NMapril2005 - Bodybuilding.com€¦ · Bill Dobbins Debbie Baigrie Skip Faulkner Eric Freimanis Alex Gonzalaz David Paul Gordon Smith DISCLAIMER Natural Muscle Magazine does not necessarily

6 Natural Muscle May 2006

7Natural Muscle May 2006


May 2006

by Hugo Rivera

Arnold Fitness Expo 16

the best ways tocheat..on yourdiet! 32

26

Calf Training! 34

Mak Attack 25 by Laura Mak

The Hardgainer 20 by Russ Yeager

Muscleology Series-Medicine Ball 28 by Eric Hoult

Obstacle Course Training 46 by Lori Ann Lloyd

T R A I N I N G

On the cover:Ava Cowen

PBL Hottie of the MonthWinner

Photo by Justin Price

cover designed by:Alex Gonzalezof Axis Design

Welcome to my World 2006 36by Coach A

Pz’s Perspective 26

M O T I V A T I O N

by Pz Hopkins

The Fit Gourmet 22by Danielle Nagel

Fighting Burnout... 47 by Dr. Charles Rice

NATURAL HEALTH

Mohr Results 32 by Dr Chris Mohr Fighting Burnout!

47

Natural Muscle May 2006 9


PUBLISHER/EDITOR

Debbie Baigrie

[email protected]

ART DIRECTOR

Alex Gonzalez

WEB DESIGN

Shelly Dickson

LAYOUT & GRAPHIC DESIGN

Alissa Greenberg

PROOFREADER

Carole Della Penna

PHOTOGRAPHERS

John AthertonBill Dobbins

Debbie BaigrieSkip FaulknerEric FreimanisAlex Gonzalaz

David PaulGordon Smith

DISCLAIMERNatural Muscle Magazine does not necessarily agree withthe views in articles and assumes no responsibility for anyclaims or representations contained in this magazine or inany advertisement. Copyright © 2003 Natural MuscleMagazine, Inc., all rights reserved. Readers are advised toconsult their physician before starting a diet or exercise

program.

***

CIRCULATIONNatural Muscle Magazine is distributed to select gyms andhealth related businesses throughout the USA. If you wouldlike to carry the magazine at your location please call 813-961-4806, email [email protected], fax 813-961-8736, ororder online at www.naturalmuscle.net. There is a one timefee for this. Natural Muscle Magazine is available free ofcharge at select locations, limited to one copy per reader. Noperson, without written permission, may take more than one

copy of each issue.

EDITORIAL/MATERIAL SUBMISSIONSEmail [email protected] for submission guidelines. Publisherassumes no liability for safeguarding or return of unsolicitedmaterial. We reserve the right to edit all material for clarity,content and length. Natural Muscle Magazine does notknowingly accept false or misleading editorial or advertising.Natural Muscle Magazine will assume that all material isbeing submitted for publication and if published, nocompensation is due the submitting party without prioragreement.

my two cents

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSDr. John AthertonCynthia Bridges

Jason CohenSherry Goggin

Pz Hopkins“Tricky” Ricky Jackson

Brenda KellySkip LacourLaura Mak

Dr. Chris MohrDanielle Nagel

Dr. Charles Rice, JrHugo Rivera

Dr. Michael SharpRuss Yeager

Goober, or Smart Cookie?

Gas prices. They are affecting all of us. And

they are affecting us in so many ways. The

price of gas, as predicted for this summer, has gone

up as far as 4.05 and by June, we may be paying

closer to $5!. If we want the price of gasoline to

drop, we can’t blame Bush, we can’t blame Iran or

Iraq or Saudi Arabia or Venezuela... we should blame

those that refuse to stop driving their cars to go to

the corner store...blame those that waste gasoline

idling their cars/trucks.

Demand drives the price...

If we want gasoline prices to drop what we

must think about changing our lifestyles—think

twice about getting into our cars to drive 5 blocks.

After all I am writing this editorial to the readers of

Natural Muscle, we are the fittest and I would say

one of the most progressive groups in America.

I am fairy fit looking and as a result people of-

ten ask me how many days I go to the gym. The

truth is that I don’t go to the gym as often as it

“seems”. What I do every day is either rollarblade or

ride my bike to run errands. I make bank deposits,

go to the fed-ex drop, get coffee, etc.. The

drivers in the neighborhood look at me

like I’m a freak. I like riding my bike. I get

a tanned, too. It reminds me of my child-

hood, a time when if I wanted to get to

my friends’ houses, I had to ride there—

period.

I’m fortunate enough to work from

home so I can throw on my rollarblades

in the middle of the day–my gym is

also close, so I can bike over there.

The only time I use my car is for gro-

cery shopping and road trips. I only

see one other person in my complex

walking to the store and I assure you,

it is because they don’t have a car. If

it is close enough for me then why

isn’t it close enough for the 1000 or

so people that live in the apart-

ments behind me? I look like a

goober and my kids make fun of my turquoise Huffy

beach cruiser, but then again, the oil companies

don’t like citizens like me. I only spend roughly $15

a week on gas, (and that is a high estimate). Can you

imagine if everyone only put $20 a week in their

tanks?

I know it is not realistic for many people as

things are now. But a progressive group such as us

can certainly start changing the way we think. If we

are getting ready to move, we can look for a dwell-

ing that would be within a bike’s ride distance from

the stores and maybe the gym. And do we really

need that SUV, Hummer or truck? To some it is a sta-

tus symbol. At $120. a week in gas that is a tall price

to pay for status. As a matter of fact, everyone knows

how much useless money these guzzlers are spend-

ing on gas.

So, who really looks like the goober? Is it me,

getting all tanned and fit riding my bike? Or some

overweight, lazy and lethargic, old before his years

hot-shot in his Hummer? (Be kind to us goobers. We

care about ourselves and the environment. )

To take this thinking a step fur-

ther, the $100 a week saved on

gas by riding your bike, (or

even a scooter!) are funds

that can support the or-

ganic farmers and vita-

min companies. Many

say that organic food

is too expensive. That

is only because we are

spending all of our

money on gas! Come

on, a progressive

group like the readers

of Natural Muscle can

certainly see the logic

in what I’m saying.

Gas prices are al-

ways going to be an

issue as long as we

continue to allow it to

be.

Natural Muscle May 2006 11Natural Muscle February 2005 11




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ARNOLD

Story by Brenda KellyPhotos by Debbie Baigrie

The 2006 Arnold Expo was packed from Fri-day until Sunday with bodybuilding and fit-ness stars, venders, media from every publica-

tion as well as broadcast cameras, as well as athletes,family and fans. Protein bars and tee shirts were seenbeing tossed in the air from all directions.

The Expo is the highlight for many Arnold at-tendees. They like the energy in theexpo and I must say I can’t blamethem. People are always laughingand screaming, loud music is beingplayed in the background and the at-mosphere is an intense P A R T Y!

The Bodybuilding.com boothrocked the house. We had onboard,IFBB Pro and Athletes Rep BobCicherillo, IFBB Pro legend NasserEl Sombaty, IFBB Pro Idrise Ward-El, Cover model Christian Boeving,IFBB Fitness Pro Kim Lyons, IFBBFitness Pro Timea Mojorova, newIFBB Figure Pro Ginger, SexyBridget Lee and withBodybuilding.com’s CEO Ryan,Jeremy and Russ Deluca, Gary andScott from the home office alongwith the Chapman Media produc-tion staff, we were the place to be!Yowza!

It was great to get to hang outwith all of these perfect examplesof health and fitness. These arenot only a great group of people, I am proud to callthem my friends as well.

I must have taken thousands of photos withfriends and fans and signed just as many autographs.It is so much fun for me to see my fans that make it apoint to come find me and catch up year after yearfor a PIC, autograph, hug or advice. Really. Thankyou also for all of you nice comments on my articleson Bodybuilding.com and Natural Muscle Maga-zine. You are my inspiration!

At times it was so crazy and crowded that if youwere in the isles, you could only inch along or some-times could not even move!

Lunch is always tricky and Timea and I wereable to grab a quick chicken salad and sit with Natu-ral Muscle Publisher babe, Debbie Baigrie and herfriend, Brittney doing the girl/talk/men thing. It isalways nice to catch up with friends from far away atthese events.

I hosted a web show on Girl Power on Saturday.Arnold took his annual walk through his Expo

right beforemy show and lucky for us, we at theBodybuilding.com web broadcast booth with myGirl Power line up had great seats! HE circled ourbooth down one way and came up the other! Ourweb camera team went nuts along with the entireexpo meaning anyone with a camera and those evenwithout jammed as close as possible to get a glimpseand a snap. Arnold has to walk surrounded by men toclear the way so he can even walk through. It takes asurprising short amount of time for him to visit witha couple of stops at key booths and wave and smileat all corners for the fans. Thanks Arnold. Thank you

for not abandoning your bodybuilding brothers andsisters. We love you.

My beautiful, talented guests for my Girl Powershow were: Super Model Timea Majorova, Legend-ary star “ and my own role model Met Rx’s GraceGrimes, IFBB Fitness Pro Met Rx athlete fresh off ofher top 5 placement from the night before (andthrilled about it!) Julie Childs and the new face ofMuscle Tech, Christina Lindley. They were all per-

fection. We talked about modeling,products, fitness, balance in familyand some of the differences womenhave in our lives that men may nothave to address. It was a wonderfultime and I loved hosting such an ac-complished line up of gorgeous rep-resentatives of our sport. These arenot just pretty faces! The knowledgeand advice they have to offer is wellworth listening to. I know I did.Check it out online for free atBodybuilding.com!

Day 3 of any 3 day expo is a mad-house with venders getting rid of ev-erything as the last thing they want todo is take anything back with themthat was to be used as a promo. Tip:this is the best day to buy anything!Fans are leaving as well and there is amurgency in the air as everyone loads upon product, pics and advice to lastthem for motivation until their next bigevent.The Bodybuilding.com booth had the

longest line by far for the entire weekend every day.The '06 Arnold T-shirts were a huge hit and thesamples never stopped coming. Sometimes I wouldjust look at the line in amazement! There was alwayssome new sample to try as well. SinceBodybuilding.com sells so many products, it is asurprise to us as well when we open the box as towhat is there to hand out!

We all love it there at the Bodybuilding.combooth at the Arnold expo. The biggest, best expo inthe world. Thank you to all of the athletes and fans.You are the real stars.


more photos

on the next

page

Rhianna Da Cruz Toneka Pires

Mark Alvisi at EST Trick Ricky at MHP Ron Coleman and new NM writer Chris Mohr

Gerard Dente..always busy at the MHP booth

Jennifer and Al (bagel boy) Rosen of the WTFAnother way to shake your protein.

Stan McQuay and Jerry at the Iron Asylum booth

Mak Attack and Monet Colbert


Mohamed is in good company at the Protan booth

Another great shot of the Accu guys!

