muscular development №1 2009

EXCLUSIVE!EXCLUSIVE!

MAXMUSCLE!MAXMUSCLE!

X-MANTRAININGX-MANTRAINING

THE WORLD’SBIGGESTBODYBUILDINGMAGAZINE

THE WORLD’SBIGGESTBODYBUILDINGMAGAZINE

PLUS!

HOWLIN’WOLF!HOWLIN’WOLF!

OF MD’S2008BABES!

THEBEST

PLUS!

OF MD’S2008BABES!

THEBEST

WTF HAPPENEDAT THE O?WTF HAPPENEDAT THE O?

HIGH REPS VS.HEAVY WEIGHTSHIGH REPS VS.HEAVY WEIGHTS

www.fantamag.comwww.fantamag.com

Vo l u m e 4 6 , N u m b e r 1 , J a n u a r y 2 0 0 9

BUILD MUSCLE • BURN FAT • NO BULLSHIT!

102 Research: Fat Loss By Steve Blechman & Thomas Fahey, EdD

166 Fat Attack Brown Fat May Be The Key To Fat Loss By Dan Gwartney, MD

92 Research: Training By Steve Blechman & Thomas Fahey, EdD

122 Research: Supplements By Steve Blechman & Thomas Fahey, EdD

132 Research: Nutrition By Steve Blechman & Thomas Fahey, EdD

176 Nutrition Performance The Latest Research By Robbie Durand, MA

180 Supplement Performance The Latest Research By Jose Antonio, PhD, FACSM, FISSN

354 MuscleTech Research Report

TRAINING

www.musculardevelopment.com January 2009

318 Muscle Form+Function By Stephen E. Alway, PhD, FACSM

360 Extreme Muscle Enhancement By Carlon M. Colker, MD, FACN

368 The True Victor By Victor Martinez

374 The Predator By Kai Greene

380 Mass With Class By Branch Warren

384 Lee Priest Confirmed! By Lee Priest NEW!

390 Telling It Like It Is By Shawn Ray NEW!

400 Branden Ray: Road To The USAs by Branden Ray

404 The Big Bad Wolf: The People’s ChoiceBy Dennis Wolf

408 Erik “The House” Fankhouser By Erik Fankhouser

412 National Hero By Evan Centopani

416 The Pro Creator By Hany Rambod

422 Contest Guru By Chad Nicholls

426 Trainer of Champions By Charles Glass

112 Research: Health & PerformanceBy Steve Blechman & Thomas Fahey, EdD

152 Research: Sex By Steve Blechman & Thomas Fahey, EdD

188 Muscle Growth Update By Robbie, Durand, MA NEW!

312 Bodybuilding Science Cialis Increases TestosteroneBy Robbie Durand, MA

328 No Juice Bodybuilding By Eric Broser

356 Ask The Doc By Victor Prisk, MD NEW!

NUTRITION & PERFORMANCE

FAT LOSS

DRUGS

HEALTH & PERFORMANCE

THE WORLD’SBIGGESTBODYBUILDINGMAGAZINE!

MD 22

CUTTING EDGERESEARCH!

142 Research: Drugs By Steve Blechman & Thomas Fahey, EdD

162 Future Pharmacy By Douglas S. Kalman, PhD, RD, FACN

306 Testosterone Weight Loss Decreases Free TestosteroneBy Dan Gwartney, MD

324 The “Clear” Chemist By Patrick Arnold

340 Anabolic Research Update By William Llewellyn

344 Anabolic Edge By Jose Antonio, PhD

348 The Anabolic Freak By David Palumbo

364 Busted! Legal Q&A By Rick Collins, JD

VICTOR VS.PHIL ANDDEXTER!

212CYBER WARS:


January 2009 www.musculardevelopment.com

FEATURES

28

30 Mail Room Where Our Readers Rave & Rant

38 Who’s Hot! By Mike Yurkovic

46 MD People

56 The Romano Factor By John Romano

68 musculardevelopment.com By Gregg Valentino

78 Flex Critique By Flex Wheeler NEW!

288Major Distraction BEST OF 2008!332 Ramblin’ Freak By Gregg Valentino

436 Hot Shoppe By Angela T. Frizalone

438 Web Directory

440 MD Marketplace By Angela T. Frizalone & Manda Machado

470 The Last Word By John Romano

196 DENNIS WOLF: THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE WHAT THEF*CK HAPPENED AT THE O? EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY RON HARRIS

212 CYBER WARS VICTOR VS. DEXTER & PHIL HEATHBY FLEX WHEELER

228 TONEY FREEMAN, THE X-MAN:TRAINING AND DIETSECRETS (PART 1, UPPER BODY) BY RON HARRIS

242 NEXT YEAR’S VICTOR! THE COMEBACK OF VICTORMARTINEZ, PART 2 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY RON HARRIS

256 PRIEST OLYMPIA CONFESSIONAL LEE PRIESTCRITIQUES THE TOP 10 BY LEE PRIEST

264 UNDER-202 OLYMPIA SHOWDOWN! DAVE HENRYVS. LEE PRIEST IN 2009: WHO WILL WIN? BY RON HARRIS

280 THE NEW MUTANT NINJA MR. OLYMPIADOES DEXTER’S AUSPICIOUS VICTORY INDICATE IT’SOUT WITH FREAKS AND IN WITH THE PHYSIQUES? ANOLYMPIA EVOLUTION…BY JOHN ROMANO

MD 23

DENNISWOLF: WTFHAPPENEDAT THE O?196

NEXTYEAR’SVICTOR

242

X-MANTRAININGSECRETS! 228

BEST OF MD’S MAJORDISTRACTIONS! 288OLYMPIA

EVOLUTION280

MD’S INSIDE STACKEditor’s Letter By Steve Blechman


I first heard the sad news of BenWeider’s passing on Friday, October17

th. At the time, I was with my wife

and kids visiting our parents (andtheir grandparents) in Florida. My28-year-old daughter also hap-pened to get engaged while wewere visiting.

In person, Ben was very easy totalk to and always a gentlemanwith great elegance. Ben lived a fulllife, with many achievements thattouched many people’s lives. Hewas also a promoter and passion-ate Ambassador of the InternationalFederation of Bodybuilders (IFBB). Ben had an amaz-ing career. What a success story! Ben and his brotherJoe were great businessmen and through their visionand hard work, they helped build the Weider Empire.They were also instrumental in launching ArnoldSchwarzenegger’s career in the United States.

Ben’s contributions to bodybuilding are insur-mountable! If it were not for Ben and the vision of hisbrother, Joe (the father of bodybuilding), the sportwould not be what it is today. Ben built the best feder-ation in the world, where the best bodybuilders in theworld call it home. No one can deny that and he hasmy utmost respect.Thank you, Ben, for the opportuni-ty and all you have done for us. Rest in peace.

Moving on…looking at thiscover of Dennis Wolf, you have toask: “What the fuck happened tohim at the O?” Well, if you read theinterview on page 196 you will findout, among other things, that helost 15 pounds of muscle the lasttwo weeks on a zero-carb diet! I’mnot a fan of low-carb diets forbuilding muscle. It’s great for fatloss, but at the expense of losinglean muscle mass. “Assisted” body-builders have less of a concern, butit’s still an issue for some guys.Low-carb diets lower testosterone,

insulin and IGF-1, 3 important anabolic hormones.Low-carb diets also increase cortisol, a catabolic hor-mone plus increase blood acidity which can alsoenhance muscle protein breakdown. I think low carbswere a mistake for Dennis. He also had an abdominalhernia, which accounted for his stomach protruding.He is having surgery in a couple of weeks to fix it andwill be back training for the Olympia in January.

Toney Freeman, on the other hand, seems to dovery well on low carbs. He’s also into some otherfreaky shit. I was speaking to Toney on the phone ask-ing him if he cheats on his low-carb diet and heassured me he doesn’t. He went on to tell me some ofhis X-Man training secrets (you can check out part one

28 MD

By Steve Blechman Publisher & Editor-in-Chief


editor’s letter

THANK YOU,BEN…

…For What You Have DoneFor The Sport


on page 228), which include these crazy weekly colonics andbranched-chain amino acid suppositories! I’m telling ya, this guygives new meaning to the word “freak!”

Part two of Victor Martinez’s comeback can be found on page242. This was shot of course at the ultimate hardcore gym,Metroflex. I know you need heavy weight to build muscle andthat was a concern considering Victor’s injury, but I’m happy tosee he has kept his size. This is going to finally be Victor’s year.All he has to do is get in shape and he will finally get theOlympia he has been denied for the last two years.

Speaking of Victor, checkout page 212 for anotherinstallment of Cyber Wars.This time, Flex Wheeler pitsVictor against both PhilHeath and Dexter Jackson.Guess who wins?

On page 264, the Under202 Olympia Showdownhas David Henry up againstLee Priest in 2009. Who doyou think will win? Lee isalso featured on page 256 inhis Olympia confessional,where he critiques thisyear’s Olympia. As you canimagine, it is pretty enter-taining reading.

John Romano rounds outthe features this month onpage 280, with an interest-ing look at the future ofbodybuilding now that con-vention has been tossedinto the wind, along withthe incumbent champ, andDexter Jackson is Mr.Olympia. Does Dexter’s aus-picious victory indicate it’sout with freaks and in withthe physiques?

Finally, you guys havebeen after me to put morebabes in the magazine, soI’m giving you what youwant. On page 288, I’m giv-ing you 13 pages of the bestof 2008’s Major Distractions.No words, just sizzling-hotpictures. Enjoy.

The rest of the book is packed as always with all the news andinformation you need to build your best body by the very bestexperts our industry has to offer. See you next month!

Publisher/Editor-In-Chief

Steve Blechman

Senior Editor

John Romano

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Angela T. Frizalone

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MUSCULAR DEVELOPMENT (ISSN 0047-8415) is publishedmonthly by Advanced Research Press, 690 Route 25A,Setauket, New York, 11733. Copyright ©2008 by AdvancedResearch Press. All rights reserved. Copyright under theUniversal Copyright Convention and the InternationalCopyright Convention. Copyright reserved under the Pan AmCopyright. Rate: $49.97 per year (USA); $79.97 per two years(USA); foreign: $79.97 per year. Nothing appearing in MUS-CULAR DEVELOPMENT may be reprinted, either wholly or inpart, without the written consent of the publisher. Send edito-rial submissions to: MUSCULAR DEVELOPMENT, 690 Route25A, Setauket, New York, 11733. Stamped, self-addressedenvelope must accompany all submissions, and no responsi-bility can be assumed for unsolicited submissions. All letters,photos, manuscripts, etc. sent to MUSCULAR DEVELOPMENTwill be considered as intended for publication, and MUSCU-LAR DEVELOPMENT reserves the right to edit and/or com-ment. Periodical postage paid at Setauket, N.Y. 11733, and atGlasgow, KY 42141. Postmaster: Send address changes toMUSCULAR DEVELOPMENT, Box 834, East Setauket, NY11733-9704. Advertising Office Phone: (239) 495-6899. PRINTED IN USACover photos of Dennis Wolf And MD’s Major Distractions are by Per Bernal

MD 29January 2009 www.musculardevelopment.com

BEN WEIDER ACCEPTS A LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDFROM GOVERNOR ARNOLDSCHWARZENEGGER AT THE 2008ARNOLD CLASSIC.



mailroom

30 MD

More Evan!For a while there you guys had a lot on Evan

Centopani…now not so much. What happened? Iwant to read more about Evan’s diet and trainingand what he has going on. Me and my friendsthink he’s the best!

Mark Aaron, e-mail

Huge FanHello. I wanted to write in and say thanks for

such a kick-ass magazine. I turn to MD eachmonth for all the news I need about the industry,scientific research, training… everything. It’s whatI really look forward to reading every month andI always tear through it. Keep it up!

Rodger, e-mail

Way To Go, Dexter!Major props to Dexter Jackson for snagging the Mr.

Olympia! It’s a long time coming that a more visually pleasingphysique was rewarded, instead of mass monsters. Some ofthe past blocky winners looked just plain gross, and they wereabout as visually pleasing as a dead horse. Finally, a Mr.Olympia who aspires to the true ideals of bodybuilding.Congratulations, Dexter!

Wanda Marcotte, e-mail

Cutler’s Last Stand?I’m glad the Mr. Olympia judges didn’t give it to Jay again.

It was bad enough that he won the title last year, when VictorMartinez was clearly the better man onstage. Jay lookedalmost as bad this year; for him to win again would have beena disgrace. The judges saw the light. And from the looks ofJay, he saw more than his fair share of Twinkies.

Magda O’Brien, e-mail

MD RulesI never write in to magazines, but I’ve been reading MD for too many

years not to finally let you know how awesome I think it is. I literally takeMD to the gym with me so I can read it while doing boring cardio! Ithelps me get through it. I also think the photos are amazing. Everythinglooks so real. Thanks again.

Scott Martin, e-mail

Titus ReportEnjoyed John Romano’s report on Craig Titus

and the interview with the prosecutor whohelped put bodybuilding’s top chump behindbars [December 2008]. I’d say that Craig Titus gotwhat he deserved, which is to rot in jail! As ajournalism major in college, I’d say that some ofRomano’s reporting was a bit skimpy. Too manyaccusations, too little facts. Titus has a history ofwild sex? John, how would you know that? Didyou film the video? Or were you part of theaction yourself? Your readers want to know!

Warren Hargrove, e-mail

The Best Man WonI’m relieved Jay didn’t win the Olympia. Finally, things are

changing and becoming fair. Go, Dexter! Please cover Dexter more,especially now. I think it’s sick that he won and I hope he can holdonto it

Jason Korne, e-mail


Photographed by Mike Yurkovic

38 MD www.musculardevelopment.com January 2009

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MUSCULARDEVELOPMENT.COM

By TEAM MD

Team MD brings you more industry sightings from the 2008 Mr. Olympia, Las Vegas, Nevada


Joe and Ben Weider backstage at the 2008 Mr. Olympia. Rest in peace, Ben.


MD 47January 2009 www.musculardevelopment.comwww.fantamag.comwww.fantamag.com

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THE WAY I SEE IT

TheRomanoFactor

By John Romano

500-WORD SUBMISSION FROMTHE MD ONLINE CREW…

MOTIVATIONBY rhickman

For 19 years of my life, I was the fat kid. Or that is who I was constantlytold I was by my peers. I spent 19 years of my life pretty much alone. I wasknown as fatty; chubby; the big guy. Lunchtime would come around andeveryone would get into their groups of friends and enjoy the break. Not me. Iwould end up alone, eating— just waiting for the day to be over with. Guyswould just walk by and stare. Girls would just laugh at me. My childhood wasnot one I care to remember, but it sticks in my memory. And it will forever.

After 19 years of constant humiliation and loneliness, I needed to changemy life. I had no job. I wasn’t in school. I had nothing. I was just a fat guy liv-ing at home with nothing and no one. I was fed up with life. So I turned to fit-ness. Not alcohol or drugs. I wanted to change my appearance. I was tired ofbeing called the fat guy. I was tired of getting laughed at by a girl when Iwould muster up the shred of confidence I had in me to ask her out. I wasdetermined to change my life. I had no money, so I couldn’t afford a gymmembership or a nutritionist. I quit eating fast food, drinking soda and eatingcandy. I made up a 1,000-calorie-a-day diet that I religiously followed for the

next eight months of my life. The weight started to come off nicely. I ended up taking 110 pounds off and I was a lean 155pounds. A mere shadow of what I used to be.

I had been reading bodybuilding magazines the entire time and wanted to be more than lean and in shape. I began myquest with two dumbbells and push-ups. With these dumbbells, I put on 20 pounds over the next year and wanted more.March 29, 2008 comes around. I am 175 pounds and at 3 percent body fat. I place third in the open men middleweight divi-sion. I did it. I am no longer that fat kid everyone picked on. I am now a bodybuilder. That is what motivates me to be the best.I sit here now in the midst of training for the Washington Iron Man show in October. I am in the best shape of my life. I haveeverything I could want. I have a beautiful fiancée, my family and bodybuilding. Anyone can do anything. It depends on howbad you want it.

