I simply can't build my shoulders/arms/calves...!

Everyone has these stubborn body parts that don't seem to grow, no matter what you do. But are you really doomed to have sub par arms or calves?

Well, that depends on how much you want it. While there are certain things that you just can't change such as muscle insertions, shape of the muscle and fiber composition, there is also the element of desire and will power.

If you determined enough, you can bring up any muscle.

Let's look at a real life example, an athlete ( we ll call him Jim) whose shoulders were lagging behind the rest of his body in terms of size and strength. He had torn a rotator cuff which severely limited his workouts. In addition, he works in a stressful environment, travels a lot and is past his thirties (the prime muscle building time). All in all, a less than perfect body building scenario.

So what did he do?

He prioritized his shoulders, worked them twice a week with a particular focus on the rear delt. After 12 months of hard work, his shoulders are now rounder and fuller that ever.

Way to go, Jim!

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Shaping vs. bulking exercises, what's the difference?

One of the most misunderstood  topics in bodybuilding is the belief that there are some exercises that are shaping or " defining" the muscle whereas others simply " bulk " it up. The shape or form of a muscle is genetically predetermined and can not be  altered.  

Usually the bench is seen as a bulk exercise for the chest, cable flyes as a shaping motion. While performing either exercise, however,  the pecs simply contract and relax. So where does this notion come from?

Most likely, it occurs that heavy benching is done in the off-season , when people are stronger and bigger. During the diet, especially when low on carbs, many athletes don't find the strength to perform heavy bench anymore so they resort to cable flyes for a chest workout. Since they are leaner, they conclude that the cable flyes must have done the trick , not the dramatically reduced calories and increased cardio.

So are all exercises created equal? Not quite. In my opinion, when training a muscle it necessary to perform a mid range or power movement and following with a stretch exercise. as an example , for chest, one would do incline presses followed by dumbbell flyes with an emphasis on the stretch.

by doing so , the athlete creates tissue tears which will enable further growth.

Train hard!

Maik

A word on Mike Mentzer or is there a holy grail?

During one my recent sessions, one of my clients brought up the training philosophy of the late Mike Mentzer.  Since this is one of the most interesting and controversial aspects in bodybuilding I decided this would be a good blog topic.

Mike Mentzer, Mr. America, Mr Universe (with perfect score) was an extremely talented and intelligent bodybuilder. During his early career, he followed the school of  Schwarzenegger and Weider , which was a high volume approach. Unsatisfied with his gains,he became convinced that the majority of people is over trained and drastically shortened his workouts. In conjunction with Arthur Jones, he created High Intensity Training or HIT. Basically, the trainee trained infrequently, 3-4 times every 2 weeks and did only one set beyond failure. He also added drop sets, negatives, partials etc.

Mike Mentzer became the Anti-Arnold  and spent 20 years of his life educating people about his style of training. He wrote several books on it, made training videos etc. In fact, he died in the midst of a DVD shoot in 2001 due to heart failure.

While this philosophy looks great in theory, there are several problems with it. First of, it is impossible to always train with maximum intensity . Secondly, the average person does not have sufficient neuro-muscular efficiency to reach all muscle fibers in one set. Hence, 2 or more sets are needed. Thirdly, constantly training at maximum intensity is very injury prone.

Does this mean that Mentzer was wrong? Not at all. He was the the first to point out that the majority of athletes do not sufficiently recover, restricted training to 60 minutes and he gave us negative reps.

Thanks Mike!

What keeps you motivated?

There we are again, in the midst of the New York winter ( a very cold and economically challenging one, on top of that). So the question remains: who is one supposed to stay motivated during this particular stretch of time?

Well, one way of looking at it could be trying to look like Scott G. above.....

But optics are not all of it, there is a more wholesome component to it. As the above competitor said: " Bodybuilding  allows me to grow as person, bringing mind and body together."