Kim Lyons, Brenda Kelly and Timea Majorova atthe Bodybuilding.com booth

Jimmy Mentis and crew promoted the newScientific Sports Nutrition line

What would a fitness expo be like without MickieD’s? (with NM rep, Brittney Adamo)

Redline! Had yours today?

The Florida crew! Russ, Eric, Debbie, Mush,Mandy, Debbie and Mark .. and of course, Alextook the picture

ABB, (and NM) Distributor with his son Jordan.

Lonestar distribution opened a warehouse here inFlorida.

I just love these new t-shirts ..they are a hoot!

Erica Kern, AIM marketing



the hardgainer

By Russ Yeager, the Hardgainer

I am a creature of habit. I get up at the same timeeveryday, go through my pre-workout ritual andhit the gym to start my day. I have always lived

by the motto “If it ain’t (yeah I’m from the South)broken, don’t fix it” so when I find a weight trainingprogram that produces good results I have a habit ofstaying with it. While these qualities of consistencyand persistence are helpful in sticking with a work-out plan and getting results, I now believe that beingtoo “hard-headed” may prevent us from reaching ourmaximum potential. I had been following one par-ticular type of weight training routine almost exclu-sively for about 3 ½ years up until this past Decem-ber. This program is very solid and helped me makesome great progress over that time, but I couldn’thelp but think about trying something different.However, I never did because I was scared my resultswould not be as good with a new program.

Finally, I realized I needed to CHILL OUT andjust give something else a try. What is the big dealanyway? At WORST my results would not be asgood and I could go back to my old way of training.It’s not like I am a professional bodybuilder riskingmessing up an upcoming competition, or that chang-ing workout routines would cause me to shrink awayto nothing. So, I decided to just go for it and imple-mented a new training strategy starting around midDecember. I stuck with this new routine for 12 weeksuntil the beginning of March. I wanted to give thisnew routine an honest run for a significant amountof time before I did any kind of analysis and write-up so that I could be as accurate as possible in hon-estly assessing both the positives and negatives.

Before I get into the routine I have been follow-ing, I want to talk briefly about why I designed myroutine the way I did. I have learned in the past andalways here people talking about different muscle fi-ber types and how to stimulate different fibers usinga variety of repetition ranges, rest intervals, and repcounts. However, it was not recently until I startedstudying the human body more and how our bodiesrespond to weight training that I started to really un-

derstand why these things make sense. I started tothink that performing strictly heavy weight trainingwith low repetitions all the time may not be the mosteffective way to maximize your muscle-building po-tential. Working in a lower rep range (i.e. 4-6 reps)with heavy weight stimulates the Type IIb or fast-twitch muscle fibers, which are they fibers associatedmost with an increase in size and strength. There isno doubt about that. This type of heavy training alsostimulates the less strength oriented and more endur-ance Type IIa and Type I muscle fibers. It may evenbe that low repetitions and heavy weight stimulatesall muscle fiber types more than any other type oftraining. However, using only this rep range may notprovide enough stimulus to all types of muscle fi-bers in order to create the most growth possible.Think of it this way, low reps and heavy weight maybe able to account for 75% or your maximum musclemass and strength potential, but if you only work inthis repetition range then you are missing out on25% of muscle fiber development. I’m completelymaking up these percentages, but I thinkyou get the idea.

That was my “scientific”thought process on tryingsomething different. Myother thought processwas that I am not doinga contest this year so“What the heck do Ihave to lose by tryingsomething completelydifferent?” At worst, Iwill not get good re-sults and be able toshare that informationwith all of you andnever use the programagain. During my littleexperiment I also changedmy nutrition plan, and de-signed the training routine andnutrition program to work to-

gether. I don’t have room to go into details on thenutrition and supplementation plan I followed, butam going to write a separate article covering this as-pect next month.

As you can see, this workout is much differentfrom the low volume, low rep, heavy weight work-outs I am use to. The volume and reps are muchhigher and the rest time between sets is less (espe-cially during the weekday workouts). So, how did Ifeel about training this way? First of all, physicallyperforming these higher rep/short rest workouts wasvery demanding physically (especially leg dayswhich were absolutely brutal!). I definitely liked thechange of pace and felt like my workouts went veryquickly because I did not have time to do anythingor think about anything between sets except gettingready for the next set. Also, my muscle “pump” wassignificantly more than with lower rep workouts. Ieven got accused of using steroids a few times,which I just take as a nice compliment (If I saw me I

wouldn’t be thinking that, butwhat the heck I’ll take it!).

Whether or not creat-ing a muscle pumpby increasing theamount of blood inthe muscles resultsin muscle growth isdebatable, but it sureis motivating tohave your musclesand veins bustingout while you are

working out!You will have to

check out the “HardGainerColumn next month to learn

about the nutrition and supplementa-tion strategies I followed, as well as my

overall analysis and conclusion on theprogram, but I will go ahead and say that

what I was able achieve left me pleasantlysurprised.

THINK OUTSIDE THE

Change up your routinefor new muscle gains


MONDAY: 30 minutes moderate intensity cardio(usually the gauntlet) and 10-15 minutes ofabdominals.

TUESDAY:Chest and Back:Exercise Sets and RepsChest: Incline Smith Machine Presses 3 x 12-15Hammer Strength Chest Press 3 x 12-15Cable Crossovers 2 x 12-15Dumbbell Flyes 2 x 12-15Machine Flyes 2 x 12-15Machine Flat Presses 2 x 12-15Back: Rack Pullups 3 x 12 -15Hammer Strength Pulldowns 3 x 12 -15Dumbbell Rows 2 x 12-15Seated Cable Rows 2 x 12-15Close Grip Lat Pulldowns 2 x 12-15Cable bent over rows 2 x 12-15*I rest only 1 to 1 ½ minutes between sets andconcentrate on squeezing the muscle-groupworked during each rep.

WEDNESDAYLegs (Quads, Hamstrings, Calves)Cybex (second) Leg Press 3 x 15-20Hack Squats 3 x 15-20Leg Extensions 3 x 15-20Leg Curls 3 x 15-20Seated Calf Raises 3 x 15-20Seated Straight Leg Calf Raises 3 x 15-20Machine Stiff leg Deadlifts 2 x 15-20Walking Dumbbell Lunges 2 x 15-20

THURSDAY – Shoulders, Biceps, TricepsShoulders: Hammer Stren Shoulder Press 3 x 12-15Side Lateral Machine 3 x 12-15Machine Rear Delts 3 x 12-15Cable Upright Rows 2 x 12-15Biceps: Curl Bar Curls 3 x 12-15Concentration Curls 2 x 12-15Alternate Dumbbell Curls 2 x 12-15One Arm Preacher Curls 2 x 12-15Machine Curls 2 x 12-15Cable Curls (one or two arm) 2 x 12-15Triceps: Cable Pressdowns 3 x 12-15Hammer Strength Dips 2 x 12-15Close Grip Smith Bench 3 x 12-15Dumbbell Kickbacks 2 x 12-15Machine Tricep Extensions 2 x 12-15Dumbbell Overhead Extensions 2 x 12-15

FRIDAY: 30 minutes moderate intensity cardio(usually the gauntlet) and 10-15 minutes ofabdominals.

SATURDAY Full body Workout:8-12 Reps trying to increase weight and/or repseach week while using good form and makingsure I feel the proper muscles working.ExerciseSets and RepsSeated Calf Raises 3 x 8-12Squats 2 x 8-12Flat Bench Press3 x 8-12Lat Pulldowns 3 x 8-12Deadlifts 2 x 8-12Dumbbell Shoulder Press2 x 8-12Barbell Curls (Curved Bar) 2 x 8-12Smith Incline Close grip presses 2 x 8-12

Russ Yeager’s Complete Physique Training VideoFor the majority of us, gaining lean muscle mass is tough. So is losing unwanted bodyfat. Doing both may seemdownright impossible! Well, I’m here to tell you that it is possible…for EVERYONE. Achieving and maintainingthat muscular “defined” look, or what I like to call the “Complete Physique”, is a matter of applying effectiveweight training and cardiovascular training strategies consistently over a period of time.This seems simple enough, but with so much conflicting and confusing information on building muscle andlosing bodyfat today, far too many people are becoming frustrated and confused, and are giving up altogether ontheir dreams of having a lean, healthy, muscular body.Not only does my Complete Physique Training Video cover what I have found to be the most effective andefficient methods for achieving the results people want, but also provides the motivation to have confidence andfaith in yourself and your fitness program. This faith and confidence will allow you to stick

with your workout program because you truly believe the end results will beworth the time and energy investment.The Complete Physique Training Video covers weight training and cardio-vascular training, including the all important mental aspect of bodybuildingand fitness training, in a straightforward, yet entertaining format.Get a game plan, get motivated, and get results! Let the Complete PhysiqueTraining Video help YOU reach your goals!Are you ready to create your own Complete Physique?

Order online at www.russyeager.com


eatmorenot less

Oriental-HoneyChicken Kabobs

Contrary to what people may think there is verylittle mystery when it comes to obtaining yourideal weight. Of course, exercise plays an im-

portant role, but eating properly and is crucial to ourweight control as well as keeping our energy levelsup. We all know that by consuming more calories thanneeded, we may gain weight and by eating fewer calo-ries, we lose a few pounds. So, how do we know whatdiet is right for each one of us?We all have different dietary needs due to our activitylevel. Getting to know those needs and your body isimportant to achieving your desired weight. One thingthat is for sure is that when we starve ourselves, weare in turn depriving our bodies of the calories andnutrients needed in order to function productively inour everyday lives. Allowing ourselves to depletecauses the body to fall into a catabolic state thereforestoring calories and fat whenever it can, causing youto “pack on those unwanted pounds”!To avoid gorging on bad choices, plan on eating five tosix nutritious mini meals daily (or every 2-3 hours).Healthy mini meals are key to a successful weight lossprogram. It will not only increase your metabolic ratecausing you to burn more calories—it will also im-prove your health all the way around. So, avoid hungerpangs at all costs. Simply plan those mini meals on adaily basis. Eating more, not less, of the right food anddrinking plenty of water, combined with the proper ex-ercise program will give you the desired results youhave been looking for. It may also be a good idea todiscuss your diet with a registered dietitian to insurethe most effective and healthy diet for you and yourfamily.