My main motivation when I’m training is the humiliation and anger I have inside of me from my past. But now when I lookin the mirror I’m not that fat kid. I have the physique those losers that made fun of me will never have. So who’s doing thelaughing now?

Another month, another winner…and, as I always seemto say, the submissions to this contest keep getting betterand better! I’m happy to see more and more submissions—some from women! And more and more members voting.At some point, we need to consider what to do with allthese submissions. I’m thinking perhaps a book of the best-

of-the-best and donating the profits to a worthwhile cause.But we still have some time to figure that out. In the mean-time, please join me in congratulating rhickman for winningthis month’s contest. The voting was fierce, but this fairlynew member edged out the competition and won by a sin-gle, solitary vote with his article “Motivation.”


THE WAY I SEE IT, rhickman and I have a lot in common! I started out the very same way. I wasn’t as big as he was, but“obese” was definitely an accurate, descriptive word. This essay really hit home for me. I’m thinking off the top of my headthat it does the same for a few other guys and girls I’ve come to know. Bodybuilding is the greatest thing to ever come along.It makes lives and it saves lives and it does what no amount of money can. Rhickman, I’m very proud of you! Damn, I’mgoing back to read this thing again…this is good stuff!!



On Friday, October 17th, our world

put the final punctuation on the erathat created one of the biggest andbest sports federations ever known.We all know that Joe Weider is thefather of bodybuilding. He is the guywho first brought bodybuilding to theworld through his publishing effortsthat started long before any of ourfathers were born…under a sheetunder his mother’s dining room tablein the middle of the night on a rentedtypewriter with a war chest of $7.00.While Joe toiled away creating ourworld, it was his younger brother,Ben, who created the venerable feder-ation where we would compete. Itwas Ben Weider who nearly single-handedly created the IFBB.

It was 1946 and Joe and Ben weregoing to put on their first bodybuild-ing show called the Mr. Montreal. Atthat time, there was no bodybuildingfederation to sanction a bodybuildingshow. The only organized sanctioningbody at the time was the AmateurAthletic Union (AAU), which hadbodybuilding fall under the auspice ofthe weightlifting federation, headedthen by Bob Hoffman in the U.S. Thesame Bob Hoffman who used to ownYork Barbell and MuscularDevelopment magazine.

Prior to the show, Ben had securedpermission from Hoffman to stage theMr. Montreal bodybuilding contest.The evening of the show, literally min-utes before the show was to start,two of Hoffman’s henchmen delivereda notice from the head of the AAUweightlifting committee to the ath-letes, telling them that the show wasnot being sanctioned by the AAU andin order to preserve their amateur sta-tus, they needed to leave the theaterright away.

Ben had no idea why the AAUwould all of a sudden come in and pulltheir sanction, but it was at that

moment, in a hailstorm of fury, thatJoe and Ben created the IFBB. Theytold the bodybuilders not to leave,that now they have their own govern-ing body and that they were going tomake bodybuilding bigger and betterthan ever. While the whole thing hap-pened at the spur of the moment, Benand Joe were able to convince all thecompetitors to go with them anddefected from the AAU.

Other than promoting the very firsttrue bodybuilding shows, Ben literallytraveled the earth spreading Joe’smessage and uniting bodybuildersunder a single federation. Oddly, Bendevoted his life to doing this whilenever making any claim to ever havebeen a bodybuilder. I have never readanywhere of Ben uttering a wordabout picking up a weight. If he everdid, it’s not like he was throwingdown. While Joe sure did, clearly Ben

was not of our ilk. Joe was one of us;Ben wasn’t…but he sure didn’t lackthe passion for it. Ben Weider is fromanother era— a formidable culture. Somuch so that I often wondered whatthe hell he’s doing all tangled up inbodybuilding.

I was fortunate enough to actuallymeet Ben. While the guy was allabout bodybuilding, he seemed as outof place in our world as a pearl onionon a banana split. Nevertheless, Ifound him to be the consummate gen-tleman and natural-born diplomat. AsJoe says, Ben went all over the worldand “looked kings and presidents andsports ministers straight in the eyeand talked them into recognizing andsupporting the IFBB.” Remarkably,altogether, Ben sold the idea to 173countries. The hell with the weightsand the sweat and the dieting; ifthat’s not a passion for something,nothing is.

His unique ability to understandthe workings of a sports federationwere duly noted. It was this under-standing that allowed Ben to spreadcompetitive bodybuilding even intoplaces that would normally discrimi-nate against color or religion. Be itJews and Muslims on the borders ofIsrael and Palestine or blacks andwhites in South Africa duringapartheid, Ben Weider stuck to hisguns and got everyone to agree thatthe IFBB would bridge the gap. And,because it did, in 1983, Ben Weiderwas nominated for the Nobel Prize forPeace. He was recognized for adminis-tering a sports organization that wasdedicated to bringing people of all dif-ferent ethnic backgrounds and reli-gions together in peace and for self-enhancement. Not a whole lot ofpeople can say that about themselves.

So what kind of man walks aroundwith a Nobel Prize nomination? A his-torian, a humanitarian, a philan-

IN MEMORY OF BEN WEIDER1924–2008

This month marked the passing of two great members of our community. All the news of the challenges we face andthe controversy it represents are going to have to take a backseat to these two great men.

“The Weiders are the Medici of bodybuilding. I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. What Lorenzo did, I did alongwith Ben. We brought to our world prosperity, stability, and safety from tyrants who wanted to oppress bodybuilders.”– Joe Weider


The Way I See It—Romano Factorthropist with 66 awards and honorshe accumulated during his lifetime,including the Order of Canada, l’ordredu Québec and the French Légiond’honneur— Canada’s highest honor—which was established by theEmperor Napoleon Bonaparte andawarded to Ben for his years of dedi-cation in proving that Bonaparte wasmurdered. Who is it who would wantbodybuilding in the Olympics and toilfor 30 years to get it in, all to no avail?Who never lost hope that one daybodybuilding would be in theOlympics? I can only imagine that hadthe architectural firm to which Benhad applied just before he startedworking with Joe not been anti-Semitic, and he did in fact dedicate hislife to architecture rather than tobodybuilding, there would be amighty strong bridge somewhere withhis name on it. Probably more thanone. Ben’s life was dedicated to bring-ing people together.

The gentleman aristocrat,medaled and honored with degreesfrom three prestigious universities,presiding over a bunch of body-builders paints a very curious picture.Nevertheless, Ben tirelessly posi-tioned bodybuilding as a sport wor-thy of Olympic recognition. In 1971,Ben got the IFBB’s application for

recognition on the agenda of the IOCmeeting that year, but no action wastaken. Since then he attended 30meetings with four IOC presidents,including two with the current presi-dent, Jacques Rogge of Belgium.Always the goal was the same: for-mal recognition of his federation bythe International Olympic Committee,which would mean that bodybuildingbelonged to the most elite group ofamateur athletes in the world. Theultimate dream was to see bodybuild-ing become part of the games.Indeed, that was Ben’s dream, and inorder to appease Olympic officialssufficiently enough to be taken seri-ously, Ben had to pay particularattention to the IFBB’s drug policy.As far as members of the IOC wereconcerned, bodybuilding had a verystrong association to drugs.

Ben worked so hard to put thekibosh on drugs in the IFBB. In spiteof the fact that IFBB pros evinced noabstinence from banned substanceswhatsoever, the amateurs wereexpected to follow some pretty strictrules. In their book, Brothers of Iron,Ben talks about Dr. Eduardo DeRose,member of the Olympic Committee’sMedical Commission with specialresponsibilities related to theCommittee’s anti-doping program,

who wrote a letter to Ben in 1998,that the IFBB’s “protocols are up tostandard.” Ben continues that,“Under the guidance of Dr. DeRose,we created our own 51-page, anti-doping manual laying out even morestringent guidelines and procedures.As mandated in our manual, we initi-ated out of competition testing tohelp ensure that athletes remain drugfree year-round.” Effective January 1,2000, every one of the 173 nationalfederations of the IFBB was given themandate to test for drugs at allnational and regional-level competi-tions, subject to penalties for non-compliance. “No sports federationwas tougher on drugs than the IFBBand we get tougher every year.”

As dyed-in-the-wool bodybuilders,we may read that and chuckle at theimplied hypocrisy, knowing what wedo about our world. But you have toremember, Ben led this internationalamateur federation with the convic-tion he had, because he believed thatthroughout the world his IFBB lookedas pristine as any other sports federa-tion and he dedicated a good chunkof his life to seeing to it that the IOCdid, too. Bodybuilding on the interna-tional amateur level looks as good asit does because of Ben. Imagine ifsomeone like me ran it?


THE WAY I SEE IT, you only get one go-around in life. Ben was fortunate enough to have 85 healthy years of it, and hedidn’t seem to waste a second. There is no doubt that Ben took the life he was given and lived it in such a way that asmany people as possible could benefit from his time on earth. We only know him in our world, but Ben transcended oursand forged relationships and friendships all over the world, making him an iconic benevolent figure in his beloved home ofMontreal. I don’t think you could look back on Ben’s lifetime of achievements and look at his life as anything but a ravingsuccess.

There were times when I had my differences with Ben and what he was doing. I can only imagine the difficulty in hav-ing to deal with such a blinding paradox as bodybuilding. Here you’ve got a great man with the best of intentions trying toget a sport recognized by the IOC and committing his life to ensuring that the amateur athletes around the world adheredto a doping policy as strict and as sound as any other international federation, while its pros and U.S. amateurs are theposter children for drug use run amuck, with his own brother promoting those jacked bodybuilders in his magazine and inads for his supplements! Then, on top of that, you have me trumpeting the hypocrisy of it as loud as I could. I have to saluteBen for taking it all in stride. He never wavered, never faltered and stayed his course right up until the very end. You’ve gotto give the man mad respect for that.

Thankfully, I was able to address Ben in person recently and bury the hatchet. Knowing the voracity of my chargesagainst him, it was almost intimidating to shake his hand. After our short exchange where I apologized to him if I had everoffended him personally, he shook my hand again and this time cupped it with his other and said to me, “Thank you. Thankyou for all you have done for our sport.” There could probably be no more a perplexing moment in my entire life. I thankedhim back and left him feeling like the weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders. The whole thing still puzzles me.

Godspeed Ben Weider. Robert F. Kennedy once said, “Let no one be discouraged by the belief there is nothing one per-son can do against the enormous array of the world’s ills, misery, ignorance, and violence. Few will have the greatness tobend history, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events. And in the total of all those acts will be writtenthe history of a generation.” There is no doubt in my mind that when that history is written, they are going to mention thename of a great man who believed all of us muscleheads do something worthwhile. Thank you, Ben.



Steve was my close personal friend of23 years. He worked within the body-building sports field as a great championas well as an outstanding sporting offi-cial from the USA East Coast area andhelped run the Special Olympics. Stevepassed doing what he loved best. SteveStone was coordinating the backstageactivities at the 2008 IFBB Mr. Olympia.He was making sure the best in theworld were represented with the prideand dignity they deserved. His eventsalways had precision and a profes-sional look and Steve loved this sortof duty. This was because he lovedthe sport, and there was nothing hewould not do for it.

Steve had his own cross to bearphysically in that he battled pul-monary disease for years. And yet,Steve could not say “no” to the sporthe lived and died for. All asked hishelp routinely and he gave it until hisend. Some who asked and asked wereunthinking promoters, unaware com-petitors and even television showsthat stressed him out...and Stevewould never let them down.

And this would also be the caseon September 25, 2008 at the “O.”This would be Steve’s first year run-ning the show by himself, with hispersonal crew. He was suffering frombad headaches and drinking tons ofcoffee to stay energized and alert. Theman really loved his coffee. And forsure, no matter what Herculean effortand patience it took, Steve Stonewould not let them down. Anyonewho has worked with Steve in his lifeas a national-level expediter remem-bers him as a solid, competent force

backstage. Steve’s compassion in regardto the competitors was unique in the factthat he helped and coached newcomerswho he had never even met before, aswell as calmed the veteran’s nerves. Allquickly acknowledged it was a very goodthing to become reliant on Steve’s sincereencouragement and advice during eachand every show he was involved with.

Back in 1985, I was Associate Editorfor Muscle Training Illustrated magazine.Steve was training at my gym in

Rutherford. And I needed a model fora documentary on “how-to” equip-ment articles. Denie, the magazine edi-tor and head photographer, believedwhen he first saw Stone that his lookwas outstanding and more than that,he even had a resemblance to actionfilm star Steve McQueen. This earlypublicity in which Steve Stonedebuted would propel him towardeventual bodybuilding fame, followedby many articles and magazine covers.Most magazines in the industry clam-ored to follow suit and showcase thisrugged champion.

I bet you guys didn’t know thatSteve was a two-time NPC Nationalstitle winner! Once in the NorthAmerica Light-Heavyweight Class andoverall with posing partner SharonMarvel at the National Mixed Pairscompetition. As a hard trainer...no onecould touch Steve for intensity andpower. I routinely watched him squatwith 700 and plus pounds for 10 reps.

Steve’s wife Andrea is special, too.They were made for each other. Youcould see and feel the devotionbetween them. She told me when shejust visited my gym STRONG AND

IN MEMORY OF STEVE STONEStephan J. Kroll (1956 – 2008)

The Way I See It—Romano Factor

Just after the women’s prejudging at the Olympia, the news spread like wildfire through the expo hall that one of ourown had met his end. When I found out it was Steve Stone, I couldn’t believe it. I had just spoken to him! Dave Palumboand I were doing the play-by-play for the MD website and I needed a competitor’s list. I asked everyone from Jim Manionto Steve Weinberger and no one had a spare sheet. When I saw Steve, I knew I’d get what I needed. Sure enough, withina minute he found me a copy. I thanked him, exchanged a few words, he told me he had a splitting headache; I told him itwas probably the heat and make sure he drank enough water. He laughed and said, “Yeah.” He slapped me on the shoul-der and that was the last I’d ever see of him.

While I knew Steve, I didn’t know him as well as the other members of our community who had known him fordecades. One of whom is my friend, Bob Bonham, owner of Strong and Shapely Gym in New Jersey. He offered to writethe tribute to Steve that only a man who knew him well could write. The following are Bob’s words:


The Way I See It—Romano Factor


SHAPELY today that from the first day in1991 she first saw a picture of Steve at thegym where they trained, until the very lastmoment, she thought he was cute and stillhad the biggest crush on him. My heart goesout to you, Andrea.

The funeral service for Steve was domi-nated with sadness and massive feelings ofloss. The energy shouted delicately out forthe great respect all had for this man.Usually at a bodybuilding wake only ahandful of the industries’ mover and shak-ers will show up. But not this different dayfor this particular fallen and lovedhero. The New York church could not holdall those who attended. The industry camefrom across the country and all of the sur-rounding east coast area. Among themwere Robin Chang from California, thepromoter of this year’s Olympia, Jack the

wheelchair Bodybuilding Champion fromCanada, National promoter Pam Betz withhusband Ron from Florida, Jeff Taylor,NPC Colorado State Chairman, IFBB ProBetsy McNally-Harris of Chicago, NPCNational Chairman Jim Manion in fromPittsburgh, IFBB Pro Maggie Blancharddrove down from New Hampshire, as didpros Carla Salotti and Heidi Fletcher out ofMassachusetts plus so many more. It wasstanding room only at the beginning of theservice.

I can picture the first thing in heavenwaiting for Steve, his bulldog Bam Bam run-ning to welcome him. Shit! Bam Bam isprobably at his heels snorting, while Stevehelps others get their wings.

