Lg Principles

2LEAN GAINS PRINCIPLES ]

Contents

The Collaboration

Inch by Inch, a Snail Climbs Mount Fuji

What Should I Expect?

Macronutrient Rotation

Carb Rotation at-a-Glance

Sample Diets

Pre-, During and Post-Workout Protocol

Supplementation

Food Prep Pointers

Basic Training Info

Shelby and Steve’s Favorite Exercises

Shelby and Steve’s Bios and Contact Info

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The Collaboration

character Ray Ferrier is struggling to connect with his teenage son, who dismissively says,

for over two decades, with probably the most diverse variety of subjects (all related to

and been in the gym with some of the top physique and strength athletes in the world,

including names like Ed Coan, Dorian Yates, Mike Francois, Magnus Magnusson, Ronnie

rationale behind the training and nutrition programs of these champions (even if they

Shelby, on the other hand, has been (and remains) a competitive bodybuilding champion

in his own right, using his analytical mind to design nutrition protocols that made him a

competitive bodybuilders come into shows in a condition that is most often far beyond


become something of an expert at helping guys like Matt Kroc and Dave Tate clean up

will see more of — powerlifters wanting to get lean (either to compete in a lighter weight

While our backgrounds vary, our views on nutrition are remarkably similar (which tends

Lean Gain Principles is that book!

Shelby demonstrates great condition to kick off a successful off-season plan — lean enough that he can slowly add pounds while still maintaining

separation and the outline of abs


Inch by inch, a snail climbs Mount Fuji…

Despite what you may read in every muscle magazine, the road to a champion physique

perhaps the hardest sport/hobby/pastime with statistically about the lowest chance of

be sore from a previous workout, planning the next one, preparing your food, cleaning up

reward of shapening abs and enhanced V-taper in the mirror, the improvements in the off-

Lean Gain Principles is


What Should I Expect?

The off-season is the gaining season, but how much improvement should you ex-

pect? What should be considered reasonable expectations during the off-season?

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rally muscular mesomorphs tend to pack it on much faster and easier than skinny

month) which is good for a non-competitor that is doing bodybuilding as a part of

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For someone to compete in a show, and come back the next year to compete

again ten pounds heavier (in at least as good of condition), would have expe-

rienced an outstanding offseason! Ten pounds for an intermediate or advanced

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Broken down on a monthly basis, you have an eight to nine-month off-season

(since you have three or four months for a contest diet), so the ten pounds gained


The pro bodybuilders that you read about in Flex

someone not a member of the genetic elite, they will most likely only experience

BEGINNERS.biggest jumps in progress in those initial six to ten months as your body adapts

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lowing the nutrition principles in this book, will go a long way towards maximizing

HARD-GAINERS. The Lean Gain Principles is a great program for hard-gainers,

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should never get so focused on muscle gain that you don’t keep an eye on fat lev-

els and you should never become so driven in your fat loss efforts that you allow

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late the metabolism (mornings on an empty stomach) and adjust their calories one

NATURAL BODYBUILDERS. This balance is even more important with

insulin spike) is that it shuttles glucose and amino acids into muscle tissue and

Remember, if you put on too much bodyfat, you are going to leave yourself with


WOMEN. Although most women would be less than interested in the general con-cept of an off-season program, the diets in this book can easily be adapted for

MASTERS. The diets in this book will also transfer well to bodybuilders in the over-forty years old category, with two considerations: 1) although this is case-

older bodybuilders due to higher susceptibility to health issues, particularly cardio-


Macronutrient Rotation

©

as a portmanteau

A portmanteau is when two or more words or morphemes are blended in order to create

even remember when they used to call themselves Federal Express?), and the annoying

© And no, we aren’t actually going to bother to acquire

carb restriction is the common thread in any successful fat loss diet, our expanded

understanding of the best way to eat for bodybuilding requires manipulation of proteins,

intake of any one of them affects how the other macronutrients are used (and needed)


evolved, we learned the following things:

big show four to six weeks later), they noticed that going off of their diet for a short

period (whether it was a cheat meal, cheat day or a few lax days) often kick-started

periods) was a huge waste of money since, at a certain point, it can cause the body

you jump from 2011 back to 2001, and from 2001 back to 1991, and take decade-sized

looks back (even just by glancing at old issues of Flex or MuscleMag), you will see that

may be right for one may need adjustment for another), but more people are doing more

at verifying what we have discovered (and they seems to take a gleeful pride when they

can shoot down a supplement or technique we are using) but the bodybuilding community

carb days, but pay attention to how the levels of protein and fat are concurrently adjusted