Ingredients:1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts2-3 zucchini or yellow squash, cut into 1-inch slices1 lb. fresh mushrooms1 lb. cherry tomatoes1-cup red, yellow, and green bell pepper pieces2 large green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce2 tablespoons dry sherry1-tablespoon honey1-tablespoon dark sesame oil3 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:1 Cut chicken into bit size pieces (approx. 11/2 inches)then place into a large plastic bag. Place zucchini,

By Danielle Nagel, APCAPersonal Chef/ Fitness ProfessionalNutrition & Natural Health Consultant

www.fitandbeyond.comPhotos and meals prepared by:The Fit Gourmet©

Nutrition information per serving: Calories 145 Protein 21 Carbohydrate 8

mushrooms, tomatoes, and peppers into anotherlarge plastic bag.2 Combine together soy, sherry, honey, oil, and garlic;mix well and pour half the mixture over the chickenand the other half over the vegetables. Seal bags se-curely; turn to coat; refrigerate and marinate for 30minutes or up to 4 hours.3 Soak 6 (12-inch) skewers in water for 20 minutes,(this allows for easy threading).4 Drain chicken and vegetables; reserve marinade.Alternately thread chicken, vegetables, and onions onskewers.5 Place skewers on rack of broiler pan. Brush withhalf of the reserved marinade. Broil 5 to 6 inches fromheat for 5 minutes. Turn kabobs over then brush withremaining marinade then broil another 5 minutes oruntil chicken is no longer pink. Enjoy!

food



“The Cuban Muscle”

By JP Bender

Jorge, 34, recently joined forces with AnthonyAlfonso, CEO of Nutri-Force Nutrition, aMiami-based nutraceutical manufacturing

company, to produce the Betancourt Nutritionline. Alfonso, trained as a pharmacist, is nationallywell known and has an excellent reputation in theindustry.

“I chose this route because I now have controlin the manufacturing process to insure formulaconsistency, appropriate inventory, manufacturingcapability and prompt delivery. I’m in this for thelong haul,” Jorge said. “Another key factor withthis decision is that Nutri-Force Nutrition has a re-search and development team, scientific advisoryboard, along with a quality control laboratory intheir plant. I can have all my products tested to in-sure freshness of ingredients and quality for mycustomers.”

Jorge hit the international scene shortly afterhis overall victories at the 1989 Teen USA; 1990NPC Teen Collegiate Nationals; and the 1991NPC Southern States overall championships,while still a teenager. A closer look at thismiddleweight’s accomplishments is nothing shortof phenomenal.

Jorge, throughout his adulthood, has dedi-cated and devoted his life to his physical well be-ing and muscular symmetry. His hard work in thegym has brought him fame and accomplishments.

Then like most people who achieve success,Jorge became unsure of what he wanted and de-cided to quit and get out of bodybuilding. Hestarted living a different lifestyle and chose anewer undisciplined life. Using his reputation, heopened a successful gym in South Florida, andcreated his own line of supplements. Finding suc-cess in the supplement business, he sold his gym.

As his supplement business grew, Jorge wantedmore control over the manufacturing end of his busi-ness. That ultimately led him to join forces with An-thony Alfonso, to utilize his manufacturing facilities.Now assured of stability and availability in themanufacturing end, he expects his product sales toincrease and capture a sizeable market share.

During an interview with Jorge, he seems totallyfocused and that leads him to be a committed vision-ary.

“I’m now seriously back into bodybuilding and Iwant to win the USAs. I plan to work day and night topromote my company and it’s products. I’ve learnedsome hard lessons and gained valuable insightsalong the way,” Jorge confided. “I want to make it inthis sport and succeed in my business. That’s my fo-cus and that is what drives me today.”

If past history is any indication of his future – it’sbright and he will make it happen. After all Jorge’smotto has always been, “whatever it takes.”

Editors Note: JP Bender is a retired investiga-tive reporter now serving as Communications Man-ager of Nutri-Force Nutrition in Miami, Florida andcan be reached at [email protected]

JORGE BETANCOURT

Jorge Betancourt, one of the most incred-

ible teen bodybuilders of the past decade is

returning to competition with a ven-

geance. Along with his “whatever it

takes” attitude, this Cuban muscle

plans to be on top of his game and

will be offering a complete line of

nutraceutical products and supple-

ments to help others achieve their

goals in bodybuilding.

Jorge recentlyjoined forceswith AnthonyAlfonso, CEOof Nutri-ForceNutrition, a Mi-ami-basednutraceuticalmanufacturingcompany, toproduce theBetancourtNutrition line.


By IFBB Pro Laura Mak, MS

HAVE A SEAT.

Most of my clients dread the ever taxing “leg day”. Why is this? It was always

my favorite body part to train. Nevertheless, it is one of the hardest training

days. The heart rate typically is elevated rapidly because the legs have the

three largest muscles of the body – the gluteus, quadriceps, and hamstrings. Therefore, the

heart has to work harder to pump the oxygenated blood to those “large” muscles.

Not only have I written numerous articles on the benefits of yoga and fitness routines,

but also yoga and strength training. There are numerous advanced poses that can be trans-

lated into the fitness world, but also basic skills to develop a solid foundation. A begin-

ning skill like the chair pose, “Utkatasana”, is an excellent strengthening as well as

stretching pose.

How about incorporating a yoga pose that is great for the legs, into your regular train-

ing routine? Have a seat and relax a while with me….. actually, the chair pose is far from a

relaxing. It is an excellent pose that strengthens the thighs, calves, spine, and ankles. This

pose stretches the shoulders and chest as well as stimulates the abdominal organs, dia-

phragm, and heart. The chair pose can also help alleviate flat feet.

To begin, start in a standing pose with your feet parallel and about shoulder width

apart. Lift your arms horizontal in front of the body. Keep the arms parallel and palms fac-

ing toward each other. Take a breath in and as you begin to exhale, bend your knees and

try to get the thighs as close to parallel to the floor as possible. The knees will move for-

ward over the feet, and the torso will lean slightly forward over the quads forming a 90-de-

gree angle. The shoulder blades pull back to the midline of the spine. If you are more flex-

ible in the shoulder area, you may lift the arms so they are above your head and close to

the ears. There should be a tilt down toward the floor with your tailbone.

It is advisable to stay in this pose for about 30 seconds to one minute. As you begin to

come out of the pose, straighten your legs as you inhale. Lift the arms above the head.

Then exhale and bring your arms back down to your sides. You begin and end in the same

standing posture.

You may have to build up on your time for holding this pose, but the benefits are well

worth it. Go ahead, have a seat, in your “chair pose”. Namaste

STRENGTHEN YOUR LEGS

yoga


pz’s perspective

by: Pzphoto by: Solus Creations

So you are a personal trainer. You have knowledge that may include education, credentials,and years of hands-on experience with many

satisfied clients to boast of your re-sults. You put in long hoursin a club that most likelyisn’t yours, where, in allprobability, you have toshare a sizeable percent-age of your earnings withthe owner— in which caseevery session matters. Youmay even make house callson the side running fromone end of creation to theother to accommodate clientswho won’t or can’t come to the gym. Thisyou do because it is your calling, something youlove. But this is business and you still have to paythe bills, make a living, and plan a future. While yougo about practicing your profession one thing is cer-tain— there will be no shortage of individuals ask-ing for your help. They may request your assistancewith a program, with form, with a new exercise, orwith a diet regimen. You are bombarded with ques-tion after question from people who will gladly takeas much of your time as you are FREELY willing togive.

Seasoned gym rats, as well as confused neo-phytes, approach you and interrupt you in themiddle of a session, in the middle of your training,in the middle of a sentence. After all, you are a pro-fessional. You know what you are doing. You surelyhave the answers. You stop. You listen. You give in-

formation. You share advice. You try to be helpful.You try to be pleasant. You may go as far as to offer a

free consultation in hopes of adding a newpaying client to your roster. Not sur-

prisingly, most people never getthat far— never take you up on

your offer. They have no inten-tion of actually paying youfor your knowledge. Thatthought has never even oc-curred to them. All they wantis what they can nickel and

dime out of you if you are soinclined. You usually are.

How manypeople would ex-

pect to barge into a doctor’s of-fice while she is with another pa-tient and get the doctor to give adiagnosis of their problem rightthere on the spot—for free? Who would have thenerve to interrupt Butch Harmon in the middle of hislesson with Tiger Woods and ask him to look at theirswing—for free? These examples are no differentthan the situation just described. Never have I seenthe expectation of free more blatantly practiced andthe concept more clearly demonstrated than in thefitness industry. And it is not exclusive to personaltrainers. From top to bottom the industry is fraughtwith other examples. Pitch a product, pose for pic-tures, judge a competition are a few more illustra-tions prevalent in an industry where deserving menand women are expected to put their talents on theline for little or no compensation. Oh, but you want

the exposure, you want the opportunity to partici-pate, you want to be discovered, you want to furtheryour career. No, what you really want is to be paid.You want money, not the promises or possibilities ofwhat may or could happen down the road. Unfortu-nately, though, the fitness industry doesn’t have amonopoly on free.

The world has become a complicated place.What was once characterized as normal and tradi-tional are concepts hard to find or identify. The wayin which people do business has dramaticallychanged. Generations of steel workers, farmers, min-ers, and manufacturers, with stable and steady 9 to 5paychecks, have dwindled and faded as the face of

our work force has taken on awhole new look. New indus-tries with new opportunitieshave taken their place. Moreand more folks are becomingindependent moving away

from the conventional system to pursue a differentpath and are branching out starting their own busi-ness, trading in the employee hat for one that, in-stead, says boss. They have identified themselves ashaving a skill, service, trade, or talent, useful andmarketable in today’s society. Nevertheless, no manis an island, and in order to be successful in busi-ness—and in life— people have to work together insome capacity every step of the way. You need them;they need you. With that comes the reality that youmust decide what your value is in dollars and centsin the marketplace. If you don’t know what you areworth how can you expect anyone else to know ei-

are youworth

more than

FREE?

Time is money.Time is valuable.

Natural Muscle May 2006 27continued on page 48

ther? But even more important, once you have estab-lished your worth, how do you go about getting it?

If there is one complaint that has come to my at-tention over and over it is the notion that peoplewant something for nothing and that more and moreindividuals are sick and tired of being asked to per-form without being appropriately or adequatelycompensated. In other words, people are fed up withfree. For some time now, many have asked me to ad-dress this issue, to speak out on their behalf.

Where exactly did the ‘something for nothing’movement originate? Who started the trendthat free is the payment we receive in ex-change for what we give? When in our historydid it become acceptable to expect someoneto provide services, advice, time, energy, ef-forts, expertise, or talents without charge?Somehow we have developed this ridiculousidea that free appears on the list of optionsfrom which we conduct business, and as longas we can perpetuate it why not continue thetrend? People are operating under the as-sumption they can take what they want andgive little or nothing in return.It’s time to make a distinction between whatshould and should not be considered free.It’s time for all talented, hard working indi-viduals to stand up for their worth and con-duct business in a whole new way, a betterway, the way it was always meant to be. It’stime to decide, are you worth more thanfree?

PZ’S POINTERSTime is money. Time is valuable.When you give of your time in a profes-sional or business capacity you should berewarded in real honest to goodness dol-lars. Be more protective of and guardedwith your time. If you don’t recognize andappreciate its value no one else will. De-pending on the circumstance, you may of-fer one free consultation. After that, youare on the clock. No compromising here.Establish your parameters. Either you arepaid by the hour, by the session, by the case, by theproject, by the shoot, by the article, or by the situa-tion. Let someone know up-front they can expect topay you x number of dollars for your time. Once youproceed with the relationship and haven’t estab-lished those parameters it is difficult to changehorses in the middle of the stream.