Contributions in Stephan’s Name can bemade out to Stop the Clot atHTTP://stoptheclot.org/donate.htm

When I first inter-viewed Jose Cansecoafter his book Juicedcame out, which focusedattention on the use ofperformance-enhancingdrugs in Major LeagueBaseball and led to con-gressional hearings on thesubject, I did have someempathy for him andcould understand why hewrote it. Now he says heshould have never writtenthe book and named namesof alleged steroid users.

During the A&E Network program “Jose Canseco: The LastShot,” Canseco said he “regrets mentioning players [assteroid users]. I never realized this was going to blow upand hurt so many people,” he said.

During the show, Canseco said he “wanted revenge” onMajor League Baseball because hebelieved he had been forced out of thegame. The book was his way of gettingeven, and he named the names he did inorder to show he was telling the truthabout steroids in baseball.

Among the names Canseco named inJuiced as alleged steroid users wereMark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro andSammy Sosa. All three addressed thecongressional hearing on steroids, withMcGwire’s testimony damaging hischances of being voted intoCooperstown and Palmeiro’s unequivo-cal denial of steroid use haunting him when

he later tested positive and was suspended.Since Canseco admits to using steroids himself for

the past 24 years, there is the basis for a reality showfor Canseco to finally get clean. But he’s terrified aboutwhat may happen when he goes through the process.There has been no medically documented case of some-one quitting steroids after using them for so long, andthe doctors have different opinions about what Jose willgo through physically and mentally. We could thickenthe plot by having Canseco go through his withdrawalin prison if he gets convicted of something bigger thanhis recent charge in federal court for trying to smuggleHCG across the border from Mexico.

THE WAY I SEE IT, we need a legal opinion hereand what better legal opinion would there be than thatfrom my lawyer, who is also Canseco’s former lawyer,who appeared with Canseco in front of Congress? ButRob had “no comment.” So I deferred to my otherlawyer, my good friend, Rick Collins. “Good judgmenthas been to Canseco what selflessness has been to Wall

Street. This dude is a frickin’ mess, bro. You canconsider that my legal opin-

ion on the subject.” I don’tthink anyone else woulddisagree.

It’s sad though. Cansecowas indeed a seriouslygood ball player who didn’treally do anything the oth-ers didn’t do. He just didn’tkeep his mouth shut, givingcredence to the saying, “Youdie by your lips.”

Falls from grace werequite common this month. �

JOSE CANSECO


By Gregg Valentino

musculardevelopment.com

SPONSORED THIS MONTH BY:


WELCOME TO THE HOUSE WHERE EVEN BULL-SHITTALKS…HHHMMMM WHAT DOESTHAT MEAN? AM I SAYING THATTHERE’S BULLSHIT ON THE MD“NO BULL” FORUM? OR ISEVERYONE STRAIGHTUP???…THERE IS NO SUCHTHING AS 100% BULLSHITFREE, BUT WE GOT LESSBULLSHITTHAN ANYOTHER BODYBUILDINGFORUM ON THE NET….OOPS, Iguess I should just keep talk-ing and maybe someday I’ll saysomething intelligent!... SPEAKING OFSAYING SOMETHING INTELLIGENT,DAVE PALUMBO, CONTEST TRAIN-ER/GURUTO THE STARS, HAS NOW GIVEN OUTMORE FREE ADVICE ON MD’sMuscularDevelopment.com WEBSITE FORUM THANALL THE BOOKS EVER PUBLISHED ON BODYBUILDINGADDED TOGETHER…. CURRENTLY APROACHING 2MILLION HITS AND 25,000 REPLIES, IT HAS TO BE BYFAR THE GREATEST WEALTH OF BODYBUILDINGINFO EVER COLLECTED IN ONE SPOT ….OH YEAHBABE, THERE IS LOTS OF DRUG AND NUTRITIONADVICETHAT YOU CANNOT FIND ANYWHERE ELSE ONTHE PLANET!!!.... I’M NOT BLOWINGSMOKE UP MY FRIEND DAVEPALUMBO’S BIG STRIATED ASS,BUT NO ONE KNOWS MORE IN THISAREA THAN DAVE PALUMBO…EVENTHE PROS RUN TO DAVE FOR INFOCOME CONTEST TIME….BUT THEREAL CRAZY THING IS THAT IF YOUARE A FREE MEMBER ON THE MDWEBSITEYOU GET ALL DAVE’SVALUABLE TRAINING INFO FORFREE….YO, THE PROS PAY HIMTOP DOLLAR FOR WHAT THE MDFORUM MEMBERS READ FORFREE… AND DAVE ANSWERS ALLYOUR QUESTIONS, EVEN THE FUCK-ING DUMB-ASS QUESTIONS……SO THIS MONTH I’M GOING TOGIVE YOU ALL A QUICK TASTE OF AQ&A WITH DAVE PALUMBO ANDTHE MD MEMBERS ON THE SUB-JECT OF “CONTEST PREP”… YOUWON’T FIND THIS INFORMATIONANYWHERE OTHER THANMuscularDevelopment.com...

CHECK IT OUT >>> “When we talk about contestdiets, we’re no longer worried about

packing on new muscle. The name ofthe game now is PRESERVATION!

In that light, there’s no suchthing as a post-workout

shake following yourworkout. Just eat whatev-er the next protein/fatmeal in the diet is!”...Dave

PalumboQUESTION: What is the

amount of water I should take theweek before the competition?

ANSWER: I keep my water intake thesame. Don’t start playing water games

a week before a show. The less your change,the better!

QUESTION: Do you deplete sodium on that Friday beforethe show while taking diazide? ANSWER:YESQUESTION: I’m assuming you should be fully carb-loadedat this point, due to depletion of sodium affecting the abilityto load carbs; correct? ANSWER: NO, I still have my ath-letes carb-loading on the day before the show aswell. AS long as you’re drinking, you’re fine!QUESTION: Since you need sodium+carbs+water tostore and hold glycogen, and water follows sodium,wouldn’t depleting sodium with diazide to a large extent

pull water from the muscle as well and flattenyou out? ANSWER: NO....WATER fol-

lows CARBS.....the sodium is unnec-essary. Besides, I have my ath-

letes so loaded up on sodiumthat they don’t really get sodi-um depleted till the day of theshow (when they’re already“dry”).QUESTION: Why do you recom-mend a high-sodium, fatty mealsuch as burger and fries the morningof the show after you worked sohard to clear sodium with all thediazide? Wouldn’t putting all thatsodium back in (which predominantlysits extracellularly as you said) watersomeone over? ANSWER: Whenyou’re already DRY, putting sodi-um back into the body helps tobalance electrolytes and preventscramping. It also keeps POTASSI-UM inside the muscle, whichmakes the muscles looks fuller.



“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, butinstead it’s rising every time we fall.”…Name: Richard DaviesMD Forum member screen name: FlexfreakHometown: Peterborough, Ontario, CanadaAge: 39Years Bodybuilding: 27Goal for the future: To one day step onstage.Favorite Bodybuilders:Coleman, Yates, Cutler,Wheeler, PriestRant: This space is usuallyreserved for heated passion-ate rants about how intensesomeone is, or how hardcorethey are. Well I’m going to dosomething different here. Iwant to use this opportunity tosay something to my wifePatricia. You see, we’ve beentogether for over 11 years, mar-

ried for six and a half of those. We have two beautifulboys, Conor, who is 2, and Aiden, who will be 4 inDecember. The last few years have been rough for usespecially for her and at present, we are separated. I justwant to tell Patricia how much I love her, how much shemeans to me. Ever since she walked into my life, the sunhas shined a little brighter. Take it from me, a fellow meat-

head, if your wife and children are notpriority number one in your life, thenyour priorities are out of whack!

Your struggles develop yourstrengths. When you go throughhardships and decide not to sur-render, that is strength”….RICHARD HAS COME A LONG WAYAND HAS PROVEN HE IS A WIN-NER..WE AT MD WISH HIM ANDHIS FAMILY THE VERY BEST OFLUCK...RICHARDYOU ARE ONE

OF OUR MD FAMILY NOW,TOO.

WE GOT A TON OF PROS POSTING & CHAT-TING WITH OUR MEMBERS ALMOST EVERY DAY>> VICTOR MARTINEZ, DENNIS WOLF,SHAWN RAY, FLEX WHEELER, LEE PRIEST,BRANCH WARREN, MARKUS RUHL, DEXTERJACKSON, EVAN CENTOPANI, ERIKFANKHOUSER, TONEY FREEMAN, TROYBROWN, BEN WHITE, MILOS SARCEV,MELVIN ANTHONY, LUKE WOOD, GARYSTRYDOM , JIMMY “THE BULL” PEL-LECHIA, PATRICK ARNOLD, VICTOR CONTI,JOHN ROMANO, RON HARRIS AND THERE ISA WHOLE LOT OF PRO WOMEN WHO I CAN’TEVEN BEGIN TO NAME HERE. I THINK THE GIRLSOUTNUMBER THE GUYS!!!!….YO, WE MUSTHAVE CLOSE TO 100 PROS, BOTH MEN & WOMEN BODY-BUILDERS, AS WELL AS A LOT OF PRO FIGURE & FITNESSGIRLS,TOO; OH YUM!!!!…. PSSSTTT SSSSHHHH, LET’S KEEPTHIS JUST BETWEEN US BUT >> A LOT OF THE FIGURE/FITNESSGIRLS ARE SINGLE,!!!!...OH YEAH BABE, THERE HAVE BEEN AFEW HOOK-UPS INCLUDING JOHNROMANO, WHO MET HIS HONEY ON THE MDFORUM… THANKS OF COURSE TO MY “LOVE& RELATIONSHIP”THREAD….OOOPS, IALMOST FORGOT, OF COURSE YOURS TRULYIS ON THE MD BOARD EVERY DAY,TOO.YOU ARE ALL VERY LUCKY TO BE ABLE TO TALKTO THESE PROS AND LEARN FROM THEM FIRST-HAND…YO, I BEEN SPENDING WAY TOO MUCHTIME ON THE MD FORUM; I’M TOO DAMNADDICTED….WOW, I NEED TO REST!!!..Youknow you should go to sleep when the sheepyou’re counting start to hit the fence!!!!



WOW!!!! I know that drinking milk does a bodygood, but damn girl, how much you been drinking?..OK OKTHAT’S BEING SILLY, I KNOW, BABE; BUT I WANNASAY WELCOME TO MD.Name: Arina MantaForum name: Arina MantaAge: a lady never gives her age :)Zodiac sign:TaurusHometown: Sydney, AustraliaHeight: 5’4”Measurements: chest: 37 inches (94 cm), waist: 23.2inches (59 cm), hips: 33.1 inches (84 cm)Eyes: brown/hazelOffseason weight: 123.2 lbs (56 kg)Competition weight: 114.4 lbs (52 kg)Favorite food: Oats/egg whites pancake with freshblueberriesFavorite junk food: caramel bruléeFavorite quote: “Always be a first-rate version ofyourself, instead of a second-rate version of some-body else.”Favorite makeup: bareMinerals SPF 15 natural foundationFavorite body part to train: legsYour best body part: legsFuture plans/goals:To continue to be successful inmy carrer and to be satisfied with my achievements;to be one of the most popular fitness models; to bethe best I can be as a competitor and to keep havinga happy and healthy lifestyle.

I became springboard diving champion of Romania ata very early age, which meant developing a lot of disci-pline and focusing on becoming the best athlete I couldbe. I learned to treat “failure” simply as a learning experi-ence, an opportunity to work harder and overcome obsta-

cles. ArnoldSchwarzenegger

has said thatbodybuildingtaught him thelife lessons thatallowed him to

succeed in sports,in movies, in busi-ness and now inpolitics. I feel mysports experi-

ence as a diver hasdone the same forme. Because Ibecame a compet-itive athlete soearly, and sportshas always beenan important partof my life, when Imoved toAustralia and

was no longer diving I feltthe need for some kind ofathletic challenge. I wasalready strengthening mybody by training withweights and people werevery complimentaryabout my looks and mybody, so dedicatingmyself first to fitness andthen figure came verynaturally. Winning Ms.Fitness Australia and thenafter two victories in theMs. Figure Australia, Iearned my IFBB pro card

and was able to come to the United States to compete onan international level.This has been a very gratifyingexperience for me. Several magazines have run articlesand layouts on me and a number of organizations haveasked me to work with them at the major expos.

One achievement I am proud of is the way I’velearned to fly 22hours fromAustralia to theUS, compete inone or morecontests andstay in shapeover a period ofweeks. Manycompetitors – inbodybuilding,fitness and fig-ure – have trou-ble doing thisand I have beenasked to writearticles toexplain how Iam able to sus-tain my condi-tioning for solong whiledoing so muchtraveling. I’mlooking forward to working on articles like this to helpother competitors and those who would like to stay in thebest shape possible in spite of the demands of daily life,business and travel. Anyone who would like to knowmore about me can go to my website atwww.arinamanta.com —and my fans can expect to seemy first DVD, which will be available to December.

SHE LOVES ME; SHE LOVES ME NOT…DAMN!!!….OH GOD,YOU’RE SUCH A CUTIE… “Stick with mebaby and I’ll buy you rocks as big as diamonds.”……*BIG SIGH*… One of us is thinking about sex...OK,it’s me. �



FLEX CritiqueBy Flex Wheeler

The under-202 class isbreathing new lifeinto the sport, giving

a chance to guys who mighthave a difficult time compet-ing against monsters with a50-pound weight advantage.James “Flex” Lewis is onesuch man. I have a runningjoke with him about usingthat nickname, but all kid-ding aside, this guy is ashardcore as they come(must be something in thefish n’ chips). At 24 yearsold, he’s got to be theyoungest pro in the sportright now. I was a little sur-prised at that, because itseems like he’s been aroundfor a considerable amountof time. I’ve seen him packon more and more muscleeach year and all of it’s beenquality weight. In his fresh-man year, he’s shown hecan hang with the best ofthem, winning his first proshow (2008 Europa Pro 202-under) and taking thirdplace in the 202-under at theOlympia, finishing onlybehind Kevin English andwinner David Henry, both ofwhom have been pros foryears now.

PH

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BY

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James“Flex”Lewis

James Flex LewisNovember 15, 1983Swansea, Wales UK5’5”198 pounds



January 2009 www.musculardevelopment.com

James has a very symmetrical, proportionatephysique. His arms, while not a liability, aren’t exactlypowerful.They look better from outside angles, such asthe most-muscular; they’re a little light in the front dou-ble biceps and quarter-turn shots. He just needs to addmore mass to both biceps and triceps. I’d also like to seemore fullness and peak to those bi’s, as well. Delts areround, with even development in the anterior, medialand posterior heads; riddled with striations and separa-tion, too. Chest is nice and square. A little more upperthickness wouldn’t hurt (who couldn’t use more upperpecs?). Inner striations pop them to life. Back is an areathat will need lots of work— especially if he plans onbumping with Dave Henry in the under-202 class. HisChristmas tree is in place, but he needs to add the rest ofthe branches and leaves. Legs are standouts. Greatteardrops and good sweep; separation is stupendous,but he has the habit of forgetting to flex them (Come on!There’s no excuse with a name like that). Hamstringshave nice hang, with cracks like a dry riverbed. Calves!Now we come to the meat-and-potatoes of his physique.First Dorian, now James; I’m telling you, there’s some-thing with these British bulldogs. If you’re impressed byphotos of those “things,” wait ‘till you see them in per-son. For starters, they insert into his heels!The way theypop out to the sides from the front is unreal.