NUTRIENT TIMING

and after a training session in order to have maximal strength, training stamina and (most

brutality of that particular day’s workout, or the dietary goals of that day, determines

PROBLEMS WITH KETOGENIC DIETSWhile ketogenic diets work well with members of the general public trying to get in shape

workout energy requirements (removal of waste products, replenishment of glycogen,

general recuperation from gym trauma) need also to be considered, not to mention

adequate carbs, then how can this approach be effective for building muscle?

will lose weight,

and water weight will be shed, so much of your initial weight loss will be glycogen and

water, both of which are solid muscle components that are good to have in large supply


person and (along with psychological preferences) explains why some favor ketogenic

If you should decide to test out a ketogenic diet, make note of changes in body

metabolic slamming of the fat-burning brakes until six or seven weeks into a keto diet,

nutrition approaches, but someone trying to spend four to six months of an off-season

program with an extremely low carb intake, would not be getting the most progress from

comes to fuel considerations (despite what it may seem like when talking to some idiots),

the needs of muscle come a distant second, to the extent that muscle will even be broken

Carbs are, of course, protein sparingas junior high health class but you may not have thought about what it means from a

and cortisol tend to counteract the effect of one another, with insulin acting as a nutrient

storage hormone and cortisol (along with glucagon) working to release nutrients in

PROBLEMS WITH BULKING PROGRAMS

skinny yet determined teenager that takes three years to eat his way from 150 up to

The mirror does not tell nearly as positive of a story, but encouraged by weight gain, he

“In my younger (and foolish) days, I had radical

changes in body weight from off-season to pre-

contest periods. However, as I learned more and

in more cut and massive by training only slightly

above my contest weight.”

— Rich Gaspari (The Gaspari Method: New Age Nutrition & Mass I)


Three years and forty bulky pounds later, he decides in March that the extended bulk

period has run its course and it is time to whittle down and unveil his ripped muscle at the

While some teens seem to do okay with bulking programs, this is only because until

individuals were to put in the effort to meet the same (or possibly even slightly lower)

calorie levels with quality clean food sources, they would pack on at least as much muscle without the fat that must be painstakingly stripped off later (usually with a great amount

The Middle Path

This involves dividing your diet into High-Carb, Medium-Carb and Low-Carb

common approach is to designate your heaviest training days (legs, back) as High-Carb

Differences Between the Carb Rotation Contest Diet and the Lean Gain Off-Season Diet

Marrying your weekly carb cycle with your training cycle (used in off-season,

not while dieting)

Pre-during and post-workout supplement protocol (used in off-season, not while

contest dieting)

Middle-of-night eating (used in off-season, not while dieting)


approaches are illustrated below:

RECUPERATION-BASED PLANLegs HIGH

MEDWED off LOW

Back HIGHFRI Arms MEDSAT off LOW

off LOW

CARB PRE-LOAD PLANLegs MED

LOWWED off HIGH

Back MEDFRI Arms LOWSAT off LOW

off HIGH

As you can see, the above diet has two High-Carb days, two Low-Carb days and three

If you are gaining body fat on it, you can switch one of the days (in the weekly schedule

example above, it would be Thursday) from High-Carb to Medium-Carb, or your Sunday

one of the Low days to Medium or a Medium day to a High day, or you can increase the

The Low-Carb days keeps the body fat low and insulin sensitivity high while the High-Carb

Days keeps the metabolism from slowing down, keeps glycogen stores topped off, and

Sometime just lying down with your spine in a neutral position and relaxing without


HIGH CARB MEDIUM CARB LOW CARBStorage day Coasting day Depletion day

Highly anabolicPossibly catabolic

(hopefully on fat)

Leg Day, Back Day or

Weak Bodypart Spe-

cialization Day

[Varies]