Make a proposal—Put it in writing. Once youhave made it known that you do NOT work for freeyou will be able to determine in a short period oftime how serious someone is, or are they just usingyou for what they can get. Draft a simple proposalspelling out the details of exactly what it is you areproviding and exactly what you need in return. Thisis an important step in the process. It eliminates as-sumptions, miscommunications, and ensures every-one is on the same page. It also will weed out a lot ofthe frauds and users before you have gotten too fardown the road or wasted too much of your precious,valuable, irreplaceable time.

Get a retainer. Whenever possible get a retainer inorder to get started. This represents a good faith ges-ture. Most often the money is “eaten up” right away.If not, you can always apply it later. Believe me,people will get their monies worth out of you if theyhave already given you a retainer. It is more for yourprotection and helps you to avoid getting totallystuck or ripped-off if things don’t work out or unfoldas planned.

If you are not getting paid, what are yougetting? Under some conditions you are providing

a service and the payment comes in a form otherthan money. You may barter one thing for another,this for that, quid pro quo, but, still, in the arrange-ment, both parties are on the receiving end of some-thing. They are happy because each is bringing tothe table something that the other needs. It should berelatively equal and not lopsided in value. Youwouldn’t expect an architect to build an accountanta house just for doing his taxes. My hairstylist had abarter agreement with a jeweler. In exchange for aring, she would cut the jeweler’s hair. Problem was,after a while, the ring was more than paid for, but thejeweler continued to expect the haircuts. Barteringmay be an exchange of a different sort. Historically,women have traded sex for favors. They have, in es-sence, bartered their bodies to get something, otherthan money, in return: a part in a movie, plastic sur-gery, a promotion, a cover in a magazine, work ontheir car. Without passing judgment, or at the risk ofsounding too moralistic, be careful here. The body issomething that should not be included in the bartersystem.

Be leery of “back end” deals. George Clooneycan afford to take less salary and a percentage of theprofits of a movie on the back end because he al-ready earns an average of 25 million big ones perfilm. Unless you are independently wealthy or in aposition to gamble, most back end deals never gar-ner what they are projected, and someone else, notyou, usually benefits from all your hard work. Ofcourse, there are times when you have to weigh thedeal, throw the dice, and take a risk. You may wantto forego the upfront fee for creating the website andopt instead for a piece of all the traffic the site could

eventually generate. The operative word here iscould. Sometimes the proverbial piece ofthe action never amounts to very muchaction. It is impossible to project the suc-cess or failure of a deal. Judge each “backend” deal on its own merits.

Operate from a position ofstrength. If people sense your frustra-tion or desperation they will surely preyupon that chink in your armor, and, in theend, take advantage of you at a time whenyou may be vulnerable. A fitness gal, amodel, or an actress trying to jump-start acareer may agree to things she wouldn’tnormally agree to if she had some successunder her belt or a support system fromwhich to draw. So too, the country contin-ues to fluctuate in uncertain times, and wellestablished people who aren’t normally cau-tious are looking hard before they leap.Strangely, the time when you need the jobthe most is the time when you should actlike you don’t need it at all. If you areviewed as weak or needy you will never re-ceive your true worth.

If you don’t ask you don’t get. Not aweek passes that I don’t get a request fromsomeone, somewhere to do something that re-quires my expertise. Big deals, small deals,and everything in between come my way. Inaddition, I bring people together through avariety of means that are mutually beneficialand often show huge financial promise. That

can be a good thing and I feel very fortunate. Rarely,however, does anyone mention money, fees, com-pensation, or anything to do with payment of anysort, in the conversation, first. Money is a toughtopic to discuss. It is a sticky subject to address. Itcan be uncomfortable so it, therefore, becomes easierto avoid or ignore. You have to force people to faceit straight on, or they won’t on their own. Ask forwhat you want. Even though you may be the nicestperson ever created, business is business—period!

Decide if prestige is more important thanpayment. In many instances people are asked toperform in various ways and told they should bemore than eager to participate since there is prestigeattached to the request. Important jobs carry compa-


By Eric Hoult B.S., Pro BodybuilderSpecial Feature: Jennifer Costantino

Photos by axisdzn.com

By Bill Hebson , ACSM-HFI, NSCA-CPT, USA Weightlifting Senior Coach, ACE-CPT

training

Some of the challenges that face figure, physique and

strength athletes today are to continue constant im

provement, and to further muscular development and

growth. The growth of our knowledge base is what ultimately

allows us to realize our aspirations and dreams. We are stu-

dents for life in this endeavor. I would encourage all of you,

not only to embrace your training wholeheartedly, but to

passionately pursue new information and research. So much

of our training is influenced by outdated, dogmatic, and tra-

ditional thinking. BORING! Take a chance, step outside the

box and continue to grow.

Medicine ball training (MBT) offers a variety of unique

training benefits. Due to the ability to train in a dynamic,

360 degree, multi-planar manner as well as producing in-

credibly high rates of force development and velocity, MBT

has been an exercise of choice in training athletes. At Bill

Hebson Human Performance I have used medicine ball train-

ing successfully across the whole spectrum of my client popu-

lation, young, old and athletic, but MBT provides explicit

benefits for my fitness and physique competitors.

Due to the massive amount of musculature recruited with

each exercise it is easy to train the whole body in a very time

effective manner and put a huge metabolic hit on the whole

system. This provokes a profound re-

sponse in the body’s acute endo-

crine environment, spiking tes-

tosterone, growth hormone and

insulin response far more effec-

tively than traditional isola-

tion training. This translates into

better muscular gains and faster fat

metabolism.

The ability to produce force and velocity with MBT

through the entire range of motion and release into a jump or

a throw recruits fast twitch muscle fiber, particularly the higher

threshold Type IIb fibers far more effectively than traditional

strength training.

MBT also lights up the whole central nervous system,

training us to recruit way more muscle and way more of the

motor pool instantly rather than in a graded, progressive

manner based on the progression of fatigue. Strength and

power will go through the roof with this kind of training.

We will profile the following exercises:1. Ribbon Lunges2. Squat Jump and Push Toss3. Rotational Overhead Slams4. Rotational Wall Slams

Again due to the massive amount of recruitment in these

exercises space does not allow me to profile the contribution

of all the musculature involved. There are 106 skeletal muscles

in the body and most are involved in each of these exercises,

so let it suffice to say each exercise is systemic and very

whole body in nature.

greatgreatgreatgreatgreatmedicinemedicinemedicinemedicinemedicine

ballballballballballworkoutworkoutworkoutworkoutworkout

on the nexton the nexton the nexton the nexton the nextpage!page!page!page!page!



Rotational Wall SlamsFor this exercise you will need a converta-ball which is a MB hybrid with a rope through its core.

Begin with your back to a wall. The feet should be shoulder width apart and the knees flexed in the universal athletic ready position. With the rope in

both hands rotate explosively to the side in a batting motion swinging the ball so it strikes the wall at waist height like a baseball swing. The ball will

rebound off the wall explosively and the athlete has to accelerate explosively to the opposite side and deliver a maximal strike to that wall. Continue

to rebound side to side. I normally have my athletes perform 15 to 20 second bouts of exertion. It is important the athlete keeps their knees flexed and

performs a fluid rotation, pivoting the feet as well as the hips in each direction. Again this drill requires a huge whole body exertion and is terrific for the

hips, core and back.

ROTATIONAL OVERHEAD SLAMSBegin standing with the feet parallel and under the hips. The MB is held in front of the hips with both

hands. Step back to the right and rotate down to the right winding up and sweeping the MB low and

around in a circular motion, push off the right leg and continue stepping forward back to parallel as

the ball reaches full extension overhead. At this

point we should be arched with the torso in a dy-

namic stretch loading. We whip the torso down-

ward, dropping the chest towards the thighs as

we forcefully slam the ball down with maximal ex-

ertion. Repeat to the opposite side, alternating

sides for a total of 8 reps, There is very, very little

power in an arm throw, this exercise trains the

overhead throwing athlete or overhead hitter, like

in a tennis service or volleyball kill shot to engage

the core effectively to produce maximal power.

Due to the coil and rotation along with explosive

torso flexion involved this is a monstrous exer-

cise to train the hips and core. Calorie expendi-

ture is enormous. Many figure competitors erro-

neously fear doing any waist work what so ever to

avoid hypertrophy in this area. Due to the harmo-

nious and synergistic recruitment involved here

we due not see isolated muscle stimulation, fur-

ther due to the brief explosive nature of the exer-

cise we do not have sufficient time under tension

to induce hypertrophy. In other words, take ad-

vantage of this exercise, its killer.

Medicine Ball Training


RIBBON LUNGESBegin standing parallel, the feet hip width apart,

with the MB in both hands at hip level. Take a

deep side step right into a lateral lunge. The trail-

ing left leg straightens putting the adductors on a

dynamic stretch loading, be sure to keep feet

parallel and pointing forward. Reach down flexing

forward at the waist, chest to the right thigh and touch the MB to the floor by the right foot. With the

arms extended begin to sweep the ball low and across to the left describing a giant circle. With a

powerful, explosive drive we push off the right leg and propel ourselves laterally into the air, covering

as much ground as possible, trading feet in the air and landing in a left lateral lunge. The torso lifts to

full extension and the medicine ball continues it’s circle full over head throughout the jump and

sweeps down to touch by the left foot as we land in a deep lateral lunge left. Normally I have my ath-

lete repeat this rebounding from side to side for 5 reps each leg or a total of ten total reps. This is an

incredible exercise for hitters who need to develop frontal plane power, golfers, tennis players,

hockey players or any athlete requiring explosive lateral power. It is an awesome developer of hips,

glutes, and the abductors and adductors.

2. Squat Jump and Push TossBegin standing with feet parallel and directly under the hips. Hold the medicine ball on the chest with

the elbows raised slightly, similar to a front squat

position. Perform a fast, deep, full squat and re-

bound out of the bottom, exploding upwards with

the legs and hips and simultaneously driving the

medicine ball off the chest towards the ceiling

with an explosive push press. The intent is to

jump as high as possible and to propel the medi-

cine ball into free space as high as possible with

each press. I recommend a 30lb. medicine ball

for guys and with 16 foot ceilings it takes an un-

usual athlete to hit the ceiling. Most women are

good with a 20lb ball. Perform sets of 8 maximal

reps. This is an awesome total body conditioner.

Jennifer Costantino is a full time realtor,new mother and figure competitor.