2003WFBB Junior Mr. WalesEFBB Junior Mr. Britain

2004NABBA Junior Mr. WalesNABBA Junior Mr. BritainNABBA Mr. EuropeEFBB Junior Mr. WalesEFBB Junior Mr. Britain NABBA Mr. Universe

2006Mr. Wales, Light-Heavyweight & OverallMr. Britain, Light-Heavyweight2007Mr. Britain, Light-Heavyweight & Overall(pro card)2008Europa Super Show,Under 202 ChampionMr. Olympia Under 202,Third Place



SHAPEOutstanding shape. Muscles attach

all the way down to the joints.Thereare no empty spaces on his compactframe.

MASSHe’s not a big “little” man, ´a la

Priest. But the kid’s only 24, so givehim time to grow. With more sizethroughout his chest, back and arms,he’s sure to make a serious dent.

SYMMETRY & PROPORTION

Excellent symmetry. Legs standout, so he’ll require more upper bodysize for better balance.

CONDITIONINGHe’s got a lock on this depart-

ment. Gets hard and dry all over,especially in the front upper bodyand hams and glutes. I’d like to seecriss-cross striations on his thighs,

but then again, maybe he’s just notsqueezing them all the time (rookiemistake).

FRONT DOUBLE BICEPSGreat overall shape. Nice lines

and proportions. Legs look fabulouswith those deep cuts. Terrifyingcalves, even from the front. Tightwaist, although clavicles aren’texceptionally wide. Arms need moresize and fullness.

FLEX CRITIQUE


FLEX CRITIQUE


REAR DOUBLE BICEPSRipped hams and glutes— and first full view of those mon-

strous calves. Back needs more thickness and width from top-to-bottom.

REAR LAT SPREADMaybe his weakest shot. Really has to pull his lats out.

Christmas tree is very impressive, though.

ABS & THIGHShredded serratus! Has a deeply delineated four-pack.

Needs to keep his legs tight during the duration of this pose.

MOST-MUSCULARNice compact package. Not the overflowing with mass-type

most-muscular, but impressive for proportion and aesthetics.

James has a good amount of muscle for his frame, butthere are guys his height carrying 20 pounds more. I feel heshould stay in the 202-under class for a while, but may want toadd the size necessary to be more competitive in the openclass. I see him doing well with his natural gifts. It’s obviousthat this kid lives and breathes bodybuilding. He even trainedwith the immortal Dorian Yates for a time and Dorian doesn’ttrain just anybody.The Welsh Dragon is breathing fire and he’shungry to make his mark. And you can bet I’ll by keeping myeye out. �

FRONT LAT SPREADGood taper. Nice chest and delt thickness. Upper body

still needs a little more meat to balance out lower half.

SIDE CHESTAwesome quad-ham split. Can’t take my eyes off

those calves! Upper body has pleasing shape and lines.Pecs are balanced. Needs more size to arms and overallthickness— especially from this angle.

SIDE TRICEPSNice shape, but will need to beef up his guns consid-

erably to be competitive in this pose. Good balancebetween lower and upper pecs. Lower body alreadythere..



By Steve Blechman andThomas Fahey, EdD

that can create excessive torque and unnatural stresses. Also, the exercises areartificial and do not transfer well to functional movement. Angelo Cacchio andcoworkers from the University of Rome in Italy and Illinois State University foundthat exercising on a machine that provided free motion similar to dumbbell and bar-bell exercises created greater activation of shoulder girdle muscles than a machinethat forced movement in a fixed path. They concluded that unconstrained weighttraining is superior to fixed path weight machines because it builds intramuscularcoordination that might transfer better to functional activities. (JournalElectromyography Kinesiology, 18: 618-627, 2008)

You Don’t Know Squat!Most people don’t squat correctly. They bend at the spine, rely too much on

their quadriceps (thigh muscles), minimize the use of their gluteal (butt) muscles,lift their heels and collapse their chests. Poor leg, hip and spinal mechanics putexcessive stress on the knees and back and will eventually lead to injury. Standwith your feet placed slightly more than shoulder-width apart, toes pointed outslightly, head neutral, back straight and support the bar on the fleshy part of yourupper back. Center your weight over your arches or slightly behind. Squat down,keeping your weight centered over your arches and actively flex your hips untilyour thighs break parallel. During the movement, keep your back straight, shoul-ders back, chest out, head neutral and let your thighs part to the side so that youare “squatting between your legs.” During the movement, try to “spread the floor”with the outside of your feet as you drop to the squat position. Push back to thestarting position, maximizing the use of the posterior hip and thigh muscles, main-taining a straight back and neutral head position. Paul Comfort and Peter Kasimfrom the London Sports Institute concluded that the essential elements of thesquat for minimizing injury and maximizing strength include a wide stance withnatural foot positioning, keeping the weight back by hinging at the hips and notthe back, holding the head in a neutral position and maintaining the normal curvesof the spine during the exercise. If you can’t squat, then you ain’t strong. (JournalStrength Conditioning, 29: 10–13, 2007)

Muscle Strength Highest In The Afternoon

What is the best time of day to train? Most studies show that muscle strength,power and endurance are greatest between about 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Muscle temper-atures are generally highest at this time, which probably accounts for the difference.A study from Finland showed that daily variations in strength and power cease to

RESEARCHRESEARCH

TrainingTrainingStretchingDecreasesMuscle StrengthPower

Pre-exercise stretching wasonce part of the normal warm-up ritualof almost all strength, power, andendurance athletes. Most fitnessexperts said that stretching increasedmuscle and joint range of motion,which made movements easier andreduced the risk of injury. It turns outthat pre-exercise stretching is a badidea that decreases performance andincreases the risk of injury. Pre-exercisestretching reduces muscle strength andpower and interferes with the brain’sability to control the muscles. Greekresearchers found that muscle powerdecreases the longer you stretch themuscle. They measured the effects ofstretches lasting from 10 seconds to 60seconds on isometric strength andpower. Stretching for 30 secondsdecreased isometric strength by nearly9 percent, while stretching 60 secondsdecreased power by 16 percent.Stretching 30 seconds or longer hassimilar effects in decreasing musclepower. They recommended that ath-letes avoid static stretching of musclesfor 30 seconds or more before activitiesrequiring maximum strength andpower. (Journal Strength ConditioningResearch, 22: 40–46, 2008)

Are Free WeightsOr MachinesBetter For BuildingStrength AndMuscle Size?

Proponents of free weights andweight machines are very much likesheepmen and cattlemen in the oldwest: both feel strongly about theirpoint of view and have inflexible atti-tudes toward the other side. Machinesare convenient, high tech, comfortableand attractive. However, they movejoints through fixed ranges of motion



By Steve Blechman andThomas Fahey, EdDRESEARCHRESEARCH

TrainingTrainingyou to the next level, but don’t overdo it.(Journal Strength Conditioning Research,21: 628–631, 2007)

Mid-Range GripBest For TheBench Press

Most young men measure theirstrength by their bench press. Somelifters prefer a wide-grip because itreduces the range of motion during theexercise, but this is a mistake. Britishstrength coaches Carly Green and PaulComfort discussed the best bench presstechnique for maximizing performanceand reducing the risk of injury. A widegrip during the bench press (greaterthan 1.5 times the biacromial width; thelumps on the upper part of your scapu-lae or shoulder blades) increases therisk of shoulder injury and pectoralismajor rupture. Avoid wide-grip benchpresses that align your upper arm at 90°angles from your torso. Instead, keepyour elbows in and move the bar in astraight line at a point below your lowerpecs. Learn to use your legs effectivelyduring the lift and align your upperbody so that your chest is up and yourbutt remains in contact with the bench.Most guys who have bench pressedseriously for many years have rotatorcuff injuries— usually because theyused poor technique and overtrained.Prevent bench press injuries and maxi-mize performance by using a narrowergrip and elbows closer to the body,avoiding excessive training volume anddropping the weight when changingyour bench press technique. You canbench press big iron without ruiningyour shoulders. (Strength andConditioning Journal, 29: 10–14, 2007

Get Strong withFront Squats

Olympic lifters live and die by thefront squat, but it’s a good exercise forbodybuilders, too. Strength coachesMike Waller and Rob Townsend dis-cussed the benefits of front squats andhow to do them properly. Front squats

build the quads like no other exercise.They’re easier on the spine than backsquats because they place the spine in amore upright position and don’t flex thetrunk as much. In fact, you’ll drop theweight to the floor if you hunch over ordrop your elbows. Also, front squatsserve as a gateway to fun lifts such ascleans, snatches and overhead squats.The technique sounds easy: grasp thebar toward the end of the fingers usinga clean grip (bar at shoulder level withpalms out) and rest it on your upperchest and front deltoids. Keep yourchest out, elbows up and shoulderblades slightly together. Take a comfort-able shoulder-width stance with yourfeet pointed out no more than 30degrees. Descend by sticking your buttback and keeping your spine neutraland chest out. Try to squat “betweenyour legs” and “spread the floor” withyour feet. The movement should hingeat your hips rather than your back. Yourgoal is to break parallel. The initialdepth of your front squat is determinedby your ability to maintain proper spineand hip positions. Hinge at the hips dur-ing the “up” phase of the lift, whilemaintaining a neutral spine with chestout and shoulder blades drawn togetherand head neutral. Push through the mid-dle of your feet and don’t rock forwardon your toes. Learn this exercise with abroomstick or dowel using high-rep setsbefore progressing to an Olympic barand plates. This lift takes time to learn,but it’s worth the effort. (JournalStrength Conditioning, 29: 14–19, 2007)

exist in people who train in the morn-ing. They examined 27 men who weighttrained either in the morning (7 a.m. to9 a.m.) or in the afternoon (5 p.m. to 7p.m.). Initially, all subjects were strongerin the afternoon than in the morning.But these differences disappeared in themorning training group, but not in theevening training group. This studyshowed that you should exercise in themorning if you have a morning competi-tion, because morning training will elim-inate normal strength differencesbetween early and late times of the day.(Journal Sports Sciences, publishedonline June 12, 2008)

Training To Failure:How Much AndHow Often?

Feeling the burn and pushing reps tothe max have always been part of effec-tive training for bodybuilding. Failuretraining involves doing an exercise untilthe muscles no longer respond. JeffWillardson from Eastern IllinoisUniversity discussed the pluses andminuses of failure training methods.Many studies have examined the opti-mal number of sets in a program, butfew have looked at the effects of failuretraining on muscle size and strength.Failure training allows advanced body-builders and lifters to break trainingplateaus and move to the next level.These highly intense workouts must beincorporated into short-term cycles toavoid overtraining. Failure training iseffective, because it recruits more motorunits (muscle fibers and their nerve sup-ply) and stimulates the secretion of ana-bolic hormones such as growth hor-mone, insulin-like growth factor andtestosterone, and increases insulin sen-sitivity (insulin is a powerful anabolichormone. Increases in strength requirehigh-intensity overload, so bodybuildersshould not rely on high-rep burn pro-grams for making progress.Bodybuilders and power athletes mustpush the big iron if they want to getstrong and big. Excessive failure train-ing leads to injury, overtraining and lossof motivation. Failure training can move

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High-Protein,Ketogenic DietsSuppress AppetiteAnd Speed WeightLoss

The body produces ketones, suchas acetone, acetoacetate and beta-hydroxybutyrate, during low-calorieintake and carbohydrate restric-tion. Low-carbohydrate diets—sometimes called ketogenicdiets— are more effective thanlow-calorie, mixed- or high-carbo-hydrate diets for short-termweight loss. The brain and nerv-ous system use mainly glucose(blood sugar) as fuel, but can alsouse ketones when carbs are unavail-able. Ketones, however, suppressthe appetite center in the brain,which might explain why low-carbdiets cause rapid weight loss.Ketones cause an improved sense ofwell-being and produce mild eupho-ria. British researchers found thathigh blood ketone levels reducedappetite and food intake. Duringtwo different four-week peri-ods, subjects ate high-protein diets either high orlow in carbohydrates. Theyconcluded that high-protein,low-carbohydrate diets thatincreased blood ketone levelsreduced hunger and lowered foodintake better than a diet high in pro-tein and containing moderateamounts of carbohydrates. In theshort term, high-protein, low-carbo-hydrate diets suppress hunger andreduce food intake better than high-protein, medium-carbohydrate diets.(American Journal Clinical Nutrition,87: 44–55, 2008)

Low GlycemicIndex DietPromotes WeightLoss

Glycemic index is a measure ofhow fast a food increases bloodsugar. High glycemic index foods

quickly, while low glycemic indexfoods include whole grains that aredigested slowly and trigger moremodest increases in blood sugar.One theory is that rapid increases inblood sugar trigger greater insulinrelease, which promotes fat storage.

British researchers found that mid-dle-aged adults lost more weight fol-lowing a low glycemic diet than ahigh glycemic diet during a 12-weekstudy. Both groups reduced caloricintake by 300 calories below normal.The average blood sugar levels waslower in the low glycemic indexgroup, but there were no differencesbetween groups in heart diseaserisk factors such as blood pressure,cholesterol, or waist circumference.Few studies have found that theglycemic index of the diet influencesweight control or heart disease riskfactors in healthy people. (EuropeanJournal of Clinical Nutrition, 62: 145–149, 2008)

ReducesAbdominal Fat AndIncreases MuscleMass

Growth hormone is a popular drugwith middle-aged and older adults

because it increases muscle mass,strength and exercise capacity anddecreases fat. Researchers and physi-cians do not agree on the medicalbenefits of growth hormone for retard-

ing the aging process and improvingthe quality of life in older adults.Researchers from the PenningtonBiomedical Research Center in BatonRouge, Louisiana found middle-agedmen who took growth hormone supple-ments for six months showed increasesin weight and lean body mass (mainlymuscle and bone) and an 8.8 percentreduction in abdominal fat. Growth hor-mone increased resting metabolic rateby nearly 200 calories per day. Thisstudy showed that growth hormonetherapy was effective for increasingmuscle mass and decreasing fat in mar-ginally overweight middle-aged menand could be an important therapy forimproving the quality of life in olderadults. (Journal Clinical Endocrinology

Metabolism, in press; September 4,2007)

Low-Carb DietIncreases CortisolLevels

Cortisol is a critically importantstress hormone secreted by the adrenalglands. Cortisol increases during fast-ing, eating, physical activity and psy-chological stress, where it helps regu-late fat, carbohydrate and proteinmetabolism. During stress, cortisol pro-motes fat release from outlying fat cellsand stimulates protein breakdown tohelp maintain blood sugar. It also pro-motes fat storage in the abdomen. Thecomposition of the diet influences corti-sol levels. A study from University ofEdinburgh in Scotland found that a low-carbohydrate diet prevented the meta-

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include simple sugars and whitebread that enter the bloodstream

Growth Hormone




bolic breakdown of cortisol, which ele-vated levels of the hormone. In spiteof elevated cortisol, people following alow-carbohydrate diet lost moreweight than those eating a mixed diet(moderate levels of carbohydrates andfats). The role of cortisol in obesityand weight loss is complicated and itis often misrepresented on late-nighttelevision commercials promotingweight-loss products. (Journal ClinicalEndocrinology Metabolism, in press;published online September 4, 2007)

Rapid Weight LossDecreasesTestosterone

Bodybuilders live and die by theirtestosterone levels. Numerous stud-ies by Shalender Bhasin and col-leagues found that muscle mass andthe capacity for muscle hypertrophyis directly proportional to bloodtestosterone levels. Testosterone alsopromotes aggressiveness and com-petitiveness, which are vital for anyathlete. Bodybuilders seek to maxi-mize muscle mass and minimize fat.This is a difficult task, because thebody uses muscle proteins as fuelduring periods of caloric restriction.Research from Finland showed thatblood testosterone levels decreasedmarkedly in elite wrestlers who lostweight rapidly in two to three weeks.The athletes lost 8 percent of body-weight, 16 percent of fat mass and 8percent of fat-free mass (includesmuscle) during the study throughcaloric restriction, increased exerciseand dehydration. Testosterone andluteinizing hormone (controls testos-terone levels) decreased by 63 per-cent and 54 percent. The changes inthese hormone levels were highlyrelated to weight loss. The studyshowed that rapid weight loss asso-ciated with weight-class sports couldhave profound effects on metabolism,body composition and hormone sta-tus, which might negatively affecthealth and maturation in growingathletes. (International Journal SportsMedicine, in press; published onlineJune

