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magazine
25trainnutr
i
MUSCLE
RULESOFBUILDING
7For beginnersand experts
Add strengthand size
Lose belly
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MUSCLE
RULESOFBUILDING7
magazine
ByJoeWarner
ArtEditorRichardDavisDesign Ian Jackson, Jo Gurney
SubeditorJuliet Giles
PhotographyTom Miles, Duncan Nicholls
ModelKirk Miller@WAthletic
Equipmentsuppliedby escapefitness.com.
ThankstoFitness First (fitnessfirst.co.uk)
For more informationon Men’s Fitness magazine, go towww.mensfitness.co.uk
Tosubscribe to Men’s Fitness magazine,call 08448440081orgotowww.mensfitness.co.uk
©Copyright Dennis Publishing
Ltd. LicensedbyFelden2011
Publishing Director RichardDowney
Managing Director JamesBurnay
Digital Production Manager NickyBaker
Bookazine Manager DharmeshMistry
Operations Director RobinRyan
Managing Director of Advertising
JulianLloyd-Evans
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Chairman Felix Dennis
The ‘MagBook’ brand is a trademark of Dennis Publishing Ltd,
30 Cleveland St, London W1T 4JD. Company registered in England.
All material © Dennis Publishing Ltd, licensed by Felden 2011,
and may not be reproduced in whole or part without the
consent of the publishers.
7 RULES OF BUILDING MUSCLE ISBN 1906372705
To license this product please contact Hannah Heagney on
+44 (0) 20 7907 6134 or email [email protected]
Advertising
Katie Wood [email protected]
Matt Wakeield [email protected]
While every care was taken during the production of this MagBook, the publishers cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the information
or any consequence arising from it. Dennis Publishing takes no responsibility for the companies advertising in this MagBook.
The paper used within this MagBook is produced from sustainable ibre, manufactured by mills with a valid chain of custody. Printed at PCP.
The health and itness information presented in this book is an educational resource and is not intended as a substitute for medical advice.
Consult your doctor or healthcare professional before performing any of the exercises described in this book or any other exercise programme,particularly if you are pregnant, or if you are elderly or have chronic or recurring medical conditions. Do not attempt any of the exercises while under
the inluence of alcohol or drugs. Discontinue any exercise that causes you pain or severe discomfort and consult a medical expert.
Neither the author of the information nor the producer nor distributors of such information make any warranty of any kind in regard to
the content of the information presented in this book.
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Men’s Fitness6
SEVNR
OBULDNMUC CONTENTS
GETTINGSTARTED
ForewordbyCharlesPoliquin
About thebook
Builda foundation
RULEONE
Knowyourbody
RULETWO
RULETHREE
Use compoundlifts
RULEFOUR
Varyyourexercises
RULEFIVE
Change thevariables 1
RULESIX
Varyyourworkouts 1
RULESEVEN
Eat tobuild muscle 1
RULETHREECompound lifts, suchassquats, shouldbe
the foundationof anymuscle-buildingplan
RULESEVENEatingthe rightfoodsat therighttime iscriticalto success
RULEFOURIsolation exercises,suchasthe bicepscurl,canaccelerate musclegain
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www.wellman.co.uk
From Boots, Superdrug,
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Wellman® is an advanced range of nutritional products, tailored to the specific requirementof men. It has helped top athletes likeWorld Champion Swimmer Mark Foster stay ahead
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“Likemanyprofessional sportsmen,I relyonWellman® tabletsevery day,tohelpmaintain the health, vitality andstrong immunesystemthat I need.Wellman®HighPerformancedrink
providesmewith great tasting,revitalising refreshment too.”
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Men’s Fitness8
SEVNR
OBULDNMUC FOREWORD
Thechancesare that you’vepickedup7RulesOfBuildingMusclefor oneof several reasons.Youmayhavenever set foot ina gymbefore
butwanttomakesomepositivechangestoyourphysique.Ormaybeyouhavetrainedwithweights for awhilebut havebeendisappointedbyyourprogress.Oryoumaybeanexperiencedgym-goerwho’s looking fornewwaystocontinuetoaddmuscularsize andstrength.The scenariosmaybedifferent, but theultimate aimisexactlythe same.Youwant toaddhard, leanmuscle toyour frametobe fitter, stronger andtolook betterwithyourshirtoff. Let’s faceit –whodoesn’t?Despitewhatyoumay think,buildingmuscle iseasy. That’s right. Thereisnomythormysteryaboutpacking hard, leanmuscle toyour frame. It
doesn’t require pills andfoul-tasting potions,nordoes it involve risking lifeand limbonallmannerofkit andequipment that looks as thoughitshouldreally belong inamedieval dungeon.All that’s required is that youtrainsmart, eatwellandthenrest toallowyourmuscles tobuildbackbigger andstronger. Butwhat typeofexercisesshouldyoubedoingandhowoften?Whyshouldyou shakeupyourtrainingtoensureyourmuscles grow?When is the right time toring thesechanges?Andwhatare thebest foods tofuelmuscle performance andrecovery?
Ifyouare lookingfor the answers totheseandmanymorequestionsaboutbuildingthebodyyou’vealwayswanted, thenyou’vecome to therightplace. Inyourhandsyou’re holdingthedefinitive guide tobuildingmuscle,withall the information,tips andadviceyouneedtobuildyourdreambodyeffectively andefficiently.Theonlyquestion I have is:whatare youwaiting for?
CHARLESPOLIQUIN
byCharlesPoliquin, theworld-renownedstrength
andconditioningcoach,whohastrained
Olympiansin12sports,worldrecordholders
intensportsandprofessionalathletes inthe
NBA,NFL,NHL,MLBandEnglishPremierLeague
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Men
Here at
Men’s Fitness
magazineweget askeda lot of
questions,and
manyareonthe
subject ofhowbest
tobuildmuscle.With
somuch training
informationflying
around –eitherat the
gym, oronwebsites
andonline forums – andofferingoften
contradictory ideasonhow tomake
yourselfbigger, stronger andleaner, the
simple truthscanquicklybecomeover-
complicatedanddownright confusing.Which iswhy this bookhasseparated
thefacts fromthefictionandthe fads
toprovide youwithall theinformation
youneed –explainedin simplebut
highlyeffectiveterms– onhowyoucan
transformyourphysique intotheone
you’vealwayswanted.
SimplestepsIn thefirstchapterwehelp you identify
yourbody type.Onceyouknow this,
you canmakethemost ofyour strengths
–whileminimisingyourweaknesses
– tostart addingmuscle quickly andefficiently.We alsodetail themuscle
groups of thebody, explain how they
moveand thesciencebehindhowthey
grow, andweanswer themuscle-building
questionswe’refrequentlyasked.
Inchapter twowegiveyouthe tools to
assessyourcurrentlevelof fitness and
explainwhyyouneed tobuilda strong
foundationtomake injury-freeprogress.
We then revealexactly howyoucando
this, alongwith a clearguidetowarming
up, coolingdownandstretching– allof
whicharevital topreventinjuryand
primeyourmuscles forgrowth.Chapterthree focusesoncompound
exercises – those that involvemore than
onemuscle group–whichformthe basis
of all successfulmuscle-buildingtraining
programmes.With ourstep-by-stepguide
you’ll beable tomastertheseextremely
effectivemoves inno time.
ABOUTTHISBOOK
Tobuildstrong, leanmusclefasteryouneedtofollowjustsevensimplerules
JoeWarner, editor
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Men’s Fitness12
SEVNR
OBULDNMUC ABOUT THIS BOOK
MixitupThe next chapter examines the
limitations of doing the same exercises
week in, week outand details themain
variations of the key compound moves
and whyyoushould dothemto keepyour muscles growing. We also look
at how you canidentify andfix any
muscular imbalances or weaknesses
that might be holding you back.
Chapter five takes a magnifying glass
to thekey components of an individual
workout – including exerciseselection,
sets, reps andtempo– andwhychanging
these regularly is crucial in the pursuit of
bigger muscle.
Chapter six then examines different
set strategies and long-term training
programmes to help you meet your
goals quickly and effectively.
Foodforthought
The finalchapter is a comprehensiveguide to thehugely important role
nutrition plays in building and
maintaining muscle. We give you the
basic rules you need to follow, some
easy-to-follow meal plans and handy
musclesnacks, along with an in-depth
investigation into supplements, such as
protein powder, creatine and fat-burners,
andtell you if you really need them.
So sitback andstart reading.That’s
the easybit.Then you can put your
newfound knowledgeinto action. We
won’t lie: this is the hardpart, and it
requires motivation, determination anddedication. But by clearly explaining
whatyouneed todo,when todo itand
why you needto doit, we hopeto make
your muscle-building journey not only
successful,but also enjoyable.
‘By clearly explaining what
youneedtodo,whentodoit
and why, we hope to make
your muscle-building journey
successful and enjoyable’
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KNOWYOURBODY
RULEONE
16 Control your body shape
18 Endomorph
20 Mesomorph
22 Ectomorph
24 Knowyourmuscles
26Moveyour body
28 Howmusclesgrow
30 Weight training glossary
32 MuscleQ&A
O TE TEN
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Men’s Fitness16
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Men
Controlyour
bodyshapeWhetheryoupackonmuscleeasily, struggletoshift
yourgutorstay leandespitehours liftingweights,
smarttrainingwillmaximiseyourpotential
Before we begin it’s important thatyou establish which body shape
you have been gifted by your parents.Knowing this means you cantrain inthe most eicient way possible to reapmaximum changes in minimum time.
The idea that human body types aregenetically pre-set is nothing new. Platomentions it inTheRepublic , which waswritten around 380BC, and the 19th-century philosopher Friedrich Nietzschereferred to the idea inTheAntichrist
years before psychologist WilliamHerbert Sheldon popularised threebroad ‘categories’ of body in the 1940s.
But it’s since Sheldon’s conclusions
were published that it has become widelyrecognised that most people have a body
type that marks them outas either beingan endomorph (big with high levels
of body fat), a mesomorph (muscular) oran ectomorph (lean).
PowerstruggleOver the past decade, science hasdiscovered a lot more about howyour genetic makeup determineswhat your body shape will be – and,more importantly, what you can do toovercome your genetic shape. Read onto learn more about the three diferentbody shapes and discover the steps youcan take to control your natural shape –rather than let it control you – to get the
body you’ve always wanted, no matterwhat hand your genes have dealt you.
RULEONE KNOWYOURBODY
Areyouan
endomorph,
mesomorphor
ectomorph?
Turn over to
findout.
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Men’s Fitness18
SEVNR
OBULDNMUC BODY SHAPES:ENDOMORPH
Shift yourspare tyre by ditching cardiofor weights and
watching what you eat
If you havetroubleshifting weight even
when watching your diet,the chances are you’reanendomorph, characterised byhaving a relatively high amountof storedfat, a widewaist and alarge bone structure. Great forpowerlifters, not so good whenyou’reheading to thebeach.
What’sgoingon?Evolutionarily speaking, you’re
a badass:when food wasscarce,natural selection probablyfavoured humans with fat-storing metabolisms.But nowsofas and milkshakes are readilyavailable, those same genes arescuppering you. In onestudywhere subjects were overfedfor1,000 calories a day overa 100-day period, weight gainvaried from 4.3kg to 13kg, anddemonstrated that people morepredisposed to storefat putonthree times as much weight as
others. Some experts suggest thatheredity factors might accountfor as muchas 70per centof your
body mass index (BMI), so don’t be too hard on yourself if the
weight isn’t coming off. You justneed to train smarter.
Whatyou’redoingwrongThere’s no point in spendinghours on a treadmill. If you’retrying to lose weight you needto ditch long,slow, steady-statecardiovascular work for moreinterval-based conditioning tostrip away fat. Sprints andbox
jumps are great, but if you’reheavy tothe point of beingworried about your joints, then
moves like thesled push areslower but just as effective. Anddon’t fall into thetrap of doinghundredsof sit-ups to shift yourgut. Theidea you canspot reducefatis a myth. To reveal that hidden
six-pack you need to lose weifrom everywhere.
WhatyoushouldbedoYou should be combining
hypertrophy, or muscle-buildwork, with conditioning tostripaway that unwanted bodfat. A four-day split could gosomething like: Monday, upp
body hypertrophy; Tuesday,lower-body conditioning suchas sprints; Thursday lower-
body hypertrophy; and a Frid‘repetition’ day on the upper bwhenyou’ll dolotsof reps atrelatively low weights.
Whattoeat
Unfortunately, you’ll haveto watchwhat you eat morestrictly thanpeople with othe
body shapes. The first thing tokeepan eye onis the amountcarbs you’reeating. Too many
byount
d aoren
.
u’re
arce,
wadilyareyd
rin others. S ome e xperts s uggest t hat ix-pack y ou n eed t o l ose w ei
Endomorph
ThelookRotund
Why?High tendency to store body fat
DoTrainwith intensity
Watchyour carb intake
Build yourshoulders
Don’tDo endless sit-ups
Jog for hours
Drink sports drinks
FITTIPEndomorphsneed
to forget sit-upsand
swaphours ofeasy
exercise forshort,
intense sessions in
thegym
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Men
throughouttheday
will spike
your levels of
insulin, the fat-storing
hormone. Instead,
get your carbs from
vegetables, and
experiment with
your diet tosee
what else might be
holding you back.
And, of course, you
should steer well
clear of thebooze.
Whatelse?There’s some evidence that extra
weight around the midsection
indicates high levels of the stress
hormone cortisol and therefore low
capacity to handlestress, so try to
minimise its effects by getting plenty
of sleep and avoidovertraining. In
terms of supplements, you do need
to avoidsportsdrinks andother
high-energy drinks, which are full
ofcarbs in the formof sugar, and will
send your blood sugar through theroof, leading to fat storage. Protein
supplements that are low in carbs
are absolutelyfine.
MoneymovesIf you’rean endomorph, get used
tousing your bodyforthe most
effective shape-shifting workouts.
Bodyweight moves likethe press-up
or chin-up are great, as are moves
that force you to use good technique
suchas the hang clean.One trick
some coaches use when training
endomorphs is to focus on buildingup their upper bodies, especially
theshoulders andlats, to bring the
broader waist into proportion –
moves such as shoulder presses and
pull-ups shoulddo this job nicely.
Men
of
fat-storing
stead,
bs from
and
with
see
ight be
back.
rse, you
r well
booze.
?e evidence that extra
nd the midsection
gh levels of the stress
rtisol and therefore low
handlestress, so try to
s effects by getting plenty
avoid overtraining. In
plements, you do need
rts drinks andother
drinks, whichare full
heformof sugar, and will
lood sugar through theg to fat storage. Protein
ts thatare low in carbs
ly fine.
ovesendomorph, get used
r bodyforthe most
ape-shifting workouts.
t moves like the press-up
regreat, as are moves
u to use good technique
hang clean. Onetrick
es use when training
s is tofocus on buildinger bodies, especially
rsand lats, to bring the
ist into proportion –
ass ou erpresses an
ulddo this job nicely.
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Men’s Fitness20
SEVNR
OBULDNMUC BODY SHAPES :MESOMORPH
You’re genetically gifted, buttraining smarter
can still result in even greater gains
If you are a mesomorphyou’ll
know it from theenvious looks
you get. That’s because mesomorphs
canlook fairly well built without even
setting foot ina gym.If this sounds like
you then you’vehit the genetic jackpot
– but you can still make the most ofyour
DNA with some tactical workout tricks.
What’sgoingon?If you expandin size when you so much
as look at a dumb-bell, chances are it’s
all to do with satellitecell-mediated
myonuclear addition – or, in non-scienceterms,the amountof cells surrounding
your muscle fibres andyour ability to
addmoreof them by training. One2008
study showed that out of 66 peopleput
on thesame weights programme the
top17 ‘responders’ experienced a 58 per
cent gain in muscle cross-sectional area,
whilethe bottom17 gainednothing at
all. If you’re a good ‘responder’ you’ve
got a great head start, butlosing fat and
training efficiently can work wonders.
moves. Alternatively, give inte
sprints a go. Theywillpump u
your metabolism for therest o
theday andreally strip away
WhattoeatAlthough the obvious caveat
apply – no fizzy drinksor cak
– the good newsis thatyour
body will respond pretty well
whatever healthy food you p
into it. Unlike endomorphs yo
caneat a moderate amountocarbs, andalways erron the s
of more when it comes to pro
Two gramsper kilo of bodyw
is the minimum you shouldb
aiming for, butmoreis fine.
aining smarter
gains
oves. Alternatively, give inte
m u
Mesomorph
ThelookWell-built
Why?High metabolism, responsive
muscle cells
DoTrain like an athlete
Time your workouts
Set personal bests
Don’tTake your body for granted
Neglect recovery sessions
Eat whatever you like
FITTIPMesomorphsind
buildingmuscle easy
butmust still stay
focusedtoachieve
theirfull potential
Whatyou’redoingwrongMesomorphs often don’t train
as hardas theycan, and the
workouts they do might lack
intensity. To counter this, try
performing timed workouts so
thatyouhave a target toaim at
as this will increaseyour focus,
intensity and effort levels.
WhatyoushouldbedoingMesomorphs shouldtrain
athletically to capitalise on theirgenetic gift, so do sprints, box
jumps and vertical jumps or other
explosive moves.You respond
well tolowreps – aroundthe
three-to-five range – and power
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MenMen
WhatelsetothinkaboutFactor in recovery days. Explosive
athletic workouts minimise
your muscles’ exposure to the
eccentric – or lowering – part of
exercises, which helps stave off
muscle soreness. This means you
will be ableto dodo somelight
movements on your rest days to
get the blood flowing andkeep
you fresh for yournext workout.
MoneymovesTrypairing a strength movewith a
power movethat works the same
muscles. For example, superset
fivereps on the deadlift with five
on theclean.
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Men’s Fitness22
SEVNR
OBULDNMUC BODY SHAPES: ECTOMORPH
It’s hard for you tobuildmuscle, but not impossible
provided youuse big lifts and good carbs
You’ve got thebuild of a
marathon runner – lean,
but short on muscle. And it can
be difficult to pack on size despite
hours in the gym.
What’sgoingon?Research shows that some
individuals have trouble
responding to strength training.
Further tests on thegroup
mentionedon page 20 showed
that the worst ‘responders’ saw
no change in their regulationof myogenin – a key gene
responsible for muscle growth –
whileothersubjects on the same
workout programme sawtheir
levels spike byas muchas 65 per
cent. Butdon’t be putoff by this.
Different people respond better to
different training regimes and by
tweaking the volume, intensity or
frequency of their workouts the
poor responders may well have
seen better results.
g s an goo car s
Ectomorph
ThelookLean and long
Why?Diiculty building muscle.
DoTrain with compound moves
Eat enough protein
Use isolation moves as ‘inishers’
Don’tOveremphasise isolation moves
Train too often
Do too much cardio
FITTIPCompoundlifts
as thedeadlift, s
formthe bas
every ectomo
trainingpla
Whatyou’redoingwrongFirst, ditch the treadmill: you’re
lean enough. Long, slow distance
work, is the worstthing you
cando. Second, don’t pack your
weights session with classic
isolation moves likethe biceps
curl. You need to build your
training programme around big,
compound movements like the
squat, deadlift and bench press.
These involve more muscles andgiveyou thehormonalboost that
helps build muscle. You canstill
use isolation moves, butthey
need to supplement your main
workout: around 80 percent of
your workoutshouldbe base
hitting your major muscle gro
WhatyoushouldbedoCompound movements, four
in the eight to 12 reprange. Bu
don’t have tolive in the gym t
on muscle– quite thecontrar
If you’reworking out four or f
days a week then you’re mak
things inefficient because you
be speeding up your metaboltoomuch andmaking it diffic
toput on size. Stick tothree
quality sessions perweekand
keep thetraining time, after a
warm-up, to 45 minutes or les
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MenMen
WhattoeatGood news:you don’t havetosteer clear of carbs.In fact,you need them. That’s becauseyou wanta spike in your bloodsugar to driveprotein to yourmuscles. Stick to thecomplexkind, like brown rice, andsticktoa minimum 2g per kiloof
bodyweight rule for protein.Unlike mesomorphs, however,you shouldn’t exceed this
because too much protein,
like training, canspeed upyour metabolismand makeit harder to grow muscle.
Whatelse?Forectomorphsquality nutritionis almost asimportant assmart trainingin addingleanmuscle. Morethan any other
body type you
needto usesupplementsproperly. Have a carb/proteinshake before and duringyourworkout, and then have anotherone – ora goodmeal– afterwards.
MoneymovesThedeadlift is your best friend:peoplewith long arms shouldfind it relatively easy, and ituses the entire body so it’ll packon mass. Infuriatingly, thoughsquats willalso do wonders for
your physique, if you’rea tallectomorphyou might find themdifficult because your longerlimbs make it harder to get belowparallel in thesquat. If so, it’s finetouse the leg press.
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Men’s Fitness24
SEVNR
OBULDNMUC KNOWYOURMUSCLES
There are over 600muscles
in the human body. These are
the major ones you’llbe targeting
during your workouts
Deltoids1 Medial deltoid (middle)2 Anterior deltoid (front)
Pectorals3 Pectoralis major4 Pectoralis minor (beneath
the pectoralis major)
Biceps5 Biceps brachii6 Brachialis7 Brachioradialis
Forearms8 Flexor carpi radialis
Abdominals9 Serratus anterior10 Rectus abdominis11 External obliques12 Internal obliques
(beneath external obliques)13 Transverse abdominis
(beneath internal obliques)
Quadriceps14 Vastus lateralis15 Rectus femoris16 Vastus intermedius
(beneath rectus femoris)17 Vastus medialis
1
5
10
14
3
11
15
7
4
12
16
8
9
13
17
2
6
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Traps1 Trapezius
Back2 Teres major3 Rhomboid
(beneathtrapezius)
Deltoids4 Rotator cu (beneath deltoids)
5 Posterior deltoid (back)
Lats6 Latissimus dorsi
Triceps7 Triceps brachii long head
8 Triceps brachii lateral head9 Triceps brachii medial head
Lowerback10 Erector spinae
Glutes11 Gluteus maximus
Hamstrings12 Biceps femoris
13 Semitendinosus14 Semimembranosus
Calves15 Gastrocnemius16 Soleus
3
5
13
14
1
15
86
11
16
7
4
12
9
2
10
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Men’s Fitness26
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OBULDNMUC MOVE YOUR BODY
Howyourmusclescontroleverymoveyoumake
Everytime you take a walk,burst into
a sprintor lift a barbell off the ground,
a huge numberof intricately connectedandco-ordinated muscle actions take place. It feels
so natural that you never even think about it,
but every single move you make is changing
your body’s position on oneof several planes
andaxes. Here’s what you need to know.
THE PLANES ANDAXIS OF HUMANMOVEMENT
Thethreeplanes
1 Sagittal planeThispassesfromfront to rear, dividing
the body into right andleft sections.
2 Frontal planeAlso known as thelateral plane,this
passes from left to right at right angles
to thesagittalplane, dividingthe body
into front andback sections.
3 Transverse planeAlso known as thehorizontal plane,
thisdivides thebody into upper and
lower sections.
Thethreeaxes
1 FrontalaxisThispassesthrough thebody from right
to left at right angles to thesagittalplan.
2 SagittalaxisAlso known as thetransverseaxis,this
passes horizontally from front to rear
at right angles to thefrontal plane.
3 Vertical axisAlso known as thelongitudinal axis, this
passes from head to feet at right anglesto
the sagittal plane.
Transvepl
Sagittal
planeFrontalplane
Longitudinal
axis
Sagittal
axis
Frontal
axis
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ConcentricDuringconcentric contractionsthemuscle shortens
whilegeneratingforce.In general, concentricmuscle
actions are responsible for the‘lifting’partofanexercise,
suchas thebicepsshortening asyou lift a dumb-bell to
shoulderheight during abicepscurl.
MUSCLEACTIONSAll movement begins with a muscle contraction, which pulls
on a jointtomove your skeleton. These muscle contractions canbe
categorised into one of three distinct types
EccentricDuringeccentric contractions– usuallythe ‘lowering’
part ofanexercise – themuscle lengthensand isaround
tenper centstronger than it isduringconcentric
contractions. It is theseheavyeccentric loads thatcause
themaximumamountof damage toyourmuscles.It’sforthisreasonyoushouldalways loweraweightslowly
andunder control:notonlydoes thisminimise therisk
of injuryit alsomakeseach repmoreeffective.
IsometricDuring isometriccontractionsamusclegenerates
forcewithoutchanging length. Examples
includeyour entire abdominalregionduring
aplank,or themuscles ofthehandandwrist
whenyougripanobject. Althoughresearchby
NASA intopreventingmusclemassbreakdown
found isometriccontractionsaren’taseffective
for buildingandmaintainingmusclemass as
concentric andeccentric contractions, they
shouldstill formpartofyourworkout, especially
forabsandcorework.But, isometriccontractions
cancause a rapidrise inbloodpressure soshould
beavoided if youhaveaheart condition.
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Men’s Fitness28
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OBULDNMUC HOWMUSCLESGROW
Thesimplesciencebehindaddingmusclemass
Muscle growth is essentially
yourbodyresponding to
thestressofweight trainingbythinking, ‘thatwashard, I’d better
dosomethingabout itso it’s not as
difficultnexttime’.
Thisis becausewhenyouperform
weight-trainingexercises you
createmicroscopic tears inyour
muscles,andyour body’sresponse
to this ‘microtrauma’of themuscle
cells is toovercompensatebynot
just repairingthedamagedtissue
but addingmore. In thiswayyour
musclesbecomebigger andstronger
and sothe riskoffuturedamage is
minimised. Italsomeansyou shouldprogressivelyincreasetheweight
you lift, becauseyourmuscles
quicklyadapt todealwith thestress
towhichtheyhavebeenexposed.