Rest days or training of

smaller bodyparts like

arms, delts

Replenish glycogen

stores

Keeps metabolism el-

evated and keeps you

Insulin levels low, al-

burning

Higher insulin output

Moderate insulin lev-

els with minor insulin

spike only near work-

out

Higher (healthy) fats

which increase insulin

Increased insulin sen-

sitivity from low-carb

days allows for glyco-

gen super-compen-

sation and increased

Deplete glycogen stores

somewhat which in-

creases insulin sensitiv-

ity

Proportionally more

protein available for

synthesis, even with

lower gram intake

Moderate

More protein needed

since some is used as

SPECIAL

Possibly chromium,

alpha-lipoic acid or

cinnamon (mild glu-

cose disposal agents)

Good time for high

quality hydrolysates

or BCAAs to maintain

muscle size

PREFERED High-Intensity Interval

Training

Long steady-state

cardio

CARB ROTATION AT A GLANCE


MENU PLAN 150-POUND MALEHIGH DAYS:

MEDIUM DAYS:

LOW DAYS:

NOTE:

HIGH DAY:MEAL #1 Blender shake made with 1 scoop whey protein, 1 cup oats (dry measure), with ice,

water, cinnamon, and Splenda

MEAL #2

MEAL #3

Workout protocol

MEAL #5

MEAL #6

MEDIUM DAY:MEAL #1


MEAL #2

MEAL #3

Workout protocol

MEAL #5

MEAL #6

LOW DAY:MEAL #1

ice, water, cinnamon, and Splenda

MEAL #2

MEAL #3

with ice, water, cinnamon, and Splenda

MEAL #5

MEAL #6


MENU PLAN 200-POUND MALEHIGH DAYS:

MEDIUM DAYS:

LOW DAYS:

NOTE:

HIGH DAY:MEAL #1


MEAL #2

MEAL #3


Workout protocol

MEAL #5

MEAL #6

MEDIUM DAY:MEAL #1 Blender shake made with 2 scoops whey protein, 1 cup oats (dry measure), with ice,


MEAL #2

MEAL #3 Blender shake made with 2 scoops whey protein, 1 cup oats (dry measure), 2

teaspoons macadamia nut oil, with ice, water, cinnamon, and Splenda

Workout protocol

MEAL #5

vinegar

MEAL #6

LOW DAY:MEAL #1

MEAL #2

MEAL #3

MEAL #5

vinegar

MEAL #6


WORKOUT PROTOCOL FOR ALL TRAINING DAYS

Approximately 30 minutes pre-workout: 30-50g simple carbs (maltodextrin, waxy maize)

5g BCAA

During workout: 5-10g BCAA mixed in Gatorade

Immediately post-workout:

5g BCAA

Have your next whole food meal about 60-90

minutes after this protocol

Workout Supplementation

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diately, if you are not already doing so, is the consumption of a night-time shake that can

two of whey, and scoop or two of casein (varied based on your size) to provide a broad

amino array plus a mix of fast and slow-acting proteins to provide a slow sustained-re-

SETTING UP YOUR OWN INTAKECarbohydrate Protein Fat

High-Carb Daypound of bwt pound of bwt

low

Medium-Carb Day1–2 grams per

pound of bwt pound of bwt per pound of bwt

Low-Carb Daypound of bwt pound of bwt per pound of bwt

After looking at the two sample diets, you should have an excellent grasp of what your

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four meals a day if that is necessary for convenience but alternate them with whole food


Shortly before your workout, drink a pre-workout shake consisting of a fast-acting carbo-

30 grams of a quality whey isolate plus 10 grams Anatrop (BCAA plus L-Leucine, creatine

During your workout is another great time to take advantage of the increased circulation

and Anatrop (or BCAAs with Gatorade) assists keeping energy levels up and kick-starting

might seem like a small dose of protein but it is more important to look at the sum of

Finally, sixty to ninety minutes later, consume a whole-food meal, (perhaps an omelette or

OTHER SUPPLEMENTS-

whole cell volumization craze because a fully creatine-saturated body will very quickly

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BCAAs: The largest percentage of amino acids in muscle tissue is composed of branched-

chain amino acids, so it should be little surprise how effective supplementing BCAAs are

spending money, taking BCAAs before, during and after (either alone in capsule form or as

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take, may need a full dose and perhaps even some extra vitamin-C, D, E, B-complex and

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HEALTHY LIPIDS: Fish oils are the single best health-promoting supplements for both

contains gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), which is a fat that helps burn fat by stimulating

avoided on a high carb day, since their effect goes against the glycogen storage goals of