Her typical workout schedule is as follows:

Mon : Hamstrings/ Abs

Tues : Chest/ Tri’s/ 30min Cardio

Wed : Shoulders/Calves/ Abs/ 30min

Cardio

Thurs : Back/ Biceps/ 30min Cardio

Fri : Quads/ Abs


Mohr Results with Dr. Chris

By Christopher R. Mohr, PhD, RD

Don’t get too excited, guys andgals, I’m talking about cheating on your diet, not your sig-

nificant other. After all, I’m a dietitian,not a private eye. The truth is that evenif you’re committed to a healthylifestyle (you eat well, exercise regu-larly, rarely overindulge), temptation isstill everywhere.If you’re not careful, one loving lookfrom a juicy burger (with bacon, mayoand cheddar) across the room could bethe end of you. An innocent night outfor hot wings and beer may result inyour being a “bad boy” (especially ifsomebody catches you in the act).As a dietitian, I’m here to tell you it’sokay to cheat on rare occasions. But ifyou’re going to give in to fat and car-bohydrate overload, why not choosefoods that can actually serve you? Icall these the“best” of the“worst”- thetop 10 foodsyou can eatand still likeyou in themorning.Beforelaunchinginto the list,let’s point outthe obvious; some foods are better thanothers. Nutrient dense foods shouldcomprise a majority of your diet. I’mnot saying you should live a life ofdeprivation either. Sometimes splurg-ing on something “bad” is good.

After you indulge, however, hop rightback on the bandwagon. You wouldn’tget a flat tire in your car and keepdriving until all four are flat; you needto do the same thing with your diet.If you splurge with one food, don’tkeep splurging until you resemble FatAlbert, snap right back into your nor-mal strict diet for the next meal.

THE TOP 10 BEST OF THEWORSTNext time you’re glued to reruns ofSeinfeld, consider splurging on someof these foods - bad, but not so bad foryou:

10: Baked Chips &GuacamoleAvocado (the green in guacamole) is a

loaded with anti-oxidants, such asvitamin E andglutathione,which are bothgood for theheart and im-mune system andlutein, which isimportant for theeyes. Avocado isalso a great

source of heart healthy fats, to keepthose lipids under wrap.

9: Mixed NutsSquirrels aren’t stupid; nuts are excel-lent sources of B-vitamins, which are

important in maintaining energy lev-els. They’re also great sources of vita-min E and low in saturated fat, makingyour heart happy.

8: PizzaOpt for meat-free; pepperoni and sau-sage offer little in the nutrient depart-ment. Instead add a veggie topping ororder it plain. The tomatosauce in pizza offers a heftydose of lycopene, an impor-tant nutrient for prostatehealth. The added vegetableswill add beta-carotene andvitamin C, among others, tofight free radicals, which pro-mote aging.

7: HamburgerYou’re out with the guys andthey insist on stopping at thelocal BBQ joint. While thismight sound appealing, givethe plain hamburger a try.Have it without mayonnaiseor butter. Taste the burger fora change. It won’t kill you.Literally! This will keep thefat lower, and provide just asmany muscle building nutri-ents like protein and iron.

6: Sweet Potato

FriesIf you insist on fries, give thesweet potato fries a chance.

-s

thebest ways

to

Rather than solely adding fat to yourdiet, like normal fries, the orange shoestrings will at least provide a gooddose of beta-carotene.

5: Dark BeerForget about “tastes great” and “lessfilling.” Preliminary studies show darkbeer may offer more “free radical fight-


ing” flavonoids than light beer, whichmay help fight blood clots. If you needto be rolled out of the bar or peeled offthe “porcelain king” you’ve negatedany benefit. Drink in moderation,dude.

4: Dark Chocolate Cov-

ered StrawberriesDark chocolate is high in a compoundcalled phenols, which may help pre-vent “bad cholesterol” from formingplaque in your arteries. (Hey, it’s nevertoo early ortoo late toprotect yourheart). Addthe benefit ofstrawberries, agreat sourceof vitamins Cand A, anddessert neversounded sogood. Let’snot leave outthat mostwomen findthese foodsromantic, soyour heart may not be the only thingthat benefits.

3: Snickers Almond BarQuiz: It’s the middle of the day; you’restarving at your desk and can’t con-centrate. What do you do? Reach for aSnickers Almond Bar; the almondsprovide some heart healthy fats andare high in B-vitamins. This version islower in total fat and saturated fat thanthe “regular” Snickers too. Even if you

The Worst Of The Best

If these formerly questionablefoods can be good for you, can“good foods” be not so healthy?You bet. Three, in particular, willpack weight on faster than preyfattens a bear preparing to hiber-nate. Avoid, if you can:Salad. By itself it’s great. Butloaded with bacon bits, cheese,butter soaked croutons and creamydressing? Deadly. Instead, load it upwith fresh veggies and low fat dressing andgo crazy.Rice Cakes. Once a dieters dream, rice cakes have gone the way of theeight-track, since they offer zero nutrients and will blow your blood sugarthrough the roof. Besides they taste like cardboard and who wants to eat that?Low-Carb Hot Wings (yes, I have seen these advertised). Guess what,wings never had carbs, and they are a saturated fat nightmare. They are alsoloaded with calories, so skip them at all cost. Chew on your wife instead.Well, there you have it, the best of the worst, and the worst of the best. Followthese guidelines and nobody can ever call you a cheater again.

think you’re king, don’t go for KingSize. That’s a surefire way to find your-self as the court jester.

2: Berry PieUnfortunately carrot cake doesn’t

count as a vegetable, so instead orderberry pie for dessert. Berries have someof the highest antioxidant levels ofany fruit or vegetable and have evenbeen shown to contain compoundsthat help prevent Alzheimers; the

darker theberry, thehigher dose ofnutrients, soblueberry orblackberry piewould be greatoptions. Skipthe a la modeand leavesome crust be-hind; they’reloaded withsaturated fat

1: Short-eningYou’re alone

on a Friday night; you’re wife does allthe cooking and she’s out of town.Shortening is great if you want some-thing quick and easy; spoon it rightout of the container and you’ll go im-mediately to saturated and trans-fatheaven, where your arteries are soclogged, Draino wouldn’t do the trick.

Alright, I got carried away. Pleasedon’t eat shortening by the spoonfulas it lacks anything that could be con-strued as healthy.

As a dietitian, I’m here

to tell you it’s okay to

cheat on rare occasions.

But if you’re going to

give in to fat and carbo-

hydrate overload, why

not choose foods that

can actually serve you?

“Having tried A LOT ofprograms, I strongly feelthat Weapons for MassConstruction™ is themost complete resourcefor achieving your desiredresults.

The dietary advice isrealistic and made up ofrecipes that you’ll actu-ally eat. The trainingtechniques are the sameI used under Dr. Bradley-Popovich’s care to fullyrecover from low backsurgery and remaininjury-free!

I firmly believe that all strength coachesshould have a copy on hand. I certainly wish my strength coachwould read this! It is finally nice to be given legitimate informationwithout being sold a product at the same time.”- Division 1 offensive lineman (name withheld due to NCAA regula-tions)

www.WeaponsforMass.com

Weapons for MASS CONSTRUCTION™Get even Mohr Results with ..

Order your copy online at


By Hugo Rivera, BSCE, CFT

Calves besides being one of themost neglected body parts inthe gym are ones whose train-

ing is most misunderstood. Somepeople claim that you need to hit themevery day with high reps while othersclaim that low rep low volume worksbest. In my experience I found that anapproach of heavy twice a week calfwork worked great.

Getting Your Calves To Grow...My typical routine was 10 sets of 10reps with 800 lbs on the standing calfraise machine and only 20 seconds ofrest in between sets. I would also dothis routine on a calf press machine oron a hack squat machine. This ap-proach worked great for many yearswith small variations here and theresuch as me changing the exercise usedor preceding the routine with two setsof 50 reps for the soleous on the seatedcalf raise machine or tri-setting calfraises with tibia raises and then back tocalf raises again.

Enter Todd Mendelsohn, formerMr. Central Florida and owner ofwww.musclebuildingdiet.com.

I met Todd at a gym in St Peters-burg Florida and the first time I sawhim I almost hit the floor. When hewalked his Legs looked like those of acyborg, all striations twitching up anddown and the calves I swear lookedlike they where pure fiber without skin.After Todd finished his workout I intro-duced myself and asked what he did forcalves.

Todd first mentioned that he hitsthem twice a week and that his firstworkout of the week is 8 sets of 8 repson either the calf raise machine or thecalf press machine.

Not much different than my rou-tine, I thought to myself. Now the sec-ond routine is the one that shocked me.

the science behind

He would choose the calf press, calfraise machine, dumbbells or donkeycalf raise machine and do 4 sets of100.

Todd claimed that this is themethod that made his calves grew be-yond belief. I tried this out and whileat first I had to stop at 50 reps in ex-cruciating pain as the body gotused to it on the first couple ofweeks, by the third week I finallywas able to achieve 100 reps. Threeweeks later my calves were biggercreatures.

Now the reason I always trainedthem with 10 sets of 10 is because Ialways thought that the calves werecomprised of mainly fast twitch fi-bers (at least the gastroctnemius as Iknew that the soleous, which is thepart under the gastroc, is mainlyslow twitch). I took this question toTodd and he explained that the gas-trocnemius is both fast twitch andslow twitch contrary to being pre-dominantly one or the other.

Weeks later an article namedHigh vs. Low Reps for Abs andCalves by Dr. J. Clayton Hyght(www.drhyght.com/index2.html)that was published on LeeLabrada’s site www.labrada.com)corroborated what Todd mentioned.Dr. Hyght mentioned that “the lat-eral head of the gastrocnemius iscomposed of about 51% slow-twitch (Type I) muscle fibers.

That means that the remainderis either fast-twitch (Type IIB) or in-termediate (Type IIA). As for the me-dial gastroc, it’s composed of 44%slow-twitch. Thus the remaining56% are fast or intermediate.

In my opinion, it would becrazy to train the gastrocs with highreps or low reps exclusively. In or-der to stimulate both the fast andslow-twitch fibers, you must train

both with heavy weights and low reps,as well as with light weights and highreps. While you’re at it, make sure tohit the intermediate fibers with mediumweight and medium reps”.

Having said that, the mystery be-hind calf training is unraveled. Twice a

SAMPLE PROGRAM

Week 1First Workout of the WeekSeated Calf Raises: 2 sets of 50 reps (30 second rest in between sets)Calf Press: 10 sets of 10 reps with 20 seconds of rest in between setsSecond Workout of the WeekOne Legged Dumbbell Calf Raises: 4 sets of 100 reps (60 second rest in be-tween sets)

Week 2First Workout of the WeekTriset:Standing Calf Raises: 5 sets of 10-12 reps (No Rest)Tibia Raises: 5 sets of 30 reps (No Rest)Standing Calf Raises: 5 sets of 6-8 reps (45 second rest)(Note: Use the same weight on calf raises throughout the routine)Second Workout of the WeekDonkey Calf Raises: 4 triple drop sets (do 40 reps on the first weight, reduceweight and do 30 more reps and reduce weight and do 30 more) Rest 60 secondsin between sets.