It’s also thought that this damage
toyourmuscle fibres is thereason
for thesorenessandstiffness you
feel inyourmuscles in thedaysafter
a toughworkout,knownasdelayed
onsetmusclesoreness, orDOMS.
Andit’swhyyou shouldleaveat
least48hoursbetweensessions that
targetthesamemuscle group.
If you trainagainbefore yourmuscleshave beenrepairedand
rebuiltyouwon’t beasstrongand
you runthe risk of injuringyourself.
AnatomyofamuscleHere’swhatyourmuscles aremadeof
Muscles are constructedof bundles of fibrescontained inprotectivesheaths,called fascia,
whichare thenbundled together. Thebiggestbundleisthemuscle itself. Thenextbundles in line are thefascicles,whichcontain the long,single-celledmuscle fibres.Musclefibres arethensub-divided intomyofibrils,whicharedividedagain intobundlesofmyofilaments,madeupfromchains of sarcomeres.
1 EPIMYSIUMA layer of connectivetissue that encases theentire muscle.
2 ENDOMYSIUMA layer of connective tissuethat covers the muscleibres and also containscapillaries (tiny bloodvessels) and nerves.
3 PERIMYSIUMA layer of connective tissuethat bundles together
between ten to severahundreds of individuamuscle ibres into fasc
4 FASCICLEA bundle of individual
muscle ibres.
5 MYOFILAMENThe smallest ibre bun
in your muscles.
6 MUSCLEFIBRIndividual muscle ibrcome in two main typ
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type 1 or slow-twitch,
which are best suited
to endurance because
they are slow to fatigue;
and type 2 or fast-twitch,
which are suited to fast,
explosive movements
and quickly fatigue.
7 BLOODVESSELPart of the circulatory
system, blood vessels
come in three types:
arteries, which transport
oxygenated blood
away from the heart;
veins, which transport
deoxygenated blood and
back to the heart; and
capillaries, the smallest
blood vessels, which
enable the exchange
of nutrients and waste
products between the
blood and tissues.
8 TENDONStrong, connective
tissue that connects
muscles to bone.
1Thewarm-upAn increased heart ratepumps blood to yourmuscles, warming them
up and allowing them to extendfully. It also supplies musclefibres with oxygen.
2LoadingthemuscleAtthe start of the repyour muscles are under
load andstretched.As a result
your heart pumps more bloodinto the protective sheaths thatsurround the muscle fibres,supplying oxygen and nutrientsto these fibres.
3SparkingyournervoussystemWhen you wantto liftthe weight yourcentral
nervous system relays this factto thenerves contained in thesheaths protecting the musclefibres. This in turn tells the
musclefibres to contract,and solift theweight. If you’redoingtheexercise correctly, your musclesactivate in a particular sequence
and your central nervous systemadaptsto this. As you repeat theworkout over time, yournervesget more efficient,so you candomore reps or lift more weight.
4ChemicalreactionsAdenosinetriphosphate (ATP)
is the immediate energysource for muscle contraction.It is broken down within
thebody’s cells to releaseenergy. The cells’ creatine,phosphate and glycogenreserves are also convertedinto ATP. This process createslactic acid as a by-product.
5FeelingtheburnOnce glycogen storesin the cells havebeendepleted and lactic
acid has built up, themusclecan’t work efficiently, so youneed to rest.While you rest,
aerobic (oxygen-based) musclerespiration occurs, convertinglactic acid back into glycogen togiveyou energy for thenext set.
6Successful failureAs you reachfailure onyour last set, your fast-twitch muscle fibres
become completely fatigued.Microscopictears (‘microtears’)are created in the myofilaments,thesmallest fibre bundles inyour muscles.
7
RepairandgrowthThefirst way yourmuscles start to grow
is through the post-workout repair process.Your
body repairs the microtears by adding the amino acidsactin and myosin to themyofilaments, which also causesthemto growin size. The bodyis unable to grow additionalmuscle cells, however, so growthis limited by thenumber of cellsthat you have. Another effectof intense workouts is that yourmuscles adapt to storemoreglycogen,so that there will be
more energy on hand for thenext workout. This alsohas thehappy side effect of making themuscles increase in size slightly.
HowmusclesworkWhathappens toyourmuscleswhile youworkout andrest? Theseare the key
stages in theprocessofbreaking downandrebuildingmuscle fibres
12
3
4
68
5
7
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Men’s Fitness30
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OBULDNMUC WEIGHTLIFTING GLOSSARY
Here’swhat thosekeyweighttraining termsactuallymean
AnabolicA metabolicphase duringwhich
nutrientsfrom yourdiet, specifically
protein,aresynthesised byyour
body and turned into muscle tissue.
Atrophy
Muscle atrophy is thewastingawayof muscletissue leading toa
decreasein muscle mass,typically
dueto inactivity.
CatabolicTheoppositeto anabolic,this the
process bywhichtissueis broken
downandused asenergy.
ConcentricThe portion ofa liftwherethe
muscle shortens under tension –for example, theraising phase of
a bicepscurl.
DOMSDelayedOnset Muscle Soreness.
Thisis the dull, acheor painin a
muscle, accompaniedby soreness,
tenderness andstiffness that is
typicallyfelt24 to 72hoursafter
strenuousexercise. It is a symptom
ofmusculardamage caused by
eccentricmovements.
Dumb-bellOne ofthe bestknowntypes offree
weight, dumb-bells canbe used to
addextra resistance to almost every
exercise, typicallybyholding one
in eachhand.
EccentricThe portion ofa liftwhere the
muscle lengthensunder tensionforexample, the loweringphase
ofa bicepscurl.
EZ-barA typeofbarbell witha series of
kinks in themiddle designedto
putless pressure onthewrists,
forearms andelbows.
FailurePerforminga setofexercises un
you’reunable to completea sing
extrarep.
FormThetechniqueused when
performing an exercise.
FreeweightsAny type ofweight training
equipment usedto increasemu
size andstrength. Most commonexamples includedumb-bells,
barbells and kettlebells.
HypertrophyMuscle hypertrophy is the grow
inthe sizeof yourmuscleandis
Fixedbarbells
Dumb-bells
EZ-bar
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SupercompensationPeriod of adaptation following atough workout whenyour bodyrecovers and gets stronger. Correctlytimed training, recovery thentraining again willresult in increasesin musclesize andstrength.
SupersetTwo exercises performed back-to-
back with no rest in between.
VolumeVolume is theamount of sets andreps you do for an exercise, a musclegroup, or a workout. Increasingtraining volume is (generally)good for hypertrophy, but it’s alsoa common cause of overtraining.
or snatch. A full-length bar weighs20kg. Fixed barbells don’t spin, so
they’re better for moves using lighterweight.
OvertrainingWhen over exertion leads to injury,muscle strain or fatigue.
RepOnecomplete movement of a givenexercise. Abbreviation of repetition.
ResistancemachinesThese allow you to target specificmuscles in a pre-determined pathof movement. Favoured by novicesand bodybuilders, machines reducethe risk ofinjurybecauseof their setrange of motion, butthey don’t workyour small, vital stabilising muscles.
RestTheperiod of recovery time in
between sets and exercises.
SetA number of reps performedconsecutively without rest. Canvaryfrom one rep to more than 20,depending entirely on training goals.
SmithmachineA weight-training frame comprisinga barbell that slides up and down ona fixed plane of motion. You lowerthe barbell on toa series of hooks ontheframeto stop it moving, meaning
you can lift heavy weights withouta squatter. Normally used for squatsand bench presses.
SquatrackA frame used toholda weighted
barbell. Unlike a Smith machine, the
barbell isn’t connected to the frameso you can moveit through more
thanone plane of motionand haveto use more muscles to keep it stable.
SpotterSomeone who assists you with a lift,especially towards theend of a set,to ensure you cancomplete eachrep safely.
caused when the constituent cellsof muscletissueincreasein size
as a resultof a stimulus, suchasweight training.
IntensityTheintensity of any set you performis determined by the weight you’relifting and expressedas a percentageof your one-rep max.
KettlebellOriginating fromRussia, these cast-iron balls of different weights have
a handleon top so you can gripthem with one ortwo hands whileperforming different exercises.
RangeofmotionThefull extentor range of a muscle’smovement. Performing lifts throughyour muscles’ full range of motionisimportant in muscle growth.
One-repmaxThemaximum amountof weightyou canlift once with correctform.A good methodfor measuring yourabsolute strength.
OlympicbarbellTheOlympicbarbell is usedfor allmannerof lifts. They havethick‘sleeves’ for theweights to slot on to,whichmeans they can spin whenyou’redoing lifts such as theclean
Kettlebells
Squat rack
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OBULDNMUC MUSCLEQ&A
No-nonsenseanswerstothefundamental fitnessquestions
Q I’ve failedtoadd
musclein thepast.
Whywill itworknow?
AIf your efforts have
been unsuccessful in
the past ithas nothing to
dowith your body being
fundamentallyresistant to
exerciseand everything
to dowith your approach.
In other words,you
haven’t hada focusedplan
so you’venot setrealistic,
achievable goals, andyou
haven’t beeneating the
rightfoods. Anyone can
make positive changes totheway they look,butnot
overnight. Going tothe
gym onceor twice a week
won’t giveyou a radical
transformation, especially
if you don’t workhardor
aren’teating well.
Q CanI turnmybody
fatintomuscle?
AFat andmuscle are
twototallydifferent
types of tissueso it’simpossibleforoneto turn
into theother. Muscleis
activetissuethat burns
calories,while fattissue
storesexcessenergy.
When you train hard
you burn away fat and
build muscle, givingan
appearancethatonehas
turned into theother, but
this isnot the case.
Q Howoftendo I needtoworkout?
ALess frequentlythan
you might think.
Andit’s certainly notthe
case that more is better.
That’s because it’s when
you’re recoveringthat
increasesto your muscle
size andstrength take
place. If you don’t takerecoversufficientlyyou
won’t see improvements.
It’s notjust your muscles
that need time to recover;
yournervoussystemis
workinghard to recruit
yourmuscles,something
it’s not used todoing, so it
alsoneedstimeto recover.
Q Howlongshould
eachworkoutlast?
A Theperfect workoutshould take less
than anhour tocomplete,
includingwarm-up, warm-
down andstretching.
Research suggests that
levels of thegrowth
hormonetestosterone
peak around 45 minutes
into a workoutand
thenquicklysubside
as levels of cortisol, the
stress hormonethat
breaksdownmuscle
tissueanddamagescells,rise.So keep workouts
shortandeffective.
Q Docrunchesbuild
a six-pack?
AYou canperform
hundredsof crunches
everyday andhave the
strongestabsin theworld
but if they’reunder a
layer of fat then you’renot
going tosee them. And if
you’retrying to burn fat,crunches are just about
theworst moveyou could
choose. In fact, you’d have
todoabout500,000 of
themto burn 1kg offat.
That’s aboutfour weeks
of solidcrunching.
Q Aremachinesbetter
thanfreeweights?
AResistancemachines
havetheirplacein a
gym: they’re a great way
for beginners to learn
movement patterns
without therisk of
injury, andtheyallow
experienced trainersto
isolate specificmuscles
to lift more weight. But
because the movement
pattern is restricted, they
won’t work thestabilising
muscles that are soimportant in staying
injury free. Usingfree
weightsmay requiremore
skill,butit will recruit
thosestabilisingmuscles
andbetter prepare your
body forother activities,
especially sports.
Q How
quickly
willI see
results?
AEven with
the helpof
thisbook,don’t
expect overnight
success.You need
to lift heavyweights
regularly to stimulatethe
muscle intogrowing,eat
a clean diet fullofhigh-
quality proteinandcarbs
andget plentyof sleep. It’s
a big commitment.
Q Aren’t squatsbadfor
myknees?
APerformed incorrectly,
any moveis
dangerous, butsquats
have a particularlybad
reputation.Buta correct
squat– in whichyour
feetareshoulder-wid
apart, andyourkneesstay in line with your
toes – places emphasi
onthequads, glutes
andhamstrings, and
noton any joints. This
can reduce therisk of
injury bystrengtheni
themuscles and
supportingtissues
around theknee joint
Q
Arelighterweigh
best for toning?
A‘Toning’is oneof t
mostpopular wo
in theexerciseworld.
isalso one ofthe mos
redundant. You can’t
‘tone’ a muscle, only b
itormaintain it,while
strippingawayfat to g
ita more promine
appearance.S
when peopl
they want
‘toneup’ th
actuallymthattheyw
toaddmus
lose fat,ora
of both.
Q Howeffectivear
bodyweightmov
AIf you’renew to
resistancetrainin
or returningfrom inju
bodyweight movesar
theperfectpreparatio
for heavier lifts.Theyalsobe usedeffective
aspart of supersetsor
bodyweight circuits, a
are far betterat buildi
strengthandstability
your jointsand coreth
resistancemachines.
FITTIPIt’s best tohave
a check upwitha GPbefore you begin training.
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BUILDAFOUNDATION
36 Why build a strong foundation?
38 Bodyweight moves42 Core strength
46 Pre-workout warm-up
48 Post-workout stretches
50 Assess your tness
RULETWO
C T NTSC S
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36 Men’s Fitness36
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Men
Whydoyou
needastrongfoundation?Createasolidbasetomakeaddingmuscleeasy
Building muscle is like building ahouse. Lay the right foundations
and you can build a strong, stablestructure that will withstand whateveris thrown at it. But if construction beginswithout a solid base then you’ll end upwith a weak, unbalanced frame that isat risk of falling apart.
The good news is that getting asolid foundation for your muscle-building mission is easy.
This chapter explains how, throughperforming bodyweight exercises(those that rely on your own weightas resistance, such as press-ups), coreexercises (which target your abdominal
muscles, including your six-pack), andproper warming-up, cooling-down
and stretching, you can lay some solidfoundations that will make putting
on hard, lean muscle far easier.Why? Because bodyweight moves
target the small, but vitally importantstabilising muscles that make your joints stable, mobile and healthy, whilea strong core supports your torso andassists the transfer of power fromyour legs to upper body – crucialforthe successful completion of almostall standing exercises – especially theshoulder press, deadlift and squat –without injury. The more stable yourbody, the heavier you’ll be able to liftand the faster you’ll pack on muscle. So
if you want a body that’s more Taj Mahalthan Leaning Tower of Pisa, read on.
RULETWO BUILDAFOUNDATION
Tomaster the
most important
bodyweight
moves,
turnover.
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SEVNR
OBULDNMUC
Men’s Fitness38
BODYWEIGHTMOVES
Masterbodyweight
movestobuildmuscl
preventinjuryand
generateexplosive
power
Ifyour aim is topackonmuscu
size andstrength, itcanbe temp
tohead straight for theweightsand
startdoingbenchpresses andsquats
ratherthanpress-ups, lungesandoth
bodyweight exercises. And that’sbeca
most peopleassume that theyare too
tobeeffective inbuildingmuscle.
Butbodyweightmovesaregreat fo buildinga strongandstable foundatio
muscleandthe fact thatyoucandoth
anywhereandat any timeis justone o
theirmanybenefits.Thesemoves can
reduceyourrisk of injury, they’rea pe
way towarmupandthey’ll improvey
ability togoheavierwhenyoudofina
hit theweights.
FIGHTINGFIT
Takepress-ups. They’regreatat target
thesmallmuscles of thedelicate shou
joint. Strengthenthese stabilisingmus
andyou’llbeable topushheavier andharder on thebenchpress.
Butdon’t just take ourword for it.
Manyathletes incombat sportsmake
bodyweightmovesakeycompomen
of theirtrainingprogrammes.
Any formof trainingdonebyboxer
andMMA fightersto primetheirmusc
for explosivespeedand strength isgo
enoughforus.For theseathletes,gett
a rippedbodyis justa bonus.
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Men
TARGET
Chest
Triceps
Shoulders
TARGET
Chest
Shoulders
Triceps
TARGET
Chest
Shoulders
Triceps
Core
Theultimate
upper-body test,
press-ups requireyour
chest, shouldersand
tricepstoworkhard to
lower, thenlift, your torso
fromthefloor.
This twistonthe
classicmove
requiresupper-bodyco-
ordinationandastrong
core torotateupwards.
Havingtoclap
inbetweenpress-
upsmeansyouhaveto
pushupfromthefloor
quickly, turningit into
anexplosivemuscle-
buildingmove.
HOWTODOIT
Start with yourhands shoulder-
width apart andbody straight.
Lower yourselfuntil your elbowsreach 90˚, thenpress back up.
HOWTODOIT
Start in press-upposition and lowerchest to ground.
Press up powerfullyand at the top ofthe move lift onearm o the groundwhile twisting yourtorso until that armpoints to ceiling.
Lower back downbefore repeatingon the other side.
HOWTODOIT
Start in press-upposition and lowerchest to ground,keeping elbowsclose to your side.
Press back up
powerfully so thatyour hands leavethe loor. Quicklyclap them together.
Land back downand descend intothe next rep.
PRESSUP
TPRESSUP
CLAPPRESSUP
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OBULDNMUC
Men’s Fitness40
TARGET
TricepsShoulders
TARGET
Quads
Hams
Glutes
TARGET
Quads
Hams
Glutes
Calves
Masteringthe
correctformof
a squatmeansyou’ll
makequickerprogress
whenaddingadditional
weightusinga barbell
ordumb-bells.
Jumpingturns
the squatintoa
powerful plyometric
movethatfiresup
yourfast-twitchmuscles
fibresandgetsyour
heart pumping.
Buildmassonthe
backofyourarms
withthis surprisingly
toughmove.
HOWTODOIT
Stand tall with feet
shoulder-width
apart and toespointing slightly
outwards.
Keeping your
core braced and
a natural arch in
your back, squat
down until your
thighs are parallel
to the loor before
pushing back up
through your heels.
HOWTODOIT
Stand tall with feet
shoulder-width
apart.
Squat down, then
push back up
powerfully so your
feet leave the loor.
As you land
descend straight
back into a squatand repeat.
HOWTODOIT
Grip the edge of
a bench with
your back and
legs straight.
Slowly lower your
body straightdown, keeping
your elbows
pointing back
throughout, before
pressing back
up powerfully.
SQUAT
JUMPSQUAT
BENCHDIPS
BODYWEIGHTMOVES
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Men
TARGET
Shoulders
Triceps
TARGET
Quads
Hamstrings
Glutes
TARGET
Adductors
(inner
thighs)
Anotherclassic
move that requires
power, balanceand
co-ordination.
Theoften-ignored
musclesofyour
inner thighsarevital
forturningmovements,
both in thegymandon
thesportspitch.
Thebestway
toworkyour
shoulderswithout
weights, thismovealso
requiresastrongcore
andgoodco-ordination.
HOWTODOIT
Stand tall with feet
apart, chin up, core
braced and naturalarch in your back.
Take a step forward
and lower your
body by bending
both knees to 90°.
Ensure your front
knee doesn’t go
past your foot.
Push back o your
front foot to move
back to the start.
HOWTODOIT
Stand with feet
close together, with
core braced.
Take a big step to
one side, keeping a
natural arch in your
back and torso
upright. Bend the
other knee to lower
your body, keeping
that knee in linewith your foot.
HOWTODOIT
Start with your feet
on a bench and
hands shoulder-
width apart on
loor, so your body
forms an invertedV-shape.
Slowly lower
your body until
your face almost
touches the loor
before pushing
back up powerfully.
LUNGE
LATERALLUNGE
INVERTEDSHOULDERPRESS
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Buildasolid
midsection
andreap
therewards
Asolid coreism
than just about
havingan impressive
six-pack. In fact, havin
a stomachofsteeloffe
farmorebenefits toyo
muscle-buildingambi
than just looking good
That’s because a stron
stablecoremeans you
moreeffectively trans
powerbetweenyouru
andlowerbody – vital
lifting heavyweights –
well asprovidinga sol
base foralmostevery
upper-body lift,especi
thosethat involve liftin
aweightoverhead,suc
as theshoulderpresso
overheadsquat.
Here areeight kit-fre
moves thattargetyour
abdominals, obliquesallthe other importan
deep-lyingmuscles th
makeupyourcore.
CORESTRENGTH
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TARGETObliques
TARGET
Upperabs
TARGET
Lowerabs
The classic move
fortargeting your
upperabs – and still
one of thebest.
Place the emphasis
on thelower part of
your absby hitting them
from a different angle.
Hit yourabs from
the side to target
your obliques – the
muscles that frame
your six-pack.
HOWTODOIT
Lie on a mat with
your knees bent at
90° and your feetlat on loor. Place
your ingers by
yourtemples.
Contract your abs
to curl your chest
towards your
knees, keeping
your lower back on
mat. Squeeze your
abs at the top then
return to the start.
HOWTODOIT
Lie with your arms
by your sides with
knees bent at 90°
and feet lat.
Contract your abs
to lift your hips o
the mat, then curl
your knees towards
your chest, keeping
your knees at 90°.
Pause then slowlylower your legs
back to the start.
HOWTODOIT
Lie on your side
with one arm in
front of body and
the other bent so
your ingers touch
your temples.Crunch up
sideways and hold
for a second at the
top of the move
and then lower
slowly back to the
start.
CRUNCH
REVERSECRUNCH
OBLIQUECRUNCH
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CORESTRENGTH
TARGET
Abs
TARGET
Core
TARGET
Core
Obliques
Build astrong
linkbetweenyour
upperand lowerbody.
Holdyourbody
straight tobuild
apowerful coreand
improveyourposture.
Anadvanced
move that requires
flexibilityaswellasa
strongcore.
HOWTODOIT
Hold your body
in a straight line
from head to heelswith your elbows
beneath your
shoulders, feet
together and face
looking down.
Hold the position
for as long as you
can without letting
your hips sag.
HOWTODOIT
With your elbow
directly beneath
your shoulder,
hold your body in
a straight line from
head to feet.
Hold the position
for as long as you
can without letting
your hips sag,
then repeat on
the other side.
HOWTODOIT
Lie lat on your
back with your
arms behind your
head, and your feet
together.
Contract your abs
so your hands andfeet meet over your
stomach. Keep
your legs straight
and squeeze you
abs at top of move
then return to the
start.
PLANK
SIDEPLANK
JACKKNIFE
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TARGET
Lowerabs
Obliques
Keep thefocus
onyour lower
absandobliqueswiththisadvancedmove.
Dothemquickly –
but ina controlled
manner– toreallyworkyourcoremuscleshard.
HOWTODOIT
Lie lat on your
back with your
arms out to the
sides and your
legs straight up in
the air. Keep your
shoulders and
upper back on the
mat throughout.
Twist over to one
side, keeping your
legs straight. Go
as far as you can
to the side without
letting your feethit the loor.
Reverse back to
the start and twist
the other way.
Lie lat on your back. Crunchup and bring your right elbow
to meet your left knee. Repeat
on alternate sides.
BICYCLES
HOWTODOIT
LOWERBODYRUSSIANTWIST
TARGET
Abs
Obliques
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PREWORKOUTWARMUP
Warmupbeforeevery
workouttoprepareyo
bodyandprevent inju
Aproperwarm-up isvital befor
doinganyweight training.If tim
is short,don’t be tempted toskip the
warm-upandgo straight toyourwork
because coldmuscles cangeteasily
damaged.A fewminutes spentona
warm-upcanprevent days lostwhile
recovering frominjury.
Yourwarm-upshouldstartwith som
light cardiovascularexercise, suchas
running, rowing orcycling.Thiswillm
your heartbeat faster, pumpingoxyge
andnutrients toyourmuscles,andel
your body’s core temperature.Warm
musclesaremore elastic thancoldon
soyou canworkthem through awide
rangeofmotionwith fewer injuries.
After thecardioyou thenneed to ta
yourmusclesdirectlywithdynamic
stretches.Thesediffer fromstatic
stretches(see next page) in that you a
moving asyou stretch outthemuscle
trick is tostart verygently andthen sl
increasetherangeofmotionyouuse
witheachrepetition.Thisprepares yo
musclesandjointsfor theworkto comFinally, before youbeginanylifting
exercise, performthemovementswit
minimalweight to teachyourmuscle
how to respondwhenyoudotheexe
withheavierweights.
Whatevermethod
ofcardioyou
choose, keepthepace
gentleandconstant.Bytheendoften
minutesyou
shouldbe
sweatingand
puffingabit,but
notoutofbreath.
WARMINGUP
Cardio
10minutes
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COOLINGDOWNIt’s important after your inal set to cool down before beginning your post-workout stretches (see next page).Cooling down is the process of gradually reducing your heart rate from its elevated state during the mainpart of your session and also slowly bringing down your core body temperature. Spend ive to ten minutesperforming some very gentle cardio, gradually reducing the intensity every minute to transition your bodyback to its resting state.
DYNAMICSTRETCHES
LUNGEWITH
REVERSEFLYE
Step forward while
stretching your
arms to the sides.
Keep your body
upright.
Lunge lower with
each rep.
ALTERNATING
SPLITDEADLIFT
Step forward with
one foot and lean
forwards from the
hips.
Keep your back
straight.Lower your hands
down your shins a
bit further each time,
before pushing back
to the start.
Repeat with other leg.
LATERAL
LUNGEWITH
TWIST
Step to the side
with both feet
pointing forward.
Twist your torso
in the direction of
your leading foot.
Bend your knee
a bit further with
each rep.
SQUATTO
OVERHEAD
REACH
Stand with feet
shoulder-width
apart and back
straight.
Squat downand then reach
overhead as you
stand up.
Squat a bit lower
with each rep.