Too Little Or TooMuch Sleep MakesYou Fat

Getting too little or too much sleepat night increases the risk of obesity. Astudy from Laval University in Quebec,Canada found that nightly sleep dura-tion predicted future weight gain.They examined nearly 300 adults,organized according to their typicalsleep duration: short, 5-6 hours; aver-age, 7-8 hours; and long, 9-10 hours.Short sleep duration increased the riskof obesity by 27 percent, while longsleep duration increased it by 21 per-cent compared to average sleep dura-tion. The results were not influencedby energy intake or daily exercise.During the six-year study, short andlong duration sleepers were more like-ly to gain 11 pounds or more than peo-ple who slept 7-8 hours per night.Good sleep patterns are critical forweight control. Get a good night’ssleep every night. Avoid caffeine in thelate afternoon and evening. Sleep in adark, quiet room, avoid vigorous exer-cise before bedtime and get up at thesame time every morning. Establishingconsistent sleep patterns will makeyou feel better and helps control bodyfat. (Sleep, 31: 517-523, 2008)

Metformin FightsBody Fat

Metformin, sold as Glucophage,Riomet and Fortamet, is the most com-mon drug used to treat type 2 dia-betes, particularly when obesity andinsulin resistance accompany it. Itworks by moving sugar from the blood-stream into the cells. It is a good drugfor active diabetics, because it rarelycauses low blood sugar, even duringintense exercise. Also, it doesn’t causeweight gain and even causes smallweight loss. British researchersshowed that metformin inhibited fatstorage in cells called pre-adipocytes,which eventually turn into normal fatcells and promote obesity. The drugactivated an enzyme called AMPK,which is an important metabolic-con-

trolling chemical. Metformin appears toprevent fat storage by limiting fataccumulation in pre-adipocytes.(Diabetes Obesity Metabolism, in press;published online May 12, 2008)

Insulin PromotesFat Storage

High insulin levels from drinkinghigh-sugar soft drinks or eating mealshigh in simple sugars promotes obesi-ty. Insulin is an important hormone forcarbohydrate, fat and protein metabo-lism. Blood glucose (sugar) increasesrapidly after a meal. In response, thepancreas releases insulin, which helpsmove the glucose out of the blood andinto the cells. Glucose is an importantfuel for muscles and the central nerv-ous system (brain, spine and nerves).Excess glucose is stored for later useas fat in white adipose tissue (fatcells) through a process regulated byinsulin. Japanese scientists, in a studyusing fat cells cultured in the labora-tory, discovered that insulin promotesfat storage by preventing fat break-down. It does this by blocking theaction of adrenaline and hormone-sen-sitive lipase. The study showed whyhigh-sugar meals and soft drinks pro-mote obesity. High-sugar soft drinkscause rapid increases in blood sugarand insulin release, which preventsfat breakdown and promotes fat stor-age. This study showed why high lev-els of insulin levels promote obesity.(Kobe Journal Medical Sciences, 53: 99-106, 2007)

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FatherhoodIncreasesProstate CancerRisk

Don’t have kids if you want toreduce your risk of prostate cancer.However, if you have kids, father alot of them. Danish researchersfound that fathers had a higherprostate cancer risk than childlessmen. Strangely, men who had morethan one child had a lower risk thanmen who had only one. Also,men who fathered sons wereless likely to get the diseasethan men who fathereddaughters. They studied3,400 men who developedprostate cancer, takenfrom a national popula-tion register of all menborn in Denmarkbetween 1935 and1988. Risk factors ofprostate cancerinclude race, family his-tory of the disease andage. The researcherscould not identify theenvironmental factors thataccounted for the lower prostatecancer risk in childless men.(Cancer, in press; published onlineJanuary 7, 2008)

Greater MuscleStrengthReduces Risk ofPremature Death

Aerobic fitness strengthens thecardiovascular system, protects theheart and blood vessels from diseaseand reduces the risk of heart attackand heart-related sudden death.Most exercise recommendationsmention muscle strength as an after-thought. A long-term study of morethan 10,000 men conducted at theCooper Clinic in Dallas found thathigher muscle strength levelsreduced the risk of death from can-cer and deaths per year due to any

tests during the 1980s and their sta-tus was reevaluated nearly 20 yearslater. Greater strength reduced therisk of death from all causes by 32percent, by 50 percent from heartattack, and by 32 percent from can-cer compared to the weakest one-third of the men. Increasing strengthmight make you live longer. Weighttraining should not be a substitutefor aerobic exercise— you should do

both. (British MedicalJournal, in press;

Published onlineJuly 1, 2008)

MyostatinBlockersIncrease The RiskOf Tendon Injuries

Myostatin is a protein that regu-lates muscle growth and preventsmuscles from getting too large.Myostatin blockers sound like a body-builder’s dream— they might provideunlimited muscle growth. Universityof Michigan researchers, led by JohnFaulkner, found that while drugs thatblock myostatin make muscles grow,they also shrink tendons and makethem more brittle. They studied micethat were genetically altered so theycouldn’t produce myostatin. Athletes

myostatin prevents excessive musclegrowth, it is also involved in tissuerepair following intense training.Muscle injuries usually occur duringlengthening contractions (eccentriccontractions). Tendons act likesprings during these types of contrac-tions, which lessens the load on themuscles. Short, brittle tendons creat-ed by myostatin blockers wouldexpose the muscles to greater loadsand increase the risk of injury.Myostatin blockers cause rapid andextreme muscle growth, which willmake them irresistible to many ath-letes— regardless of the side effects.(Proceedings National AcademySciences, 105: 388-393, 2008)

Cardio ProtectsBlood Vesselsfrom HarmfulEffects of WeightTraining

Weight training increases muscleand bone mass and has positiveeffects on metabolism. It can, howev-er, stress the blood vessels. At rest,the average blood pressure is about100 millimeters of mercury (mmHg.).Peak systolic blood pressure (higherblood pressure number) during heavysquats is as high as 400 mmHg. Asingle weight-training workout stiff-ens the blood vessels, which couldgradually damage the cells lining thevessels and stress the heart. Cardio,on the other hand, makes the vesselsmore compliant and enhances theirhealth and function. Japaneseresearchers found that doing cardioexercise after weight training promot-ed blood vessel health and compen-sated for the negative effects ofweight training on blood vessel stiff-ness. Doing cardio before weighttraining did not provide a protectiveeffect. Performing cardio after weighttraining benefits blood vessels andmaximizes the training effects ofresistive exercise, because you can


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cause. The men receivedmedical exams and physical fitness

who used these drugs wouldalmost certainly get injured. While




lift more intensely with less fatigue.(Journal Applied Physiology, 103:1655–1661, 2007)

Low TestosteroneLinked to DiabetesAnd MetabolicSyndrome

Testosterone is critical for buildinglarge, strong muscles and making youfeel like a man. It’s also important formetabolic health. Men with lowtestosterone levels have an increasedrisk of type 2 diabetes and MetabolicSyndrome. Type 2 diabetes is a dis-ease characterized by poor bloodsugar regulation. Metabolic Syndromeis a group of symptoms linked to poormetabolic health that include highblood pressure, abdominal obesity,abnormal blood fats, inflammation,insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes andblood-clotting abnormalities. Bothhealth problems can zap your energylevels, cause heart attack and ruinyour sex life. Low testosterone mightcause these problems by alteringbody composition, decreasing andro-gen receptor sensitivity, impairing glu-cose (sugar) transport into cells andreducing the cells’ ability to fight freeradicals that cause cell destruction.Testosterone supplements can helpmen with low testosterone levelsimprove blood sugar control andreduce abdominal fat. (CurrentOpinion Endocrinology Diabetes &Obesity, 14: 226–234, 2007)

Low TestosteroneLinked ToPremature Death

Low testosterone levels may pro-mote heart disease, stroke, diabetes,abdominal obesity, reduced muscleand bone mass, depression, erectiledysfunction and low sex drive. Lowtestosterone levels can triggerincreased fat mass, low energy lev-els, mental impairment, increasedrisk of falls, hip fractures, anemiaand Alzheimer’s disease.Researchers from the University of

California, San Diego found that lowtestosterone levels lead to prema-ture death. They measured thedeath rates of older men (averageage 72 at the beginning of thestudy) for 20 years. Men with thelowest levels of testosterone at thebeginning of this study were morelikely to die sooner. Results wereindependent of health risks such asthe Metabolic Syndrome or obesity.This study showed that decreasingtestosterone levels in older menhave significant health conse-quences and that “andropause” isan important health concern.(Journal Clinical EndocrinologyMetabolism, in press; publishedonline October 2, 2007)

Low TestosteroneLinked toIncreased DeathRate from HeartDisease andCancer

Many recent studies have demon-strated a link between low testos-terone levels and an increased inci-dence of cardiovascular disease.Epidemiologists (scientists whostudy population disease trends) arefinding that a low testosterone levelis an important risk factor for prema-ture death from heart disease andall causes of death. Britishresearchers measured blood testos-terone in 12,000 men aged 40 to 79between 1993 and 1997 and deter-mined how many had died or hadheart disease or cancer in 2003.Death rates due to cancer, heart dis-ease and all causes were substan-tially higher in men with low testos-terone levels. The results were inde-pendent of age, body composition,blood pressure, cholesterol, ciga-rette smoking, diabetes, alcoholintake, physical activity, social classand education. They concluded thata low testosterone level is a signifi-cant risk factor for cardiovasculardisease. (Circulation, 116: 2694-2701,2007)

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Creatine-Protein-Carb SupplementBoosts MuscleMass In TrainedAthletes

Creatine monohydrate supple-ments build muscle mass andstrength in subjects ranging fromelite athletes to older adults withmuscle-wasting diseases. Not allstudies have been positive. Trainingand genetic status might influencethe effectiveness of the supplement.Some people respond to creatine,while others don’t. Other studiesfound that protein-carbohydrate sup-plements administered before orafter training also increased mus-cle mass and promoted pro-tein synthesis. The effects ofcreatine and protein-carbo-hydrate supplements mightbe additive. Australianresearchers found thatexperienced weight-trainedathletes who took a protein(whey) + carbohydrate +creatine monohydrate sup-plement increased fat-freeweight, muscle fiber cross-sectional area, contractileprotein content and liftingstrength (1-repetition maxi-mum lifts) more than a protein-carbo-hydrate supplement. They took thesupplement during a 10-week struc-tured and supervised weight-trainingprogram. A supplement containingcreatine, protein and carbohydratespromotes muscle mass and strengthin trained athletes. (Medicine ScienceSports Exercise, 39: 1960–1968, 2007)

6-OXO IncreasesTestosterone

The capacity for muscle growthdepends on blood levels of testos-terone. Young men build muscle bet-ter than women and older menbecause they have higher levels ofthe hormone. During its metabolism,a portion of testosterone is converted(aromatized) to estrogens. Blocking

cally available testosterone and couldpromote muscle growth. 6-OXY is apopular bodybuilding supplementcontaining 4-androstene-3, 6,17-trionethat partially blocks the conversion oftestosterone to estrogen. Dan Rohleand colleagues from Baylor Universityfound that men taking 300mg or600mg of 6-OXY for eight weeksshowed large increases in free testos-terone, dehydrotestosterone and thetestosterone to estrogen ratio (i.e.,more testosterone and less estrogen).The supplement did not completely

block the conversion of testosteroneto estrogen. The study did not showthat 6-OXY increased muscle massand strength— only that it possessedthe potential to do so. While 4-androstene-3, 6,17-trione is banned inmany sports, it can still be purchasedlegally in the United States. It is easi-ly detected in urine, so athletes sub-ject to drug testing should beware.(Journal of the International Society ofSports Nutrition, 4:13, 2007; publishedonline)

Whey ProteinIncreasesMyostatin Activity

Myostatin is a muscle chemicalthat decreases muscle mass and

satellite cells. Satellite cells providenew cell nuclei, which allow muscleto continue making protein at highrates after the cells get larger.Researchers from Finland discoveredthat protein supplements takenimmediately after weight trainingincrease the activity of myostatin.This would appear to decrease mus-cle hypertrophy. However, we knowthat protein supplementation afterweight training promotes musclegrowth. So, the significance of thesuppressing effects of protein onmyostatin is not known. Muscle tis-sue breaks down and builds up afterexercise. Damaged tissue is repaired

during recovery, while new mus-cle tissue is synthesized in

response to the stress ofexercise. The human genemap was completed in

2002, so we are only begin-ning to recognize the com-

plexity of the effects of geneson exercise capacity and musclehypertrophy. Genetics is the newfrontier of sports physiology and

holds the key to bettertraining programs, healthand longevity. (EuropeanJournal AppliedPhysiology, in press;

October 9, 2007)

Glutamine Booststhe ImmuneSystem

Which situation is worse: 1) Youdo one too many sets of benches andpull a pec muscle and miss a week oftraining? or 2) You train too hard,catch a cold and miss a week oftraining? Both are bad and will stopyou in your tracks. While most ath-letes are careful to avoid muscle andjoint injuries, many are carelessabout preventing overtraining-relat-ed breakdown in the immune sys-tems. You can prevent immune prob-lems with a good training program.A review of literature by Brazilianscientists suggested that glutaminesupplements might also help.


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aromatization increases the biologi- inhibits the formation of muscle




SupplementsSupplementsGlutamine is an amino acid thatbecomes depleted when you over-train. Taking glutamine supplementsmay help boost the immune systemand prevent colds and flu. The evi-dence is not ironclad. Measuring theeffects of training on immunity is dif-ficult and expensive. While glutaminelevels go down during heavy train-ing, taking supplements will not giveyou a superhero immune system.However, the supplements are cheapand appear harmless, so you mightconsider them if heavy trainingmakes you get more colds and fluesthan normal. (Amino Acids, in press;published online October 2007)

BicarbonateLoading ImprovesHigh-IntensityExercise Capacity

Sodium bicarbonate— the stufffound in Arm and Hammer bakingsoda— increases performance duringintense, maximal events lasting 45seconds to 2 minutes. It works byincreasing blood-buffering capaci-ty— the ability to dispose of acids inthe blood that can interfere withmetabolism and cause fatigue. LarsMcNaughton and colleagues fromthe University of Hull in Englandreviewed the literature on the bene-fits and risks of “soda loading” andconcluded that it improves perform-ance in some athletes. While moststudies used untrained subjects, thetechnique works best in well-trainedathletes. The optimal dosage is 0.3grams per kilogram bodyweight,which is 27 grams for a 200-poundperson. Soda loading has not caughton because of its nasty sideeffects— nausea, intestinal cramps,gas and diarrhea. The researchersconcluded that soda loading is bene-ficial for athletes competing in spe-cific events and when used chroni-cally in training to boost intensity.However, we do not know the sideeffects from long-term, chronic use.(Current Sports Medicine Reports, 7:230-236, 2008)

Beta-AlanineSupplementsIncrease Weight-TrainingEndurance

Alanine is an amino acid thathelps supply energy during exercise.It is converted to blood sugar in theliver by a process called the glucosealanine cycle. While it is not used tosynthesize muscle tissue orenzymes, it influences exercisecapacity— particularly enduranceperformance. Researchers from theCollege of New Jersey found thatbeta-alanine supplements improvedmuscle endurance during weighttraining— the maximum number ofrepetitions in the squat. They sup-plemented beta-alanine (4.8 gramsper day) to trained men participatingin a one-week training program. Themen did 6 sets of 12 repetitions inthe squat at 70 percent of maxeffort. In the muscle endurance test,the supplement group did 22 percentmore reps than a placebo group (fakealanine) and also developed ninetimes more leg power. Alanine sup-plements had no effects on growthhormone, cortisol or testosterone.Other studies have shown, however,that beta-alanine in doses of 10g perday caused tingling and numbness inthe skin. A little of this supplementmight be beneficial but a lot couldcause problems. (InternationalJournal Sports Medicine, in the press;published online June 11, 2008)