Week 3First Workout of the WeekModified Triset: (Go from one exercise to the next in circuit fashion after rest-ing the prescribed amount of time per exercise):Standing Calf Raises: (Toes In to emphasize outer head) 3 sets of 10-12 reps (20second rest)Standing Calf Raises: (Toes Pointing Forward) 3 sets of 10-12 reps (20 secondrest)Standing Calf Raises: (Toes Out to emphasize inner head) 3 sets of 10-12 reps(60 second rest)(Note: Use the same weight on calf raises throughout the routine)Seated Calf Raises: 2 sets of 35 reps (45 second rest)Second Workout of the WeekCalf Press: 4 sets of 100 reps

Be sure to also check out Hugo’s website at: www.hrfit.net

week training alternating high repsand slow reps; at least that is the waythat I now do my calf training.

Below are 3 weeks worth of work-outs that you can start using to getsome new growth on the calves:



to my worldto my worldto my worldto my worldto my world

interview and photos by:Dr. “Coach” Atherton

Arysta Bogner caught my eye at the 2005 Miami Fitness Universe. It wasn’t her blonde

hair, blue eyes and stunning good looks. It wasn’t even her stage presence and terrific way

she moved paused and moved from place capturing the audience with every look and ges-

ture – obviously practiced repeated. Actually I did notice those things -I still have a pulse!

But, in truth, the day before, I saw Arysta and her girl friend from the other side of the

pool deck. They walked out of the hotel, saw the gorgeous pool, looked at each other,

smiled and took a running flying leap about 6 feet high and about 15 feet into the pool.

Hair was flying and FUN abounding. I see the scene in my mind and smile, as I write this

introduction and still wish I had had my camera. Maybe someday, I’ll get that shot.

In the meantime, check out the images I did get from the competition in Miami and Holly-

wood and a shoot at Laguna Beach -I do not think you will be disappointed, I certainly

wasn’t. Read her profile and you have a better understanding what makes this Canadian

beauty tick and especially how her POISE became such a paramount asset to frame her

beauty!

And where did she learn to love being a model?

My name is Coach A – WELCOME TO MY WORLD

ATHLETIC ACHIEVEMENTS

❏ 4th place, Ms. Bikini America, Fitness America, Hollywood, CA, Nov 2005

❏ 9th place finalist, Model America, Fitness America, Hollywood, CA, Nov 2005

❏ 4th place, FAME Halloween Mayhem Pro Fitness Model Search, 0ct

❏ Sports Lab Model Search Finalist- London ON, Oct 2005

❏ 1st place, Model Canada Champion, Fitness Canada –Toronto, Oct 2005

❏ 2nd place, Ms. Bikini Canada, Fitness Canada –Toronto, Oct 2005

❏ 5th place, Ms. Bikini Universe Finalist (Tall Class) - Miami, FL, June 2005

❏ 5th place, Model Universe Finalist - Miami, FL, June 2005

❏ 6th place, *Top 10 finalist, Pro Fitness Model Search, FAME World Champion-

ships, Toronto, June 2005

❏ 3rd place, Ms. CHIN Bikini Contest – Toronto July 2005

❏ 1st place, WNSO Fitness Model Search Champion, Toronto Man Show, Sept

2004 *Received Professional Status

❏ 3rd place, WNSO Fitness Model Search - Molson Indy, Toronto, July 2004

❏ 16th place, FAME Fitness Model Search, Top 20 Finalist out of 230 -Toronto,

2004

Arysta

Bogner

PROFILE:

Where were you born: Welland, Ontario, CANADA

Marital Status: Single but taken

Education: B.A Honors Kinesiology,

University of Western Ontario

Age: 23 (Oct 12, 1982)

Height: 5’6

Weight: 135, Off Season

127, Competition

Website: www.arystabogner.com


What do you do for a living?I am a Fitness Model and a Promotional Model,Hostess, Assistant Photographer and PersonalTrainer (currently relocating).

How/Why did you get involved in fitness?Throughout my high school career I was actively in-volved with athletics and during my first few yearsat university, I tried out for a few teams, but couldnot properly perform due to reoccurring lower leginjuries. As a fierce competitor, it was extremelyfrustrating not being able to execute at the highestlevel like I did in high school. I wanted my body tobe healthy and pain free and that is when I made adecision that would ultimately change my life … Iembraced a personal, life long dream and enteredinto the world of Fitness Modeling! Transformingbody and mind, both physically and mentally, it hasbecome my new sport and goal to conquer.

Favorite book, movie, cheat food?‘How To Think Like Leonardo daVinci’, by MichaelJ. Gelb‘The Princess Bride’Carrot Cake

Who influenced you the most athletically,academically?My Dad and two brothers influenced me the mostathletically. From childhood, it was always a chal-lenge of mine to win against them in everything Idid. I wanted to prove that “a girl” could be just asgood or better in sports then “boys”. With a fewbruises I think I proved my point. I guess this iswhere I developed my competitive drive, andathleticism.

Who do you admire the most?Male: Leonardo daVinciFemale: Madonna

What did you think about your first compe-tition?It was a smaller show, The Toronto Man Show in2003 … It really opened my eyes about what com-

peting was like. I learnedso much from the girls back stage, about tanning,posing and costumes. After my 1st competition I washooked… I love the exhilaration of performing onthe stage and the competitive attitude.

Who do you want to emulate? Athletically?I always have looked up to Olympic Athletes! I ad-mire the power, drive, determination and courage inwhich they posses. They inspire me to challenge my-self and to achieve my personal best as an athlete!

How do you want to be remembered as anathlete?With the ambition of becoming a Fitness and RoleModel, I aspire to become an inspiration to othersand to be remembered as a strong, determined ath-lete, who never gave up on her dreams and stayedtrue to who she was.

What traits do you value the most?Integrity, Respect for Self, Honesty, Trust, and Deter-mination.

What do you see that is good in Fitness to-day?Society is starting to value fitness and exercise as apreventative health measure and a way of vital liv-ing. I think the emphasis on holistic wellness is fan-tastic!

What needs to change in Fitness today, inyour opinion?I think there is too much of the “Unnatural” in Fit-ness. I am a big believer in being natural in how Ilook, and what I put into my body. I believe that it’stime to get back to the basics, and value individual-ity, natural foods, supplements and hard work, put-ting less emphasis on cosmetic procedures and“miracle” pills and diets.

What would you like to say to the reader ofNMM?

Fitness is a way of life … it’s about Balance, PositiveMental Attitude and total body Wellness! Try tosurround yourself around positive people andwrite down your goals, make a plan and go for it!Remember that a goal not written down is only awish!

If you could thank 3 people in your life,who are they and why?I would like to thank my parents and my boyfriendfor making me the person I am today. I am thankfulfor all the help, love and support!

What is your passion?My passions are Visual Arts, Modeling and Athlet-ics.

Sum up yourphilosophy offitness/ath-letes in onesentence,what would itbe?Fitness doesn’tchoose you,YOU choose Fit-ness … and onceyou do, it be-comes a part ofwho you are, forthe rest of yourlife!

What else doyou want thereaders toknow aboutyou?I was born intomy family’s pho-tography busi-ness and intro-duced to thespotlight at avery early age bymy parents, whoare “Master Pho-tographers” andhave learned alifetime of expe-rience in the in-dustry, both infront of and be-hind the camera.Growing up, itwas that experi-ence whichtaught me confi-dence, knowl-edge, determina-tion, strengthand courage,helping meshape my lifeand become theperson I am to-day.


Brazilians are known for their stunning figuresand to that end there is a product being marketed as the Brazilian Diet System that is

safe and is taking the nation by storm.When the Brazilian way of dieting was first in-

troduced in the United States in mid-2005, a coupleof companies started marketing products that weremade in Brazil. However in late 2005, the U.S. Foodand Drug Administration had to take steps to warnconsumers not to use those products because theycontained unapproved drugs in their dietary supple-ments.

Consumers, who had come to recognize thename, didn’t know which way to turn after the war-ranted criticism. They discovered the original for-mula sold by other companies contained high toxic-ity levels of harmful substances. It is important to re-member that these formulations were all manufac-tured outside the United States. There was a lot ofconfusion and concern about the name and products.

In late 2005, Anthony Alfonso, a pharmacist andCEO of Nutri-Force Nutrition, a Miami basednutraceutical-manufacturing facility, stepped in and“ cleaned up” the product, filed for a registeredtrademark and introduced an efficient product.

Alfonso’s formula provides for a comprehensiveapproach to preventing the storage of fatty acids andremoving unhealthy and unwanted toxins. Com-bined with a well-balanced diet and exercise plan,the product helps reduce your appetite, increases en-ergy and enhances your metabolism. Nutri-Force’s

Brazilian Diet System has not been issued any warn-ings by the FDA and is well recognized and receivedby customers, as is evident by its skyrocketing sales.

The Brazilian Diet manufactured by Nutri-Forceis one of the few in the United States that has beentested and confirmed to contain no harmful sub-stances, yet it is effective in the control of weightloss.

Today the product can be found atwww.braziliandiet.com.

Nutri-Force Nutrition also manufactures a widearray of vitamins, minerals and food supplementsand has launched many products into the market-place.

Nutri-Force Nutrition enjoys a favorable reputa-tion and has been featured on many television sta-tion interviews along with numerous in-depth storiesin various respected news publications.

Unfortunately there still are some Brazilian Dietpills being sold that do not meet safety standardsand an uneducated consumer has difficulty trying tofigure out what’s good and what’s bad and what maybe dangerous.

For those consumers, go to the web sitewww.braziliandiet.com and take a look at the postedlaboratory findings about this product. See for your-self there is no harmful substances in this company’sBrazilian Diet. Also look at the packaging labels andget to know this products packaging. You can get onthe Brazilian Diet System yourself, with confidence,if you buy from the right place.

JP Bender is a retired investigative reporterand currently a columnist with The Florida Sentry.He can be contacted at [email protected].

By JP Bender

BIO I am a 100%drug free athleteand competemostly in drugtested events inthe NPC.However, I be-lieve I am oneof the extremelyrare people thathave the abilityto one daycompete on apro level as

a drug free athlete. My first Nationalcompetition (which happened to have been my sec-ond show ever) I finished in the top five. I dupli-cated that accomplishment in the third show of mycareer in 2003. In retrospect, these accomplishmentswere astonishing seeing I had no real experience,and very little knowledge of how to diet or pose.Last year was a successful one. I started my seasonwith a couple of overall wins. However, my lack oftime in the gym, due to work, as well as inconsis-tency in diet and supplementation because of nooutside financial support caught up with me at the

end of the season. After a disappointing 15Th placefinish in last years Jr. Nationals, I talked with FlexWheeler and asked him what I needed to improveon. Surprisingly, his answer was ”nothing”. He saidbecause of my 6’2"height I just needed to come inheavier in order to look as thick as the other com-petitors. This was not surprising because most of theother athletes were on steroids. However, I have con-sistently been the heavi-est competitor in everynatural show I have done.