Afteryour cardio warm-up perform 10 reps of each of these moves
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POSTWORKOUTSTRETCHES
Stretchyourmusclesaftereachsessiontoimproveflexibility
Witha staticstretchyou
hold a relaxedmuscleunder
tension.This helps lengthen themuscle,whichwillhave contracted
afterweight training,andprovides
severalbenefits.First, itwill help
withflexibility, so you’ll be able
toworkyourmusclesacrossa
wider rangeofmotion, leading to
biggermusclegains. But stretching
alsohelps reduce injuriesasyour
muscles andtendonsare less likely
to tearwhentheyare relaxed.Stretching also improvesblood
flow toyourmuscles,helping to
flushouttoxins,meaningyou’ll be
readyforyour nextworkout sooner.
Andstretchingcan also aidposture,
because tensemusclescanpull
your spine,shoulders andhipsout
ofalignment, leading toa stoop
lookandlowerbackpain.
Yourmuscles need tobe fullywarmedupbeforeyouperform
staticstretches, sonever dothe
atthestartofaworkout. To avo
injury, don’tpull toohardwhen
youstretch,anddon’t
‘bounce’ themuscle
under tension.
CALVES
Push down on your rear heel.
HIPFLEXORS
Keep your body upright and push
your hips forward.
HAMSTRINGS
Lean forward at the hips with a
straight back.
ADDUCTORS
Press your knees apart gently with
your elbows.
QUADS
Pull on your ankle and push you
hips forward.
GLUTES
Gently pull on your knee.
STATICSTRETCHES
Holde
stretch f
to30sec
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CHEST
Interlock your ingers and raise your
hands behind you with straight arms.
ABS
Lift your shoulders high o
the loor.
TRICEPS
Point ingers of one arm down your
back and pull gently on that elbow.
UPPERBACK
Interlock your ingers and raise your
hands in front with straight arms.
LATS
Press your shoulder towards
the loor.
BICEPS
Press your arms back while twisting
your hands so your thumbs point
behind you.
LOWERBACK
Keep your shoulders
lat on the loor.
ASSESSYOURFITNESS
Now you know the mainbodyweight moves and how
to warm up and warm down,it’s time to test your current
itness and strength levels.
Turn over to begin.
TRAPS
Pull gently on your head.
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ASSESSYOURFITNESS
Takethese
tests, thenus
our tipsto
improve
yourscores
Doingthese sixt
isuseful for two
reasons.First, theywil
youa goodidea ofyou
current levelof fitness
they showyou inwhic
areasyouareweakera
needto improve.That
whyeach test hassom
simple ‘how to improv
tipsincluded.Second,
theywillgiveyoua set
concretenumbersaga
whichyoucanmeasu
yourprogress.Sowhe
you revisit these tests
amonthortwoyou’ll s
exactlyhowmuchfitte
andstronger youhave
become.
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Men
Thehumblepress-
upisanexcellent
testof upper-body
strengthandendurance.
THETEST
Perform as many press-ups
as you can, following the
correct form set out on p39.
The test ends as soon as
you can no longer complete
a rep with correct form.
HOW TO
IMPROVE
Aim to do three or four sets
of max reps, with around
60 seconds’ rest between
sets. You can also vary
the tempo: come down
slowly and explode up,
for example, and work up
to clap press-ups or even
slapping your chest as your
hands come o the loor to
build explosive power.
Themaximum
weightyoucan
liftforonerep isthe
keyindicatorof lower bodystrength.Seep58
forhowtoperformthe
squatcorrectly.
THETEST
Warm up. Ideally, do the
test in a squat rack, not
on a Smith machine. Aim
for four attempts, with
three to ive minutes’
rest in between,
increasing the weight
between 2.5kg and 10kg
each time. Your scoreis the heaviest weight
you can lift with perfect
form divided by
your bodyweight.
HOW TO
IMPROVE
You need to learn to sit
back into the squat, keep
the weight distributed
over your heels and don’t
let your knees drift too
far forwards. It’s also
worth working on yourweak points – lower back,
glutes and hamstrings.
Try good mornings or
Romanian deadlifts.
PRESSUPS
ONEREPMAXSQUAT
RESULTSSCORE LEVEL
40+ Excellent3040 Very good2030 Good1020 AverageBelow 10 Poor
RESULTSSCORE LEVEL
1.52 Excellent
1.251.49 Very good
11.24 Good
0.750.99 Average
Under 0.75 Poor
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ASSESSYOURFITNESS
Thisisoneof
thebestways to
evaluate core strength.
THETEST
Keep your body in a
straight line from head to
heels with your elbows
beneath your shoulders,
feet together and face
down. Hold as long as
you can without letting
your hips sag.
HOW TO
IMPROVE
Practice makes perfect
for the plank, so hold
the position for as long
as you can. Rest for 30
seconds, then hold it
again. Repeat this three
or four times a week and
see your time soar.
PLANK
Your one-rep
max onthe
bench is a key indicator
of totalupper-bodystrength.See p60 for
how to perform the
move correctly.
THETEST
With an empty bar, lie on
the bench with feet on
loor. Lower the bar until
it touches your chest
then press back up. Do
ten reps as a warm-up.
Gradually increase the
weight, performing
one or two reps at each
weight, until you reachyour one-rep max.
Divide your heaviest lift
by your bodyweight for
your score.
HOW TO
IMPROVE
Strengthen your
shoulders and triceps
with overhead presses
and dips.
ONEREPMAXBENCHPRESS
RESULTSSCORE LEVEL
1.50+ Excellent1.251.49 Very good11.24 Good0.75-.099 AverageUnder 0.75 Poor
TIME LEVEL
2min+ Excellent
90119sec Very good
6089sec Good
4059sec Average
Less than 40sec Poor R E S U L T S
Topredict
yourone-rep
max, seethe
tableon p61
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YourVO2max
represents the
maximumcapacityof your bodyto transportanduse
oxygenin agiven time.
THE TEST
Without sophisticated kit,a basic way of estimatingyour VO2 max is the Cooper12-minute run. Set up atreadmill with a 1˚ gradientto mimic running on theroad. Warm up, then aim torun the farthest distanceyou can in 12 minutes.
After 12 minutes, use theequation VO2 = (metres run- 505)/45 to calculate yourVO2 max. So, if you ran 2.4kmyour score would be (2,400-505)/45 = 42.
HOWTO IMPROVE
Try doing continuous aerobic
training at a heart rate of7085 per cent of yourmaximum (MHR) for 30 to 60minutes, three to ive timesa week. To take your itnessup a level, you need to getup to 8090 per cent of MHRfor three minutes, with oneor two minutes recoverybetween intervals.
VO2MAX
RESULTSV02 MAX LEVEL
70 or over Excellent6069 Very good5059 Good4049 AverageUnder 40 Poor
It’s a good indicator
of theflexibilityofyourhamstringsand lower
back,withoutwhichyou’ll
probablypulla hamstring
sprintingorendupin pain
fromsquats.
THETEST
Warm up with some dynamic
stretching before you start.
Mark a straight line on the
loor as your baseline. Mark
another line perpendicular
to this as your measuring
line – this is where your ruleror tape measure goes. The
point where the two intersect
is 0cm. Put your feet on the
baseline, 2030cm apart.
Clasp your thumbs together
and slowly reach forwards,
keeping your ingers on the
measuring line as you leanforward. Measure how far
past the baseline you can
reach. If you can’t reach past
your feet, then you’ll have a
negative reading.
HOWTO IMPROVE
It’s extremely important to
warm up – any cardio that
increases the heart rate –
for at least ten minutes
beforehand and then stretch
your muscles. However, if
you’re stretching as part ofyour workout, always do it
afterwards. Research has
shown that doing static
stretches before strength
work can reduce
your strength levels.
SITANDREACH
FLEXIBILITYTEST DISTANCE LEVEL
15cm or more Excellent1014cm Very good
09cm Good-50cm AverageLess than -5cm Poor R
E S
U L T S
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USECOMPOUNDLIFTS
56 Why use compound lifs?
58 Squat
60 Bench press
62 Deadlif
64 Pull-up
66 Lunge68 Shoulder press
70 Bent-over row
72 Triceps dip
74 Clean
76 Snatch
RULETHREE
CON EN
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What’s thebig
dealaboutcompoundlifts?Masterthekeycompoundmovesto
addmusclesizeandstrengthfast
Let’s not beat around the bush: every
single one your of workouts should bebased around compound lifts.
We’ll explain why in a minute, butirstlet’sclear up what exactly a compound lift is. Putsimply, a compound lift is an exercise wherethere is movement at two or more diferent
joints. A good example would be the squat(movement at the hip and knee joints) orthe shoulder press (movement at the shoulderand elbow joints).
The other type of lift is an isolation move,where movement is limited to one joint only.Examples include a biceps curl (movementat the elbow joint only) or leg extension
(movement at the knee joint only).
CompoundinterestSo why should compound lifts formthe foundation of any muscle-buildingprogramme? Quite simply, because theyinvolve movement at more than one joint theyrequire multiple muscle groups to act at thesame time. Compound lifts are more-bang-for-buck moves because the more musclesinvolved, the heavier the weight you can lift,
and the bigger the weight you lift the bigger the
growth-hormone response.This hormone response is crucial. It means
that not only will you put on more muscle inthe areas you’ve recently trained, but you’ll alsosee beneits all over your body. That’s becausethe hormones responsible for muscle growthalso burn fat, so you’ll get bigger and leaneracross the board.
MaximumfatigueThat’s why biceps curls aren’t actually the bestexercise for building big biceps. It’s far moreefective to perform compound exercises, suchas bent-over rows or chin-ups, to really fatigue
your biceps by exposing them to the maximumamount of weight they can manage.
That’s not to say isolation moves don’t havea part to play, they do. For instance, they can bedeployed towards the end of your workout tospeciically isolate a muscle to cause additionalfatigue (see page 102). But the basis of eachsession should be the major compound lifts.This chapter details the ten most importantmoves in your muscle-building arsenal andhow you can usethemto add muscle fast.
RULETHREE USECOMPOUNDLIFTS
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SQUAT
Masterthisclassicmovetopackonmusclenot justonyour
legs,butalsoonyourupperbody
Thekingof thelifts,the squattargets thequads,glutes, hamstrings, coreandback,makingit
oneof themost important exercises – ifnotthemost
important– inyourmuscle-buildingarsenal.Although
your legsare theobvious target, squatscreatean
overall anabolicenvironment thattriggerstherelease
ofextratestosteroneandgrowthhormone in the
bloodstream.This notonlybenefitsyour legmuscles
butwill also helpbuildyourupperbodyandburn fat.
Rest the bar against the back
of your shoulders – not on
your neck – and hold the
bar with an overhand grip
wider than shoulder width.
Your feet should be shoulder-
width apart with your toes
pointing slightly outwards.
Slowly lower yourself down –
keeping your chest and chin
up while maintaining a natural
arch in your back. Keep the
weight on your heels, your
body upright and don’t let your
knees roll inwards or forwards.
Bring your body down until
your thighs are at least parallel
to the loor. The deeper you
can squat, the better.
Drive back up through your
heels. At the top push forward
with your hips and squeeze
your glutes to ‘reset’ into the
start position and repeat.
Howtodoit
Quads
HamstringsGlutes
Core
Back
Target
a
b
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Men
FITTIP
Don’t pointyour
toesoutwardstoomuch
because this increases
theloadon the knee joint,
whichputs you at
riskof injury.
FITTIP
Never holdyour
breathduring a heavylift. Instead thegeneralrule
isto breathe inas you lower
theweightandbreatheout
throughpursedlips
asyou lift theweight.
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OBULDNMUC BENCHPRESS
Thisbig liftwilladdmuscularsizeandstrengththeyourchest,
shouldersandarms
Thebenchpresshasalwaysbeen animportantandpopularmovebecause it
is thebestexercise fordevelopingupper-body
muscular size,powerandstrength. Mainly working
thepectoral,orchest,muscles,this exercises also
recruitsthe muscles atthefront of theshoulders
andbackof thearms,making ita firm favourite for
thosewantinga big, strongtorso.Alwayswarmup
thoroughly first withsomepress-upsthensome
benchpresseswithan emptybar.
Lie on the bench with
your feet on the loor,
directly beneath
your knees.
Your head, upper back
and glutes should be
lat against the bench.
Brace your core and
maintain a natural arch
in your back.
Hold the bar with an
overhand grip that is
wider than shoulder-
width apart.
Slowly lower the bar
to your chest, taking
your elbows out to
90°, until the bar is
almost touching the
middle of your chest or
just over your nipples.
Drive your feet
hard into the loor
and press the bar back
to the start position.
Howtodoit
Chest
Shoulders
Triceps
Target
a
b
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Men
EXAMPLE If you can lift 85kg for 5 reps,your predicted 1RM is 85 x 1.18 = 100kg
COEFFICIENTCOEFFICIENTTABLETABLE
REPS COEFFICIENT
2 1.07
3 1.12
4 1.155 1.18
6 1.21
7 1.24
8 1.27
9 1.30
10 1.33
PREDICTINGYOUR
ONEREPMAXIf you haven’t got a spotter, don’t want torisk a max lift, or have no idea what your
max should be, you can use the table
below to predict it. Just use a weight thatyou can do two to ten reps with for amax set, then multiply it by the value on
the right to get your predicted max.
FITTIP
A too-narrowgrip on the
barplaces greateremphasis
on thetriceps (backofyour
arms).A widergrip shiftsmorefocusonto yourchest,but this
positionmakes it harderto
achieve a full range
ofmotion.
FITTIP
Maintaincontrolof
theweight throughout the
movetokeep thefocus onyour
muscles. Bouncingthebarof
yourchest is notonlydangerous
butmeans you’re relying on
momentum, notmuscle.
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Men’s Fitness62
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OBULDNMUC DEADLIFT
This importantmoveallowsyoutoliftheavyandgrowserious
muscle–solongasyoudo it right.Here’show
Thedeadliftworkswonders onyour physique because somanyimportantmusclegroups
areinvolved in themove, specifically the legs, glutes
andback.Performedcorrectly, thislift isoneof the
best exercises fordevelopinga strongandsupportive
lowerback,andbecausesomanymuscles are
recruitedyou’ll beable to lift a lotof weight.Aswell
as themass-buildingbenefitsof thedeadlift, a strong
lowerbackandcorewill bebetterat stabilising your
upperbodyduringeveryothermoveyoudo, soyou’ll
be able to lift heavierduringotherexercises too.
Squat down and grip the
bar just outside your knees
with your core braced,
your shoulders retracted
and over the bar and your
back lat.
Use your legs to power the
initial lift, pushing down
through your heels.
Keep thebar close to
your body and, as itpasses your knees, push
your hips forward. Keep
your shoulders back
throughout the move.
QuadsHamstrings
Glutes
Back
Core
Howtodoit
Target
GETAGRIPDoyou findthatyour
grip is failingbefore
your legsandback
tocuteverydeadlift
setshort?Poorwriststrengthcanresult in
poorperformance inmany
big lifts, so try thebarbell
collargrip.Holda collar inonehand
andsqueeze it for two seconds before
releasing slowly. Do this tento
12 timesbeforeswappinghands.
a
b
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FITTIP
Keepyourcore
musclesbraced
throughout every single
repto keepyourupper-
bodystable andprevent
lower-backpain.
FITTIP
Startwith a light
barandmasterthe
correct deadlift form
beforegraduallyadding
moreweight asyou
becomestronger.
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Men’s Fitness64
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OBULDNMUC PULLUP
Raiseyourgamewiththisupper-bodymusclesculptor
Itmay technicallybea bodyweight
exercise, butthepull-up isoneof the
hardestmoves there is. That’sbecauseyou
haveto lift andcontrol yourentire body
weight againstgravity, so theloadonyour
muscles isveryhigh.This hasthehuge
advantageof buildinga strong,wideupper
back,whichhelps createtheV-shape torso
women love.Preventingyour legsfrom
swingingduringthis exercisealsomeans
that yourcoremuscles get a goodworkout.
Grasp the bar using
an overhand grip with
your hands wider than
shoulder-width apart.
The wider they are,
the harder the move
becomes.
Start from a dead
hang with your arms
fully extended.
Pull yourself up
by squeezing your
lats together.
Once your chin
is higher than your
hands, slowly lower
yourself back to the
start position.
Howtodoit
BackLats
Biceps
Core
Target
a b
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FITTIP
If you strugglewith
thismove, improveyour
strengthbyjumpingup to
thetopposition, then
loweringyourselfbackdown
very slowly. Jumpback to
thetop and repeat.
FITTIP
Althoughthey’resimilar
moves, theonediference
betweena pull-up anda chin-up
isthat for a pull-up you use an
overhandgrip, while for a chin-
upyou usean underhandgrip.
The lattermakes themoveeasierbecause theunderhand grip
uses thebicepsmore.
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Men’s Fitness66
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OBULDNMUC LUNGE
Buildstrong,powerfullegsandarockhardcorewiththistried
andtestedmusclebuilder
Whenbuildingstrong legsmostpeopleoverlooklunges in favourof squats, but lunging isoneof the
mostbasichumanmovement patterns.Lungeswork the
powerhouse lower-bodymuscles,suchas theglutes, quads,
hamstringsandcalves, butalso involve theadductors, hip
flexorsandmanyotherstabilisingmuscles – including
yourcore– thatneed tobe strongif you’regoingtomove
with speed,powerandco-ordination. Sonotonlyare they
great forbuildingmuscle, theyalsohavehugetransferable
benefit to almosteverysport.
Stand tall with a barbell resting on the
back of your shoulders. Point your
elbows behind you to retract your
shoulder blades and keep your back
upright and core braced throughout.
Take a big step forward but keep
your knee over your front foot and
not beyond it. Lower down until both
knees are bent at 90˚ before pushing
back o your front foot to return to
the start position.
Howtodoit
Glutes
Hamstrings
Quads
Calves
Core
Target
a b
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FITTIP
Tightness in themusclesof
your posteriorchain– upper back,
lower back, glutesand hamstrings –
can make lunging hardbecause
tightmuscles equalpoor lexibility
andthismoverequiresgood muscle
strengthand co-ordination.
Trystretching out these key
muscles andsee your
lungestrength soar.
FITTIP
Always warmup
thoroughly with
some bodyweight
lunges, thenslowly
increase the
weight.
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Men’s Fitness68
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OBULDNMUC SHOULDER PRESS
Developstrong andwideshoulderswith this
bulk-building upper-bodymove
Theshoulder press is a massivelyimportant lift for addingsize and
strength to your upper body. It mainly works
the front andmiddle deltoids – two of the
three major muscles that make up your
shoulders – butalso recruitsthose small,
but very important, stabilising muscles that
support the shoulder joint.Your triceps
become involved as you straightenyour
arms, whileyour coremust workhard
throughout to stabilise your torso. It’s a key
movefor creating wide shoulders andwill
help improve yourbench press.
With your feet shoulder-width
apart, position a bar on your
upper chest, gripping it with
hands just wider than shoulder-
width apart.
Keep your chest upright and
your core muscles braced.
Press the bar directly upwards
until your arms are fully
extended overhead.
During the lifting phase, keep
your core braced and don’t tilt
your hips forward.
Lower the bar back down to
your chest and repeat.
Shoulders
Triceps
How todo it
Target
a b
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FITTIP
Theshoulder is one
of themostcomplexjoints
inthe bodyandnotoneyou
want to injure. Always
thoroughly warmup the
muscles before attempting
any heavy lifts.
FITTIP
The irst rep willbe the
toughest because there’s
no bounce efectfrom the
elasticity of themuscles, but
don’t be putof. Useyourlegs
to help initiate theirstrep
andthe rest will
be a littleeasier.
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Men’s Fitness70
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OBULDNMUC BENTOVERROW
It’s a greatmove forbuilding a big upper back, but the techniqu
canbe tricky.Here’s how todoit right
Oftenoverlookedbymany, thebent-over row isavitalmovethatwill help forge a strongupper
back. If youspendmostof yourworkout timeon
yourchestandneglectyourback then this canlead
toamuscular imbalance that bringsyourshoulders
forward.Not only does this notlookgood, italso
increasesyour riskof injury.
That’swhy thebent-overrow is so important. It
works theoppositemuscle groupto thebenchpress,
specificallythepowerhousemusclesof theupper
back – traps, lats, rhomboidsandreardeltoids– and
thebiceps also assistthe lift,whileyourabsmust be
involved tokeepyour torsostraight andstable.
Grip the bar with an
overhand grip just
wider than shoulder-
width apart.
Stand with your
core braced, your
back straight and
your shoulder
blades retracted.
Bend your knees
slightly and lean
forward from the hips,
not the waist.
Pull the bar up to your
lower sternum, fully
retracting your shoulder
blades to allow the bar to
come up to your chest,
then lower the bar slowly
to the start.
How todo it
TargetUpper backBiceps
Core
Lats
a
b
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FITTIP
Ifyouwant toshiftthe
emphasisof thismove
onto yourbiceps
useanunderhand
grip on thebar.
FITTIP
If you’restrugglingwith the
weightdon’t shrugyour
shouldersandround your back
because thistakes theemphasis
away fromthe targetmuscles.
It’s farbetter to lowerthe
weight andmaintain
correct form.
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Men’s Fitness72
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OBULDNMUC TRICEPSDIP
Buildbigarmswith this surprisingly toughbodyweightmove
Whenwanting tobuild big armsitmaybe
temptingto favourbicepsmovesover thoseexercises that focuson thetriceps,but this isn’t the
rightapproach.That’sbecause the tricepsmakeup
abouttwo-thirdsofyourupper armmusculature,
soyoucan’t afford to ignore thismuscleif youwant
toadd size. Dipsare oneofthebestmoves totarget
all threepartsof thetricepsmuscle, aswell asbeing
great forworkingthe lower chest, shouldersand
yourcore,whichyoumust keep tight toprevent
yourlowerbodyswinging.
Grip parallel bars,
keeping your
body upright.
With your elbows
pointing straight
back, lower your
body as far down as
you can comfortably
go without stressing
your shoulders.
Keep your core
braced and don’tswing your legs
for momentum.
Push back up
strongly to return
to the start.
How todo it
Target
TricepsChest
Shoulders
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FITTIP
Tightnessor poorlexibility
in theshoulder jointwill afect
yourabilityto dip, sodosome
mobilitywork. Rounded
shoulders – causedby doingtoomuch chestworkat theexpense
ofbackwork– can alsolimit your
dipdepth, sodon’t neglect your
upperbackmuscles.
FITTIP
Aswith thepull-up,
if you are struggling to
manageyourbodyweight
thenjumpto the top ofthemove before slowly
loweringyourselfdownto
buildupstrength.
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Men’s Fitness74
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OBULDNMUC CLEAN
This power-buildingmovebuilds strengthand
stability fromtop totoe
Thecleaninvolves almostall yourmajormuscle
groups, forcingthemtoworktogether soyoucan
efficientlymove thebar fromthefloor toshoulder-
heightas quickly aspossible. Thatmakes ita high-risk
moveso startwith a lightbarbell andmaster thecorrect
formbefore addingadditionalweight. Butbig risk
equalsbig rewards,andget this exerciseright and
you’ll andbuildexplosive power that hasa great
crossover tomany sports andeverydayactivities.
Stand with your shins touching the bar and
feet shoulder-width apart.
Squat down and hold the bar with an
overhand grip.
Keeping your core braced, your chest up and
a natural arch in your back, lift the bar o the
ground by driving up through your heels.
Once the bar reaches your hips, rise up
on tiptoes, shrug your shoulders powerfullyand pull the bar up higher, leading with
your elbows.
As the bar travels towards shoulder height,
squat back down under the bar and rotate
your elbows forward so you catch it on your
ingers and the front of your shoulders.
Reverse the move back to the start.
Howtodo it
Target
Whole body
a
c b
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FITTIP
Thecleanputs pressure
onyour lowerback, sobuild
lowerbackstrengthwith the
squatanddeadliftandyou’ll
rapidly improveyourprogress in this
importantmove.
FITTIP
Keepthebarascloseto
yourbodyas you can asyoupull it upwards. This is the
shortestandmosteicient
routeto getthebarhigh,
allowingyou toduck
under itandcatch iton
yourshoulders.
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OBULDNMUC SNATCH
Funnyname, seriousmove: the snatch is ahighly
efectivewhole-bodymuscle-building li
ThisOlympic lift notonlybuildsmuscle butalsoflexibility andco-ordination. Targetingyour
entire posteriorchain– allthemuscles downtheback
ofyourbody, fromneck tocalves – thesnatchis more
commonlyassociatedwithpowerlifters thanregular
gym-goers.Butthatdoesn’tmeanyou shouldn’t use
it to improve your explosivepower, strength, speed
andcore stability. Besides,manysportsmimicits
movement pattern insome form– for example,liftinga
rugbyplayer in thelineout.Aswith allbig lifts,youneed
toensure you setupcorrectlyand focusyourmind
completelyon thelift toget it right.
Stand with feet hip-width apart with your
shins touching the bar.
Squat down, keeping a natural arch in your
back and your chest out, and grip the bar with
hands wider than shoulder-width apart.
Push down through your heels and straighten
your legs to lift the bar o the ground, keeping
it as close to your legs as possible.
As soon as it reaches your thighs, pull your
shoulders back and bring the bar up hard and
fast, ‘lipping’ the bar over and onto your ingers
while getting your body under the bar by
dropping into a squat position.
Finish the movement by standing up out of
the squat with your legs fully straightened,
holding the bar directly above your head with
your arms extended.
How todo it
TargetWhole body
a
c
b
d
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FITTIP
Concentrationand form
arekeyto notonlyperforming
a successful lift, butalsomaking
sureyouavoid injury. Imagineyour
feet arenailed to the loor, keepyourhandswide,shoulderblades
pinched,chest pushed forward,
core braced,eyesstraightahead
andyou’reready.
FITTIP
Shoulder lexibility is
vital tocontrol theweight
asthebar risesup and over
yourhead and, because this
is a high-risk lift, startwith a
lightbarto perfect your form
beforeyoustartlifting
seriousweight.