CaffeineIncreasesTestosterone

Many bodybuilders take caffeinepills or energy beverages containingcaffeine (e.g., coffee or Red Bull) toincrease training intensity. Caffeineis a central nervous stimulant usedto prevent fatigue and promotemental alertness. Most studiesshow that caffeine does not

increase muscle strength or power,but reduces the perception offatigue. New Zealand researchersfound that caffeine increased testos-terone levels during training, withhigher doses of caffeine producinghigher blood levels of testosterone.Increased testosterone levels makeit easier to gain muscle mass andstrength with training. The studyalso showed that caffeine increasedcortisol— a catabolic hormonelinked to protein breakdown, whichmight nullify caffeine’s beneficialeffects on testosterone. Caffeineprovides an energy boost to trainharder and might also promotetraining gains by increasing testos-terone levels. (International JournalSport Nutrition Exercise Metabolism,18: 131-141, 2008)

Whey ProteinSupplementSpeeds Fat Loss

Drinking a whey protein shake 20minutes before a meal will help youlose fat and preserve muscle mass. A12-week study on weight loss fromthe Minnesota Applied ResearchCenter in Minneapolis found that apre-meal protein supplement helpeddecrease appetite during lunch ordinner. Consuming a whey proteinbeverage (Prolibra) 20 minutesbefore breakfast and dinner causedgreater fat loss than a placebo (fakeProlibra; 8 pounds versus 3.5pounds) and helped maintain musclemass. Substituting proteins for car-bohydrates is a good strategy forweight loss. The amino acids fromwhey protein circulate in the bloodand the liver converts them to bloodsugar. They work like tiny bloodsugar timed-release capsules tomaintain blood sugar levels, whichdecreases appetite. Health expertsare scrambling to find techniques tohelp people eat less and lose weight.Drinking a whey protein shakebefore meals might help. (Nutrition& Metabolism, published onlineMarch 27, 2008)

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Creatine DoesNot HarmKidneys

Creatine monohydrate supple-ments boost exercise performance,prevent nerve breakdown,improve symptoms in mus-cle wasting diseases andenhance energy centers inthe cells. Creatineimpaired kidney functionin rats suffering from cys-tic kidney disease. Moststudies found that crea-tine had no negativeeffects on kidney functionin humans or animals.Brazilian scientists foundthat high doses of creatine (10grams per day for three months)had no effects on kidney function inyoung men following an aerobic train-ing program (40 minutes, three timesper week). Cystatin C, a marker of kid-ney dysfunction, decreased in the cre-atine and placebo (fake creatine)groups, showing that exerciseimproved the overall health of the kid-neys. They concluded that creatinesupplements do not harm kidney func-tion in young men participating in amoderate-intensity aerobics program.(European Journal Applied Physiology,103: 33–40, 2008)

Alkaline DietsLinked To GreaterMuscle Mass

Most of us are confused about theideal combination of proteins, carbo-hydrates and fats in the diet for pro-moting muscle mass and minimizingfat. It seems as though every weekwe see a new study that providescontradictory information. Just whenyou thought you were totally con-fused about the ideal bodybuildingdiet, scientists from Tufts Universitymuddied the water even more. Theyfound that high-acid diets might causemuscle wasting. Protein and cerealgrains produce acids such as sulfuric

acid, while fruit andvegetables generate alkaline chemi-cals such as potassium and bicarbon-ate. Older adults who consumed moregrains and meat and fewer fruits andvegetables had lower levels of potas-sium and less muscle mass. Thoseeating more fruits and vegetables hadthe highest levels of lean body mass(fat-free weight). We don’t know ifthese results apply to young, healthybodybuilders, but eating plenty offruits and vegetables is an importantpart of a healthy lifestyle. (AmericanJournal Clinical Nutrition, 87: 662–665,2008)

Leucine SpeedsProtein SynthesisAfter WeightTraining

Cells use amino acids to make newproteins, but amino acids do a lotmore than build proteins. Amino acidsactivate signaling proteins in musclesthat turn on protein synthesis andincrease muscle fiber size. Muscle ten-sion, blood levels of amino acids (par-ticularly leucine) and insulin are keyfactors triggering muscle growth.They activate signaling pathwaysinside the cells that promote protein

eling and repair. Chemicalscalled ribosomal protein S6

kinase and the target ofrapamycin (mTOR) areimportant cell signaling

molecules that are sensitive tosmall changes in energy statusand are major forces in proteinsynthesis. They work like biolog-

ical computer programs toline up amino acids need-ed to produce new muscle

tissue. Micah Drummondand Blake Rasmussen

from University of TexasMedical Branch, in a review

of literature, concluded thatafter weight training, feeding a

supplement high in leucine-richessential amino acids and carbohy-drates activated protein-signalingmolecules that promoted protein syn-thesis and muscle growth.Bodybuilders should consume carb-amino acids supplements high inleucine before and after training tomaximize protein synthesis. (CurrentOpinion in Clinical Nutrition andMetabolic Care, 11: 222-226, 2008)

Whey ProteinSpeeds Fat LossAnd SparesMuscle Mass

Health experts are scrambling tofind techniques to help people eatless and lose weight. Eating pre-mealprotein supplements might be aneffective way to cut appetite duringlunch or dinner. A study from theMinnesota Applied Research Centerand the VA Medical Center inMinneapolis found that people on areduced-calorie diet who consumed awhey protein beverage (Prolibra) 20minutes before breakfast and 20 min-utes before dinner for 12 weeks lostmore fat (8 pounds versus 3.5pounds) and maintained muscle massbetter than people who consumed aplacebo (fake Prolibra). We have good


NutritionNutritionRESEARCHRESEARCH

synthesis in the muscles and modifymuscle protein breakdown, remod-




evidence that substituting proteins forcarbohydrates is a good strategy forweight loss. The amino acids fromwhey protein circulate in the bloodand are converted to blood sugar inthe liver. They work like tiny bloodsugar timed-release capsules to main-tain blood sugar levels, which decreas-es appetite. Consuming a whey pro-tein beverage 20 minutes before ameal promotes fat loss and maintainsmuscle mass. (Nutrition & Metabolism,published online March 27, 2008)

Mercury From Fish LowersTestosterone

Mercury is a highly toxic pollutantthat enters the environment fromcoal-using electrical plants, wasteincinerators and byproducts of variousmanufactured goods. Mercury accu-mulates in several species of largefish, such as tuna, shark and sword-fish. Mercury is particularly toxic tochildren and pregnant women. It islinked to neurological abnormalities,damage to brain centers controllingmovement, seizures and developmen-tal and mental retardation. It is also atesticular toxicant and impairs thereproductive system in men anddecreases blood testosterone andsperm production. Mercury poisoningis a major public health issue in popu-lations that eat a lot of fish, such asthe Inuits in Northern Canada.Canadian researchers tested theeffects of various proteins and fats inreducing the damage caused by highmercury intake in the diet. Mercury-fed rats consumed diets high in soyprotein, casein, whey protein isolate,fish oil, or high-protein fish meal.Mercury caused significant reductionin testosterone in the whey proteinisolate, soybean oil and fish oilgroups. Only diets high in high-pro-tein fish meal prevented a reductionin testosterone and testicular size inthe animals. The best nutritionalstrategy is to eat foods that are notcontaminated with mercury. (FoodChemical Toxicology, 46: 270-279,2008)

Pre-And Post-Exercise FeedingBoosts MuscleMass

One of the most important discover-ies in sports nutrition in the last 100years was that pre- and post-exercisefeeding promotes recovery, increasesmuscle mass and strength and preventsinjury. Intense weight training shakesup muscle metabolism. High levels ofmuscle tension developed during train-ing damages tissue that must berepaired during recovery. Training alsostimulates tension receptors within thecells that stimulate protein synthesisand makes muscles grow. Musclesincrease in size and strength inresponse to muscle tension, anabolichormones, energy, carbohydrates andamino acids. Dr. Jose Antonio from theInternational Society of Sports Nutritionreported that consuming 25 grams ofprotein before and after exercise wassuperior to feeding carbohydrates forenhancing muscle fiber size and improv-ing exercise performance. He concludedthat consuming protein or a combina-tion of protein plus carbohydrate isimportant for enhancing the adaptiveresponse to exercise. (StrengthConditioning Journal, 29: 78–79, 2007)

High ProteinIntake Does NotEffect KidneyFunction

Many nutritional researchers havereevaluated the protein requirements ofactive people. The recommendeddietary intake for protein is 0.8 gramsper kilogram bodyweight per day, butsome experts think that it should be ashigh as 1.5 grams to 2.0 grams per kilo-gram per day for people who exercisevigorously. Kidney toxicity could be aside effect of increased protein intake.Researchers from the University ofCincinnati found that high proteinintakes had no effects on kidney func-tion in old or young people (25 to 40years old versus 55 to 70 years old).They compared the effects of a low-pro-

tein diet (0.5 grams of protein per kilo-gram per day) versus a high-protein diet(2.0 grams of protein per kilogram perday) and found no changes in measuresof kidney function. People developedmore acid urine when consuming ahigh-protein diet, but all urinary meas-urements were within the normalrange. (Journal American DieteticAssociation, 107:1404-1408, 2007)

ProteinRequirements OfBodybuilders

The indicator amino acid oxidationtechnique (IAAO) is a new, more pre-cise way of measuring individualamino acid and protein requirementsof sedentary and active people.According to studies using thismethod, active people should con-sume 1.4 to 2 grams of protein perkilogram bodyweight per day, withbodybuilders on the high end. Therecommended daily allowance (RDA)established by the U.S. Department ofAgriculture is 0.8 grams per kilogrambodyweight per day. These recom-mendations were based on 50 years ofresearch on protein metabolism usinga technique called nitrogen balance.Nitrogen is a component of proteinthat is discarded when proteins arebroken down to amino acids and usedfor energy. Nitrogen balance involvesmeasuring nitrogen output in feces,urine and sweat and comparing itwith nitrogen intake in the diet. IAAOis a new and less messy techniquethat predicts whole-body proteinrequirements by measuring themetabolism of a labeled amino acid.Canadian scientists studied humanprotein requirements using IAAO anddetermined that the RDA for proteinof 0.8 grams per kilogram bodyweightper day is too low and should be 1.2grams per kilogram per day for seden-tary people. IAAO shows that body-builders were right all along— theyneed more protein than the basic RDArecommendation. (Current Opinion inClinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care,11: 34–39, 2008; American JournalClinical Nutrition, 86: 995–1002, 2007)

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NutritionNutrition





ww

.ironasylum.com

DrugsDrugsNew AnabolicDrug? ScientistsDevelopMyostatin-Blocker

Myostatin regulates the growth ofmuscle cell contractile proteins(myofibrils) and muscle developmentduring growth. Hormones and growthfactors such as growth hormone,testosterone, insulin, and IGF-1 pro-mote muscle growth. Myostatin pre-vents muscle fibers from growing toomuch. Physicians and athletes haverelied on muscle growth factors toincrease muscle size and strength.An alternative strategy is to blockmyostatin, which would allow unim-peded muscle growth. Researchersfrom Ohio State University found thatmice given a single dose of the myo-statin-inhibitor follistatin increasedbody mass and strength. The treat-ment increased skeletal muscle sizethroughout the body but did notaffect heart muscle. A singledose of follistatin continued toincrease strength for 60 days,and the increased strength per-sisted during the 560-day experi-ment. This study showed thatfollistatin inhibited myostatin andincreased strength and muscle mass inanimals. The drug is available toresearch labs, so some athletes willprobably use it in the Olympics thissummer. (Proceedings NationalAcademy of Sciences, 105: 4318-4322,2008)

TestosteroneSupplementsDecreaseAbdominal Fat InAging Men

Andropause— a gradual decreasein blood testosterone and biological-ly available free testosterone— is asignificant health issue in agingmen. It is linked to heart disease,type 2 diabetes, depression, loss ofmuscle and bone mass and

decreased sexual performance. It isnot as obvious as menopause (per-manent cessation of menstruation inwomen), so many physicians don’tconsider it a significant health issue.Landmark studies by researcherssuch as Shalender Bhasin and Tom

Storer found that aging menincreased muscle mass, decreasedfat and improved quality of life fromtestosterone supplements.Australian scientists showed thataging men (55 and older) decreasedabdominal fat and increased musclemass without side effects following12 months of low-dose testosteronetherapy (nighttime testosteronepatch). Abdominal fat deposition ispart of the Metabolic Syndrome— agroup of symptoms linked to heartdisease that include insulin resist-ance, high blood pressure, abnormalblood fats, type 2 diabetes, inflam-mation and blood-clotting abnormali-ties. This was another study show-ing the benefits and low risk oftestosterone therapy in aging men.(Journal Clinical EndocrinologyMetabolism, in press; publishedonline October 16, 2007)

Growth HormoneReducesAbdominal Fat AndIncreases MuscleMass In Middle-Aged Men

Researchers and physicians do notagree on the medical benefits of growthhormone for retarding the aging processand improving the quality of life in older

adults. Growth hormone is a popu-lar drug with middle-aged and

older adults because it increasesmuscle mass, strength and exercise

capacity and decreases fat. A studyfrom the Pennington BiomedicalResearch Center in Baton Rouge, LAfound middle-aged men who tookgrowth hormone supplements for sixmonths showed increases in weightand lean body mass (mainly muscle andbone) and an 8.8 percent reduction inabdominal fat. Growth hormoneincreased resting metabolic rate bynearly 200 calories per day. This studyshowed that growth hormone therapywas effective for increasing musclemass and decreasing fat in marginallyoverweight middle-aged men andcould be an important therapy for

improving the quality of life in olderadults. (Journal Clinical EndocrinologyMetabolism, 92: 4265-4270, 2007)

Andriol TestocapsAbsorbed BestWith A Meal

Andriol Testocaps (testosteroneundecanoate) is an oil-based oral testos-terone that is absorbed by the intestinallymphatic system. The lymphatic sys-tem is a network of vessels that trans-ports fluid, proteins, fat and scavengingcells to the bloodstream. Ordinarily, theliver inactivates oral testosterone rapid-ly. Drug makers got around this by mod-ifying the molecule so that it stayed inthe system longer or suspending it in oiland injecting it into muscle. Oral drugs,such as Dianabol, were toxic to the liverin high doses, and testosterone esters

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such as testosterone enanthaterequired regular injections.Testosterone undecanoate contained inAndriol is absorbed through the lym-phatic system and bypasses the liver,which raises blood levels of the hor-mone. Andriol is an oral form of testos-terone that produces elevated blood lev-els of testosterone for about 4 to 6hours. Dutch researchers showed thatthe fat content of meals was importantfor maximum testosterone absorption.Little testosterone was absorbed follow-ing low-calorie, low-fat meals. Mealscontaining at least 18 grams of fat wereoptimal for testosterone absorption.Andriol is a good choice for testosteronereplacement because it is not toxic tothe liver, is only minimally converted toestrogen, and doesn’t require muscularinjections. (Clinical Endocrinology, 66:579-585, 2007)

Nandrolone CouldCause LiverProblems

Most bodybuilders are well awarethat oral anabolic steroids are toxic tothe liver. So, many use injectable drugssuch as nandrolone because they feelthey are more liver-friendly. Brazilianresearchers, in a study on rats, foundthat low, normal and high doses of nan-drolone administered for five weeksincreased key liver enzymes (aspartateaminotransferase, AST; alanine amino-transferase, ALT; and alkaline phos-phatase, ALP). Changes were highest inthe high-dose group, but liver functiontests remained within the normal rangein all groups. The authors concluded thatadministering higher than clinical dosescould damage the liver. There are nolong-term studies showing the effects ofnandrolone or any other anabolic steroidon liver function. (Medicine ScienceSports Exercise, 40: 842-847, 2008)

Merck Signs $500Million SARMs Deal

The next generation of anabolicsteroids will be selective androgenreceptor modulators (SARMs) that tar-

get androgen receptors in specific tis-sues, such as muscle or bone. SARMsare the Holy Grail of anabolic chemicalsbecause they build muscles withoutaffecting other organs or tissues.Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Companysigned a $500 million deal with anotherdrug company GTx to develop, test andmarket a SARM called Ostarine thatselectively targets skeletal muscle, butdoes not affect the liver or prostate. Ithas been used initially in early clinicaltrials to treat muscle wasting in cancerpatients. The drug will be useful inolder adults experiencing bone or mus-cle loss, patients suffering from traumaor degenerative diseases, and undoubt-edly in athletes trying to improve per-formance. SARMs represent an evolu-tion in anabolic drugs. Current anabolicsteroids (including testosterone) bindand activate androgen receptorsthroughout the body and their effectsare not specific to any tissue. Whilethey turn on protein synthesis in mus-cle, they also affect androgen receptorsin the prostate, sex organs, heart, liver,skin and brain, which cause unwantedeffects in non-target tissues. Generalreceptor binding causes side effectssuch as acne, prostate enlargement,thickening of the blood and masculiniza-tion in women and children. SARMs willtarget specific androgen sites in mus-cles and not bind to receptors in othertissues, which will minimize side effectsand improve the usefulness of thedrugs. The drugs exist, so it is likelythat some athletes have been usingthem in preparation for the BeijingOlympic Games this summer. (in-Pharma Technologist.com, July 11, 2007)

Do SteroidsIncrease TendonRupture Risk?