Think of bodybuilding not so much as a sport , but more as something that influences you as a person. The ability to constantly better your body will transform into real life confidence. After all, if you can shape yourself the way you want there is no reason that you shouldn't have control over other aspect of your life ( which might even help in the current downturn). 

So stick with it!

Maik

Training while travelling

As some may know, I am spending the holidays in Romania with my wife and family. The landscape and towns are very beautiful  and we really get to relax. BUT as a true musclehead I have to workout. So Alexandra had to sacrifice her afternoon to find a gym. And so she did as you can see. While the place does not look like an Equinox, I got a great workout!
Those of you that work out at Mid City Gym can certainly relate. After all your muscles don't know where they are, they either contract or relax. So I employed my bodybuiling knowledge and used partial reps, static holds, posing between etc to maximize the workout.
Bodybuilding is about attitude and commitment not fancy equipment. Besides, I have yet to see a pro training at Equinox.
I am off to a wholesome, clean dinner!
Till next time
Maik
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Stocks are down, invest in yourself!

Everywhere you turn to these days, there is only one theme: the economic downturn.  The media seems to be in a competition about who can paint the gloomiest picture. Some say it will be like 1929, or worse; I even read about a hundred year depression. I wonder if any of these forecasters predicted the Giants to win the Super Bowl as well. 

The way I see it, nobody knows  what will happen and there is little one can do to stem the global tide. So it makes sense to look into areas that can be improved such as your physical well being. It is certainly easier to deal with a higher stress level when in good physical condition and it is certainly not a good idea to be 20 lbs overweight and stressed out. So take the time to work out and eat right, another hour at the office won't make a difference in the great scheme of things but it will do a lot of good for your mind and body. 

Remember: your most valuable capital is you!

How to avoid the holiday 10

So again the days are shorter  and the plates fuller. It must be holiday season, filled with parties, cookies, dinner invitation, drinks etc. In short, everything that threatens bodybuilding success is assembled in these 6 weeks. 

So how does one stay lean during these weeks without alienating friends and family? 

First and foremost, don't stop working out. Plan your workouts ahead since you may be pressed for time. Make them shorter, focus on big exercises , supersets and the like.

When you are invited for a party, calculate that into your daily consumption. Try to eat a little less during the day so you can indulge a little, but don't not arrive hungry. You can snack on fruit, rice cakes or nuts before you get  there so you don't have to eat a waiter.

 This brings me to my next point: don't overeat! It is ok to have a little bit of everything, just not the whole pumpkin pie. Also, don't get into that starvation-binge-starvation cycle. Your body will get confused and store more fat in response.

Stay hydrated: have two glasses of water for every alcoholic drink you consume, and try to stay away from sugary drink mixes.

Take a walk: after a party or a dinner, walk home it. It will get your metabolism running and you ll store much less of the calories you ingested.

Up your green tea and vitamin C intake: both of these nutrients will help you weather germs and increase your metabolic rate.

Following these guidelines will help you to make to January 2nd with only minimal weight gain. Remember: memorial Day is only 6 months away!

Maik

A word on setbacks....

So my show came and went, I am not very happy with the outcome, even though I believe that the physique that i brought was my best one yet. However,the judges did not see it that way and placed me third. needless to say, lamenting won't give a better body, so after every show it is a very good idea to a good hard look at yourself and find out what is missing. 

In my case, it is rather obvious: 10 lbs on upper chest and arms. So on Monday I was back in the gym , doing arms and cardio. I also stayed on my diet, just added some more red meat ( not exactly a punishment). While setbacks are never very pleasant, they can be a hidden gift. I know this one will blow my arms up to 18 "!

Lift heavy!

maik

Evening awards show beginning. . .

Additional info reveals the competition is *extremely* tough and
formidable this time around.

Wiedenbach states he is impressed by the level of conditioning in some
of his competitors.

And so we are holding our breath . . .
Go Maik!

Word on the Net.....

Is that Herr Wiedenbach was called out / called back more than once in
his class!
Stay tuned folks. . .