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VARYYOUREXERCISES
80 Whyvaryyourexercises?
82 Squat variations
84 Benchpressvariations
86 Deadlifvariations
88 Pull-upvariations
90 Lungevariations
92 Shoulderpressvariations
94 Bent-over rowvariations
96 Tricepsdipvariations
98 Cleanvariations
100 Snatchvariations
102 Whydoisolationmoves?
104 Biceps
106 Triceps
108 Chestand shoulders110 Legs
112 Fix yourweak spots
RULEFOUR
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Whyshould
Ivarymyexercises?Varietyisn’t justthespiceoflife: it’salsothe
onlywaytokeepyourmusclesgrowing
If you are new toweight lifting
putting onmuscle iseasyat irst.But after awhile youmaynoticethatyourgains begin to slowdownoreven
plateaucompletely.
That’s because your body very quicklyadapts to the new stresses ithas been
exposed to in thegym. Yourmusclesbecomemore eicientatperformingthe
moves you domost often,whichmeansthat theydon’t havetoworkashard to
dothe sameamountofwork. In short,performing the sameexactworkout
week in,weekout isn’t anefective
strategy tokeepbuildingmuscle.
Plus, doing thesame session is really,really boring. You’ll never addmuscle ifyou don’t go to the gymbecause your
boredwith doing thesameoldsession.
ShakethingsupLuckily, there’s a verysimple solution
to thisproblem. Ifyouwant tokeep
yourmuscles growing, youmustkeep
themguessing.Andthethatmeans
youneed to regularlyshakethingsupby introducingnewexercises thatwill ‘shock’ yourmuscles into growth
because they are unfamiliarwith these
newmoves or variations andthenewmechanicsthey involve.
FreshlookSometimesthis will mean introducingacompletely newmove that hits thesame
muscles. Atother times itwill simplymean tweakingamoveslightly, by say
changingyourhand position, theangle
of the bench,yourgripon the bar, or
standingup instead of sitting down.In this chapter you indanarray ofnew
exercises, all twistson theclassic ten
compound lifts of thepreviouschapter- plusa close lookat someof the key
isolationmoves - that you canintroduceinto your trainingprogrammetokeep
yourmind focusedandyourmuscles
workinghard.
RULEFOUR VARYYOUREXERCISES
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OBULDNMUC SQUATVARIATIONS
These three twistsonthe classic squat can
lead tobig lower-body gains
WHYDOIT?Ifyou struggle to
maintaingood formwith abarbell,
performing squatswithdumb-bellscan
help you learntodothemove safely.
Stand tall with feet shoulder-width
apart, holding a dumb-bell in each
hand by your sides.
With you core braced and a natural
arch in your back, squat down until
your thighs are at least parallel to
the loor, keeping your knees in line
with your toes.
Push back up through your heels to
complete the move.
Howtodo it
DUMBBELLSQUAT
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ZERCHERSQUAT
Standing in front of a barbell, squat
down and pick up the bar using an
overhand grip. Your feet should be
shoulder-width apart.
Squat down until your thighs are at
least parallel to the loor, keepingyour knees in line with your toes.
Drive back up through your heels.
Howtodo it
Take a barbell in the crook of
your elbows, keeping your core
braced and a natural arch in
your back. Feet should be
shoulder-width apart.
Squat down until your thighs are at
least parallel to the loor, keeping
your knees in line with your toes.
Drive back up through your heels.
Howtodo it
HACKSQUAT
WHYDOIT?Holding thebar
behind yourbody forces youto
keepyour torsoupright tomanage theweight, andso improves yourability to
performnormal squats correctly.
WHYDOIT?Holding thebar in
thecrookof yourelbowstakes thestressoffyourback,whileforcingyour
coremuscles toworkhardtostabilise
your upperbody.
a
a
b
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OBULDNMUC BENCHPRESSVARIATIONS
WHYDOIT?
Tilting thebench
upwardsplaces the
focusonyourupper
chest, aswell as the
frontofyourshoulders
andtriceps,while using
dumb-bellsallowsfora
greater rangeofmotion.
INCLINEDUMBBELLPRESS
Build a big, strong chestwith thesemove
that target thewholemusclegroup
FITTIP
Notlockingout your
elbowsat the top ofall
pressingmoves keeps the
emphasisonyourmuscles,
meaningtheyare
workingharder for
longer throughout
theset.
Lie on a bench set at a 3045°
angle holding a dumb-bell in each
hand at shoulder height.
Keep your feet lat on the loor
and back against the bench.Press the weight above your head
but don’t lock out your elbows.
Slowly lower the weight back
down to your chest.
How todo it
a
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WHYDOIT?Thismove isolates
yourchestmuscles – bytaking
your triceps out oftheequation– soall
theworkhas tobedonebyyourchest.
WHYDOIT?Thisvariation targets
thelowerpart ofyourchest.
INCLINEDUMBBELLFLYE
DECLINEBENCHPRESS
Lie on an incline bench holding a
dumb-bell in each hand directly
above your chest.
Ensure your head and shoulders
are supported on the bench and
your feet are lat on the loor.
Keeping a slight bend in your
elbows, slowly lower the weights
as far to the side as comfortable.
Squeeze your chest muscles to
reverse the movement.
Howtodo it
Set a bench on a 3045° decline.
If you gym doesn’t have a decline
bench then place a secure box or
Reebok Deck under one end.
Hold a bar using an overhand grip,
hands shoulder-width apart.
Slowly lower it down to your
chest, laring your elbows outto the side to keep the emphasis
on your chest.
Push back strongly to the start
position, but don’t lock out at
the top.
Howtodo it
a
a
b
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OBULDNMUC DEADLIFT VARIATIONS
A strong back makes all other lifs easier. Here’s how to build on
GOOD MORNING
Stand tall with a light barbell
resting across the top of yourshoulders. Hold the bar just
outside your shoulders.
Brace your core, retract your
shoulder blades and maintain
a natural arch in your back
throughout the move.
Feet should be between hip- and
shoulder-width apart with a slight
bend in your knees.
Bend forward slowly from the hips,
not the waist, and lean forward as
far is your hamstrings allow, but notpast horizontal.
Return back to the start.
How to do it
WHYDOIT?This moveworks the
erector spinae along with hamstrings
andglutes. It’s a great move, butmaintain
perfect form throughout to prevent injury
andstart with a light bar.
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WHYDOIT?By taking a wider
stance you recruit your glutes and
stretch your adductors.
WHYDOIT?Because the weight
is ononly one side, your abs haveto workhard to keep your torso upright
andstable. You are also goingto be
hitting your glutes, obliques andlats as
you workeach side of thebody. It will
improve your grip strength too.
SUMO DEADLIFT
BARBELL SUITCASE DEADLIFT
Stand behind the bar with your feet
wider than shoulder-width apart
and your toes pointing outwards.
Squat down and grip the bar with
your hands shoulder-width apart.
Keeping a natural arch in your
back, drive with your legs and push
your hips forward to lift the bar
until you are standing upright.
Reverse the movement to return
the bar to the loor.
Howtodo it
Place a barbell on your left side.
Crouch down into a deadlift
position and grab the middle of the
bar with your left hand.
Brace your core, keep a natural
arch in your back and drive with
your legs to deadlift the bar up
to thigh height while keeping it
parallel to the loor.
Howtodo it
a
a
b
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OBULDNMUC PULLUP VARIATIONS
Master these classic backmoves fora
big, strong, andbalancedupper body
WHYDOIT?Using an underhand
grip shifts thefocusto your biceps,
making it easierwhile still taxingall the
major muscles of your upper back.
Grab the bar with an underhand
grip with your hands closer thanshoulder-width apart.
Start from a dead hang with your
arms fully extended.
Pull yourself up by squeezing your
lats together.
Once your chin is higher than your
hands pause briely, before slowly
lowering yourself back to the start.
How todo it
CHINUP
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WHYDOIT?Themachine
lets youeasilyadjust the
resistance, soyoucan lift lighter
orheavierthanyourbodyweight.
WHYDOIT?Althougha single-
jointmove, this exerciseworks alargenumber ofmuscles, specifically
lats, chest andtriceps.
LATPULLDOWN
DUMBBELLPULLOVER
Sit on the seat and take an overhand,
wide-grip on the bar.
Look forward, retract your shoulder
blades and keep your torso upright.
Pull the bar down in front of you until
it reaches your upper chest. Don’tlean back to aid the movement.
Squeeze your lats at the bottom
of the move and return the bar
slowly to the top.
Howtodo it
Lie on a bench with shoulders and
head supported, feet lat on loor.
Hold a single dumb-bell with both
hands over your chest and engage
your core.
Slowly lower the weight behind your
head, keeping a slight bend in your
elbows. Don’t arch your back.
Pull your arms back over your head
to the start.
Howtodo ita
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OBULDNMUC LUNGEVARIATIONS
Workyour legs, glutesand lowerbackwith these twistsonthe c
WHYDOIT?Thisis oneofthe
bestmovesforbuildingmuscle
mass onthebacksofyour legs.Perfect
formisvital toprotectyour lowerback
frominjury. Always lean forward, slowly,
fromyourhips andnot yourwaistand
control thebar slowlydownyour shins.
ROMANIANDEADLIFT How todo it
Hold a barbell with an
overhand grip just outside
your hips. Stand with feet
shoulder-width apart, shoulder
blades retracted, torso upright,
core braced and a natural arch
in your back.
Lean forward from the hip
and slowly lower bar down
your shins until you feel a
stretch in your hamstrings
Push your hips forward to
reverse move back to star
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WHYDOIT?Although ituses
onlyyourownbodyweight, this
toughmovehitsyourhamstringshard.
WHYDOIT?Ignoringyour
inner thighmuscles can lead tomuscular imbalancesandinjury but
ifyou strengthen themwith thismove
you’ll improve all in lower-bodylifts.
GYMBALLLEGCURL
DUMBBELLLATERALLUNGE
Lie with head, shoulders and upper
back on a gym mat with your feet
together on top of a gym ball. Your
body should form a straight line
from head to heels.
With your back straight, raise your
hips and use your heels to drag the
ball toward you.
Pause briely at the top of the
move before slowly returning
to the start.
How todo it
Stand tall with feet close together,
holding a dumb-bell in each hand.
Keeping your core braced and
head looking forward, take a big
step to the side with your right legand lower your body down so your
right knee is in line with your toes.
Push back o your right leg and
repeat the other side.
Howtodo it
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OBULDNMUC SHOULDERPRESSVARIATIONS
WHYDOIT?Usingyour legs to
initiate themoveenables you to
lift moreweight andpreventpoor form
atthe start ofeach rep.
Stand tall with a barbell across your
upper chest. Hold the bar with an overhand
grip just wider than shoulder-width apart.
Keeping your core braced, bend your knees
slightly before standing back up while at the
same time pressing the bar directly overhead
by straightening your arms. Don’t lock out
your elbows.
Slowly return the bar back down to the start.
Howtodoit
PUSHPRESS
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Build broad shoulders to create
that V-shape torso
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WHYDOIT?This variation
combines a pressingaction with
a rotational one, hitting your deltoids
from several angles.
WHYDOIT?It works the rotator
cuff,the stabilising muscles of theshoulder joint,which will allowyou to
lift heavier on other shoulder moves.
ARNOLD PRESS
BARBELL CUBAN PRESS
Sit on an upright bench with
a dumb-bell in each hand with
palms facing you.
Keep your feet lat on the loor,
core braced, back against the
bench and head looking forward.
Press the weights up, rotating your
palms so that you inish with arms
extended and palms facing away.
Reverse the movement back down
to the start.
Howtodoit
Hold a light barbell with an
overhand grip at thigh height.
Raise the bar until it’s at
shoulder height.
Rotate your arms so that your
hands point up, keeping your
biceps horizontal.
Press the bar directly overhead
before reversing the movement
back to the start.
Howtodoit
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OBULDNMUC BENTOVERROWVARIATIONS
Hit your back andbicepswith these tweaks onthe row
WHYDOIT?Focusing
ononearmata time
preventsyoufromrelyingtoo
muchonyour strongerarm
todomost ofthework. This
ensuresyouachievemore
balancedgains.
ONEARMROW Place your left knee and left
hand lat on a bench, with your
right leg out to the side. Hold
a dumb-bell in your right hand.
With a natural arch in your
back and core braced, lift the
weight up towards your side,
leading with your elbow.
Slowly return the weight
back to the start and
repeat both sides.
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WHYDOIT?Hitting yourback
muscles while seated focusesyour efforts on thetarget muscle groups
andlets you lift heavier weights.
SEATED CABLE ROW
Set a Smith machine bar at about
chest height. Hold the bar using
an overhand grip, with hands just
wider than shoulder-width apart,
and with your feet on the loor.
Hang until your arms are fully
extended then, keeping your hipsin line with your torso, pull your
body up to the bar until you touch
it with your sternum.
Lower yourself slowly.
Howtodoit
Sit with a lat back and a slight
bend in your knees. Using a neutral
grip, take hold of a double-D handle
attached to the bottom pulley of a
cable machine.
Ensure that there is tension in thecable before you begin.
Pull the handle into your sternum,
keeping your torso still. Squeeze
your shoulder blades together and
return slowly to the start.
Howtodoit
INVERTED ROW
WHYDOIT?As well as working
your back muscles andbiceps,
this puts more emphasis on your core
andlats andhelps correct badposture.
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OBULDNMUC TRICEPSDIPVARIATIONS
WHYDOIT?
Bringingyour
handscloser together
transfers thefocusof
thismoveawayfrom
the chest andonto the
triceps –makingit a great
moveforbuildingbig
upperarms.
CLOSEGRIP
BENCHPRESS
Buildbigandpowerful armswith these triceps-targetingmoves
Lie lat on a bench and hold a barbell
using an overhand grip, about a
ist-width apart, with arms fully
extended.
Keep your body lat on the bench,
and your feet lat on the loor.
Lower the bar slowly, keeping your
elbows close your sides.
Push up powerfully, but don’t lock
out your elbows.
Howtodoit
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WHYDOIT?Havingyourhands
close together shiftsthefocusawayfrom thechesttowards your
triceps,making this a great any-time and
any-placemove forupper-armmass.
DIAMONDPRESSUP
Start in a press-up position but
with your hands either side of
a medicine ball, rather than lat
on the loor.
Keeping your body in a straight
line from head to heels, lower yourchest down until it touches the ball
before powering back
up strongly.
Howtodoit
Start in a press-up position but
with your hands close together
so that opposite thumbs and
index ingers touch to form a
diamond shape.
Keeping your body in a straight
line from head to heels, lower your
chest down as far as you can, then
press back up strongly.
Howtodoit
MEDICINEBALLPRESSUP
WHYDOIT?Thispress-up
variationplaces greateremphasis
onthetriceps,whilethe instabilityof the
ball forces yourcoretowork overtime
tokeepyourbody rigid.
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OBULDNMUC CLEAN VARIATIONS
Buildtotalbody strengthwith thesecomplementary cleanmov
WHYDOIT?
Resting thebar
on the front ofyour
shoulders targets your
quads while protecting
the lower back. With
the barin front, it’s also
impossible to lean
forward, so you get a
deeper range of motion.
FRONTSQUAT Rest the bar on the front of your
shoulders, gripping it with your
hands crossed in front of you,
your elbows pointing forward
and feet shoulder-width apart.
Maintain a natural arch in your
back and keep your core braced.
Squat down until your thighs are
at least parallel to the loor.
Push back up through your heels.
Howtodoit
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WHYDOIT?Thismovewill
increaseyour strengthandstabilityaswell as improveyourform
ontheclean.
KETTLEBELLCLEAN
Hold a barbell with an overhand
grip, feet shoulder width apart.
Rise onto your tiptoes, shrug your
shoulders and pull the bar up, leading
with your elbows.
Once the bar reaches your shoulders,squat under it and rotate your
elbows forward so you catch the
bar on your ingers and the front
of your shoulders.
Reverse back to the start position.
Howtodoit
Hold a kettlebell between your legs,
with back straight and chest up.
Bend your knees and push the
kettlebell back between your legs.
Stand up and drive your arm forward
while pushing your hips forwardsto propel the weight to above head
height then lip it over onto the front
of your shoulder.
Reverse back to the start.
Howtodoit
HANGCLEAN
WHYDOIT?Startingwith thebar
atmidthighheighthelpsyou
masterthemovesafely, butas your legs
aren’tso involved,you’ll have to lift lighter.
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OBULDNMUC SNATCH VARIATIONS
Improveyour strength, power
andco-ordinationwith these
supplementary snatchmoves
WHYDOIT?This move
works each side of thebody
independently and it also engages your
core throughout to keep your torso
upright. In addition it will help improve
your form for the snatch, enabling you
to lift heavier without therisk of injury.
KETTLEBELL SNATCH
Hold the kettlebell in one hand and swing it up by
snapping your hips forward. Keep your core engaged
and a natural arch in your back.
As the kettlebell passes waist height pull your shoulder
back, then punch your arm forward as it passes
shoulder height.
Catch the kettlebell on your forearm at full extension.
Howtodoit
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WHYDOIT?Thistoughtwist on
the classic squat is the final part ofthesnatch lift, andgetting betterat this
will benefit a host of other moves.
OVERHEAD SQUAT
Stand tall holding a barbell with an
overhand grip slightly narrower
than shoulder width.
Shrug the bar up towards your chin,
leading with your elbows pointingto the ceiling.
Slowly lower the bar back to
the start position.
Howtodo it
Hold a light barbell overhead using
a wide overhand grip.
Your feet should be shoulder-width
apart, your core braced, with a
natural arch in your back.
Squat down as far as you can
without allowing your back to arch
forward.
Drive back up through your heels to
complete the move.
Howtodo it
UPRIGHT ROW
WHYDOIT?Although this move
mainly works your trapsand
shoulders, getting a strong upperback
helps with the‘shrugging’part of the
main snatchlift, letting you generate the
power to lift thebar over your head.
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OBULDNMUC
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SplendidisolationTargetspecificmuscleswithisolationmoves for
quickerandmore impressivegrowth
Compound lifts shouldcertainlyform thebackboneof your training
regime as they recruit themostmusclegroups.But thisdoesn’tmeanyou needtoconsignall isolationmoves to thescrapheapcompletely.
To remind you, isolationmoves arethose lifts that causemovement at only
onejoint, while compoundmoves aremulti-jointexercises thatworkmultiplemusclegroups (see page54 for themajorcompoundexercises).
Consequently, isolation liftswork lesswell at quickly addinga lot ofmusclemass across yourbody, but theyareideal whenyou want to target a speciicmuscle to tryand coaxextra growth.
Oneway these single-jointmovescanbeused successfully is as a ‘inisher’,that is anexerciseperformed at theend ofa workoutto really fatigue thetargetmuscles. Take for examplean
armsworkout (see page 136 for how toconstruct a workout)where themajorityof thesession is built aroundcompound
lifts, such as chin-ups,pull-ups,bent-overrowsandclose-gripbenchpresses.
After all of that you willbe tired,butyour bicepsandtricepsmaystill havea littleenergy left in them. So tobreakdown evenmoremuscleibres andencouragegreater muscle growth,you could inishthe sessionwith sets
of isolation lifts, such as EZ-bar bicepscurls and lying tricepsextensions. Unlikecompoundmoves, whereyour riskofinjury is higher if you’re tired, theseisolationmovescanbeperformedsafely.
ExtrapushPutting in that littleextraefort cancompletelyexhaust thosetargetmuscles, and so force yourbody togrowthemback bigger andstronger.
Over thenext few pageswe’llhighlightsome of thebest isolation exercisesfor eachofyourmajormusclegroups,
allowingyouto safelybutefectivelypushyour muscles harder to promotefastergains.What’s not to like?
ISOLATIONLIFTS
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BICEPS
Blitzyourbicepswiththis
classicisolationmove
WHYDOIT?Abicepscurl can
also beperformedwithabarbell
orwithadumb-bell ineachhand, but
usinganEZ-bar,whichhas a zigzagged
middle, allowsyou toturnyourhands
inwards slightly. This takes someof the
strainoffyourwrists andallowsthe
focus oftheweightto besolelyon your
biceps, forcingthemtoworkharder
throughout themove.
Stand with your shoulders back and
feet close together and hold an EZ-
bar using an underhand grip with
your hands just outside your hips.
Keeping your elbows tucked in to
your sides, curl the bar up towards
your chest, stopping just before
your forearms reach vertical.
Lower back slowly to the start.
Avoid rocking back and forth to
generate momentum, which takes
the emphasis away from the biceps.
Howtodoit
EZBARBICEPSCURL
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Workeacharmseparatelyforgrowth
WHYDOIT?Restingyourupper
armon apreacherbenchstops
you fromusingmomentumandforces
yourbicepstodoallthework. Training
eacharmindividuallyalsoprevents
yourdominantarmcarryingmore of
the load, resultinginbalancedgrowth.
Fullystraightenyourarmat thebottom
of themove,andsqueezeyourbicepsat
thetop,formaximummuscle gains.
Hold a dumb-bell in one hand and
rest that upper arm against the
preacher bench.
Curl the weight up until your
forearm is vertical.
Squeeze your biceps at the top of
the move before lowering slowly
back to the start.
Howtodoit
ONEARMPREACHERCURL
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OBULDNMUC TRICEPS
Buildupper-armmassbyisolating
yourpowerful triceps
WHYDOIT?It isolates
yourtriceps, forcingthem
toworkhardthroughout the
move tocontroltheweight
downthen raise itbackup.
Startbyusinga lightweight
becauseyouneed tomanage
theweightsafely asyou lower it
towards yourhead.Otherwise
youmay findoutwhythis
move isalsoknownasthe
nose-breakeror skull-crusher.
Lie lat on a bench, holding an EZ-bar
above you with straight arms.
Slowly lower the bar towards the top ofyour head by bending your elbows, whic
should stay pointing directly to the ceilin
Without arching your back, slowly
return the bar to the start position by
straightening your arms.
HowtodoitLYINGTRICEPSEXTENSION
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Workyourtricepswiththiscablemove
WHYDOIT?Theadvantageof
usinga cablemachine is that there
is resistance throughout thewhole
move, forcingyour triceps towork
hard tomanage theweighton theway
upaswell ason theway down. Keep
yourelbowsclose toyour sidesso the
emphasisstaysonyourtriceps.
Stand tall at a cable machine with
a double rope handle or straight bar
handle attached at head height.
Keeping your elbows tucked in,
press the handle down without
leaning forward.
Squeeze your triceps at the bottom
of the move before slowly returning
back to the start.
Howtodoit
TRICEPSPRESSDOWN
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OBULDNMUC CHESTANDSHOULDERS
Craftabigchestwiththis
powerfulmove
WHYDOIT?Truly isolating
yourchestmusclescanbe hard
becauseyourarmsandshoulders
nearly alwaysget inontheact. But
usingcables, ratherthandumb-bells,
as resistanceensures that thereis
constanttension throughout the
move,which forcesyour chest
towork hard throughout.
Stand in the middle of a cable
machine with your feet together
holding a D-handle attachment in
each hand, and with the cable set
above shoulder height.
Keeping a natural arch in your back,
your core braced and upper body
still, bring your hands down in an
arc to meet in front of your chest.
Pause briely and squeeze your chest
muscles before returning slowly, and
under full control of the weight, back
to the start position.
Howtodoit
CABLECROSSOVER
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WHYDOIT?Shrugshavea
limited rangeofmotion,whichmeans that youcanuse heavydumb-
bells tobuild big and strongtrapsthat
helpcreatedesirablewideshoulders.
SHRUG
Stand tall with your core braced
and your feet slightly apart. Hold a
light dumb-bell in each hand with
palms facing one another.
Keeping a slight bend in your
elbows, raise the weights out to
the sides to shoulder height using
your muscles and not momentum.
Pause at the top, then slowly lower.
Howtodoit
Stand tall holding a heavy
dumb-bell in each hand, keeping
your core braced and a natural
arch in your back.
Shrug your shoulders towards yourears, keeping your arms straight,
and the dumb-bells by your sides.
Hold for a second at the top
position before slowly lowering the
weight back down.
Howtodoit
LATERALRAISE
WHYDOIT?Thelateral raise is
effectiveat isolating thedeltoids,
thethree muscles that make up the
shoulders. However, because the
shoulder joint is themostdelicate in the
body, keeptheweights light andcontrol
themove fromstart to finish.
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OBULDNMUC LEGS
Isolateyourquadswiththis
machinemove
WHYDOIT?Thebestway to isolate yourpowerful
quadmuscles is tousea leg extension machine, rather
thanfreeweights.Thismachineprovides stabilityforyour
upperbody andthe movement path is fixed,meaning allyour
energy canbe focused onworkingthequadsto themax.
Sit on the machine, following its instructions t
position yourself correctly and safely.
Ensure that your knees are aligned with thelever to reduce the risk of injury and that you
shins are against the padded bar.
Keeping your back against the seat and your
core braced, extend your knees to straighten
your legs and raise the bar up.
Return slowly to the start.
HowtodoitSEATEDLEGEXTENSION
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Trainingthecalvescan
behardusing freeweights becauseyouneed togoreally
heavy to fatiguethesemuscles
thatareusedtohardwork –
they’reresponsible forevery
stepyoutake eachday. Instead
useamachine to fully isolateyour calveswithout the injury
risk that comeswithusinga
veryheavybarbell orsetof
dumb-bells.
SEATEDCALFRAISE
Position yourself safely on a leg curl
machine, following its instructions,
with the top bar sitting comfortably
below your knees and the bottom onelat against the bottom your calves.
Slowly contract your hamstrings to
bring the padded bar against your
calves towards you.
Return slowly to the start position.
Howtodoit
Sit on a seated calf raise machine, following its instructions to
position yourself correctly and safely.
Place the top of your toes on the platform. There should be a
slight bend in your knees in this start position.