Consider your whey and/or casein protein as food sources (you would be hard pressed to

and one should never waste money on them if their whole food intake it not consistently

booster, use that money to stock up on a couple bags of chicken breasts, a couple dozen


Some Useful Kitchen Tips

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bodybuilders that seem to make the most of their genetics tend to also be the very ones

that set aside time (once or twice a week), to perform bulk prep of their bodybuilding

bodybuilding meals waiting for you in the freezer, you are much more likely not to stray

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Most successful bodybuilders with busy lifestyles set aside one evening once or twice a

If you look in your phone directory, you can even get together with a friend or two and

rent out a large production kitchen with multiples ovens, stoves and lots of counter space

in places that teach cooking classes as they want to make a little extra money in their

Food Prep Pointers


Many people are surprised once they start to consistently bulk prepare their bodybuild-

ing meals that there is a remarkable monetary savings over just prepping their meals the

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mend that you shop around your area for outlets such as Sam’s Club, Costco, GFS and the

ounce steaks, three-pound bags of pre-cooked, diced chicken breast and incredibly fresh

I recommend that you use a scale to determine proper quantities of protein, carbs and

PLAN YOUR MEALS FOR THE WEEK

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foods or, if you need more variety, grab some cookbooks from the library (or check out a

website like www.allrecipes.com) and simply start with a basic lean protein (beef, chicken,

and realize that you got enough chicken to grill and dice into omelets and over salads but

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boards and refrigerator to ensure that you have all the spices, oils and other ingredients

SHOP SMART FOR YOUR FOOD -

able items and buying some things at discounted bulk rated from wholesale outlets will

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from the outer perimeter of the store — fruits and veggies, lean meats, eggs and other

www.allrecipes.com


FOOD PREP AND BATCH COOKING

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Also wash and put away all the dishes so that you begin with a clean and uncluttered work

can also be readied alongside the chicken you plan to use for chicken cacciatore or barbe-

Since meat will be the primary ingredient in

most of our dishes, we want to make sure that

With chicken, turkey and steak it’s a matter of

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terwards, I recommend that you blot away as

due to the natural whole-grain diets and lack of

According to the American Institute for Cancer

Research, blotting crumbled ground beef will reduce fat levels in the average serving by

grilled chicken breasts, I also marinate some diced chicken in sugar-free Italian dress-

Most of my meals are pretty basic but a little soy sauce, Frank’s Red Hot, salsa verde or

try something new, I will go to one of the many recipe websites (such as allrecipes.com)

www.calorielab.com and http://nutritiondata.self.com/ are also very useful for checking macronutrient

EFFICIENT AND SAFE FOOD STORAGEEven those with limited freezer space would be surprised to learn how much they can

that freezer bags (available in both gallon and quart sizes), take up much less space than

www.allrecipes.com

www.calorielab.com

www.calorielab.com

http://nutritiondata.self.com/


Purchase two or three extra ice cube holders (not trays for freezing them, but the square

also list the type of food on the bag with a sharpie marker (once frozen it can sometimes

your food consumption patterns, you can go into large-scale production and keep a steady

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USEFUL TOOLS

the complete list, try to gradually acquire them as they will make your time spent in the

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cessor, I eat much more fresh veggies which has improved my nutrition and

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can cook multiple items at the same time and don’t need to wash out a pan

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the ingredients, letting it slow cook throughout the day

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jor production (making more than two weeks worth of a food for freezing),

The initial investment in a few of these items will be offset be time saved in your food

SNACKS

other snacks on hand and ready to go such as bags of sliced fruit, steak and cheese

chunks or mixed nuts (I blend my own mix of raw almonds, cashews, walnuts, macada-


doesn’t matter what style of training you choose — traditional high volume training, DC

That said, there are some basic off-season training rules that everyone, from rookie lifters

Heavy Weights. It is called progressive resistance training but it is remarkable to me

particular times in your training but the most important indicator of progress is larger

in the primary exercises) is so vital to your success that you can visually tell the difference

among lifters that pump with light weights and the dense, solid mass of someone like

Yates, Francois, Coleman or Branch Warren that makes max poundages a regular part of

Smart Programming.

squats make your knees creak and presses-behind-the-neck makes it impossible to comb

Beloved but joint-unfriendly exercises that you may have gritted your way through might serve you even better at the end of the training session with a third less weight and a

can use that exercise when the soft tissues are thoroughly warmed-up and the working

Some Basic Training Info


Goals.