Health experts often list tendon rup-ture as a risk of anabolic steroid usebased on clinical reports of athletestreated for tendon injuries who alsotook steroids. Several anecdotes do notconstitute data! German scientistsreported the case of a 29-year-old pro-fessional soccer player who ruptured his

patellar (knee) tendon and both Achillestendons within 18 months. He hadtaken steroids for three years before theinjuries and used them to promote heal-ing following each surgery. They con-cluded that steroids are linked to a highnumber of unrecorded cases of tendoninjury in athletes and the drugs mightinterfere with healing following tendonsurgery. Well-controlled studies foundthat anabolic steroids actually strength-en tendons (Am J Sports Med, 32:934-43, 2004; Int J Sports Med, 21: 406-11,2000). Why do we have clinical reportslinking steroids to tendon ruptures inathletes, yet experimental studiesshowing that anabolic steroidsstrengthen tendons? Athletes who usesteroids are usually highly motivatedand more likely to ignore the pain ofearly tendon injury. They probablywould have sustained the injuries ifthey hadn’t taken the drugs.(Unfallchirurg, 111: 46-49, 2008)

Most Steroid UsersTake Drugs ForSelf Improvement

Lawmakers passed the AnabolicSteroid Control Act to discourage teenageathletes from using steroids. Since 1984,more than 10 studies found that steroiduse in high school students has never beenhigher than 4 percent. According to astudy by Jason Cohen and colleagues, theaverage nonmedical user of steroids is inhis early 30s and takes the drugs for self-improvement. Most steroid users seek toincrease strength, muscle mass and physi-cal attractiveness and decrease body fat.They follow structured diets and exerciseprograms and do not play sports. Most arewell educated and employed and take thedrugs as part of a health-centered lifestyle.According to the Drug EnforcementAdministration, the possession or sale ofanabolic steroids without a valid prescrip-tion is illegal and carries a maximum penal-ty of one year in prison and a minimum$1,000 fine. This law is bad public policythat targets hard-working tax-payingAmericans trying to improve themselves.(Journal International Society of SportsNutrition, in press; October 2007)

DrugsDrugsRESEARCHRESEARCH




Are You A SexualOlympian?

Most men think of themselves asgold medal winners in the sexualOlympics, but are you a sprinter or adistance athlete? Perceptions aboutsexual staying power vary greatly andare the subject of urban legend. Whatdo the experts tell us? Researchers fromBehrend College in Erie, Pennsylvaniafound out by surveying Canadian andAmerican members of the Society forSex Therapy and Research. They askedthe experts their perception on the ideallength of time the penis should be inthe vagina during intercourse beforeejaculation. They rated sex lasting 3 to7 minutes as “adequate;” 7 to 13 min-utes as “desirable;” 1 to 2 minutes as“too short;” and 10-30 minutes as “toolong.” The results were consistentamong therapists and were not affectedby geographical location or personalsexual experience. You are a sexualOlympian if you can sustain sexualintercourse for 3-13 minutes. The mostimportant thing in the Sexual Olympicsis not winning, but taking part. (JournalSexual Medicine, in press; publishedonline April 2008)

Scientists BringSex To The Lab

Scientists exchanged new researchfindings on sex at the annual meeting ofthe Sexual Medicine Society of NorthAmerica. Here’s the latest:

• Low-fat diets and regular exerciseimprove the health of blood vessels inthe penis, which promotes erections.

• Exposure to secondhand smokeharms the cells lining the blood vesselsin the penis, which contributes to prob-lems having erections.

• Normal growth hormone levels areessential to blood flow control in thepenis. This might explain why growthhormone supplements in older adultsimprove sexual function.

• High blood cholesterol levelsimpair sexual performance by interfer-ing with signaling chemicals that con-trol blood flow in the penis.

• Low testosterone levels play a rolein 20 percent of men under 30 with

erection problems.

a six-month study.• Viagra (100 milligrams) helped men

get and maintain erections for at least 8hours.

• Dapoxetine prevented prematureejaculation with minimal side effects intwo separate studies.

• Erection problems were linked tosilent heart disease (no symptoms).(Journal Sexual Medicine, 5(Suppl I): 4-41, 2008)

Bad Sex Linked toHeart Disease

When you get old, the first thingsthat go are your knees: first your leftknee, then your right knee, then yourweenie. Most guys think that waningsex drive, erection problems, delayed orpremature ejaculation and lack of sexualenergy are natural consequences of oldage. More often, sexual problems arelinked to poor metabolic health, heartdisease, insulin resistance and dia-betes. An Australian study showed thaterectile dysfunction is a telltale sign ofheart disease. Cardiovascular risk fac-tors and disease were more common inmen who had difficulty getting andmaintaining erections, particularly inthose with severe problems. Bad sex isnot inevitable as you age— just as it’snot written in stone that you die prema-turely from heart attack, stroke, demen-tia or cancer. Many of the same factorscontributing to degenerative diseases—lack of exercise, smoking, bad diet, obe-sity and stress— play a part in poor sex-ual performance and health. See yourdoctor if you are having trouble gettingor maintaining erections— this could bea warning sign of serious health prob-lems. (Journal Sexual Medicine, in press;published online January 2008)

Italian ScientistFinds G-Spot

Ponce de Leon died tryingto find the Fountain of Youth,while Percival died trying tofind the Holy Grail. Likewise,

sends women into orgasmic ecstasy.German gynecologist Ernst Grafenbergfirst suggested the existence of the G-spot in 1944. Most anatomists, however,say that the G-spot is a myth and thereis no evidence that any part of the inte-rior of the vagina contains an increasedconcentration of nerve endings. Afteryears of study, Emmanuele Jannini fromthe University of L’Aquila was able tocry “Eureka!” (I found it). He developeda technique to identify enlarged parts ofthe vaginal wall using ultrasound. Hecautioned that not all women have G-spots, but that ultrasound offers a sim-ple, rapid and inexpensive way to deter-mine if a woman has the fabled tissue.Only women who had an enlargedfrontal wall of the vagina (i.e., women

• Viagra or Cialis (erection-promotingdrugs) did not impair eye health during

many men have tried and failed tolocate the fabled G-spot— a bundle ofsensory nerves inside the vagina that

SexSexRESEARCHRESEARCH




who had G-spots) were able to achievevaginal orgasms. This was a smallstudy involving only 20 women, so weneed more research before we can con-cur that the G-spot exists. In the mean-time, we urge bodybuilders to conducttheir own study on this interestingproblem. (Journal Sexual Medicine, inpress; published online March 4, 2008)

Viagra IncreasesEndurancePerformance atAltitude

Viagra (sildenafil) improves sexualperformance, but it also may boost thephysical capacity to have sex— at leastat altitude. Viagra improves cardiovas-cular capacity during exercise at alti-tude, but not at sea level. The drugboosts fitness at altitude by reducingblood pressure in the lungs. Viagraincreases cardiac output (blood pumpedby the heart per minute), stroke volume(blood pumped by the heart per heart-beat), oxygen saturation (percent of redblood cells carrying oxygen) andendurance exercise capacity. Not allsubjects benefit from the drug— therewere responders and nonresponders.An animal study showed that Viagrapromoted recovery from jetlag duringsimulated eastbound flights by 50 per-cent, but did not affect recovery fromwestbound flights. The drug works bypreventing destruction of an enzymethat regulates the body’s internal clock.Viagra improves endurance perform-ance in some people at altitude, whichhas important implications for our sol-diers in Afghanistan and active people,such as skiers, backpackers andclimbers. (Journal of ExercisePhysiology, (online) 10 (3): June 2007)

IGF-1 PromotesErections

Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) is ahighly anabolic hormone secreted main-ly by the liver. It is the active agent formany of the effects of growth hormoneand is also influenced by testosteronelevels. Physicians measure IGF-1 levelsto assess the effectiveness of growth

hormone supplement programs. Also,IGF-1 levels increase in response to sup-plemental testosterone in doses greaterthan 400mg (testosterone enanthate).Many older adults report improved sex-ual performance following growth hor-mone supplementation. Chineseresearchers, in a study on rats, showedthat increasing IGF-1 levels made it eas-ier to get erections. IGF-1 increasedblood pressure and enhanced smoothmuscle function in the penis and stimu-lated the production of nitric oxide thatpromotes blood flow and erections. Thisstudy helped explain why growth hor-mone and IGF-1 supplements improvesexual performance in aging men.(Journal Sexual Medicine, 5:1345-131354, 2008)

Viagra PlusYohimbine ProduceSuper Erections

Viagra, and second-generation erec-tion-promoting drugs such as Cialis andLevitra, helped many aging Romeos getback in the saddle. Unfortunately,Viagra doesn’t work for everyone.Fifteen to 25 percent of men get norelief from “Big Blue.” Viagra won’t trig-ger an erection unless you are turnedon. Egyptian researchers found thatcombining Viagra and yohimbineinduced firmer erections in rats thaneither substance by itself. The combina-tion decreased the time between sexand the number of ejaculations per ses-sion. The addition of yohimbine toViagra improved the capacity for erec-tions, but had no effect on the desire forsex. Yohimbine and Viagra might helpthe previously unhelpable and causesuper erections in everyone else. Thisstudy used rats, so the results mightnot apply to humans. (InternationalJournal of Impotence Research, 20:409-417, 2008)

Partners Take ThePepsi Challenge:Viagra Or Cialis?

Viagra takes about 1 hour to kick inand its effects last only about 4 to 5

hours. Cialis works faster and lastslonger (36 hours), but its effects are usu-ally not as dramatic as Viagra. Which isbetter? Most studies show that menwith erection problems preferred Cialisbecause they can be more spontaneousand have a longer window when theycan “get lucky.” What about women? Astudy from the University of Waikato inNew Zealand found that nearly 80 per-cent of women preferred Cialis toViagra. Couples were given one drug for12 weeks followed by the other drug foranother 12 weeks. Women liked thelonger acting drug because they feltmore relaxed, less pressured and morespontaneous. Women who preferredViagra said that the drug produced bet-ter erections and satisfaction for theirpartners. It looks like Cialis wins thePepsi challenge in men and women.(Journal Sexual Medicine, in press; print-ed online March 2008)

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SexSex


By Douglas S. Kalman, PhD, RD, FACN

FuturePharmacy

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Are you truly into bodybuilding?Meaning, do you enjoy andhave a passion for all aspects

of physique augmentation? Buildingone’s body is an art that includesscience; however, those who get thecompetition bug are the ones whouse means necessary to augmenttheir bodies for show. Now, this isdifferent than the athlete who maylift and engage in conditioning tech-niques to improve his or her gameand ability of the chosen sport.Often, the exercise has a crossovereffect for the athlete. In contrast, thebodybuilder trains for a visualappearance and not an objectivetest, such as sharpshooting. Youmay be well off thinking about whatmotivated you to start lifting andknow where you want to go or whatyou want to achieve out of it. Thegoal of this column is to help pro-vide you with information that mayor may not be useful to help youachieve those goals. Certainly, thismagazine does more to help andeducate those interested inweightlifting and bodybuildingabout the basics and more. Join uson the MD forums to follow the fun!

Is There A GrowthShortage?

Do you live in or near Brisbane,California? If you answered yes, youmay be near the next growth hor-mone hotspot in terms of drug pro-duction. Let me explain a little bit.

Tercica, Inc. is a biopharmaceuticalcompany based in Brisbane,California and their specialty isendocrinology. In fact, their firstout-of-the-gate product Increlex™(also known as mecasermin [rDNAorigin] injection) is being positionedfor the “market” of short stature ormore realistically, for use in thosewith primary IGF deficiency (whichis NOT well-defined). Tercica is a

company whose technology andknow-how was born out ofGenentech (IGF-1/IGFBP-3 commer-cialization rights). Additionally,Tercica just announced that theirdrug Increlex™ is now FDAapproved, so expect to see if on themarket.

Good news; the Food and DrugAdministration has approvedInsmed’s IPLEX— clinically known

as mecasermin rinfabate of rDNAorigin for use in the treatment ofIGF-1 deficiency. Mostly this is forchildren who have growth (height)issues; however, the FDA allowsphysicians to prescribe this type orclass of medicines for patientsdeemed to be deficient in IGF-1 (orgrowth hormone). Therefore, know-ing options available to you for test-ing and intervention is always agood thing. This drug (IPLEX) willbe exclusive to Insmed until about2012, so keep your eye on it.Further, Insmed also notes thatIPLEX (also now known asSomatoKine) delivered just oncedaily was effective for short stature,GH insufficiency, GH deficiency andGH insensitivity syndrome.

If you live or travel to Europe,Valtropin®, as made by BioPartnersHoldings AG, (based in Baar,Switzerland) is now considered bythe EU to be “biosimilar,” thus theuse of this growth hormone productappears to be now open for all tra-ditional uses. Look for this GH to beon the European market and notbeing picked up by an Americancompany.

So if the use of an IGF-1 productor direct branded “HGH” is of inter-est, the aforementioned productsand indications should be of help.Recall that often one can find theseproducts or similar ones for no costin exchange for participating in aclinical study.

Researchand Update

IPLEX will be exclusive toInsmed until about 2012,

so keep your eye onit. IPLEX (also now

known as SomatoKine)delivered just once dailywas effective for short

stature, GH insufficiency,GH deficiency and GH

insensitivity syndrome.



Future PharmacyLooking To Cut Fat?

Many of us spend a part of a yearlooking to lose weight, be slimmer,have less body fat or in other words,to look better naked. Did you knowthat many products that we use ineveryday life may be causative orrelated to weight and unwanted fatgain? Yes, it is true, from the estro-gens that leak out of plastic duringmicrowaving to the chemicals used inbug spray, all of these are nowemerging to have an effect on metab-olism of humans. Some of what youand I do in watching how and whatwe eat is to use or to include sugarreplacers in our diets, such productsas Splenda®, Equal®, Truvia® or others.Well, a new study shows that thismay be a problem.