Push your toes away to raise the weight.
Pause briely before returning back to the start, ensuring
you go through the full range of motion to really work this
hard-to-grow muscle.
Howtodo it
SEATEDHAMSTRINGCURL
WHYDOIT?Thesame
principlesapplyhere: the
machineprovides thestabilityand
fixedmovement patternsoyoucan
work your hamstringsto total fatigue.
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OBULDNMUC FIXYOURWEAKSPOTS
Proud of your prominent biceps and big chest?They might be
impressive, but if youdon’t work allyour muscles you’llend up
with an unbalanced body. Here’s how to make all-over gains
Thismuscle doesn’tneedto bebig but
itdoesneed tobe strong,soyouneglect itat your
peril.Aweakrotatorcuff can leadto injuryandputyououtofactionformonths.Butif youimprove your shoulderstabilitybyworkingthiscritical shoulderstabiliseryou’llward
off injuryand increaseyourpower outputinlifts, such as theshoulderpress, andinsports
suchasvolleyball,tennis andbaseball.Include a setof internal
rotationexercisesbeforeevery trainingor sportssessionto bothwarmupandstrengthen therotatorcuff.
MISSINGMUSCLEROTATORCUFF
Askany gym-goerif theytraintheir legs andthey’ll
probablyanswer ‘Ofcourse!’withanoffended look.Askthemhowmuchof that timeis spent on
theircalves,however, andthelookismorelikely tobe one ofembarrassment. Thecalves aretheengineof thebody,workingtirelessly nomatterwhatyou’redoing.Becauseof this they areclassedas anendurancemuscleandbuilding these takesa two-
prongedattack. Aimfor somestraight-leg calf raisesfor thecalf,andabent-kneeversion tohitthesoleus,whichis thedeep-lyingcalfmusclethatconnectsyour
kneeto your foot. Goheavy –thesemusclesneedstimulating.
MISSINGMUSCLECALVES
KEYMOVESeatedcalfraise(seepage111)
WHEN?Dothisat the endofyourleg sessionandaim for three setsoat least 12 reps.
Guaranteed tohelpwithyour
grip, strong forearmscanalsohelp theoverall
developmentofyourarms andassistwithmanyheavycompoundlifts, such aspull-upsanddeadlifts. So ifyouwanttobuildbigger biceps,tricepsandshouldersyourgripstrength is incredibly
important.Withoutastronggripnotonlywyouseverely limityouability to lift heavy, bu
you’ll also increaseyoriskof injury toyourshoulders.
MISSINGMUSCLEFOREARMS
KEYMOVE
Collar grip (seepage62)
WHEN?
Dothis afteryourheavysessionswhenyourgrip is already fatiguedtoworktheforearmmusclesevenharder.
KEYMOVE
Barbell Cubanpress (see page93)
WHEN?
Dothis at thestartof yourshoulderworkoutwith a lightweight to thoroughlywarmupthisdelicatemuscle group.
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OBULDNMUC FIXYOURWEAKSPOTS
Thismuscle– the
backpart of yourshoulders – iskey toachievingwide, strongand impressiveupper bodybecausebig reardeltoidsgivewidthandmassto yourupper back. You also need totrain these,alongwith
therotators, to impro
shoulderstability.Benchesandotherpressingexercisesoftenplacetoomuchemphasison thefrondeltoidso ignoringthe rear partof thismusclegroup cancauimbalanceand injury
MISSINGMUSCLEREARDELTOID
Underdevelopedhamstrings leave
your legsweakandproneto injurybutregularhamstring exercisesandstretcheswillmakethesemuscles strongandflexible,whichin turnwillprevent youpulling them
whenyou’reperformingintenseexercisesuchas sprinting. Asyourhamstringsarethemuscles thathelppropelyouforward,building biggerhamstringswillalsohelp to increaseyourrunning speed .
MISSINGMUSCLEHAMSTRINGS
Your trapezius
muscles,or traps–eithersideofyour spine belowyourneck – areresponsible forneckandshoulder strength,andworkingthemcangiveyouan impressivelywidephysique. They’reactivatedbythe shruggingmotionandmoveyourscapulae (shoulder blades)up,downand back.Exercisesthatmimic
a shrugwillstrengthen
youruppertraps,whileyour lower trapswork inconjunctionwithyourlats toperformpull-upsand latpull-downs. Trapsare importantto assistindevelopingothermuscles,suchas latsand reardeltoids. Includeeitherdumb-bellor barbellshrugsin yourbackorshoulderworkouts todevelopthesemuscles.
MISSINGMUSCLETRAPEZIUS
KEYMOVE
Dumb-bellshrugs(seepage109)
WHEN?
Atthe endofyoursessionperformthree sets ofeightto 12 repswith aheavyweight totarget thispowerfulmuscle.
KEYMOVE
Bent-over lateralraise
HOWTODOIT
Standwith your feet shoulder-width apartandadumb-bell ineachhand. Bend forward fromthehips,with theweightsatarm’s length, palms faceachother, thenraise theweightsuntil they’rein linewith yourshoulders.Slowly lower to thestart.Do threesets often to12 reps atthe endofshoulderworkout.
KEYMOVE
Seatedleg curl (Seepage 111)
WHEN?
Aimfor threesets ofeight repsafter lunges toisolateyourhamstrings. Andafter hittingyourlegswith squatsanddeadlifts,finishoff your legroutinewith three sets ofseatedleg curls,withten to12 reps ineachset.
MISSINGMUSCLEGLUTES
Buildingyourgluteshas farmore
thancosmeticbenefits.Whenworkingproperly,yourglutesare themostpowerfulgroupofmusclesin thebody. They’re socrucialtomovementthat othermusclegroupsareequippedto assist in
oreventakeoversomof their rolesif they’renot uptothe job.Thissubstitutionof movemoften leads tolossofmusclemass,pain anultimatelyinjury, so itvital to trainthem.Dosobyincludingsquatlunges andstep-ups.
KEYMOVE
One-legglute raise
HOWTODOIT
Lie onyour backwitharms byyour side. Keepoleg straightandbendthe other so its footis flat ofloor. Pushdownonthis foottoraiseyourgluteKeepyourcorebraced.Hold, then lower to thestart.Dothreesetsof ten to12 reps for each leg.
44 55
66 77
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44
55
66
77
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CHANGETHE
118 Whychangethevariables?
120 Setsand reps
122 Periodisation
126 Frequency
128 Failure
130 Tempo
132 Rest
134 Burn fat fast
RULEFIVE
VARIABLES
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Whydoyouneedto
changethevariablesofyourworkout?Theelementsthatmakeupaworkoutandwhy
youshouldmix themuptoseeyourmusclesgrow
Now you knowthe maincompound
and isolationexercises andhow toperformthem correctly, it’s time toputyour newfoundknowledge into actionandactually start building some muscle.
There are manytypes ofworkoutyoucan do, and we’ll takea closer lookatsome of themost efective options inchapter six. First, let’s takea lookat thekey components of everyworkoutandwhy you needtokeepchanging them.
ThebasicsA workout ismadeup ofa numberofdiferent elements orvariables:
Exercise selectionThe lifts youperformin anygivenworkout.Reps The numberof timesyou performa move without stopping for rest.Sets The numberof timesyou performa certainnumberof reps.Weight Theamountof resistanceyoulift for each rep ofeachset.
Tempo The speedatwhich you
performeach rep.Rest The amountof time you restbetweensetsandbetweenexercises.
MakeachangeThemost obvious variable betweenworkouts is exerciseselection. This andtheweight youlift arethemost importantvariables tokeepchanging for continuedmusclegrowth. But tweaking all thekeyvariables can alsohavea big impacton yourmuscle-buildingprogress.
This chapter explainseverythingyou needtoknowfromthe basics –
how to select the correct sets and repsrange – tohow periodisation (seepage122) can helpyoutoadd20per centtoany liftin as littleas nineweeks. Italso covers everything in between,such as how often you should train,how fast you should lift and how longyoushould rest betweenexercises.
RULEFIVE CHANGETHEVARIABLES
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OBULDNMUC SETS AND REPS
Ifyoudon’tknowhowmanysetsandrepsyoushouldbeperform
you’llneverbuildmuscle.Hereare thebasicsofeveryworkout
REPS
An abbreviation of repetition, one rep i
the completion of a given exercise from
start to inish. To build muscle you need
to perform between eight and 12 reps
per set.
SETS
A set is a given number of reps performconsecutively without rest. Three to
four sets of eight to 12 reps is the most
eective way to increase muscle mass.
Ataglance
Repsandsets
Setsand reps are thebread and butter of your workout. As soon
as you lift a weight, even if it’s only on
you’vecompleted a rep – anda set.Bu
doing one lift onits own is not the bes
way to build muscle.
Instead you needto lift a weight a
certain number of times, rest for a giv
amountof time, then repeat this proc
a certain numberof times.
Themost effective setsand reps
range for building muscleis three to fo
sets ofeight to 12reps ofa given move
That’s because this approach subjectsyour muscles to enoughresistance an
time under tension to ignitethe musc
building response.
To workout which weight you shou
be lifting you need to know your one
rep max, or the maximum amountof
weight you can lift for a singlerepetiti
of any move.
Knowing this is important because
percentages of this number determin
theweight you should be lifting for ea
rep,depending on your trainingaim.
Here’s what you need to know.
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DIFFERENTTYPES
OFREPSIn addition tonormalreps,try thesevariations tokeepyourmusclesguessing – andgrowing
FORCEDREPS
Once your muscles fail and canno longer perform a single extrarep, a training partner or spottercan step in to help you force outa few extra ones to break downeven more muscle tissue. They
do this by helping you get pastthe ‘sticking point’ of a givenexercise – for example the irsthalf of a biceps curl – before youtake over to inish the rep’s fullrange of motion.
NEGATIVEREPS
Your muscles are stronger inthe eccentric, or lowering,phase of a lift than in theconcentric, or raising, stage.Negative reps take advantage
of this strength by using a muchheavier weight and starting atthe ‘top’ position of a move andthen lowering it as slowly aspossible, ideally in more thanfour seconds. So, you might
jump to the top of the pull-upposition then slowly lower backto the start, or have a spotterhelp you lift a barbell to the top ofa biceps curl then lower it slowly.
PARTIALREPS
These reps only involvemovement through a certain partof an exercise’s normal full rangeof motion. This is typically theeasiest part of each rep whereheavier weights can be used.
15REPSTRAININGAIM Increase
inyourmuscle strength
andpower.
WEIGHT85100percent
ofone-repmax.
WHY?Low-rep setsof
heavyweightsbuild
strengthandpower
because they recruitandfatigueyourfast-twitch
muscle fibres. They’re
responsible foryour
muscles’ explosiveness
andthisapproach
makes themgrowback
bigger. This reprange
also improves the
communicationpathway
betweenyourbrainand
themuscle,helping it to
react andcontract faster
andwithmore force.
67REPSTRAININGAIMOptimal
compromise between
an increase inmuscle
strengthandsize.
WEIGHT7883percent
ofone-repmax.
WHY?Sets in this rep
rangewill stillworkyour
fast-twitchmuscle fibres
and improve thebrain-
muscle connection, but
performing extra repswillalso fatigueyourmuscles
morethoroughly, resulting
in improvements in
strengthandsize.
Picking theright rep rangePerformingtheappropriatenumberofrepspersetattherightweightiscriticaltoachievingyourgoals
812REPSTRAININGAIM Increase
inyourmusclemassand
improvedstrength.
WEIGHT7077percent
ofone-repmax.
WHY?Themosteffective
way tobuildmuscle
mass is for eachset to
last between40and70seconds.Sets ofeight to
12 repsare theperfect rep
rangefor this becausethe
weight isheavyenough
to fatigue themuscles
thoroughly butstill
manageable foryou to
maintain correct formfor
thedesired length of time.
13+REPSTRAININGAIM Increase
inyourmuscle strength-endurancewithsome
muscle-massgains.WEIGHT6069percent
ofone-repmax.
WHY?Usinglighter
weightscombinedwitha
higher reprange recruits,
works and fatiguesyour
slow-twitchfibres. Sets in
this rep rangeimprove the
ability of these fibres to
dealwith lacticacid and
theotherwasteproducts
thataccumulateduringexercise. Youwillstill see
somemuscle-massgains,
however, especiallyif you
are new toweight training.
Rep ranges and weight percentages taken from German BodyCompProgramby Charles Poliquin (charlespoliquin.com)
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OBULDNMUC PERIODISATION
Many fitness experts trip overthemselves in their attempts to
bring you the latest, cutting-edge fitnessthinking. However, sometimes the bestadvice has been around forsome time.About 2,000years, in fact.
Varyingthe intensityof training overa series of cycles toavoida plateau – aprocess known as ‘periodisation’ – becamepopular in the20th century, butit wastheancient Greeks who first realised the
benefits. Legend has it that the strongman
Miloof Croton used a baby bull as histraining tool of choice. As thecalf grew, sotoo did the weightMilohad tolift.
His fellow ancient GreekGalen ofPergamum (AD129-c216), a writer,philosopher and physician to gladiators,also advocated planned training variation,
believing that using various forms ofexercises would maximise performance.
RepetitivestrainPeriodisation may be wellestablished butthat doesn’t mean it’s common knowledgein most weights room.It’sprobably true
tosay that one of the most commonmistakes made in the pursuit of newmuscle is liftingthe same weight anddoing thesame thing week in, week out.
JARGON BUSTERPeriodisationStructuring training into progressively
more challenging phases to improve
strength and gain muscle.
Increasing theweighteachweek isa
sure-fire recipeforsuccess
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OBULDNMUC PERIODISATION
Go down this routeand keep doing
the samething at everyworkout session
and, eventually you’ll stop improving.
Butif you follow Milo’s example and
keepincreasing the load you’re lifting
eventually you’ll gain strength.This phenomenon, known as general
adaptation syndrome, is something
periodisation seeks to exploit and sports
scientists have explored.
A recent studyat Texas A&M
University took 92 weight-trained
males divided them into four groups.
The first group liftedsetsof 79per cent
of their one-rep max,group two lifted
83 percent and group three started at
79 per cent, but rose graduallyto 92per
cent. Group four played badminton.
After 16 weeks themembers of
group three,the only group that usedperiodisation, were strongerin both
the bench press andsquat thanany
of theother three groups.
RealworldbeneftsUseperiodisationtoadd20per cent toanyexercise innineweeks
Thischart shows theprogressionyou couldmakeusing periodisation over nineweeks
if you are currentlylifting60kgfor the benchpress– but it’s the structureof theprogression,ratherthan theexercise, that’skey. If youlift more or lessthan 60kg,
adjust thestartingweightbutfollowthe samelevelofprogression,makingsure
youdon’taddmorethanabout 2.5per cent eachweek.
WorkoutWorkoutWorkout
Workoutke
6 0 k g
4 0 k g
6 0 k g
4 1 . 5 k g
4 3 k g
6 4 . 5 k g
4 4 . 5 k g
6 4 . 5 k g
6 6 k g
4 6 k g
6 6 k g
6 7 . 5 k g
4 7 . 5 k g
6 7 . 5 k g
6 9 k g
4 9 k g
6 9 k g
7 1 . 5 k g
5 1 . 5 k g
7 1 . 5 k g
REST RWEEK 1 WEEK 2 WEEK 3 WEEK 4 WEEK 5 WEEK 6 WEEK 7 WEEK 8 WEEK 9 W
6 1 . 5 k g
6 1 . 5 k g
6 3 k g
6 3 k g
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The scientific, and indeed mythical,
evidence seems to support using
periodisation, but you’restill left with the
question of how, specifically, you should
apply it to your workouts. Takinga random
approach just won’t work.Instead, decide what you want to achieve
anduse the training variables at your
disposal to meet that goal.
If your goal is strength then use thecorrect
reps and sets toachieve it. This might be
four sets of fivereps, so you progress on one
variable, such as how much weight you lift.
Aim to increase upper-body lifts by up to
2.5 percent each week andlower-body lifts
by up to five per cent.
A key part of periodisation is keeping a
training log to track your progress because if
you don’t record what you do, you haveno
way of knowing whether you’reincreasingthestress you’replacing on your body or
whether you’re improving.
Rest rightAnother important aspect of periodisation
is making sure you take rest or recovery
weeks. It may seem like a wasteof valuable
workout time butwithout rest you won’t
makethe samegains.You can use the
same workouts forfour to six weeks,
improving week on week, butafter that
you may find you’re not ableto push on
so it’s a great idea to takea week off or
a week of activerecoveryby doing halfthevolume you would usually do.
A block of training that involves several
weeks of improvement followed by a planned
recovery is alsoknown as a mesocycle, and
this canlast anywhere between two and12
weeks. When you return from your recovery
week you should be refreshed and ready to
enter a new mesocycle and make a new
set of improvements.
You can introduce a secondcycle
within yourmesocycle, called a microcycle,
and this smaller cycle may last onlya few
days. For example, you might liftheavy
on Monday, reduce the weight onWednesday then go back to liftingheavy
on Friday. You would then follow that
pattern for a few weeks before changing
your exercises.
Structure your periodisation
programme according to your goal.
If you want strength and hypertrophy,
keep your sets and reps the same
but increase the weight.
Don’t increase the load you lift each
week by more than 2.5 per cent for
upper-body moves and ive per cent for
lower-body exercises.
Include a rest week at the end of
each cycle of weekly load increases.
Cycles can last between two and 12
weeks, but four to six is likely to give
you the best results.
You can vary the load you lift withina short amount of time. This is known
as a microcycle and increases your
chances of adding size and strength.
AtaglancePeriodisation
RememberthecalfSo, if you use realistic load increasesand
well-timed rest weeks you can keep getting
bigger and stronger, right? Not quite. Luckily,
for oldMilo his cow eventually stopped
growing. That’s becauseat some stage the
progressionhas to stop.You can’t keep adding
2.5kg to your lifts every week indefinitely.
There’s only so much your body can do. And
progression isn’t linear. You’ll experience a
steep improvement curveto start with and
that will slow to incremental changes.It’s
importantto realise that thelonger you traintheharder it is to make progress.
It may become increasingly challenging
to get bigger and stronger once you’ve
been training for years, even if you do
use periodisation. But without using
periodisation, it’s virtually impossible.
‘Use thesameworkoutsfor four
tosixweeks,butafter thatyou
needtotakeaweeko’
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FREQUENCY
What’s therightnumberofweeklytrainingsessions forthebest
results?Andhowmuchrestdoyoureallyneedbetweenthem?
What many people don’t realise
is that your muscles don’t grow
whileyou’re in the gym. Of course, they
appear bigger when you’re lifting, but
that’s only because they are filledwith
blood that creates that ‘pumped’ look. But
while you need weights-based training
sessions to make muscles bigger and
stronger, it’s in thetime between your
sessions that they actually grow.
This is because whiletraining breaks
down thefibres that make up your
muscles, it’s during thetime awayfrom
thegym that these damaged cells arerepaired. It’s this recovery process that
adds size andstrength. This means that
planning your rest is as important as
planning your weights sessions, because
recovery allows the body to replenish
energy stores and repair damaged muscle
tissues. So if you are following your
trainingregime to theletter butaren’t
seeingthe gains you’d expect, you may
be either resting for too long between
sessions or notresting enough. Taking
long a breakbetweensessions can red
stimulus momentum, whereas taking
littletime to recover canlimityour mu
gains while simultaneously increasin
your risk of injury andmental boredo
You’ll know when you have had
sufficient rest because you’ll feel fresh
strongand raring to go. That’s because
your body has ‘super-compensated’
from thetraining so you are stronger.
this point you canpush yourselfhard
than you didbefore when lifting, andt
positive adaptive process repeats itseyou keep getting bigger and stronger.
EasydoesitA rest day doesn’t just mean a day aw
fromthe gym – though it’s vital thatit
does mean exactly that, otherwise yo
potentialgains will be curtailed– it als
needs to be restful. It’s no good if your
‘recovery’ day involves a highly stress
14-hour day in the office. Remember,
en’s Fitness
u expect, you may
be either resting for too long between
. no goo if your
‘recovery’ day involves a highly stress
14-hour day in the office. Remember,
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rest is whenthe magic happens so findsome time to relax properly andlet yourmuscles grow.
Thatsaid, if fat loss is your primarytraining aim then it’s worth stayingactive, even on your rest days, byperforming some cardioworkto keepchipping away at your fatstores.
OwngoalsSo what’s theperfect amountof timeneededto recover from a sessionso thatyou are in prime condition when you next
hit the gym? Again, everything dependson what goals you’veset yourself.
If you aretrainingfor power then you’llneed to leaveup to three days betweensessions, because power training involveslow-rep, high-weight, multi-joint moves,whichare very taxing on both the musclesandyour central nervous system, so you’llneed quality recovery time.
If you want to increase strength, youshould aim to train each musclegroup
our central nervous system, so you’llneed quality recovery time.
If you want to increase strength, youshould aim to train each musclegroup
twice a week,whichmeans you shouldleavebetween 24 and 48 hours betweensessions that target thesame muscles. If youare following a split programme, rather thandoing total-body sessions (see page140),it’s fineto doupper bodyone day and legs
the next, but you still needto factor in somegood-quality rest each week. Thesame rulesapply for building musclesize.
For muscular endurance, which useslighter weights for a high numberof reps,youdon’t need as much rest because thistypeof training doesn’t do so much fibre damageto the muscleas the others, andso can beperformedmore frequently. That said, stillleaveat least 24 hours between sessions, andtake one or two rest daysa week.
Rest is as important as training in your
muscle-building goals because it is
during the time between sessions that
your muscles are repaired and made
bigger and stronger.
Too little rest means your muscles
won’t have fully recovered, so you may
struggle to lift the same weights for the
same sets and reps as before.
Too much rest between workouts meansyou are won’t be pushing your muscles
at the required intensity or giving them
suicient stimulus to grow.
AtaglanceTrainingfrequency
‘Afterlifting,youwillgrow
backstronger ifyoueat
andrestwell’
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OBULDNMUC FAILURE
Whenitcomestobuildingbigandstrongmuscles,
failure isthekeytosuccess
Jobinterviews,your driving
test,gettinga girl’s number.
Failurein anyof these scenarios
is upsetting, frustratingandoften
downrightembarrassing.
But thereis oneplacewhere
failureshould beyour ultimate
objective: theweightsroom. That’s becauseworking yourmuscles so
hard that they fail tocomplete that
final,excruciatingrep,is oneof the
mosteffectivetrainingmethods if
youwant toget stronger, leanerand
bigger. If that’s yourmuscle-building
ambition, then failureis theonly
wayyoucansucceed.
In simpleterms, trainingto
failureis definedasperformingan
exerciseuntilyou can’tdoanother
repwith correctform. Sowhy is this
trainingprotocol sogoodatbuilding
muscular sizeandstrength?Whenyou lift aweight to failure
youareoverloadingyourmuscles
with a level of stress theyhaven’t
experiencedbefore.Thisshocks
yourbody into thinking it is
incapableof doingwhat is required
ofit so itgrowsyourmuscles back
stronger. Ifyoudon’t take your sets
tofailureandjustdo three setsof
eight comfortable reps instead, then
yourmuscles think that theyare
already strongenough toperformthe taskaskedof them. Theneedto
growbackstrongerisn’t sourgent.
OperationoverloadWhenyoupushyourmuscles
to theabsolute limityourbrain
freaks outand getsyourcentral
nervoussystem tocall onasmany
musclefibresas itcanto start
helping outwiththelift.Training
to failureresults inmoremuscle
fibredamage,calledmicrotrauma,
becauseyou’llrecruiteverytypeof
muscle fibreyouhaveavailable.Thishas twosignificant benefits.
First, themoremuscle fibres you
can recruit andthendamageduring
training,themore fibres growback
biggerandstronger. Second,yo
are creating amoreefficientlin
of communicationbetweenyo
brainandyourmuscles,which
means that they canreact faste
andcontractwithmore strengt
thenexttimethey are calledup
what’s knownasmusclememoTrainingto failurealsoplaces
highest demandsonthemuscl
andthecentral nervoussystem
whichwillhavea bigger impac
muscularhypertrophy. Threes
ofeightwitha sub-maximal loa
– lifting less thanyoureight-rep
max – doesnot have the same
impactonmusculardevelopm
oronyour neuromuscular, or
brain-to-muscle, co-ordination.
Theotheradvantageof traini
to failureis that you’relikelyto
spendless time lifting.For strengthyouwillprobabl
only reach failureon your final
set, becauseyou’ll beaimingfor
one- to three-repmaxandyouw
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Training to failure is a strategy in which you’re unable to lift
the weight with correct form on the inal rep of your set.
This form of overload training shocks your muscles into growing
back bigger or stronger.
Because it is so taxing on your muscles and central nervous
system, you need adequate rest between sessions to allow a
full recovery.
Failure to do so will quickly result in overtraining, muscle soreness
and even size and strength losses.
AtaglanceFailure
thereforeneedtodoa goodnumberoflighterwarm-upsets.
But ifyou are lifting for size, you needtoreachfailurebetweentheeighthand 12threpof eachset and onlyaimfor aroundtwo sets ofa moveper musclegroup,restingbetween90seconds andfourminutes between them.Any more thanthis is tootaxingonyourbody.
Whether you’reliftingfor strengthorsize, youdoneedto limitnumberof setsperworkoutotherwiseyou runa realdangerof burn-out.
Becauseof theeffort involved in
lifting to failure stick tonomore thanthreesessions a week,evenly spaced outwith between48and72hoursbetweenworkouts.This is how long it’ll take youtorecover sufficientlyenough topush alittle hardernexttime.
FailureandfatigueIfyou don’t leaveadequatetimebetweensessions then you are asking for trouble because putting suchstrainon yourcentralnervoussystemisn’t somethingyoucandoregularly. Instead of getting biggerand strongeryou’llend up fatigued,
with a weakenedimmune system andalltheothernastyside effects ofovertraining.