Examples of good daily goals might be (weights are obviously just for illustration purposes

and need to be individually adjusted):

seven reps)

traveled or time

compound exercise) and one secondary goal (rep increase in an isolation exercise or

previous workout for that bodypart and look it over in advance (the night before for

Variety. A recent trend has been top bodybuilders making radical changes in their style

Kuclo has made great gains in the past year by dramatically increasing his training

In the following pages, we are both going to share a couple of our favorite exercises for


Many bodybuilders avoid the Front Squat, mostly because it is uncomfortable to position

of muscle shaping on genetics, but I swear

that people that do a lot of Front Squats just

Squatters seems to have better teardrops over

maintain proper rack position will degrade before quad strength is adequately

As far as something to just build raw muscle, nothing beats a non-locking

compound movement like Horizontal Leg Presses or Incline Squats, cutting out

I would be crazy not to include Squatsbuilding gameplan than alternating workouts focusing on high rep (12-30ish),

QUADS

I like Squats (at least to parallel) with a

range (doing higher rep leg work on a Leg

with deliberate negatives (no fast drops) and

explo

The Leg Press allows you to overload the quads without back stress or needing

The Hack Squat

knees, I recommend that you use them later in your workout so that you are

I’m also a big believer in wearing knee sleeves to keep your knees tight and

SquatLeg PressHack Squat

SHELBY

Front SquatNon-‐locking Leg PressSquat

STEVE


For hams, I like to use one contraction movement

contraction, I use a Leg Curl movement, with

stiff-legged Deadlift is a good glute builder (since I personally don’t need a ton of

to do full-range S-L Deads and lock out at the top, my lower back would just

movement in the bottom half, I keep the stress off of my lower back and more on

HAMS

Glute-Ham Raise

For hamstring isolation, I like Hammer Seated

Leg Curls (or similar) or Dumbbell Leg Curl

Dumbbell Leg Curl

sole of my shoes on the inside plate and the handle of the dumbbell being held

You may think they are all about mandolin music and gypsy curses, but

apparently Romanians appreciate great hamstrings as they invented the

Romanian Deadlift

stays close to the body and the hips move back a bit more in order to maintain

Leg CurlSHELBY

Glute-‐Ham RaiseDumbbell Leg Curl

STEVE


DELTS my shoulder joint and I focus on the mid-range in

because once you clean it to a rack position on

your upper pecs, it just feels like a much stronger,

I do three styles of Lateral Raises: 1) Strict Laterals are done with one arm and

some momentum (not degraded body position) and emphasize a slow controlled

Pulldowns-to-Face are one of a handful of exercises shown to me by Louie

Your delts get hit very hard on chest work,

of Military Presses, especially at the beginning of

a workout since I believe they put the shoulder

Squats, they are safer when done later so you

conscious effort before each rep to relax my traps to make them sink into my

My third exercise would be something for rear deltoids —either rear dumbbell

by initiating the movement with your rear delts (and not by shrugging the traps)

and also by keeping a wide arc for the range of motion (don’t bend your elbows

Lateral RaiseRear Dumbbell RaiseSeated Dumbbell Press

SHELBY

Arnold Press (or Log Press)Lateral RaisePulldown-‐to-‐Face

STEVE


PECS

In my early twenties, I took a California vacation

and had a diet and training program designed by

to Bob Paris (who has been one of his students)

over the workload during pressing movements with you, alternating dumbbell

sets of other chest exercises, I don’t need any added weight and just rep out on

back, chin tucked down to chest, elbows wide, hands turned in (thumbs pointing

behind you), and just enough of a bend in the waist so that your feel are under

I have never been a fan of the Smith machine but I have recently been doing

I use a Smith machine is for safety reason (I want to keep my teeth when my

I’m not a fan of Flat Bench Pressing because I

prefer Inclines, but even on these, I don’t lower

more your shoulder rotates, which puts it into a

I do Dumbbell Presses but always at an incline, varying from just putting a

Dumbbells allow you to rotate your hands to more of a neutral position if need

something like heavy low-rep Inclines may work well for Branch Warren (and I

would never argue his success) but crazy heavy weights like that at the start of

Incline Barbell PressLow-‐Incline Dumbbell PressPec Deck

SHELBY

Incline Flye PressPec DipReverse-‐grip Smith Press

STEVE


I like rows with my elbows lifted up and out in

I also like to do a variety of Deadlifts for back thickness —including full Deadlifts