SHORT TERM

GOALSWith the right diet, I caneasily come in at 250lbs. contest ready For TeamUniverse this year. My Goal is to dominate the natu-ral circuit for the next four years, which will ulti-mately give me my pro card. That winning streak hasnever been done before. My past near misses assureme that with the proper program, my goal is a realis-tic one. Once I accomplish this, I will be 33 years oldand have the muscle maturity and size to compete asa pro.I can be reached by email:[email protected] or by cell phone 773-

793-3373. Please feel free contact me with any ques-tions. CONTEST HISTORY:2002:❖Midwest Grand Pr ix, Rockford, IL (NQ): 1st placeNovice Heavyweight, Overall novice winner, 1stplace open heavyweight

❖Team Universe Nation-als, New York, NY: 4Thplace Heavyweight2003:❖Team Universe Nation-als, New York, NY: 5Thplace Heavyweight

2004:❖Mid-West Iron-man Classic, Chicago, IL: 5Thplace Super Heavyweight open 2005:❖Midwest Grand Pr ix, Rockford, IL (NQ): 1stplace Open Heavyweight, Overall Open winner❖Show Me Naturals, St Louis, Mo: 1st place OpenHeavyweight, Overall Open winnerJr. Nationals, Chicago, IL: 15th place Super Heavy-weight division❖Muscle Mania Super Body: 4Th place Heavyweight division

WILLIAM H. BOSTON JR.

Height: 6’2"Weight: (off season): 275 (contest): 245Age: 29Hometown: ChicagoOccupation: Personal Trainer/ Fitness Model



The very best natural bodybuilders have already discovered the mental and physical

secrets to produce astonish-ing results without the helpof steroids or other illegaldrugs. If you want to get themost from your drug-freebodybuilding efforts, tryimplementing all of thesecommon characteristics andstrategies of the very bestnatural bodybuilders I haveoutlined for you.

The secrets of the

top drug-free body-

builders:1. Don’t think of beingdrug-free an insurmount-able obstacle preventingyou from building a greatphysique. You first must be-lieve that it is indeed possibleto create some amazing thingswith your physique withoutdrugs. You must believe there isstill a way to accomplish morewith your physique even if you’vehad some pretty good gains in thepast. Immediately separate yourselffrom those negative people who say itis impossible for you to do so.

2. Don’t worry about who’staking drugs and who is not.The battle to become your very best is

always against yourself—not againstanyone else who is using drugs.Whether or not someone else is using

drugs has no bearing onwhat you can and can’t accomplishwith your own physique. Worryingabout who is on drugs, however, canhave a seriously detrimental affect oneverything you are trying to do.

3. Be patient.If you want to reach your full geneticpotential without using drugs, youmust look at your bodybuilding en-

deavors like the elite natural body-builders. You must look at your body-

buildingefforts as a series of long-term lifestylechoices. Instead of only setting short-term goals like seeing how huge youcan get by next summer, create a clearvision of what you want to look likeafter five more years of living a disci-plined bodybuilding regimen.

4. Develop certainty and confi-dence on a day-to-day basis

with the training and eatinghabits you choose.Whatever strategies you choose, getthe most out of them by exerting ex-traordinary effort. Make up for whatothers perceive as disadvantages withyour exceptional work ethic, mindset,training habits, and eating regimen.

When looking for a good work-out routine or eating plan, look toone of the successful drug-free body-builders you admire most for guid-ance. That way, you won’t have theconvenient excuse that your plandidn’t work because you are trainingnaturally. You’ll begin with a littlemore certainty and look a little bitmore closely at your level of com-mitment if things don’t work out foryou as quickly as you’d like.

5. Be persistent.Even though you train withoutdrugs, become relentless in yourpursuit of finding a series of effec-tive strategies that will help youreach your outrageous bodybuild-

ing goals. Keep searching for the rightanswers. Who knows? Maybe the nextone you try will launch you into a newlevel of massive growth.

6. Train with intensity.Training hard does not mean the sameas training with intensity. Intensity canbe described as giving 100 percent ofyour mind, body, and soul in every ex-ercise, every set, every repetition, and

The “Secrets” Of The Top Drug-Free Bodybuilders

By: Skip La Cour


every workout. Intensity meanspounding the weights in a way that isso darn taxing that every single setends in absolute failure. In otherwords, you have absolutely nothingleft in reserve when the set is com-pleted—not a 1/2 of a rep, a 1/4 of arep, or even a 1/8 of a rep more. Inten-sity is maintaining this high standardof performance throughout an entireworkout. Never be satisfied with yourlevel of performance in the gym. Con-tinually strive for the always improv-ing, seemingly barely out-of-reach in-credible standard of intensity whenyou train.

7. Train hard all year long.You must train hard in the gym andeat the right foods all year long if youreally want to reach your ambitiousgoals. You don’t have steroids orother drugs to compensate for medio-cre, inconsistent training and eatinghabits.

8. Keep the number of caloriesyou eat relatively high.You must control you metabolism ifyou want to duplicate the success ofthe top drug-free bodybuilders. Keepyour caloric intake relatively high.Make your body gear its metabolismup—and prevent it from ever gearingdown. If you have an average or

slower metabolism, eat a lot of foodand do a lot of cardiovascular trainingto keep your metabolism running hot-ter and more efficiently. If you have afaster metabolism, you must be ex-tremely committed to eating frequentmeals that contain more nutrient-densecalories.

9. Stay relatively lean all yearlong. In the off-season, eating effi-ciently is what will build muscle. Donot eat to get fat. Do not eat to staylean. Eat to build muscle. Consistentlyfeed yourself high-quality protein formuscle growth and enough carbohy-drates to keep you feeling strong. Afterprioritizing those needs, consume asmuch food as you feel comfortable eat-ing while still managing your body fatlevels.

10. Place a heavy emphasis onprotein consumption.Protein is the most important nutrientfor building muscle without drugs.Without enough high-quality protein,you are not going to grow at the rateyou deserve to grow—and I don’t carehow hard you train in the gym. Makeprotein powder and meal replacementsthe foundation of your supplementa-tion program.

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obstacle course training

By Lori Anne Lloyd

Condition yourself to reach anaerobic gainsrather than aerobic gains. It is better to pushyourself as hard as you can for a shorter

amount of time for obstacle course specific training.The beauty of this training, besides your new body,is that you keep precious muscle tone while burningfat. Your body will not rob your muscle tissue for en-ergy with obstacle course specific training. Refer tothe previous months training articles in NM for someeffective anaerobic condition-

ingroutines. A mere two weeks of training

will make a remarkable difference on your condi-tioning for the camp.

You are truly only as strong as that to which youcan hold! You only as strong as your grip and the na-ture of the course demands a tough hold throughout.Improve your grip endurance by doing all of yourabdominal exercises using a hand style grip. Refrainfrom using straps or hangers with your weight liftingand abdominal exercises.

Since a large percentage of the course requiresthe use of your hip flexors and lower abdominalmuscles, you will be able to perform more advancedtechniques that are shown to you at camp with priortraining. Improve your lower abdominal enduranceby including exercises to your routine such as hang-

How to Get the Most Out ofYour Obstacle Course Camp

You will get more out of your obstacle course fitness camp with a little

preparation at home. After choosing your camp date, take two to three

weeks to work on the following attributes prior to camp.

Anaerobic Conditioning

Grip Strength

Ab and Hip Flexor Strength

Flexibility

ing knee ups, hanging leg ups, hanging oblique andhanging V- pike holds and yes, they are just as theysound. Use your own grip to hang from the bar whileperforming your repetitions. Since your hands mayget tired before your abs do, be sure to continuetraining your abs with leg raises and kick outs.

You will find that using basic calisthenics willbe helpful in your preparation because they

strengthen the coremuscles of the body.These can be per-formed almost any-where which makesthem convenient.The two most com-mon are pushupsand pull-ups. Mostpeople can dopushups, however,if you cannot do apull-up yet, do notworry! We willstill get you overthe wall at campbecause much ofit is technique.Being able to do

pull-ups will help yourspeed over the wall. If you can do pull-ups, practicedoing as many as you can up to 10 at a time. If youcannot, it is better to have someone spot you than touse the gym’s gravitron machine when learning.Bend your knees so that your spotter can assist youby your ankles or feet.

Spend some time on your flexibility as some ofthe techniques require you to be flexible, plus it willreduce your chance of injury. It is best to stretch ev-ery day to maintain a healthy musculature and pos-ture. In addition to the above there is one more easyand necessary step to make before going to camp.Rest the day before! Make sure to take it easy acouple days prior to camp so that you are fresh andflexible.

May you get the most out of your training in ev-ery dimension of your life.

Lori Ann Lloyd’s Obstacle Course Academy

OBSTACLECOURSE

FITNESS CAMPJune 24 - 11:00 am

Break a minute, 50 seconds, 45 seconds?This is how I do it..

Have you wondered how the course can be run in40 to 50 seconds? By implementing TECH-NIQUES the way I meant them to be executed andchoosing ones that best attribute to your bodytype! Are you ready to run seconds off your per-sonal best time?

For those of you aiming to break a minute,I’ll show you techniques and training tools toimprove your performance, guaranteed.

Ask the Champions!

This camp is FUNand for ALL LEVELS

to learn and enjoy.

Cost: $150(Discounts: ATX members, return campers,and other coupons available!)

Bring: Towel, water & healthy snacks...

Where: We are now located at the JCC inMaitland, FloridaPlease send camp fees in one week advance(Fees day of $170.)

Lori Ann Lloyd, P. O. Box 1084, Windermere,Fl. 34786352-255-STAR (7827) cell407-876-2334 [email protected]



THE ROUTINEThe two major muscle groups that make up your

six pack are the upper abdominals and the lower ab-dominals. Sure there are also the serratus andintercostals muscles at the sides of your midsection,but I wouldn’t do any direct work for them. Whenyou train muscle tissue it can grow, whether it’s inyour bicep or on the side of the waist. Do you reallywant to risk thickening the side of the waist and ac-tually making your body look less tapered? Me nei-ther!

I’ve given you two movements for the upper absand two for the lower abs. Choose one upper and onelower movement per ab workout and do three sets tofailure of each exercise. I’d train the abs three to fourtimes per week to have them ready for the summer.

THE EXERCISES

UPPER ABSLying Crunches

Lie flat on the floor and place your feet over abench so that your thighs are perpendicular to thefloor. Cross your arms over your chest and neverplace your hands behind your head. The temptationto pull the body forward with your arms, thereby tak-ing the focus off the abs, is too great and the chanceof injuring the neck region increases. Once in theproper starting position, simply raise your upper

back off the floor very slowly and roll forward untilyou reach the end point of the movement. Done prop-erly, your lower back should never come off theground. Hold thefinished position fora second or so andsqueeze the abs.Also pay attentionto the negative por-tion of each repeti-tion, going from thelocked end pointback down veryslowly.