Itwillalso make you weakerbecauseexcessivemicrotrauma ofmuscle fibresis thought tobe counterproductiveandmight inhibit growthbyblunting theanabolic (muscle-building) responseyou normallyget after a hard andsuccessfulweightssession.
A final consideration is that ifyou trytotrain to failure too often you start tolose technique: as soonas correctformgoesoutthe window you are openingthedoor toan increased chance of injury,
especiallywhen youare lifting heavy.Sohow doyouknow whatweightyou
shouldyou be lifting for each exercise?Ifyou are training for strength then youwantto lift fewer thansixreps per set,
whichwouldequateto startingwith around80to90 per centof yourone-repmax for thatmove. Whereas, if you want bigger muscles,workwitha loadthat isbetween 60and 80per centof yourone-rep maxandaimfor betweeneight and 12 repsper set.
If you are unsure how much weightyou shouldbe usewhen you start yourprogramme of liftingto failure, it’s best tostart lightandtake a few sessions toestablishyour failure point inyour target rep range.Remember fewer than sixrepsperset will build strength,eight to 12 will build size.
Ifyou want to trythis protocolthere’s onefinal consideration:you haveto reachtruefailure.You’ll knowwhen youhave becauseit’ll feel like you’vebeenrunoverandthereis justnothing left inyour tank. Ifyou arenew totrainingthenit’s a good ideatohavesomeone more experiencedtospot foryou,
especiallyduring more complicated lifts, toensure youcancomplete eachset safely.
‘Whenyouliftaweight tofailure
youareoverloadingyourmuscles
witha levelofstresstheyhaven’t
experiencedbefore’
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OBULDNMUC TEMPO
The most often neglected training variable –
tempo – is one you can’t afford to ignore if
you want toadd serious muscle
ecte tra ning varia e –
canta or to igno
rious muscle
‘For strength and
conditioning
coaches, tempo
isanothertool–
just like sets, repsand weights’
It’s temptingwhenyou
first start liftingweights to
tryandpower throughyourset,
bangingout the repsas fastas
youcan so thatyoucanget your
workout doneand dusted fast.
Whilethis approachcan
be beneficial if youarean
experienced lifterwanting to
build explosivepower– fast
reps trainyourmuscles to
contract quickly, resultingin
maximumpoweroutput– but
if youwant tobuildbiggermuscles, thenyou’regoing
toneedto spend sometime
thinkingabout tempo.
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TempotrapTempo is thespeed at whichyou
liftand lower the weight duringeachrep. Thelonger you take over each rep
theharder your muscles must work tomanageand control the load. This is
commonly known as ‘time undertension’(TUT).The longer the
TUT, the greater the damageto your muscle fibres, which
yourbody subsequently mustrepair resulting in bigger and
strongermuscles.Tempo is another tool, just like sets,
reps, weight and even exercise selection,that can be tampered with to maximisemuscle gains,but most menignore tempo
because they don’t recognise or appreciate
its importance. You can elicit completelydifferent physiological adaptations bycompleting thesame sets, reps and weight
but by varying the tempo.So whatis the right TUT whentryingto
addmuscular size?Research shows that toachieveoptimal massyour muscles needtobe under tension for between 40 and 70seconds perset, whichmeans thefastesttempo you should aim for is a two-secondup, two-seconddown approachfor sets oftenreps. As you becomemoreexperiencedyou can eitherstick to this tempo and upthe weight, orchangethe tempo toa two-
second up, four-second down approach.
BigreturnsTo reap thebenefits of bigger muscles youmay need to leaveyour ego at thedoor.It’s very tempting to go for theheaviestweights, butit’s often more thanyou cancomfortably manageso you are forced to
bang out each rep as fast as possible. Thisresults in you using momentum to lift it,rather thanplacing all the workload onthetarget musclegroup,whichis themostefficient way to make them grow.
Theanswer? Drop the weight. That’s
theonly way to ensure you are hittingthecorrecttempoon everyrep of yourset. Although it is importantto liftheavyto build muscle, it’s betterto go a littlelighter but extendthe length of time under
tension. This willhave a farmorebeneficialeffect than going a bit heavier but onlyforareally short periodof time.
InjuryfreePerforming each rep in a slow andcontrolled fashion has the additional
benefit of preventing injury. Fast andexplosive reps shift thestress from themuscles to the connective tissues, suchas ligamentsand tendons, and this is howinjuries often occur in inexperienced lifterswho don’t know correct form. Resistancetraining should be focusedon highintensity, perfect form and maximum timeunder tension becausethis will guaranteemuscle growth while minimising yourexposure to injury.
KeepitsimpleFinally, if you’reunsure of how fast orslowly you should be lifting each rep,don’t worry. Just ask yourself what yourulitmate training goals are. If you want totrain for speed, lift quickly; for maximalstrength then liftheavy; for maximal sizelift less heavy but more slowly; and forimproved endurance capacity then liftlighter for longer. It’s that easy.
Tempo is the speed at which
you perform a rep.
The slower the tempo, the longer
your muscles are exposed to the
stress of managing the weight.
The duration of a rep is called the
‘time under tension’ (TUT).
The more damage you can do to your
muscles during a session, the bigger
and stronger they will grow back.
Performing each rep very quickly canhelp build explosive power, but only if
you maintain perfect form throughout.
AtaglanceTempo
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OBULDNMUC REST
Getting yourrest periods right will help you
achieve your fitness aims sooner
When itcomes tobuildingmuscle
theformulafor success is simple.
Youselectaweight, lift ita certain
numberof times,put itdown,rest,then
lift again.The‘liftingweights’part is
crucial ofcourse,butthe periodof time
that you restbetweensets canalsohave
adramatic impacton theeffectiveness
ofyour trainingsession. In fact, rest isa
trainingvariable as importantas sets,
reps,weightandtempo inensuring you
hityour fitness target.
That’s because theamountof rest betweensets can influence theefficiency,
safetyandultimateeffectivenessof any
givenstrength-trainingprogramme.Why?
Becausewhenyou lift weights,youdoso
topush yourmusclesoutof their comfort
zonebecause it’s thisstress that makes
them stronger. But thereis only somuch
worktheycan dobefore their energy
storesbecomedepleted,hamperingtheir
ability toperformadditional repswith
goodform.Byrestingfora predetermined
periodyougiveyourbody time to
resupply themusclecellswith fuel
so they cando more lifting.
‘How long you rest
between sets can have a
dramatic impact on your
training session’
wi e p you
ner
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PowerplaySohow long shouldyoube resting betweensets? It dependsentirely
onyour objectives.Whentraining
forpower, youneed to liftmoderate
toheavyweightsatspeed,which
taxesyourcentralnervoussystem.
Thisneuromuscular fatigueclogs
up thepathwaysbetweenourbrain
andmuscles, sowithout sufficient
restyouareunable tosendthe
signal that firesup themusclesas
quicklyas youneedtoget the bar
moving onthenext set.
Power training isusually done
with complex lifts, such as thesnatchand thecleanandjerk,
andyoudon’twant toattempt
potentially dangerous lifts likes
theseunlesseverything is firing.
Youneedat least threeminutes
betweensets, if not fouror five.
SizingitupHypertrophyor increasing sizeis all
aboutworkingthemuscles sohard
they start tobreakdown,which
stimulates yourbody to repair
themso they get bigger. Because
youneed toworkyourmuscles for between40and 70secondsper
setto stimulategrowth, this
increasedtimeunder tension
createsa build-upof lacticacid
in themuscles,which ispainful.
Therefore, restbetween60and90
secondsbetweeneachset,which
shouldbe enoughtimeformostof
the lacticacidto beremovedsoyou
canhitthemuscles hardagain.
GivemestrengthIfyour aim is tobuild strength, you
needtoliftasheavy asyou can foraround sixreps.If you can’t stickto
thistarget – either you can’t reach
sixor you reach ittooeasily – you’re
using thewrongweight. Butwhile
you’refinding therightweight,youalsoneedto focus onrest.
When trainingfor gains in
strengthyouneed to rest for about
the same timeaswhenlifting for
powerbecausethevolumeand
intensityis such that itcausesboth
muscular andneuromuscular
fatigue.Studieshave suggestedyou
canmaybeget awaywithas littleas
oneminute’s restbetweensets, but
three to fiveminutes isboth safer
andmore effective.
GoingthedistanceIfyouwant yourmuscles tobe able
tohandlea loadfor a longerperiod
of time, you should trainwitha light
weight for high repsandwith little
timeto recover. This trains your
muscles todealwith lacticacid
build-upmoreefficientlyso you
cankeepgoingfor longer, sokeep
restperiods asbriefaspossible,
ideallyunder60seconds.
Rest between sets and
exercises lets your muscles
replenish their energy stores.
Not resting for long enough
means your muscles won’t be
as capable of performing the
set with good form.
Resting for too long can
result in you not testing your
muscles enough to force them
to grow back bigger
and stronger.
AtaglanceRest
b
f
t
t
r
p
t
b
t
t
b
i
i
t
I
t
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OBULDNMUC BURNFAT FAST
Torchcalorieswithweightsandget thebodyyou’vealwayswante
What’s thebest way toshift that
sparetyrearound your waist? Landslowcardiosessions or cutting fa
fromyour diet? Theanswer is neither
best approachis lifting weights.
Theidea that long butslowcardio
sessions – theso-called ‘fat-burning zo
– are the bestwayto loseweight issim
not true. Low-intensity exercise does
into fat stores for fuel, but itdoesn’tbu
many calories.Traininghard andfast
burns calories far moreefficiently.
What’s moreif you perform a lot of
cardiothen your body canstartbreak
downmuscletissueto burnas fuel. So
goodnews is that your fat-losstraininsessions canbea lot shorter. Thebad
is thattheyalsoneed tobe a lot harde
be based aroundlifting weights.
OxygendebtLiftingweightsis more effective atbu
fat thana long, slowrunbecause of th
damage itcausesto your muscles.A
hardweightssessioncreatesan oxyge
debt in your muscles that must be
replenished.This is called excess pos
exercise oxygenconsumption,or EPO
andis accompanied byan increased
consumption of energy. Duringthisrecoveryprocess, fat stores arebroke
downandfree fattyacids are released
thebloodwhere they are used as fuel
When you lift weights you create sm
tears in your muscles fibres andthese
must be repaired.Themoremuscular
damage you create thegreater theext
of repair needed, whichcomesat a hi
metaboliccost, so you burn more calo
A steady runwill result inhigherener
consumption foraround 30 minutes a
thesession, butwith weights theeffec
last up to48hoursafterwards, resultin
a far, fargreaterexpenditure of calorieAn additional, longer-termbenefit i
that weight trainingwill increaseyou
muscle mass.Muscle is active tissuet
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Weights are more eective than slow cardio at blitzing fat
because your body continues to burn calories long after you’ve
inished training.
High-intensity interval training is also a good way to burn
calories, especially if you are new to lifting weights.
Keep your rest periods between sets to about 45 seconds for the
most eective fat-burning session.
AtaglanceBurningfat
burns calories, which means that if you
gain muscle, even at rest your metabolicrate is elevatedand your body will be
burning more calories. This creates avirtuous cycle where the more muscleyou put on, the more fat yourbodyburns.
Getintense
Ready to ditch cardioforever? Not so fast.Lifting weights may burn more caloriesthan slow, steady-state cardio, but high-intensityinterval training (HIIT) – a form ofshort, but intense cardio exercise designedtoincrease fitness and burn fat – also hasa role toplay in helping you slim down,
especiallyif you’re new to weight training.Themoreexperienced you are, the
more thoroughly you can fatigue yourmuscles, but if you can’t tax your musclesto theextent neededto mobilise fatstoresas fuel, then you need to supplement yourweight training with some HIIT sessions.Typically, these would involve a warm-up followed by several minutes of all-outeffort in cardio exercise – sprinting, cyclingor swimming – interspersed with periodsof recovery before a cool down.
So what makes intervals theonly formof cardiogood for torching fat? HIIT also
creates an oxygen debt in your musclesthat stokes up your metabolism so youcontinue burning calories long afteryou’vefinished training, just as you wouldif you’d been lifting weights.
When it comes to weight training itself,thebest strategy for burning fat is to liftto failure with very short rests betweensets becausethis creates themaximummuscledamage. If you can dothreesets oftenreps with easethen you aren’t creatingan oxygen debt and so won’t burn excesscalories.Instead do supersets (see page148) that work different musclegroups so
you canworkout harder.In short, tolosefat you needto lift until
your muscles literally can’t do onemorerep before resting for 45 seconds and
doing another set.Because the rest is so brief, you will have to start dropping theweight you liftafter each set,but don’tworry about lifting lighter dumb-bells. Itmay bea blowto your ego in the short-term butyou’ll get results in thelong-term.
Movesomemetal
Compound moves should formthe backbone of your fat-loss session, sostick to squats,lunges, rows,benchandoverhead presses, and pull-ups andchin-ups to tax themaximum amountofmusclein theminimum amountof time.
Most compound moves require freeweights, such as barbells and dumb-bells,
but you shouldn’t turn your back onresistance machines.
If your goal is tolookbetternaked thenmachines may be thebetteroption, ifyou are new to lifting. Machines take thestability outof each move, allowing you to
push harder for greater muscular damage.As you becomemoreadvanced start thesession with free weights before maxingout on themachines to tax your muscles.
‘Theideathatlongbutslowcardiosessionsare thebestway
toloseweight issimplynot true’
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VARYYOURWORKOUTS
138 Whyvaryyourworkouts?
140 Split training
142 Totalbody training
144 Circuit training
146 Straight sets
148 Supersets
152 Trisets andgiantsets
154 Pyramidsetsanddropsets
RULESIX
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Whyvaryyour
workouts?Achange isasgoodasarest –andas important
–whenitcomestobuildinghardmuscle
Workingout is all about
change. Of course, thewholepoint is to change
yourbody, but the bestway
toachieve this is to regularlychange yourworkouts.That’s not to say that the
basic three sets ofeight to 12
reps approachdoesn’twork: itdoes. But in the sameway that
you need to regularly changeyourmoves, asdiscussedin
rule four, you alsoneedto
performdiferentworkout
methods to keep challengingyourmuscles innew and
efectiveways.
In this chapterweput someof themostcommonandpopularworkoutapproaches
andsetstrategies under the
microscope and, inaneasy-to-followguide, showyouwhat
changes you canmake toyourtrainingprogrammeto ensure
yourmuscles keepgrowing.
RULESIX VARYYOURWORKOUTS
Turnoverfor a
completeguideto
thebestworkout
methodsandset
strategiesto add
muscle fast.
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OBULDNMUC SPLITTRAINING
Working different body parts on different days can reapbig reward
ADVANTAGES
Great way to add muscle mass.
Requires just three workouts a wee
Lets you to focus on hard-to-grow
muscle groups.
DISADVANTAGES
Requires a structured, progressive
training programme to be eective
Using heavy weights means you m
need a spotter.
Little transfer value to sports becau
the body doesn’t work as a unit.
At a glanceSplit training
Split – orbodypart – training
involvesworkingspecificmusc
groups inonesession andthen focusonanother groupofmuscles in thene
workout. Thisapproachallowsyouto
exhaustcertainmusclesoneday, befo
giving themseveral days to recoverb
trainingthemagain, duringwhichtim
youcantrain othermusclegroups.
Eachmuscle group is typicallywor
twice aweek,witharound48 to72ho
betweenthese sessions toallowsuffic
time for recovery.
Split trainingisamoreadvanced
approachbecause itallowsyou to lift
heavyweightsona regularbasis,mak
itoneof thebest approachesfor addinmusclemassquicklyandefficiently.
Whenusing thisstrategyyoumust
increasetheweightsyou are lifting to
ensuremuscle growth.Andwhilemis
theodd sessionisn’ta problem, ifyou
stick to thebody-part routineyoucan
upresting for toolong betweentrainin
thesamemusclegroups,whichwill st
your progress. Liftingheavycanalsor
inmoremuscle soreness,so adequate
recoverytimeis essential forsuccess
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Men
SPLIT TRAINING SAMPLEWORKOUT
DAY ONE CHEST AND BACK
1Benchpressp60
2Inclinedumb-bell flyep85
3 Inclinedumb-bellpressp84
4Pull-up p64
5One-armrowp94
6Dumb-bellpulloverp89
BENCH PRESS PULLUP
DAY TWO LEGS
1Squat p58
2Lungep66
3Seatedhamstringcurlp111
4Romaniandeadliftp90
5Dumb-belllateral lungep91
6Seatedcalfraisep111
SQUAT
DAY SIX REPEAT DAY ONE
DAY FIVE REST
DAY THREE REST
DAY FOUR ARMS AND SHOULDERS
1Shoulderpressp68
2Shrugp109
3Chin-upp88
4EZ-barbicepscurlp104
5Tricepsdipp72
6Lyingtricepsextensionp106
SHOULDERPRESS
LUNGE
TRICEPS DIP
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OBULDNMUC TOTAL BODY TRAINING
Workingyourwholebodyeverysessionaddsmuscleandtorches
A totalbodyroutine involves traineverymajormuscle groupeach ti
you hit the gym.So you’d performonebody-partspec
movefora certain numberofsetsand re beforemovingon to another body part.
Alternatively, youcould supersetantagonistic muscle groups (seepage14for an even fasterand more taxing work
This approachpromotes muscle gainandburns fat byusing compoundlifts,whichboost thereleaseof testosteroneothergrowth hormones,butit’s alsogrefor workingyou heart andlungsas youmove quickly betweenexercises thattadifferentmuscles andso keep your bod
guessing what toexpectnext.However, it is vital that nomuscle
groups areneglectedduring this approaespecially those moves that you don’t liFailureto workthewhole body to thesaextent canincreaseyour odds of injurydevelopingmuscular imbalances.
ADVANTAGESIntensiveapproach that buildsmuscle
and burns fat.
A session based aroundcompound lif
boosts the release of testosteroneand
growth hormones.
Sessions canbe performed quickly to
minimise time spent training.
Can provide a good aerobic workout.
DISADVANTAGES
Working the whole bodymakes itdiicult to fatigue everymusclegroup
Hard to targetminormusclegroups.
Every session can start to feel the sam
sappingmotivation.
Ataglance
Total-bodytraining
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TOTALBODYSAMPLEWORKOUT
1 DECLINEBENCH PRESS P85
(CHEST AND TRICEPS)
4 GOOD MORNING P86
(LOWER BACK)
2BENTOVERROW P70
(BACK AND BICEPS)
5 PUSH PRESS P92
(SHOULDERS)
3 SQUAT P58
(LEGS)
6 CRUNCH P43
(ABS)
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OBULDNMUC CIRCUITTRAINING
Ifyou’restrugglingtofindtime tosqueezeyoursessions intoan
alreadybusyschedule, thencircuit trainingcouldbetheanswer
Ifyouhavea membershipwith big gymchain thenyou’veprob
seencircuit trainingclasses advertise
Circuit trainingisa popular typeof se
because it allows youtoworkyourwh
body ina short spaceof time.
Andthat’s becausecircuit trainingi
a varietyofdifferentmoves orstation
anywherebetweensixand12 exercis
– thatareperformedback-to-backwit
rest.Onceallof thestationshavebeen
completedyou then rest for up tothre
minutesbeforerepeating thecircuita
typicallycompleting three or four full
circuits ina singlesession.Thequickpaceandconstantswitch
betweenexercises andequipmentsh
yourbody andtacklesallyourmajor
muscle groups,meaningyoucan get
aneffectivefull-bodyworkout inas
littleas 45minutes.
LiftinglighterTheintensivenature of this sessionm
that youwon’t be lifting heavyweight
somestationsmayonlybe bodyweig
moves – socircuitsare bettersuited fo
buildingmuscular endurance, burnin
andgivingyouadecentaerobicworkthan for addingseriousmusclemass.
Many gymchains runcircuit classe
instudios, butyoucancreateyourow
circuitusingresistancemachines, free
weightsorbodyweightmoves,ora
combinationof all three.
ADVANTAGESWorks the whole body in a short amount of time
Provides a good aerobic workout, builds muscularendurance and burns fat.
Can be done any place, any time, using only
bodyweight exercises
Great transfer value to sports performance.
DISADVANTAGESNot ideal for building muscle mass because of
the light weights involved.
Canrequire a lot of equipment and working in w
other people if performed in a gym.
Need to be motivated to work consistently witho
stopping for rest.
AtaglanceCircuit training
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Men
CIRCUITTRAININGWORKOUT
1DUMBBELLSQUATP82 2DUMBBELL
LATERALLUNGEP91
5DUMBBELL
PULLOVERP89
3CHINUPP88
6DUMBBELLINCLINE
BENCHPRESSP84
8MEDICINEBALL
PRESSUPP97
7SHRUGP109
4TRICEPSDIPP72
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OBULDNMUC STRAIGHTSETS
Thebasic–andoftenthebest –waytoadd leanmuscle
Straightsets requireyoutoperf
oneexercisefora certainnumb
repetitions– usually eight to12 – follow bya short rest, then repeating.This is
mostbasicapproach toweightliftinga
itcanveryoftenbethemost effective
especially if you’renew toweight train
STRAIGHTSETS
What?Performinga certain numberofrepso
sameexercise, thenrestingandrepea
Suchas?Inanarmsandshoulders session
you’ddothreesetsof tenrepsoftheshoulderpress, thenmoveon
andrepeatonanotherexercise.
WhyshouldIdothem?Theaim is toworkthe targetmuscle g
to failure. In this case youwouldselec
weight youcan lift tentimesfor thefir
two sets, so thatby theendofthe third
of repetitionsyourmuscles are so fati
youmaystruggle tocompleteall ther
Straightsetsarealso great for preparin
muscle group,andits stabilisingmusc
formoreadvancedworkouts.
FITTIP
Getting into the right frame ofmind can make a big diference
to the efectiveness of yourworkouts. On your way to the
gym, remind yourself of why youstarted the plan, and imagine how
good you’ll feel when you reach
your goals. If you’re having anof-day, and don’t feel like training
go anyway, get changed and doa light warm-up. The surge of
feel-good hormones may makeyou change your mind, but don’t
get discouraged if you do miss asession. Simply pick up where you
left of at the next workout.
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STRAIGHTSETSSAMPLEWORKOUT
1SHOULDERPRESSP68 2SHRUGP109 3CHINUPP88
5LYINGTRICEPS
EXTENSIONP106
4ONEARMROWP94 6TRICEPSDIPP72
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OBULDNMUC SUPERSETS
Pairingexercises isa fastandeffectivewaytoaddmuscle
FITTIP
To ensure that muscle-growth is even across youbody, aim to make your workouts as balanced as
possible. This means that you should do as manylower-body moves as upper-body moves; for
every pushing motion you perform you shouldperform a pulling one; and you need to give the
same amount of attention to opposing musclegroups, such as biceps and triceps. Also, if one
side of your body is stronger than the other, wor
your weaker side harder to help it catch up.
Supersets are twodifferent exercises
done back to back withoutrest. So, what exactlymakes supersets so super?For one thing supersetsare a great way to shakeup an existing trainingregime as theincreasedworkload will shock yourmuscles into growingand, because they allow
you to work harderina farshorter periodof
time, they improve yomuscles’ ability to woharder with less rest.
Thereare a numbeof different supersetworkouts you can do.Herearesome of the mpopular and effectiveset strategies for addiserious muscle fast.
What?A superset of two exercises thatworks opposing muscles groups,affording each group additionalrecovery time between sets.
Suchas?A set of dumb-bell bench presses(chest and triceps) followedimmediately by a set of one-armrows (back and biceps). Repeatthis superset three times.
WhyshouldIdothem?Focusing on different musclegroups provides a more balancedworkout in less time and lets youto lift heavier weights in each set,promoting greater muscle gain.
ANTAGONISTICSUPERSETS
INCLINEDUMBBELLBENCHPRESSP84 ONEARMROWP94
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Men
What?A superset of two exercises thatwork a muscle group in theupper
body then one in the lower bodywithout rest in between.
Suchas?A set of lunges (lower body)then
bent-over rows (upper body).
WhyshouldIdothem?Alternating between working musclesin opposite ends of your body forces
your heart to workreally hard topump blood into thetarget muscles.This makes the workout moreintensive andmeans you will buildmuscleand burn fat at the same time.
What?
These are like straight sets, butyou use therest periodbetweenthem to work on a hard-to-growmuscle group that requires additionaltraining, such as your calves or core.
Suchas?After a set of goodmornings, useyour rest period doing seatedcalfraisesto target a muscle groupsthat requires serious effort togrow bigger.
WhyshouldIdothem?
Smaller muscle groups requiregreater stimulation for growth, andusing staggered sets means you canwork them even on days when nottraining them exclusively.
STAGGERED SUPERSETS
GOOD MORNING P86
SEATED
CALF RAISE P110
PERIPHERAL HEART ACTION (PHA) SUPERSETS
LUNGE P66 BENTOVER ROW P70
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OBULDNMUC SUPERSETS
What?
Twoexercises performedbacktoback that target thesame
musclegroup.The firstmoveis
an isolationexercise, thesecond
is a compoundlift.
Suchas?Legextensionsfollowedby
front squats.
WhyshouldIdothem?Fatiguing themusclewith
an isolationexercise before
exhausting itwith a compound
moveis ahighly effectivewaytobreakdownthemost amount
ofmuscle tissue. However,
performing aheavycompound
liftwhen tiredputsyouata
higherriskof injury, soalways
usea spotter.
Thesesupersetsaremore
advancedworkoutmethods
thoseontheprevious pages,butdolet thatputyouoff. Performed corr
each canbe ahighly effectiveway
addleanmusclemass fast,becaus
theintensenatureof these superse
recruitsthemaximumamountof
muscle fibres,while alsokeepingy
heart-rate high soyourbodymust
into its fat stores.
