmin Assria, Mark
Anthony, Jenny Worth, Whitney
Jones, Sadik Hadzovic, Jason
Poston, Matt Christianer, Stacey
Alexander, Sara Hurrle, Tamer
El Guindy, Meriza DeGuzman-
Ciccone, Pete Ciccone, Ann
Titone, Jennifer Thompson, Ty-
ler Anderson, Tifany Boydston,
Angela Marquez, Francine
Sablon, Stacey Alexander, Liana
Hamilton, Christie Marquez,
Sasha Brown, Venus Nguyen,
Amy Rezendes-Allen, Ashriel
Osgood-Fleming, Kim Harris, My son Tyler Manion also To find out more
Ingrid Romero, Jennifer Dawn, test-judged his first NPC national about NPC body-
John Sherman, Jessica Arevalo, competition. building and fitness
Ian Lauer, Cassandra and Matt Major kudos have to be events in your area,
Dubois, Stephanie Willes, Lisa extended to the X-Team Expedit- or to join the NPC,
Maloy, Joe Warren, Johnny Se- ing crew and members of Jon contact the NPC
bastian, Trevor Larsen, Jeremy Lindsay’s crew, as well as emcee National Ofce at
Buendia, Marisol Lara, Kelsie Bob Cicherillo. (412) 276-5027;
Clark, Anna Starodubtseva, Another customary way I check out our web
Lisa Perry, Sana Shah, Taylor complete the weekend is with site at npcnewson-
Bentson, Ernie Santiago, Stan my photo shoot of all the overall line.com; and keep
McQuay, Kiana Phi and Muscle and class winners on Sunday at NPC President Jim Manion likes IFBB pro an eye on this sec-
& Fitness Hers editor-in-chief the host hotel Embassy Suites Chris Cormier’s Manion’s Gym Retro T-shirt tion, along with the
Mona Muresan. pool area. from NPC Active Wear. Coming Events list.
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FLEX EXPERT

CARB
LOADING
Find the formula for you

Q When it comes to contest prep,

one of the trickiest aspects is the
carb-loading process. Learning what type
of carb-loading process you respond to the
best and sticking to that protocol can turn
one of the most frustrating parts of contest
prep into a stress-free task. With the 2014
Mr. Olympia quickly approaching, I thought
I would give you a detailed account of the
extreme carb-loading routine of GŸnter
Schlierkamp.
On rare occasions, I will utilize the “junk-
loading” process in athletes who have freak-
ishly fast metabolisms and who also have
trouble filling out or who just need the extra
sodium in their load to properly fill out. In the
of-season, Günter ate massive amounts
of food—he was not carb-sensitive and
he was a very tall athlete who possessed
elongated muscle bellies and competed
at over 300 pounds. For most competitors, between 250–300 grams of carbs. If I saw he point we went to a “fats” meal again (an-
8–10 ounces of baked potato is normal, but was filling up too quickly, I would back of the other burger and fries). That meal would
with Günter, his average baked potato serv- simple sugars, but if he wasn’t filling up as enter his system quickly, so about 2½ hours
ing ranged between 18–20 ounces. planned, I would increase the simple sugars. later, I came back with the large 500-gram
Monday before the Mr. Olympia, we began However, the amounts of clean carbs clean-carb/simple-sugar-carb meal, and
the loading process. A normal carb-intake always remained the same. then 3½–4 hours later we ate fats again.
day for Günter was around 350 grams—on Thursday, we really pushed the carbs, On Friday morning, Günter was spot on
Monday that amount increased to 500 and this was also a point where I had to and perfectly carb loaded. I now had the
grams and it comprised clean carbs (pota- be cautious because we were stepping task of keeping this look balanced and
toes, rice, and oatmeal). completely out of Günter’s clean-eating maintained throughout the Friday evening
Tuesday was more of the same; carbs comfort zone and getting ready to enter pre-judging. We began Friday with a clean
were raised to 750 grams. Also during this the junk-loading free-for-all zone. Up meal of steak and oatmeal. The next meal
time, I kept his water intake high. Decreasing to this point, he had never incorporated was a burger, and from there we went to a
water also slowed the manner in which his junk foods into a carb-loading routine. I 500-gram carb meal. Meal 4 consisted of
carbs digested, slowing his metabolism in began this day with a clean-carb meal, and another burger. I began shutting his water
the process. I found that I was able to back from there I went to a “controlled” junk down after Meal 3. He drank 8 ounces of
of his water intake only 8–12 hours prior to meal, which consisted of a loaded double water with Meal 4, and then his water was
the show and never shut his water intake of cheeseburger and an order of fries. During limited to sips from that point on. This
completely. a normal carb loading, an athlete typi- plan, as extreme as it was, was also the
On Wednesday, his carb intake increased cally will eat carbs every 2–2½ hours, key to Günter’s shocking the audience
to 1,000 grams, and at this time, I began but in this situation we could not do and the judges and grasping a fifth-
introducing simple sugars into the plan, in that—we had to listen to his body and place finish at the 2002 Mr. Olympia!
an alternating fashion. The clean meals watch to see how it responded. After This goes to show that the perfect carb-
contained between 100–150 grams of carbs, the large carb meal, we needed about 3½ loading process is just as customized for
while the simple-sugar meals consisted of to four hours before eating again. At that the athlete as the contest diet itself.

FLEX (ISSN 8750-8915) Vol. 31, No. 8 is published monthly except combined December/January and July/August issues each of which counts as two of twelve in an annual subscription by Weider Publications, LLC, a
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246 FLEX | SEPTEMBER ’14

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 Let’s forget about the $1 million in prize money. Let’s forget about the debut of two new divisions. No, right now, the only
Q thing on our minds is this one indisputable fact: Last year’s Mr. Olympia was the greatest lineup of all time. Hold on! How can
we make such a claim? What about all the lineups populated with Hall of Fame bodybuilders, such as 1972 in Essen, Germany, or New
York in 1984, Miami in 1991, Las Vegas in 2001? Your skepticism is applauded. But based on one simple fact and this one simple fact
alone, there is no argument: Each of the 20 competitors in last year’s lineup has won at least one pro contest in his career. Read it again.
ALL-STARS That has never happened before. Not in the days of Larry Scott and Sergio Oliva, not during the ’70s of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Franco
Columbu, and Frank Zane, nor the ’80s and ’90s of Lee Haney, Dorian Yates, and Ronnie Coleman up to the present day of Jay Cutler
and Phil Heath. The 2013 Olympia’s packed-to-the-rafers crowd witnessed history. And this shot of the top 10 proves just how high
standards have risen in the IFBB Pro League and the depth of talent at the Olympia: At the time of the photo, the athletes here have a
combined 66 wins, including seven Olympias and 11 Arnold Classics.

BILL COMSTOCK
Meet the man behind the muscle at TheIsopureCompany.com/Rob #MoreThanMuscle