MIDBACK

I like to do a basic row with a palms-up grip,

emphasize a strong isometric contraction

(pause at the top and squeeze hard in the

I also like doing an under-grip row on the Hammer Strength machine that Yates

After working the lats with heavy compound movements, I like to do Lat Flyes

keep a constant bend of 10-15° in the elbows, and arch the back for a paused

(more rear delt, trap and upper lats), midway, with the dumbbells in line with the

bottom of my ribcage (general lats, rhomboids and other midback muscles), or

Chest-‐Supported RowSHELBY

Under-‐grip Bent RowLat Flye

STEVE


LATWIDTH

wide grip (slightly wider than shoulder-width

but not extreme, since that actually reduces

you can’t get a full set of these on your own, use a band to deload some of

your bodyweight and do your last set without assistance to establish a chin

hang from the bar and left my shoulder blades stretch out wide (and it also helps

shrugging in this exercise consists of pulling back the delts and squeezing your

intersperse shrug between full range pulldowns (always pausing for two or three

For width, I actually prefer rows — Dumbbell

Meadows over the past year and he has had me doing a lot of rowing movements

tend to use an over-grip or a neutral (parallel) grip, never an underhand grip and

Dumbbell RowLat Pulldown

SHELBY

Front ChinLat Pulldown Shrug

STEVE


strict, controlled reps, holding at the top for a

said that if you can’t hold a weight in the contracted position, then you didn’t

TRAPS

When I want to go really heavy on traps, I use

doing these when I was suffering from a recurring

haunches protected the area, but I also learned

that is was very handy only having to drop the

from the hang position off of racks) and end with a paused contraction of the

I go through phases in which I do Farmer’s Walks at the end of my workout,

grip strength and most of the stabilizing muscles of the body, the Farmer’s Walk

Barbell ShrugSHELBY

Kneeling Dumbbell Shrug

Farmer’s Walk

STEVE


LOWBACK

About twelve years ago, I did an interview

with Louie Simmons, introducing him to the

of Arnold Classic champ Mike Francois and

those conversations had a powerful impact on

provide the perfect two-inch height adjustments (plus, since I was training at

the same gym as Francois at the time, I hoped to absorb some of his lumbar

a cycle and then sumo-stance the next (with Good Mornings being the third

My other choice would be Simmons’ most famous innovation, the Reverse

muscle pull or nerve impingement near my tailbone about two or three times

a year and it will have me in bed with a heating pad an muscle relaxants for

together and feet wide as well lower reps (6-10) for strength and higher reps

I keep things very direct when hitting lower

this area (as well as hitting hamstrings, lats,

traps and much of the body) and I think this

is a great basic overall mass and strength

with Hypers, I can control the movement better and maintain

the pressure on my lower back on the angled unit more than on

45° Hyperextension

SHELBY

Rack PullReverse Hyperextension

STEVE


There is not much variety in biceps training

for straight bar curls as they cause strain in that

the close (inside bend in the bar) and sometimes

Dumbbell Curls are, of course, very comfortable on the wrists and you can

I like Hammer Curls because they involve the brachialis and brachioradialus to

BICEPS

sets, since Incline Curls involve considerable

way up, and then rotate my arms the out to the

sides before lowering slowly with the pinky-side as high as I can comfortable keep

curl the weight up to nipple height while sliding the bar along the front of your

If I don’t do Incline Curls, Standing Dumbbell Curls are my meat-and-potatoes

three reps of the set and, even on these, my negatives are slow and painfully

EZ-‐Bar CurlDumbbell CurlHammer Curl

SHELBY

Incline Dumbbell CurlBarbell Drag CurlStanding Dumbbell Curl

STEVE


TRICEPS

crushers that require a bit of balance (a

neuromuscular plus) but, since the elbows are

not locked into place, you can begin with a

couple of inches of shoulder rotation to get the

At some gyms in which I have trained, they have had machine bench press units

that I didn’t care too much for, but I found that they were GREAT for Close-grip

without a spotter (sliding down the pad to get into or out of position) plus you can

Larry Scott’s favorite triceps exercise involved an extension on a low pulley using