Forrapidmusclegainstrytheseadvancedsupersetmethods
PREEXHAUSTIONSUPERSETS
SEATEDLEGEXTENSIONP110 FRONTSQUATP98
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What?Twoexercisesperformed backtoback
that target thesamemusclegroup.The
firstmoveis ancompoundmove, the
secondan isolationexercise.
Such as?ChinsupfollowedbyEZ-bar
bicepscurls.
Why should I dothem?Performing thecompoundmove
firstwhenyouare freshmeansyou
can fatigueyourmuscles,plus thesupportingones,beforereallyblitzing
thetargetmusclewithanisolation
move. This isa saferstrategythan
pre-exhaustionbut justaseffective
forbuildingmuscle.
What?
Aversionof anantagonisticsupersetwhereyouperformtwoopposing
exercisesbacktoback, exceptyou
performtensetsaltogether.
Such as?Aset oftenbench presses thenten
pull-ups.Rest. Repeattentimes.
Why should I usethem?Thisapproach,made popular
byworld-renownedstrengthcoach
and Men’s Fitness magazine’smuscle
expertCharlesPoliquin, is designed
topackon themaximumamount ofleanmuscle in theshortestamount
of time.Theweightusedforeach
exercise remainsthesameforevery
set, and shouldbe around60 per
centofyourone-repmax.
GERMAN VOLUME TRAINING
BENCHPRESSP60 PULLUPP64
POSTEXHAUSTION SUPERSET
CHINUPP88 EZBARBICEPSCURLP104
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OBULDNMUC TRISETS
Performingthree,orevenfour,moves that target thesame
musclegroupinsuccessionwill result inimpressivegains
What?Trisetsinvolvedoingthreedifferent
exercises thattargetthesamemuscle
group in successionwithout rest.
Suchas?Tenchin-ups,ten seatedcable rowsand
tenone-armpreachercurlswould bea
biceps-hittingtriset. After the final set
you’d rest beforerepeating.
WhyshouldIdothem?Trisetsaregreat forrecruiting additionalmusclefibres tohelp carryoutthe
workloadbecause themuscle fibresyou
normallyrely onbecome increasingly
fatiguedas thesetprogresses.This
makes trisets goodfor buildingmuscular
endurance,whenusinga lightweight,
andmuscularsizeand strengthwhen
usingheavierweights.
FITTIP
Most gyms provide water, but a
sensible move is to take a bottlewith you so you can sip from it
every few minutes to keep yourwater levels topped up. If you wait
until you’re thirsty before drinking,the chances are you’re already
dehydrated and your performancewill sufer as a result.
TRISETSSAMPLEWORKOUTTRISETS
SEATEDCABLEROWP95
ONEARMPREACHERCURLP105
CHINUPP88
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What?Agiant set involves four different
exercises thattargetthesamemuscle
group in successionwithout rest.
Suchas?Tricepsdips, close-grip bench
press, lying tricepsextension,
medicineballpress-ups.
WhyshouldIdothem?This isan intense setstrategybecause
thetotaltimeyour targetmusclewill
beworking is significantlylongerthan
withanyother typeof set.Assuch, you
mayneed to lower theweightsas theset
advances – andyourmusclesbecome
increasingly fatigued– toenableyouto
performthedesirednumberof reps.Thisadvanced approachis great forshocking
themuscles into growthbyreally taxing
everytypeofmusclefibre,butyou’ll need
longer to recoverafter giant setworkouts
compared tootherapproaches.
GIANTSETS
FITTIP
There are a fewrules ofgym
etiquette that you should follow
if you don’t want tobe ostracisedby your fellowmembers…
Never hog amachine or
a piece of equipment.
Wipe your sweat of any
equipmentafter you’ve used it.
Replacedumb-bells and
weight plateson their racksafter you’ve used them.
Don’t trail water from the
showers into thechanging rooms.
Anddon’t ogle thegirlfriend
of the guy in the cornerwho’sbench pressing200kg.
GIANTSETSSAMPLEWORKOUTGIANTSETS
MEDICINEBALL
PRESSUPP97
CLOSEGRIP
BENCHPRESSP96
LYINGTRICEPS
EXTENSIONP106
TRICEPSDIPP72
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OBULDNMUC PYRAMIDSETS
Watchmusclesgrowfastbyincreasingtheweight,whilelowering
thereps,orworkingpast failureanddroppingtheweight
What?Aseries ofsetsofthe sameexercises in
whichyou increasetheweightafter each
setbutreducethenumberof reps.
Suchas?To take thedeadliftasanexample: 15 reps
of60kg, ten reps of70kg, eight repsof
80kg, four tosix repsof90kg. Youcan then
workback downagain.
WhyshouldIdothem?For largermuscle groupspyramidsetsare a greatwayto addmassand strength
becauseyourmusclesmustworkharder
as thesetsprogress,whichkeeps them
guessing andputs themoutof thecomfort
zone, resultinginbiggergains.
FITTIP
Proper form is critical in
pyramid sets to avoid injury,especially as the weight
increases. Make sure you arecomfortable with each phase
of a move and how they
come together for each repbefore attempting heavy lifts.
PYRAMIDSETS
W E I G H T
REPS
SET1
SET2
SET3
SET4
PYRAMIDSETSCHART
At the end of each set increase the weight butreduce the number of reps
DEADLIFT
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What?Aseriesofsetsofthe sameexerciseinwhichyoustart
withaheavyweight andlift that until fatigued, then reduce
theweight anddoa new set tofatigue, pausingto rest
betweensets.
Suchas?Startinga inclinedumb-bell flyeswith20kgdumb-bells,
working to failure, then immediatelygrabbingthe15kg
weightsandcontinuinglikethisuntilyou can’tdoa single
rep,evenwitha really lightdumb-bell.
WhyshouldIdothem?Toworkthe targetmuscle tocompletefatigueand
damageasmanymusclefibresaspossible so that
they growbackbigger. Keeptheweight dropssmall
betweensets andyour final set shouldbewitha
weight about20percentof thestartweight.These
sets really taxthemuscles,so leavea good fewdays
betweensessions toallowforsufficientrecovery.
FITTIP
One of the keys to making progress isto record your progress. If you don’t
know what you lifted last session andfor how many sets and reps, you won’t
know what to aim for next time, or
know whether you are making regularimprovements. A written record is
evidence of your progress and helpsyou to stick to your training programme.
DROPSETS
SETS
W E I G H T
DROPSETSCHART
At the end of each set, lower the weight and
continue lifting until you reach failure again.Then lower the weight and continue.
S E
T 4 S
E T 3 S
E T 2 S
E T 1
DROPSETS
INCLINEDUMBBELLFLYEP85
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EATTOBUILDMUSCLE
RULESEVEN
158 Eat fora betterbody
160 Thenew rules of food
166 Musclemealplan
168 Muscle snacks
170 Supplements
NTENTSO
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OBULDNMUC EATFORABETTERBODY
Goodnutritionishalf thebattletogainingmuscle, sofollowthese
basicrulesandstartseeingarealchangetoyourbody
1WatchyourcaloriesIfyou eatfewercalorieseachdaythanyouburnoffthroughactivityyou’ll lose
weight; eatmore, andyou’ll gainweight.Of course,whetheryou
gain thatweight as fat ormusclewilldependon thekind of foodsyoueatand thetrainingyoudo.
2Getthe balancerightNearlyall yourcaloriescome
fromacombinationof thethreemainmacronutrients:carbohydrates,proteinand fats.Carbohydratesarevitalto
providethemuscle glycogen thatfuelsyourworkouts andshould
makeupabout 5060percentofyour total calorie intake.Protein isneededto grow
new tissue inyour bodyand istherefore of interest to anyone
buildingmuscle.Theoptimumintakeof proteinformuscle-gainers isbetween 1.5g and 2gofproteinperkiloof bodyweight, but, dependingonyourbody type(seepage16), itdoesn’thurt to take
ina bitmoreto ensurethat youarehitting yourdaily proteintargets.Fat is a nutrientthatmany
people try toavoidaltogether, butitcanhelpyou absorbvitamins,improveathletic performanceandprotect jointsand tendonsagainst injury. However, fat isa very energy-densenutrient,containingninecaloriespergramcomparedtoaround fourcaloriesforcarbsandprotein,soyouonlyneed about5060gof fat a day.
3EattherightstuffThesimplest rulewhendecidingwhat toeatis: keep itnatural.
Processedfoods – biscuits, cakes,
readymeals, fizzydrinks, cris– tendto behighon calories but lowonessential nutrientsso they’re poor at fuellingworkouts andrebuildingmus but goodatmaking youfat.
Carbohydratesprovide theenergyyouneed to trainhard but theycan also be responsibforalteringyourblood-sugarlevelsandmakingyou storefaso thesimplest rule to follow itomake themajorityof your
carbsunrefined, unprocessedlowon theglycaemic indexandhigh in fibre. This includevegetables,wholegrain breadwholewheatpasta,oatsand beans,whichreleaseenergyslowly, ensuringyou’llalwayshave enough storedglycogeninyourmuscles for aworkoutProtein-richfoodsinclude
leanmeat, fish, eggs anddairyproduce. Lower-qualityprotecanalsobe found innuts,seeds andbeans.Aim toeat
awidevarietyofprotein-richfoods toget the full rangeofmuscle-buildingaminoacids.Fatsaren’t allbad. Theones
avoidare trans fats,whichmeskippingcakes, biscuits andmargarineand cutting backoredmeatsandcheese. Thefatyouneedaremonounsaturatandpolyunsaturates, foundinoliveoil, nuts, seedsandoily fish. These includeomega3 andomega6 fattyacids,which
have beenproventoaidstrength andaerobic trainingandprotect the body frominjuries.
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4Eatattheright timesWhen you’re training
hard you want to eatabout an hour or two before your
workouts and again immediatelyafterwards. Your snacks should
include both carbs and proteinto help restore glycogen levels
in your muscles andrepair
muscle tissue. A post-workoutsnack might be a bagel with
salmon and cream cheese,ora tuna and pasta salad.
For the rest of theday, eat smallmeals at regularintervals of two
orthreehours, with the aim ofhaving some protein with every
meal. This way you keep yourglycogen levels topped up and
prevent your bodyfrom breaking
down andusingthe proteinsthatyouneed for muscle building.
5Takeonfluids– butnotbooze
When you workout yousweat a lot, andyou need
to need to replace that fluid with
water. Thetrickis to ensure that
you hydrate yourself beforeyouget thirsty, not
afterwards.
Dehydration will impact on yourperformance in the gymand can
affectthe way your body stores
fat andrepairsmuscle owingtopoor organ function. Take a water
bottle with you to the gym andsipfromit everyfew minutes.
Overthe courseof a day you
shouldaim to take in abouttwoto threelitres of waterin total.
Alcohol, on theother hand,
you can do without.It can
havea catabolic effect on yourmuscles, meaning it prevents
them from developing properly.If you are serious about
gaining muscle mass, keeppubsessions to a minimum.
6
Supplementsareuseful,butdon’trelyonthem
Sports supplements,such as protein powders andenergy drinks, shouldn’t be
seen as an alternativeto agood diet. Eating healthily
is more important than glugging
down shakes, but they do have
one advantage: convenience.It canbe tough to consume
allthe calories you need every
day through food alone, andit’s
much easierto take a proteinshake tothe gym than towhip up
a chicken salad, so supplementscanbe useful for anyone serious
about gaining muscle and losingfat. Also, peoplewhodo a lot of
exercise can need extra vitaminsC and E, so a supplementof these
canbe handy if you struggleto get enoughin your diet.
If you do use supplements, besureto pick a reputable brandandfollowthe guidelines on the
packaging. Seepage 170 for ourcomplete guide to supplements.
‘Processedfoods
likebiscuits,cakes
andreadymealsare
pooratrebuilding
musclebutgood
atmakingyoufat’
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OBULDNMUC THE NEW RULES OF FOOD
Eatingproperlyshouldn’t takeadiploma,sowe’vesimplified
everythingyouneedtoknowintosevensimple rules
What you eatis every bit as important to your
fitness as whatyou doin thegym, but every week differentfaddiets and scare stories hitthe news, making it impossibleto work outwhich bits of adviceto follow. It’s easy to justify badchoices – after all,scientistsand nutritionists are constantly
changing their minds, right?Wrong. Those in the knowagree on what you should beputtingin yourmouth – andwhat’s more, it’s much simplerthan you’d expect. Here, we’vedistilled that collective wisdominto seven rules.Write themdown ona postcard, stick itonyour fridge– and tuckin.
RULEONEGREENISGOOD
We’re starting with this becauseit coulddefinehow you think about therest of yodiet: there’s no such thing as toomuch veespecially if you’re talking about vegetabgrown above ground. Regardless of whaelse you’reeating, your plate should beabout half-fullof them.
TheFoodStandards Agency (FSA) hasintroduced the ‘eatwell plate’ to replace ttraditional food pyramid as the governm
endorsed illustration of what to eat. Thissuggests that roughly a thirdof your dietshould come from fruit andveg. But it alssuggests that another thirdshouldbe maup of bread, rice and other starchyfoods
This is not the way to a hard, lean body because the fundamental problem withstarchy carbohydrates is that they causesuddenand prolonged rises in blood sugwhichcan provoke a slew of biochemicaimbalances that predispose you to weighgain, type 2 diabetes andother diseases.
Besides, there’s nothing in them thatyou can’t get elsewhere. If you’re going
to eat carbohydrate,make sure it’s morenutritious carbohydrate with slower sugrelease, which is almost every vegetableapartfrom the potato. It’s also a bit of anoversimplification to put fruit and vegetatogether, as the FSA platedoes. Yes, they’
both good for you, but they’re radicallydifferent nutritionally. If you’regetting yofivea day from fruit alone, then your bloosugar levels willbe going crazy throughotheday from thehigh fructose content.
If you wantto get lean toshow off youthen remember: you’d haveto eathalf a kof asparagusto ingestthe same number
carbs as in a singlewholemeal pitta brea
BITESIZEDSUMMARYMake vegetables thefoundation of youralong with two pieces of fruit a day. Varythemas muchas you can.
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RULETWOEATPROTEINWITH
EVERYTHING
Sooneror later, you’ll runintosomeone at thegym,officeorall-you-can-eatbuffetwhoraisesaneyebrowat theamount ofproteinyou’reeating. Somemayeventellyouthat itcan be bad foryourhealth.
Thetruth is theonlystudiesthathave ever suggestedthat proteincancausekidneyproblemswere doneon peoplewhohadpre-existingkidney
problems. Thestudies showingthat it’s harmful toanyoneelsesimply don’t exist.
Protein isoneof themostimportantcomponentsof thedietandwhenyoueata high-proteindiet,you’regenerallyless hungry, eatless andloseweight asa result.
Sowhat’s therightamount?Estimatesvary fromoneto fourgramsperkilo ofbodyweight,perday, butmostnutritionistsagree ontwograms as the
minimum.As for howmuchyou candigestat onesitting,a 2009 studyfromCanada’sMcMasterUniversityfound thatincreasingproteinintakepermealonlyincreasedproteinsynthesis (raised theamount the bodycoulduse) up toadoseofroughly20g– thoughthestudyfocused specifically oneggproteins. Sticktoa two-to-oneratioofvegetables toproteinineverymeal,bysight.
BITESIZEDSUMMARYIt’s virtually impossibletoeattoomuchprotein,althoughyou couldeasilybe notgettingenough.Make sure youmakeit apart ofeverymeal.
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OBULDNMUC
RULETHREEDON’TFEARFAT
Although most of us know that
eating some fat is essential to a
healthy diet, it’s alltoo easy to make
a mental connection between eating
fat and gettingfat, so you end up
simply skipping it.Troubleis, that
usually means eating something
that’s worse for you.Onepossibleissue the FSA has
with fat is that it’s more calorific,
per gram, than carbohydrate or
protein, but if you’re worried about
your weight one ofthe keys is toeat
foods that aregenuinely satisfying
because you’ll eat less of them,
whichyou’ll often do with fat. You
also want to avoidspikes in insulin,
whichis what you’regoingto get if
you’reeating carbs instead.
There’s also theissue of whether
it’s OK to eat saturated fat – typically
demonisedas a cause of high
cholesterol.Thinking is shifting
towards the positive. Some recent
studies havefailed to find anylink between saturatedfats and
heart disease.
Hydrogenated and trans fats are
a different story, with the research
sounding alarm bells, butwhen you
look at naturally occurring fats
suchas the ones in red meat,
avocado andnuts,there seems
be no cause for concern.
After all, humans have evolve
to eat saturated fats,so it seems
strange that it’s only in thepast 5
years that have they become b
for us. Whereas grains, a relative
recent addition to our diets in
evolutionary terms,may notbe
easily processed by our bodies.
BITESIZEDSUMMARY
Avoided partially hydrogenated
– especially trans fats. Don’t wor
toomuch about therest.
THE NEW RULES OF FOOD
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RULEFOURSTARTASYOUMEAN
TOGOON
You always eat breakfast,of course, becauseyou know it’s themostimportant meal of theday and that skipping itslows yourmetabolismtoa crawl. But are youstill getting it wrong? Youwill be if you listen totheFSA’s recommendationthat you ‘baseyour
breakfast on bread or
breakfast cereals’, and‘wash it down with somefruit juice’.
Eating a high-carb breakfast will give youlow blood sugar by midmorning, making youmore likely to snack onmore high-carb foods,which creates a viciouscircle of snacking.
So instead of startingyour day on toast orcereal, have something
low-carb that’s morenutritionally sustainablesuch as oats with berriesandnuts or scrambledeggs with smoked salmon.
Alternatively, just see offwhatever’s in the kitchen
because last night’sleftovers are oneof the
best (and cheapest) thingsyou caneat, assumingyou’reeating right in thefirst place.
BITESIZEDSUMMARY
Think of breakfast likeany other meal: youneed a blend of protein,fats and fruit or veg.
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OBULDNMUC
RULEFIVEALLCALORIESARENOTEQUAL
Calories: the government wantrestaurants to include them onmenus and women frantically athem up in theTesco Express saisle, butshouldwe really awarthem so much importance whecomes to fat loss?
No, because calories are not agood indication of what a food ilike andthe effectit’s going to hon your metabolic rate.Wouldreally say that a coupleof poaceggs are ‘thesame’ as a can of C
just because they contain a sim
number of calories?Of course nAlso, counting calories make
ittoo easy tojustifybad dietarydecisions. Ever hearda friendsthat they caneat what they wa
because they’ll burn it off at thegym? They couldn’t be more wIn fact, themoreactive you are,
better your nutrition needs to bFar more important than calo
content is your food’s glycaemiload (GL), whichindicates howmuchof a blood sugar spike it’lgiveyou – yet no one’s asking fo
manufacturers to list glycaemicload on their packaging.
But, if you’ve stuck with us sofarthat shouldn’t be a problem.Steering clearof starchy foodand sugar means you’re alreadavoidingfoods with high GL.
You canalso slow theabsorprate of high-GL foods,and so heprevent blood-sugar wobbles, beating them with more protein-heavy foods like chicken or tun
BITESIZEDSUMMARY
Think quality, not quantity. Eatinutritious food is far, farbetter tsticking rigidly to a 2,000-calorday limit especially if those calocome fromready meals, pizzas
beer and crisps.
THE NEW RULES OF FOOD
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RULESIXFREERANGEISKEY
Just in case that bulk-valuecrate of cage-raised eggs is
starting to look tempting, letus point outthat organicandfree-range meat and fishis betterfor you.
Free range chickens, forexample, havea more varied
diet andthey get a lotmoreexercisethan their battery
cousins.And this allows thedevelopment of more muscle,
whichtendsto contain more zinc, vitamins B, A and K,
amino acids, iron, selenium and phosphorus.
Also, farm-raised salmonhavebeen found to contain
up to eight times thelevel of carcinogens as wild fish,
thanks to their cramped conditions and poor-quality feed,
whilegrass-fed beef tends to havemuch higherlevels of
conjugatedlinoleicacid and omega 3s thanthe kind fed
on grain.Think of it this way and free-range feels less like
a frivolous luxury. In fact it’s so nutritionally dissimilar to
cage-reared it’s basically a different food.
BITESIZEDSUMMARY
Eat free-range chickens, grass-fed beef and wild-caught
salmonwhenyou can. If you don’t know where it’s from,
chances are theanswer’s notgoingto be good.
RULESEVENEATREALFOOD
Followthis rule, and you’ll endup following all the
other rules almostby default.As a simpleruleof thumb eat onlyfood that grows
outof the ground or once had a face. Or alternatively,
simply think like your hunter-gatherer ancestors or at
least back to a pre-industrialised world . When you’re
looking at something on theshelf, ask yourself if it
would haveexisted 5,000 yearsago.If theanswer’s no,
it probably isn’t something that you should be eating.
Youmay findit easier tostick tothe outer aisles
of thesupermarket, whichis where all thefresh
produce is usually kept for ease of transportation, and
away from the interior where everything’s canned,
processed or packed full of preservatives. Avoid
things containing preservatives that you can’t spell
or ingredientsyou wouldn’t keep in thekitchen. Eatthings that will rot eventually, so that you know they’re
fresh.And try to enjoy it.
BITESIZEDSUMMARY
Eat food, notproducts pretending to be food.
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OBULDNMUC MUSCLEMEALPLAN
Eat likeacavemantoaddpowerandpreventweightgain
Formillions of
yearshumanshadnorefinedsugarsorprocessedfoods. Soalthoughsuchmoderngrubmay be tasty andconvenient,your bodyhasn’t evolved todealwith itvery well – and itusually encourages fatstorage. This meal plan,createdbynutritionistChristineBailey(advancenutrition.co.uk)andbased onthe Paleo
Diet for Athletes, replacesprocessedsugary foodsandcarbswith freshfruit, nuts, seedsandanimalproteins– thestaple StoneAge foods.Ithasplentyof healthyunsaturatedfatsand branched-chainaminoacids,which as well asaidingfat loss willhelpmuscledevelopmentandanabolic function.If you’restillpeckishin
the day graba handful ofnuts ordrink a low-carb,high-protein shake.
Breakfast150gsautéedprawnswith6 slicedmushroomsand½chopped redpepper.150g freshpineappleslices.
SnackSmokedsalmonslices.Carrot andcelery sticks.
LunchChickenand avocadosalad. 1 apple.30galmonds.
Snack
1 hard-boiledegg.2oatcakes.
Dinner300mlhome-madevegetablesoup.Pan-friedvenisonwithcherry sauce.
Snack2 satsumas.
M O N DAY T U E S DAY W E D N E S DAY
42 prehistoric meals to keep the flab at bay
BreakfastBowl ofblueberriesand raspberries.2 poached eggswithasparagusand4grilledmushrooms.
SnackHandfulof seeds. 1 ap
Lunch300mlhome-madevegetablesoup.Coldvenisonsteakservedwith a bagofmixedsalad leaves,½redpepper,2tbspblacolives,slicedcucumbceleryand1 tomato.Slicesofmelon.
Snack2 slices ofham.Carrotsticks.
DinnerChickenand cashewnutstir-fry. Slicedfreshpineapple.
Snack1 banana. Handful ofmacadamianuts.
Breakfast1 grapefruit.2-eggomelettewith½anavocado, spinachand2 choppedtomatoes.
Snack1 banana.
Lunch150ggrilledcodilletwith lemonjuiceandfreshlygroundblackpepper.Green saladwith lemonjuiceand1tsp olive oil, 50gsugarsnappeas, cucumberslices,½ a redpepper
and2tbspblackolives.Bowl ofblueberriesanddicedmelon.
Snack3 cold leanbeef slices.Carrotsticks.
DinnerGingerbakedturkey.100g freshraspberrieswith2tbsp lakedalmonds.
Snack30gmacadamia nuts.
Handfulof raisins.
DAILY TOTAL1,840calories,163gcarbs, 130gprotein, 79g fat
DAILY TOTAL1,713 calories,147g carbs,156gprotein, 60gfat
DAILY TOTAL1,956 calories,179gcarbs, 130gprotein,87gfat
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DAILY TOTAL1,827calories,172g carbs,133gprotein,72gfat
DAILY TOTAL1,746calories,159gcarbs,140gprotein,66gfat
DAILY TOTAL AILY TOTAL746calories
T H U R S DAY F R I DAY SAT U R DAY S U N DAY
BreakfastSlicesof melonwithbrazil nuts. 3 slicesoflean roastbeefwith2baked tomatoes.
Snack1 apple.Handfulofraisinsand almonds.
Lunch300mlhome-madevegetable soup.Grilledporkilletwithspinachsalad (handful ofbabyspinachleaves,mixedlettuceleaves,½ redonion,½ redpepper, choppedfresh cucumberslices,celery). 1 satsuma.
Snack1 hard-boiledegg.Carrotsticks.
DinnerBakedbutternutsquashandturkeycasserole.
Snack2oatcakes. Smokedsalmonslices.
BreakfastBowlofblueberriesandraspberries.1 cold salmon illetwithpan-friedtomatoesandmushrooms.
Snack4oatcakeswith ham.
LunchGrilledturkeybreastwith 1 baked sweetpotato,saladleaves,cucumber,sugarsnappeas,½ a redpepper,2tbspblack olivesand½a redonion.Slicesof freshpineapple.
Snack100gcookedprawns.Celery andcarrot sticks.
DinnerFrittatawith2 eggs, 3newpotatoes,spinachleaves, 1 redpepper.Steamedbroccoli andcarrotsandsalad.
Snack1 banana.Handfulofmacadamianuts.
BreakfastBowl ofcherries.2 scrambledeggswith5 asparagus spears.
Snack2 slicesof ham, slicedcucumberandcelery.