MachineCrunches

Sit in the ma-chine and grasp theoverhead handles.Arch your upperbody so that yourback is erect andagainst the back padof the machine. Tobegin the move-ment, slowly moveyour upper body for-ward very untilreaching the end-point of the move-

Summer

BlastOne look at your calendar and you realize that it’s around the corner…summer! With hot weathercomes the beach, pools, bikinis and swimsuits and, of course, tighter, more revealing clothing.The first bodypart that most of us think about when all those images come to mind are the abs.Call them a six pack, a washboard or whatever else you wish, but male or female, everyonewants abs.

A great set of abs is a function of two things, abdominal muscle and low bodyfat. While yourno frills ab routine will work wonders for your abs, bodyfat levels must be low enough to seethat hard earned muscular middle. The reality of abs is that you can have a thickly-muscled,incredible six-pack, but if your bodyfat is too high, no one will ever see it. Although we won’t begoing into diet and cardio in this article, make sure that you pay close attention to both so thatyou, and everyone else, will see the results of your ab work.

ment, again squeezing hard for a second in the finalposition. As you return to the starting position,make sure to keep control of your speed and reapthe benefits of the negative portion of the exercise.Don’t pull the machine forward with your arms—make sure to pull the upper body forward usingyour abs.

LOWER ABSLying or Decline Leg Raises

Lie on a flat bench or, to make the movementmore challenging when that gets too easy, lie withyour head higher than your feet on an angled bench.Keep the legs straight out with a very slight bend atthe knee. Hold on to the bench with both hands be-hind the head. From this position, raise the legsstraight up, but don’t allow them to go more thanabout twelve to eighteen inches off the bench. Ifyou go much higher than that, the stress will comeoff the lower abs and shift to the back, creating a

greater risk of injury. Bringthe legs back down in aslow and controlled fashionand repeat until failure.

Lying or DeclineKnee Raises

Follow the same direc-tions as with the leg raisesabove, but instead of rais-ing the leg straight up,bring the knees to yourchest and back down to thestarting position. You’llfind this is a bit easier thanthe leg raise and is particu-larly well suited to thosewho may have lower backproblems.

That’s it. Simple, com-mon sense ab training.Combine this with properdiet and don’t be a strangerto cardiovascular work andyou’ll be proudly display-ing those abs this summer.Have fun!

Ab




The adrenal or “stress glands” aresmall, triangular shaped glandslocated on top of the kidneys.

Their function is to prepare the body’sresources to run or fight through thereleasing of specific hormones. Whenthis primitive, instinctive response isactivated, blood is diverted from thedigestive system while our blood pres-sure, pulse, blood sugar levels in-crease. At the same time, our pupils di-late and the speed of reflexes in-creases. All this happens as a way toensure our survival.

In modern times, we don’t’ have toworry about becoming dinner for ahungry tiger or being trampled by aherd of buffalo. Our bodies, however,automatically respond the same waywhen under physical, emotional ormental stress. Many of us live in astate of constant stress that strains ourbodies to the point of exhaustion.Over time, and through repetition, thiscan impact the way the adre-nal glands function, causingus to experience adrenal insuf-ficiency or “burn-out”.

If you think about it, ouradrenal glands can be likenedto the batteries in a flashlight.They are filled with a chargethat is used to run the bodyand give us that extra edge intimes of need. Each time weuse our flashlight, we drainsome of the charge from ourbatteries. Fortunately for us,our batteries are automaticallyrecharged when we eat healthyand get lots of rest. If, on theother hand, we use our flash-light all the time, and don’t re-charge our batteries regularly,it is only a matter of time be-fore the light starts to dim andeventually goes out all to-gether.

Technically speaking, ad-renal insufficiency refers tothe inability of adrenal glandsto produce the proper quantityof hormones needed to run thebody. It should not to be con-fused with Addison’s disease,

Recommendations For Wellness❊First and foremost, stop forcing yourself to keep going and start listening toyour body. It will tell you what it needs. If it is tired, try closing your eyes andtaking a few deep breaths. Taking a break, even a short one is a great way to letyour body rest.

❊Just let it go. Allow your body to let go of any resentment, blame, guilt, worriesor fears that can paralyze the adrenal glands.

❊Learning relaxation techniques such as biofeedback, meditation guided imag-ery can help you cope with stress better.

❊Try taking a hot bath with lavender or neroli oil at night. These oils canhelp to calm frazzled nerves, promote a feeling of calmness and bringabout a restful nights sleep.

❊Siberian ginseng is an adaptogenic herb that supports the adrenal glandsmaking it a great tonic to help the body deal with stress.

❊Found in the rainforest of South America, the herb suma has been re-ported to help increase energy levels and rejuvenate the spirit. It has beenfound to be useful in restoring glandular function and balancing the endo-crine system.

❊Licorice Root has traditionally been used to support the adrenals. Thisherb is very sweet and is not recommended if you are diabetic.

❊Pantothenic Acid, vitamin B5, is vital for adrenal hormone productionand is recommended in supporting the adrenal glands.

❊Nature’s Sunshine’s Energy-V Capsules and Nervous Fatigue Formulaare a collection of stimulating & adaptogenic herbs which can help thebody adapt to stress.

❊DHEA is a hormone precursor produced by adrenal glands. Leadinghealth experts to believe that after the age of 25, the body’s ability to pro-duce DHEA declines and supplementation can help increase energy andcounteract the effects of stress.

❊Supplements from bovine adrenal glands provide nutritional support forproper adrenal gland function. Only use this supplement for short periodsof time as to not disrupt the normal function of the adrenal glands.

which is when the adrenal glands failto produce hormones or shutdowncompletely. The most common symp-tom of adrenal insufficiency is fatigue.Other symptoms include: not feelingrested after sleep, inability to deal withlife stressors, poor memory, a low sexdrive, frequent infections due to a sup-pressed immune system, inability toconcentrate, depression, mood swings,irritability, weight gain, weakness andhormonal imbalances.There are a number of reasons whypeople experience adrenal insuffi-ciency. It can be from a genetic or con-genital abnormality, but the most com-mon one is stress. Some of us force ourbodies to run or fight all the time. Lifechallenges, financial pressures, rela-tionship issues and unresolved emo-tional concerns will eventually de-plete your adrenal glands. Internalstressors such as allergies, physicaldisease, nutritional deficiencies, food

FightingNatural help for stress, fatigue and adrenal insufficiency

and environmental toxins can also putpressure on the body’s natural reserves.In addition, stimulants, such as sugar,white flower, caffeine, as well as con-stant exposure to loud music, loudnoise or EM radiation can take a tollon our adrenal glands.

Naturopathic Physician, Dr. RitaLouise, Ph.D. is author of Avoiding the

Cosmic 2x4 and The Power Within. Itis her unique gift as a medical intui-tive and clairvoyant that illuminatesand enlivens her work. Let Dr. Louisehelp you bring health healing andwholeness back into your life. MedicalIntuition & Energy Medicine Certifi-cation training classes are now form-ing. Call 972-475-3393 or visitwww.soulhealer.com


athleteof the month

pzcontinued from page 27

Height: 5’9”Weight: off-season 205lbs, Contest: 183lbsYears Bodybuilding: 4 yrsAge: 22Hometown: Fall River, MA.Occupation: Student, majoring in Exercise Science and SportNutritionFavorite Body Part: Every body part but, mainly “Shoulders”

How, When, and Why did you get started?I realized I loved bodybuilding the first time I stepped foot into agym. I played sports all my life and strength and conditioning wasthe key ingredient in physical performance along with dieting. So ithas always been a part of my life. Now bodybuilding has grown onme much more than I had ever expected. I love dieting down forcompetition because I push my body to extreme measures that Inever thought was possible. Day by day my body changes dramati-cally.Being involved with fitness modeling I would come across manybodybuildersduring myshoots. Everyshoot a body-builder wouldask me if Icompeted, but Inever had.October 22,2005 was thefirst time Iconsidered acompetition. Ientered the NewEngland NaturalBodybuildingFigure & FitnessChampionships(USBF). Iregistered forthe Junior’s classand the men’sopen Light-Heavyweightclass. I placed1st in the Junior’sclass and 1st inthe men’s open Light-Heavyweight class. I never expected to do sowell, but through hard work, dedication, and dieting I achieved agreat goal.

Favorite MHP Product: I use most of the MHP products but theirnew fat burner is really great, Anadrox. It really gets me going.

Contact Information: [email protected]

CEDRIC CARVALHO

rable price tags. When you work forfree you diminish your importance.

Never show your entire hand.Once you have given up all the infor-mation a person wants or needs forwhatever it is they are trying to accom-plish they have no more use for you,and you can easily be discarded or dis-missed. Should you be asked to shareyour knowledge, do so in a limited ca-pacity. If someone is attempting topick your brain to gain particulars thatmay carry positive or productive im-plications limit what you tell them. Al-ways withhold certain pertinent or keydetails. Don’t give away all the ingre-dients in the recipe. If you do the dishcan be made without you, and it willshow up on the menu in someoneelse’s restaurant.

Learn how and when to say No.One of the hardest things for givingpeople to learn is the use of the wordno. If you are in the habit of helpingout, wherever and whenever possible,saying no is a concept that can bequite foreign. Through a concerted ef-fort I have gradually gotten better atthis practice, yet, I still find saying noto be unpleasant and difficult. Despitethis, what I have discovered is onceyou do it you will get better at it. Itdoesn’t become easy, but it will geteasier. If someone gets mad or becomesupset because you have said no tothem they will, as my grandma used tosay, eventually get pleased.

There IS a time and a place forfree. Certainly there will be timeswhen people need your help, andmoney should not a factor in the mix. I

have gone out of my way on countlessoccasions to help others and still do. Ievaluate the intrinsic worth of eachsituation. Some people actually de-serve your help and shouldn’t be de-nied your kindness because you havebecome so jaded by the multitude oftakers in the world.

Get better at identifying the us-ers. I admit I have been taken advan-tage of more than I want to remember.What I have gotten good at, though, isbeing able to identify the users soonerand dispose of them before I’m in toodeep. Some people are just cheapskates or chumps and go through lifeusing and taking advantage of every-one along the way. There are thosewho will suck you dry if you allowthem. Granted, you will never elimi-nate the users entirely, but apply someof the pointers already mentioned, andyou will become stronger and wiser inall your dealings.

This is not a hobby, volunteer,or charity work. While your goal isto follow your dream, experience suc-cess, and fulfill your purpose in life,remember, your profession is, after all,your livelihood. You are not supposedto do it for free. Although successcomes in many forms, money is butone of the variables we look to in mea-suring that success. Do what you love.Stand up for yourself. Know yourworth. As Cher said, “I’ve been rich,and I’ve been poor. Rich is better.”

Pz is a writer and motivational spe-cialist. Her self-help expertise focuseson relationships, fulfillment, and thehuman condition. Do you have a storyto share?Pz welcomes your participation in theprocess. Contact her @[email protected]


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