By standing behind the machine and bending forward so that my forehead

rested on the top of the pad, you can grab the handle and perform what I call

Lots of people advocate heavy compound

movements but I like to start my workout

exercise that warms up the elbows and triceps

so I use it before something like a Close-grip

arm day so it is more important to warm up than someone training triceps after

After I’m thoroughly warmed up, I do Skullcrushers with either dumbbells or an

the weight go deep at the bottom, to get a good stretch (I’ll even let my elbow

Triceps PushdownMachine DipsSkullcrusher

SHELBY

Rolling DB Triceps ExtensionClose-‐grip Machine PressOverhead Pullover Press

STEVE


Every so often we will do Reverse Curls or

Hammer Curls but I never do any Wrist Curls or

FOREARMS

Chins, Rows and Rack Pulls work grip strength,

I do a very direct tri-set of Wrist Curls, Reverse

Wrist Curls and either Reverse Curls, Wrist

in advance so I can cycle through them with

which is very good but I felt that if I just take one of my Captains of Crunch

Reverse CurlHammer Curl

SHELBY

Wrist Curl Reverse Wrist Curl Gripper

STEVE

[


CALVES

because I’m looking for something in which I can

go very heavy without the spinal compression of

of the hip (similar to being in a seated position)

also lets you begin with some pre-stretch on

Seated Calf Raises are still the simplest and most direct method for targeting

reps on these (I change the tempo from fast to slow but always with a full

range-of-motion) are usually followed by burns (short-range movements) until I

assume that these do not allow the heavy poundages compared to all those

plates you can load onto the leg press when working calves but, when worked

one leg at a time, the range-of-motion in the stretched position increases by one

straps and go for higher reps with a slow pace and emphasized range-of-motion

You need a straight-legged exercise like Standing

Calf Raises, Donkey Calf Raises or Calf Press on

option as much these days because I don’t feel

as if I get as much stretch on that machine, plus

been treating calves like arms, hitting them with a lot of volume and short

Donkey Calf RaiseStanding Calf RaiseSeated Calf Raise

SHELBY

45° Calf SlideSeated Calf RaiseDB One-‐Legged Calf Raise

STEVE


I didn’t used to do any ab work but recently

abs and don’t display any separation until they

waist is important, but also having a very muscular six-pack of abdominals, which

do some type of Knee Raise, either and hanging leg raise or one where you

a warm-up before my chest workout on Wednesday and my arm workout on

ABS

work) but I just use as much variety as possible,

I try to do something for the abdominal column

either standing crunches with a cable or bands

thrown over the crossbar (of a power rack, chinbar

or cable crossover), kneeling cable crunches or reaching crunches holding a

Secondly, I like to do something rotary like Russian Twists with a medicine ball

or Rotary Knee Raises (a knee raise in which you twist upward leading with the

I keep my feet wide to lock my hips into place and nothing seems to hit that area

Lastly, I do something multi-plane like Rollouts on the Ab Dolly (going back and

Cable CrunchKnee RaiseWoodchop

SHELBY

Weighted CrunchRussian Twist on Stability BallAb Rollout

STEVE


Shelby Starnes is a successful national-level bodybuild-

the author of Tips and Tricks for Dieting Success, A Sim-ple Guide to Very Low Carb DietsHarris) of The Troponin Nutrition Macronutrient Guide-book, and co-author of The Fat Loss Diaries (with Marc

To order Shelby’s books or read his regular article con-

tributions, go to www.elitefts.comShelby on Facebook in order to track his day-to-day an-

him help you! For information on his consultation servic-

es, e-mail Shelby at [email protected] or visit his website at www.ShelbyStarnes.com

Steve Colescott has been a writer in the bodybuilding

Ten years ago, he published the short-lived but heavily-

copied Peak Training Journal, widely-regarded as the best

He has just recently launched the Iron Subculture pod-cast, an information-packed examination of the best

training, nutrition and supplementation techniques from

the top experts in the bodybuilding, powerlifting and com-

To contact Steve with questions (or to be a celebrity

judge for your next bikini competition), he can be reached

at [email protected]

at http://ironsubculture.blogspot.com/

www.elitefts.com

mailto:sstarnesnutrition%40gmail.com?subject=

www.ShelbyStarnes.com

http://ironsubculture.yolasite.com/

mailto:stevecolescott%40gmail.com?subject=

http://ironsubculture.blogspot.com/

Documents

Lg Principles