LunchLeftover squashandturkeycasserole.Largemixedsalad.
SnackHandfulof raisinsandalmonds.1 pear.
Dinner300mlhome-madevegetable soup. Bakedsalmonillet withlemon juice(cookanextra salmon illetforSaturday) servedwith60gsteamedcarrots,60gsugarsnap peas,60ggreenbeansand1 bakedsweetpotato.
Snack
1 banana.Handfulof cashewnuts.
Breakfast100gcookedprawns
withgreenbeans.1 choppedappleand2tbspseeds.
Snack2 slicesof hamand2 tomatoes.
LunchLemoncrabsaladSlicesofmelon.
Snack2 oatcakes. Smokedsalmonslices.
DinnerPork stir fry. 1 satsuma.
Snack2 oatcakes. Handfulofalmondsandraisins
DAILY TOTAL1,841 calories,201gcarbs, 138gprotein, 60g fat
DAILY TOTAL1,816calories,185gcarbs,120gprotein, 71gfat
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Althoughleanmeatandfishare greatsources
ofproteinthere areplentyofvegetarianoptions.
This saladiseasy tomakeandprovidesyourbodywith
a gooddoseofproteinto helpyoubuildmuscle and
recover fasterafter ahardworkout.
Eat this fitness-boostingsnackanhourorso
beforeyourworkout. Its qualitycarbswill giv
you theenergytoget througha toughsession,whi
theproteinandcreatinewill helpyoubuildmuscl
Two-beanmuscle salad
Beefforbulk
at you
w ll need200ggreenbeans420g canredkidneybeans,drainedandrinsed2 hard-boiledeggs,quartered3 spring onions,chopped
What youwill get
KidneybeansA virtuallyfat-free
sourceofhigh-quality,
muscle-buildingprotein.Kidney beans are also richin ibre, which keeps you
feeling full for longer and is
crucial for digestive health.
reen eansOneportionof green
beans provides 25 per cent
ofyourdailyvitaminKrequirement, which helps to
build strong bones. They’re
lso a great source of both
magnes um an po ass um,
hich work together to help
lower blood pressure.
EggsEggscontain allthe
crucial aminoacids thatyourmusclesneed tobuildandrepair themselves.
hey’re also packed with
testosterone-boosting zinc,
hich is crucial to help you
build muscle and burn fat.
Spring onionsThequercetin andvitamin C foundin springonionswork insynergy tokillharmful bacteria and boost
our mmune sys em, w e
their high levels of chromium
can help to keep blood sugar
levels in check.
What youwill need
2 slices of sourdough bread
2 thickslicesofbeef2 thin slices ofcheddar
Handful of spinach
1tspofhorseradish
What youwill get
CheeseAn excellent source
ofcasein,whichis a high-
qualitymuscle-building
protein. The vitamin D in the
beef also helps your body to
absorb bone-strengthening
calcium from the cheese.
Sourdough breadSourdough is low on
theglycaemic index (GI), so
releasesitsenergy slowly.
It’s insulin release is even
lower than that caused b
wholemeal bread.
BeefBeefcontainshigh
levelsof slow-digestingprotein– essential for
muscle growth – and
creatine, which increases
muscle size by drawing
water into your muscle c
SpinachThesegreen leaves
fullof iron, which suppliworkingmuscleswithoxygen. It also contains
betacarotene, an antioxid
that will soothe post-train
stifness and pains.
HorseradishHorseradishcontai
highlevelsofpotassiumwhichhelpsyourmusclandnerves to functionproperly and lowers you
risk of high blood pressu
Youdon’tneedmeat for aprotein-packedpost-workout snack
Fuelyour trainingwith this tasty,meatysandwich
MUSCLESNACKS
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Snack on this bagel before trainingand thecarbs
will helpto keep your glycogen levels topped up,
ensuring your body uses them for fuel, rather than your
protein stores. It will also help to energise your workouts.
Chickenand cheese wraps are a fast-food
restaurant staple, but use your ownfresh
ingredients and theyturn intosuperb muscle-
building snacks. Blending quality carbs, protein
and fats with a variety of essential vitamins, this
grilled chicken wrapwill help you to pack on
bulk and recover faster after a testing workout.
Energy bagel Recovery wrap
Whatyouwill need
1wholemealbagel
2 thick slicesof turkey1 hard-boiledegg, sliced1 sliced tomatoHandfulof spinach
Whatyouwillget
Wholemeal bagelA wholemealbagelis
packedwithhigh-qualitycarbs fora sustainedenergyboost. It also helpscontribute towards your daily
requirement of dietary ibre.
TurkeyTurkey isa leanand
low-calorieway topackonmuscle, thanks to itsgenerous protein content.
It is also rich in selenium,which strengthens the
immune system and wards
o the free-radical damage
caused by exercise.
Egg
Eggs containall theessential aminoacids thatyourmusclesneed tobuildandrepairthemselves.They are also packed with
testosterone-boosting zinc,
which helps you to build
muscle and burn fat.
TomatoVitaminCmakesa hey
contribution toyouraminoacidmetabolism,which
helps the body to form new
muscle. Tomatoes contain
betacarotene and lycopene,
which reduce inlammationand muscle soreness.
SpinachSpinach is full ofiron,
whichsupplies workingmuscleswithoxygen. Its high
vitamin K content will also
strengthen your bones.
Whatyou
will need
1wholemeal tortillawrap
80ggrilledchicken
breast, shredded
20gcheddarcheese, grated
30gcabbage, shredded
Whatyouwillget
Grilled
chickenbreastAswellasprovidingalargedose of leanproteinvital formuscle growthand recovery, chicken
also contains plenty of
vitamin B3, which will help
to prevent fat storage.
Wholemeal
tortilla wrapAwholemealtortillawrap is
packed full ofcarbs tohelp
replenishyourmuscles,
and it’s also full of energy-
boosting B vitamins.
CheddarcheeseThisdairy product
isa great source of
casein,a high-quality
muscle-protectingprotein.
It also contains high levels of
bone-strengthening calcium.
CabbageCabbageis high in
immunesystem-boosting
vitaminC as well as plenty
of dietary ibre, which your
body needs to maintain a
healthy digestive system.
This snack will fuel your trainingand help you build serious muscle
Building post-workout muscle hasnever been easier or tastier
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OBULDNMUC SUPPLEMENTS
Supplementspromiseeverything fromtorchingyourlove-handle
tosculptingyourpecs–butdotheywork?Andwhichonesdoyou
reallyneed?Ourcomprehensiveguideexplainsallyouneedtokn
Whether youregularlypack a proteinshake
inyourgym bag orjustchugthe occasionalisotonic sportsdrink,chances areyou’ve usedsupplements atonetime oranother. Trouble is, thewholeprocesscanget a bitconfusing– with everysupplierclaimingthat itsbrandis betterfiltered,or more efficient,or willpackonmoremuscle – tothe point
where you feel like you needa degree in chemistry just tounderstandwhatyou’reputtingintoyour body.
Don’t worry – helpis athand.Thescience may bebaffling, but we’ve put togetherthedefinitive guidethat detailsall thelatest developments insupplement science: whatyouneed, whenyou need it,whyyou needit, and what– if any– are thepotentialpitfalls.
It’s possible you’ll find
somethingthat willsend yourtraining gains through theroof–oryoumight just learn a bit moreaboutthestuffyou’realreadyusing.Eitherway, next time youput ina hard day atthegym,you’ll knowthatyou’regettingthenutritionalbackupyou need.
PROTEIN
Whatis it?
Protein is part of thestructureofeverycellandtissueinyour body, andmakes up anaverage of20percentofyour bodyweight. It’sneededto formnew tissue aswellas bodyenzymes and hormones.
Whatdoes itdo?
Protein is brokendown forfuelduringexercise, so you needa concentrated sourceof it tosupplement your usual intake.Proteinsupplements shouldideallyalso contain highlevelsofessential aminoacids,whicharereadilydigested, absorbedandretainedbythebodyformuscle repair.
Whoshouldtake it?
Allathletes need tocompensatefor increasedbreakdown of
proteinduring training.Strengthathletes needextra to providethestimulus formuscle growth.
HowmuchshouldI take?
TheFood Standards Authorityrecommends a daily intakeof55gofproteinfor adults, but most dieticians agree thatthis isn’t enoughfor anyonewhois trainingregularly.The InternationalOlympicCommittee recommendsaround 1.21.4gof proteinper
kilo ofbodyweighta day forenduranceathletes or 1.41.7gperkilo for power athletes.
Herearethebasics
Ifyou’relean – haveless thanten per centbody fat – thentry
to have a post-workoutshake with 0.6gofproteinand 1.2gofcarbs per kilooflean body weight (LBM).Soan80kgman would needroughly43.2g ofproteinand98.4g ofcarbs.
If you’reabove tenper cen body fat then the formula isthe same asabove,but withtheaminoacidsL-glycine anL-glutamine in placeof thec
That said, ifyou are a seriathlete thenyoucan’t reallyget toomuchprotein. Somereport bigbenefits when ea
upwards of3g perkilogrameach day, andyou won’t getfatbecause any excess your body doesn’tneed getsflushedout whenyou pee.Theonlyexception to thisisif you havea pre-existingkidney disease. If you don’tthen eatup in theknowledgthatyour hardwork inthegymis getting therequirednutritionalsupport.
WhenshouldItakeit?Themost importantthing istomakesure youget someprotein early in thepost-exerciserecoveryphase, idimmediatelyafterexercisewhenyourmuscles need it
‘Overeatingpro
willnotmakeyo
and itwon’thur
youunlessyou
kidneydisease’
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PROTEIN101What’s goingintoyourshake
CASEIN
Casein, which makes up 80per cent of the protein contentof milk, is made up of largerprotein molecules, which aredigested more slowly thanwhey, providing a slow, steadyrelease of amino acids into thebloodstream. This slow releaseis what many experts argue
makes it the best protein touse before going to sleep atnight or for breakfast.
WHEYWhey, which is derived frommilk, is digested and absorbedrelatively quickly, makingit useful for post-exerciserecovery. It also has a higher
concentration of essentialamino acids than whole milk,which may help minimisemuscle protein breakdown
immediately after exercise.
WHICHISBEST
AFTERAWORKOUT?
Why not have both? Whatmany people forget is that
you can mix your whey withcasein (milk) and get both.After a workout, if you mix a25g scoop of protein powder
into a 250ml serving of milkthen you’ve got a big chunk offast-acting whey right whenyou need it, with the all theadded beneits of 16g oflong-acting casein.
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Anysideeffects?Itusedtobe thought thatexproteincould placeexcessson theliverorkidneys,butthas never beendemonstratonhealthy people, only thoalreadysuffering fromkidnfailure.A high protein intakepotentiallycause dehydrati– somake sure you’redrinkplentyof water – but other tthat itwon’tdoyouanyharm
CREATINE
Whatisit?Creatineis a compound thamade naturally in thebody,can alsobefound inmeatanfishor taken inhigherdosesa supplement. It’s availableoown,butyou’ll alsosometimseeit inmeal replacementshakes andothersuppleme
Whatdoes itdo?
It’s like a back-upgeneratoryourbody. Normally, energyyourbody is produced, storandused viaa chemical caladenosine triphosphate(ATButat timesyourbody can’tkeepupwith energy demanso itneedsanother source ophosphates, which is wherecreatinecomes in.Creatinehelpspromotethe manufacofproteinandreduces its breakdown after exercise.
Whoshouldtakeit?People who trainwith weighdosports that involve repeahigh-intensitymovements,such as sprints, jumpsorthrows,are likely toseebenBodybuilders oftenuse it,as
SUPPLEMENTS
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increasesmusclehypertrophy bydrawingwater intomusclecells. But there’s little evidence,toshow that a supplement is beneficial to enduranceathletes.
HowmuchshouldI take?Theaveragemantakes in 1gofcreatinea day fromfoodandproducesanother 1gfromaminoacids,resulting increatinestores thatareabout
40percentbelowhismaximumcapacity. Thebestway to fillupis withdoses ofaround3gaday.Anymorethan5g andyou’ll justexcrete it.
WhenshouldItakeit?Avoiddrinking creatinebeforeaworkoutas it’s hygroscopic,whichbasicallymeans itactslike a sponge,drawingwaterintoyour gastrointestinaltract and bloodstreamfromsurroundingtissues ormuscles.That’swhat
cangiveyoua bloated feelingorsometimesmuscle cramps.Theideal time to take creatine isimmediatelyafteryourworkout.
Anysideeffects?Themain side effectis weightgain.This is partly theresultof increasedmuscle tissuebutalsopartly because of theextrawaterin yourmusclecells, soit’s not alwaysideal touse itifyou’recompeting ina sport thatusesweightcategories, suchas
boxing.Therearealso some,admittedly, anecdotal reportsofgastrointestinal discomfort,dehydration,muscle injury andkidneydamage,butthere isnoclinicalevidenceto supportthese statements.
AMINOACIDS
Whatarethey?BCAA(branched-chainaminoacids) supplements containvaline, leucineand isoleucine.
Theseare ‘essential’ aminoacids because theyneed to bepresentinyour diet – asopposed to ‘non-essential’aminoacids,whichyour bodycanproduceitself.Together, theycancompriseuptoone-thirdof muscle protein.
ANABOLISM‘Anabolic’ processes build up organs
and tissues, using smaller molecules
to create larger ones. Anabolic steroids,
for instance, increase protein synthesis
in cells – although you’ll see a lot of
supplements that promise similar
results without the side efects.
CATABOLISMThis is basically the breaking down
of large molecules into smaller ones
to produce energy. Products such as
glutamine and antioxidants are said to
reduce the rate of catabolism, meaning
that you’ll recover from exercise faster.
HYDROPHILICSubstances labelled hydrophilic dissolve
easily in water or blood. Normal creatine,
for instance, is lipophilic, although you
need to dilute it a lot.
LIPOPHILICLipophilic substances pass through cell
membranes easily, meaning they’re
absorbed quickly. Some expensive brands
of creatine are more lipophilic than plain
monohydrate, which they claim makes
them more efective.
LOADINGSome lifters refer to a ‘loading’ phase of
supplement use, in which they’ll take largeamounts of them to build up stores in their
body. This isn’t always possible, however –
if you take too much creatine or protein at
once, for instance, your body just excretes
it. Stick with the dose on the packet.
IONEXCHANGEThis basically means your protein
has been separated via electrical
charge, which is slightly cheaper than
microiltration. It means you’ll lose some
amino acids, but it also ilters out a lot of
fat and lactose.
MICROFILTRATION
‘Cross low microiltered’ protein usesa very ine membrane to iltre proteins,
leaving helpful amino acids intact, iltering
out fat and leaving immune-boosting
components untouched. On the downside,
this tends to be a bit more expensive than
ion-exchange-iltered protein.
GLOSSARYDon’t let yourself bedazzledbythefancywordsonthelabel.Here’swhat they reallymean
Whatdotheydo?The theoryis that theycanhelpprevent thebreakdownofmuscletissue duringintenseexercise. Theyalsoact toincrease thereleaseof
humangrowthhormone.
Whoshouldtakethem?Anyonewhoweight trains, but opt for capsule formratherthantablet or liquid. There’slittle evidence thatBCAAs
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will improve performancef
enduranceathletes, andun
you’retrainingseriouslyha
youcanprobably get enoug
BCAAs froma recoverydrin
HowmuchshouldItakThescience suggests that
anythingless than 20capsu
perworkout isawasteof tim
Manyprofessionalrugby an
footballclubshave seenhu
improvementsin performausing about40capsofBCAA
everyworkout.
WhenshouldItakethTheyworkbest if takenbefo
duringandpost-workout.
Studies have shown that
taking BCAAsupplements
takenbeforeresistance train
reducedelayedonsetmusc
soreness,while taking them
duringand afterexerciseca
reducemusclebreakdown.
Anysideeffects?BCAAsarefairly safe, sincey
normallyfind them inprote
inyourdiet anyway. Toomu
mightreduce theabsorption
otheramino acids.
ANTIOXIDANTS
Whatarethey?Antioxidant supplements
containdifferingamountso
nutrientsandplant extracts
includingbetacarotene,vitaminsC andE, zinc,copp
andmagnesium.Aswell as
havinga beneficialeffect
onyour general health,
antioxidants canalsohelpy
recover fromsports training
Can’tmydietfulfilallmynutritionalneeds?Yes,if you reallywatchwhat
youeat.But sometimesyou’ll
ind that getting theoptimum
amountof certain substancesforyourtrainingmeans eatinga
lot.Gettingall thecreatinemany
trainers recommendwouldmean
eatinga mountainof beef.Use
supplements to ill thegaps in
yourdiet, butdon’t rely onthem
tocounteract badeating habits.
DoIneedtotakesupplementson thedaysI’mnot training?Short answer: yes. Youget
strongerasyourecoverfrom
exercise,so makingsureyou’re
gettingenoughnutrientsonyour
restdays is essential.
ShouldIbewakingupinthemiddleofthenighttotakesupplements?Almostdeinitelynot. Youmight
have heard aboutbodybuilders
getting upat 3am toneck a
quickshake, butas soon as
you’reawakeformorethan
three secondsyoudisrupt the
production ofmelatonin, which
isoneof themost important
hormones inbuildingmuscle.
You’rebetter ofhavingsome
niceslow-digesting protein, such
as rawnuts,cottagecheeseoracasein shake, beforebed.
Aretheysafe?Since sportssupplements are
technically classiiedas food,
they aren’t subject to thesame
strictmanufacturing, safety
testingor labellingas licensed
medicinesso there’sno guarantee
that they’ll live up to their
claims. TheEU is consideringtheintroductionof stricter guidelines
butit’scurrently up to individual
manufacturersto maintainthe
quality of theirproducts.Lookfor
supplements thatare ISO17025
certiied,whichmeans they’ve
beensubjectedto rigorouschecks
during their production.
CanIfailadrugstestfromtakingsupplements?If you’re a serious enough
sportsmanto betested, then
you need tobecareful. A survey
froman InternationalOlympic
Committee-accredited laboratoryinCologne looked for steroids in
634supplements andfound that
15per cent of them contained
substances thatwould cause a
failed drugtest, althoughnone
contained steroids. If you’re
concerned, consult a registered
nutritionist or dieticianbefore
takingsupplements.
IfItaketherightcombinationof things,canI getrippedwithoutworkingout?Sadly, no.Anyonewhotellsyou
that amagic formula cangiveyoumassivebiceps andsculptedabs
is ibbing.Eatright, trainhard,
andchoosewell-researched and
tested supplement products,and
you’ll seethe results youwant.
WHATSUPP?Yoursupplementqueriesanswered
SUPPLEMENTS
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What dothey do?
Very intense exercise canincrease your body’s generationof moleculesknown as free
radicals, which can harm
cell membranes, disrupt DNAandincrease your risk of
age-related diseases and cancer.Some evidencesuggests that
antioxidant supplements willprotect against thesediseases,
though other studies suggestsupplements areless effective
than getting antioxidants aspart of your diet. Andthere’s not
much evidence they’ll actuallyhelp your sports performance.
Whoshould takethem?The jury isout but ithas been
suggested that, because of theenvironment and average stress
levels, everyone should be on
some type of antioxidant. Theywork best if rotated, so alternate between green tea for ten days
before switching to grapeseed
extract, forexample.
How muchshould I take?The EU recommended daily
amount for vitamin C is 60mgand10mg for vitamin E, but
some scientistsbelieve theselevels aretoo low. Crucially,
however, it’s important toremember that supplements are
no substitute for proper nutritionso aimto eat at least fiveportionsof fruit and vegetablesdaily.
Including as many differentcoloured fruits and vegetables
as possible ensures you get thewidest variety of antioxidants.
When should I take them?Thisdepends on the supplement
you’re taking and the effectyou’re looking for. Vitamin C is
the antioxidant best taken after
a workout because it blockscortisol, the stress hormone.
A 2008 study suggested thatantioxidants aremost beneficial
when taken with meals – rats fedred wine alongside meat ended
up with fewer free radicalsintheir digestive tracts than their
non-drinkingsiblings– but theevidenceisn’t conclusive.
Any side effects?There areside effects related
to excessiveconsumptionof certain vitaminsfound in
antioxidant supplements –
massive amounts of carotenecan turn your skin temporarilyorange, for example. Also, the
antioxidant minerals zinc,
magnesiumand copper – can be toxic in largedoses. If you
stick to the recommendeddosage, though, you’ll be fine.
FAT BURNERS
What arethey?Also known as thermogenics,these are blends of herbs and
stimulants that slightly increaseyour body temperature, whichcanhelp you burn more calories
during exercise. Ephedrine, asynthetic version of the Chinese
herb ephedra, used to be a keyingredient in these, but it’s now
‘Antioxidant
supplementscan
protectagainst
age-relateddiseasesand
cancer’
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OBULDNMUC SUPPLEMENTS
onlyavailableonprescripti
in theUKdue toitsharmfu
effectsandaddictivequalit
Whatdotheydo?Somesimplyburncalories
asheat.Others also claim
tostimulate thereleaseof
adrenaline, increaseyour
metabolicrateoractas app
suppressants.Theevidence
for themworkingis limited
however, anda high-protein
dietwithregularexerciseis
likelytoproducebetterwe
loss results in thelong term
WhoshouldtakethemFat burners raisecortisol– ahormone that in somecase
acutallyincreaseabdomin
fat, especially if you’realrea
leadinga fairlystressful life
extremecasestheycan cau
theadrenalsystemtogetw
out. Ifyouthinkyouneedth
consultyourGPfirst.
HowmuchshouldI taFollow the instructions on t
bottle, but be carefulwith
long-termuse.
WhenshouldI takethMost containcaffeineand s
willprobablymakeyoujitt
whichmeans thatthemorn
probablybest time for thes
supplements.Never take fa
burnersafter2pmbecause
affect sleeppatterns, andal
followinstructions on theb
Anysideeffects?Takingveryhighdosesof
ephedrinecanhave seriou
effects, includingpalpitatioanxiety, insomnia, vomiting
anddizziness.Whileherba
alternativesaregenerally sa
youmayget side effectswi
highdoses – somecanraise
bloodpressureor evencau
heartdisturbances.
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THEBESTOFTHERESTWhatelse isonthe shelf ofyour local healthfood shop?
CLAConjugated linoleic acid is an
unsaturatedfattyacidnormallyfound
in full-fatmilk, meat andcheese.
It’s usuallymarketedas a fat-loss
supplement thatworks byreleasing fat
fromfatcells or blockingnew fatfrom
getting in.Experts believe it’s betterat
the latter and recentevidencesuggests
that CLAworks mostly byinhibiting
fat-cell illing,meaning it prevents fat
cells fromgetting larger, whichis notthe
same ascausing loss ofexistingbody
fat. CLAmay therefore turn outto be
moreusefulfor preventingfat gain than
for causing loss of fatyou already have.
Mostresearchers recommend2g-5gaday, divided into three doses.
ENERGYGELSThese comein small squeezable sachets
andare designedto providean easyway
of consuming carbohydratesduring
intense endurance exercise lasting
longerthanan hour. Studies have shown
that theydelay fatigueand increase
endurance,but theyaren’tdesignedto
doaway withthe needto carrywater–
you’ll still need todrinkaround 350ml
withevery25g ofgel oryou’ll beat
increased riskof dehydration.
HMBBeta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate
(HMB) ismadein the bodyfrom BCAAs
andis thought tobe involved incellular
repair. Studies suggest that it may
increasestrengthand musclemassand
reducemuscle damage after resistance
exercise,althoughthishasn’t been
foundin allstudies. Youcanalso ind
it in grapefruit.
GLUTAMINEGlutamineis a non-essential amino
acid that thebodysynthesises. It is
needed for cell growth andas fuel for
theimmunesystem.Duringperiodsof
heavytrainingor stress, levelsof it in
thebodyfall. There’s clinicalevidence
thatglutaminesupplementscan
decrease your riskof infectionduring
theseperiods, but less evidencethat it’ll
actually improveyour performance.
MRPSMealreplacementproductsare
designedto providea good-quality
mealwithout thehassle of cooking.A
good onewill contain 3040gof protein,
somegood carbohydratesourcessuch
as maltodextrin,andvitamins and
minerals. It’s still betterto eat fresh
food if you’ve gotthe time, though.
NITRICOXIDETheactive ingredient in this is L-arginine,
a non-essential aminoacid made in the
body. Nitricoxideis a gas involved inincreasing blood lowto themuscles,
deliveringmore nutrients andoxygento
themand theoreticallycausing a better
pump,musclegrowthandrecovery. But,
clinical trials haven’tyetmanagedto
provethat thesesupplementswork.
TAURINEThis is a non-essential aminoacid
produced naturally in thebody. You’ll
recognise it fromRed Bull cans, but it’s
also found in meat, ish, eggsandmilk,
aswell as manycreatineand protein
products.These regularly claimthat
it’ll give you extraenergy, butthat’s
debatable. One reviewsurveyed nine
yearsof researchon theNationalLibrary
of Medicine’sdatabaseandconcluded
that theenergy-enhancingefectsof
mostgenericenergydrinks weremainly
down to thecafeine. Theyconcluded
that the‘lesserknowningredientsof
energy drinks— including taurine —
needed further study.’
TESTOSTERONEBOOSTERS
These aimto increasetestosterone
levels in thebody, producing similar
muscle-buildingefects to anabolic
steroidswithout the sideefects.There’s
plenty of anecdotalevidenceto suggest
that they work,but very littlein theway
of provenclinical trials.
ZMAZincmonomethionineaspartate
combineszinc,magnesium, vitamin B6andaspartate in a formula that claims
to boost testosterone. If you’retraining
really intenselyyoumight beneit from
theextra zinc andmagnesium, butdon’t
exceed maximumdoses, especially if
you’reusing othersupplements.
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