The Journal of Toxicology andEnvironmental Health just publisheda study that determined a linkbetween Splenda® use (sucralose)and weight gain. The traditional stud-ies with sugar replacers use rats todetermine the effects on weight gainas compared to a normal diet for thegrowing animal. Now, this study wasconducted at Duke University andsponsored by the Sugar Association.

The study was conducted in sucha way to evaluate different daily doseintakes of Splenda®. The relevance toyou and I is that the U.S. governmenthas established an upper daily intakelimit for Splenda®; however, we donot know if a consistent intake at thatlevel (the highest recommended) istruly safe or not. The dose is 5mg perkg per day (5mg/kg/d). In otherwords, if you weighed 150 pounds(68kg), your maximal intake ofSplenda® should be (the active com-pound in Splenda®) no more than340mg per day. In reality, this is theamount in 34 or so packets ofSplenda®.

OK, back to the study…it wasfound that after 12 weeks of dailySplenda® usage that the rats experi-enced significant reductions in theamounts of and types of friendlybacteria in the gut (intestines, by 37to 67.5 percent). Weight gainappeared to be most with the ratswho were exposed to dailySplenda®. Thus, this study may pro-

vide early evidence that those peo-ple who use a lot of Splenda® maybe disrupting the healthy microflorain their gut and that the end result isnot the weight loss hoped for. This issomething to follow…

Opposite OfSugar?

Chromium is a mineral with a sto-ried past within the supplementindustry. From being promoted formuscle gains, fat loss, to mood healthand much more, there is a lot of mis-information out there. The facts tell usthat chromium in the picolinate formis the only chromium to be consis-tently shown to aid in the control ofblood sugar in those with Type II dia-betes. Furthermore, emergingresearch indicates benefits for moodcontrol in bipolar subjects and possi-bly for heart disease. Well, now a newstudy published in DiabetesTechnology & Therapeutics has foundthat daily dosage of 1,000mcg (1mg)of chromium picolinate taken daily isassociated with reduced food intakein women (by ~25 percent).

Researchers at the PenningtonBiomedical Research Center at LSUtested Chromax® in overweightwomen. The effects on food intake andbodyweight as well as other parame-ters were measured over an eight-week period. The results were novel inthat no study ever demonstrated astrong food reduction effect or trueweight-loss effect. More research isneeded, however it seems thatchromium may aid in reducingappetite, food intake and thus transferto aiding in weight control— all impor-tant if body building is your goal.

From an anti-obesity standpoint,especially within the pharmaceuticalindustry, not much is hot on thedevelopment scene that has notalready been covered here. However,it is important for us to recognize thatfat and weight loss is not so easy,hard enough in fact that Merck andPfizer have both announced that theyare discontinuing their obesity pro-grams. Merck is killing the develop-ment of taranabant and Pfizer hasannounced that they will concentrateon cancer rather than obesity or hearthealth. Thus, this also opens the mar-

ket for a hungry company.In fact, Gengera Corporation of

Pennsylvania demonstrated and pre-sented data on their “MSI-1436 (tro-dusquemine) weight-loss product at arecent Obesity Society meeting. Theyhave determined that the drug affectsleptin and insulin in such a way tonormalize blood sugar values andcause a dose-dependent weight loss(at least in diabetics). A new study isslated to start toward the end of 2008for this weight-loss drug.

Burn Fat!Recently a Mesa, Arizona-based

medical device-type company hasannounced successful completion oftesting of the first portable hand-helddevice to measure beta-oxidation (fatburning). The burning of fat is mea-sure by analyzing the gas intake ofoxygen and the gas output of carbondioxide. The ratio of O2 to CO2 tells usthe body’s preference for energyburning at the moment tested (i.e., ona scale of zero to 1, the closer to 1, thegreater the amount of carbohydratebeing burned for energy). Values lessthan 0.85 indicate more fat is beingburned for energy. So imagine if youare exercising having the opportunityto determine if you are truly burningfat. If you discover through use of theKemata device that you are not, youcan alter your exercise routine tomaximize the wanted effect. Prettynifty, no? The company that makesthis is Kemata LLC. �

References:BioPharm Insight: Tercica, Inc. Also,

see Tercica June 16, 2008 press release.Biospace Newswire. September 22,

2008 (Insmed).Biopartners Holdings AG. Business

Wire.NutraIngredients. September 25, 2008.NutraIngredients. September 25, 2008.

“Splenda may damage gut bacteria,boost weight gain: study.”

Diabetes Tech Thera 2008;10(5):405-412.

October 2, 2008 Merck Press Release(Amy Rose, media source); Pfizer,September 20, 2008 press release(Bloomberg News).

Obesity Society. October 6, 2008 FirstCall News report. Ganaera Corporationstudy results.

Business Wire. June 24, 2008. KemataFat Burn Monitor Achieves ClinicalSuccess.


fatattack By Dan Gwartney, MD


ust as scientists and the publicwere inaccurate in regarding alldietary fat as “fat,” so, too have

they been in regarding the differentforms of body fat as “fat.” When scien-tists, dietitians and clinicians lookedpast their entrenched bias, they dis-covered that some forms of dietary fatare more readily burned versus beingstored, specific fatty acids act as hor-mone precursors and still others offerhealth benefits that remain to be fullyunderstood.

1,2

In the recent score of years (a scoreis 20, as used in the famous openingof Abraham Lincoln’s GettysburgAddress, “Four score and seven yearsago…”), scientists have discoveredthat various depots (anatomical loca-tions) of fat have different functions;also, they have different effects on aperson’s metabolism and health. Thelayperson (everyday people; non-sci-entists) generally focuses on subcuta-neous fat, the fat depot that lies justunder the skin and can be grabbed bythe “Special K pinch.” Subcutaneousfat is actually composed of two layers,deep and superficial.

3Superficial sub-

cutaneous fat (the fat that is just belowthe skin) is typical of what people andscientists long considered fat to be; astorage “warehouse” for fat to beused as energy if food availability islimited. People who eat too much addto the superficial layer of fat quickly,while those who are calorie deficientlose from this fat compartment. Thisexplains the quick change in appear-ance with weight loss over bonyareas. Lean people, or those who have

recently lost a considerable amount ofweight, show the ridges of bone ormuscle definition in athletes due to arapid loss of superficial fat. However,superficial fat also serves a cosmeticfunction, as it smoothes the contours,particularly in the traditional femininebody. Plastic surgeons are careful notto intrude severely into the superficiallayer as it leads to ripples, trenchesand noticeable defects. If there is along-term imbalance in diet and activi-ty leading to fat gain, fat also depositsin other fat depots, including the deepsubcutaneous fat layer. The deep sub-cutaneous fat layer is not just a “ware-house” that shuttles calories (as fat, ormore correctly fatty acids) into and out

of the bloodstream. Deep fat appearsto serve several functions. Deep andsuperficial fat provide a protectivebuffer against changes in the environ-ment, easing the impact of minor colli-sions against doorframes and counter-tops. Deep fat is also vital in maintain-ing body temperature, acting as aninsulating “blanket” against heat lossand warming/cooling blood thatreturns from the skin’s surface thatmay be significantly colder/hotter thanthe internal body temperature.However, deep subcutaneous fat alsobehaves like an organ, releasing hor-

mone-like molecules called lipokinesthat affect the level of whole-bodyinflammation, insulin resistance, etc.The relationship between deep subcu-taneous fat and insulin resistance (andother disorders) is significant in men,less so in women.

4

Within the abdomen, there isanother, often ignored, fat depot calledvisceral fat. Visceral fat has been therecent focus of medical research, as ithas been shown to be a particularlystrong predictor of type 2 diabetes,insulin resistance, cardiovascular dis-ease, Metabolic Syndrome and otherhealth problems.

5As previously

described in deep subcutaneous fat,visceral fat releases potent lipokines

that directly affect the liver, as well asinfluencing whole-body inflammation.

These fat depots play a consider-able role in regulating energy balance,weight maintenance and health.Clinicians and researchers are fever-ishly trying to uncover drug treat-ments that target these separatedepots and positively influence healthand weight status. Given the plight ofAmerica due to the obesity/overweightepidemic and society’s obsession withimage, the terms visceral and subcuta-neous fat have become householdwords.

Visceral fat has been the recent focus of medical research,as it has been shown to be a particularly strong predictorof type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, cardiovascular dis-

ease, Metabolic Syndrome and other health problems.

Brown Fat May BeThe Key To Fat Loss



fatattackYet, there is another fat that has not

been mentioned (yet) on the eveningnews or “pimped” on late-nightinfomercials. This fat is wildly differentfrom the other fat types mentioned,and for good reason. This bizarrelymysterious fat is called “brown fat.”

The term “brown fat” differentiatesthis form from the more familiar“white fat” that comprises subcuta-neous and visceral fat. Brown fat waslong considered to be a non-issue inhuman physiology, as it is only pres-ent in significant amounts in new-borns.

6Brown fat holds more rele-

vance in the animal world, as it is avital, life-sustaining tissue in hibernat-ing mammals. The term mammal is acategorical designation describing lifeforms that share several characteris-tics, including: body hair, live birth,milk-producing glands to feed youngand maintaining a constant body tem-perature. A mammal’s body tempera-ture is primarily generated through theaction of muscle, which is typically themost active tissue in the body. Whenthe environment cools considerably,mammals will increase muscle con-traction, either voluntarily or by shiver-ing.

7Muscle contraction is fairly ineffi-

cient metabolically, with approximate-ly half (50 percent) of energy lost as

heat, rather than being used asmechanical energy (i.e., contractingthe muscle; lifting a weight).

8

Maintaining, or raising, body tempera-ture is a demanding task. This is one ofthe reasons people lose weight duringa febrile (feverish) illness. The constantshivering necessary to raise the bodytemperature (fever) increases metabol-ic demand, and thus calorie burning,considerably.

Nature provides several examplesof conditions in which a mammal mayneed to generate heat when the mus-cles are not active. The most relevantis the state of hibernation. Hibernatinganimals, such as bats and several

types of rodents, enter a type of “deepsleep” that lasts for months. Bears arenot considered “true hibernators” asthey maintain a near-normal bodytemperature and are quick to arouse,much to the chagrin of researcherswho were sneaking up on the sleepinggrizzlies. In an immobile, comatose-like state, there is very little muscleactivity and body temperature drops;in some cases to near-freezing.However, the animals, particularlybears, who only experience a drop of12ºF or so, do keep body temperatureabove the frigid ambient conditionsthrough the actions of a specializedtissue called “brown fat.”

Brown fat looks like fat in that it is atissue filled with globules of stored fatin the fed state, but the resemblanceends there. As the name suggests,brown fat is darker due to a highdegree of vascularity (blood vessels)and being packed with mitochondria.Mitochondria are the organelles (spe-cialized parts) of the cell that generatemost of the energy (ATP) for cell func-tion. However, brown fat is pro-grammed to direct its mitochondria togenerate heat rather than produce ATP,through a process called“uncoupling.”

9Uncoupling is a process

that is similar to holding the clutchdown in a manual trans-mission car. When theclutch is pressed (disen-gaged), the transmission is“uncoupled” from theengine, and the power isnot transferred to thewheels. Hence, when the

clutch is pressed, the engine turns anddoes not create movement. If theengine runs, the energy produced islost as heat. If the gas pedal ispressed, the engine turns faster but nomovement occurs as long as theclutch is disengaged; instead the rateof energy (gasoline) consumed isincreased and additional heat is lost.

The mitochondria in brown fat arelike engines with the clutch disen-gaged. Normally, the body tempera-ture is maintained through activity andthe brown fat is metabolically quiet.However, during hibernation, brownfat plays a much greater role in main-taining body temperature, so the mito-

chondria become more active, muchlike an engine running at a high rpmwith the clutch disengaged. They burnmore energy (not gas but calories),which is lost as heat. This heat is trans-ferred to the rest of the body throughthe bloodstream (remember, brownfat is highly vascular).

This review in mammalian physiol-ogy would seem to be of little value inhumans, as there is very little brownfat in adults, the primary audience suf-fering from dysfunctional weight man-agement. This is not to say that thereis not any, it is just very limited. Inadults, what brown fat exists lies infairly small and specific areas, includ-ing: cervical, supraclavicular, paraver-tebral, mediastinal, para-aortic andsuprarenal regions. These regions liealong the path of major blood vessels,which is logical as the adult-remnantof brown fat likely exists to maintaincore body temperature in the event ofprolonged immobility or cold environ-mental exposure. As healthy adultsare capable of generating a consider-able amount of muscular activity,there is little need for an energy-demanding tissue whose primary(maybe only?) purpose is to generateheat; particularly in the age of climate-controlled housing.

Surprising OriginsOf Brown Fat

Recently, the origin and lineage ofbrown fat was determined, deliveringsurprising revelations to the scientificcommunity. When first described in1551 by the Swiss naturalist KonradGessner, brown fat was referred to asbeing “neither fat nor flesh,” meaning itdid not appear to be fat or muscle.

10

Under the microscope, brown fat con-tains globules of fat, but is also dense-ly packed with mitochondria. It doesnot contract and does not appear tosecrete any identifiable hormone(s). Itwas reasonable to pigeon-hole brownfat as a type of adipose (fat cell), as itdid not appear to have a function inhumans.

However, with the advances ingene mapping, cell biology and mark-ers of differentiation (cells maturingfrom stem cells to fully functionalcells), it became possible to trace

This fat is wildly different from the other fat types mentioned, and for good reason. This bizarrely mysteriousfat is called “brown fat.”



brown fat back to its early precursors.The discovery was shocking. Dr.Patrick Seale of Harvard MedicalSchool and a team of colleaguesreported in the journal Nature thatbrown fat is derived from a precursorcell in the skeletal muscle line.

11In

other words, brown fat is a close rela-tive to muscle, and only distantly relat-ed to white fat.

The specifics of this study trulyare amazing. Unfortunately, to fullyappreciate the methods used and theresults that lead to this newsworthyconclusion requires a familiarity withcell differentiation markers. However,a brief description, relying upon thepopularity of the television series“CSI,” should offer some idea of whyresearchers are excited.

Every human begins from a singlecell, a sperm-fertilized ovum (eggcell) that combines traits from thebiologic father and mother. As thefetus grows, the cells begin to “spe-cialize” into specific tissue in order toform the “parts” that make a human.Cells become different in order tobecome blood cells, liver tissue,brain matter, muscle, heart, kidneys,etc. Even in adults, a “pool” of early,undifferentiated cells remains toreplace cells lost to age or injury.

These early cells are the cave menin the evolution of cells. The earliestforms are called stem cells, and rep-resent embryo-like cells that canbecome a number of different typesof cells. As the stem cells evolve, theybecome more developed and committo becoming one specific type of cell.At an early point, white fat cells andskeletal muscle share a common pre-cursor cell. In the presence of andro-gens and other factors, these com-mon precursor cells commit tobecoming either white fat or muscle.

12

Think of this common precursor as acellular “missing link.” In muscle, this“missing link” cellular cave manevolves (differentiates) into aNeanderthal-like myoblast (earlymuscle cell) that then evolves into themature muscle cell (modern man).

What Seale and his colleagues dis-covered was that brown fat expressedproteins that were found only in themuscle cell line, not the white fat line.

11

It was the cellular equivalent to realiz-ing that gorillas were showing up toThanksgiving dinner because theywere no longer distant cousins tomankind, but first cousins to us all.Tracing brown fat backward, Sealeshowed the point where brown fatand muscle diverge. Certain signalsthat determine whether this commonbrown fat-skeletal muscle precursorcommits to brown fat or muscle werealso defined.

11,13

Aside from the academic interestthese findings inspired, the therapeuticpromise of increasing brown fat levelsin humans has not gone unnoticed.Remember, adult humans have littlebrown fat, as heat-generating needsare met by skeletal muscle, the “firstcousin” to brown fat. All a personneeds to do to generate heat (andwaste calories) is move around, exer-cise or even shiver.

Unfortunately, being able to beactive does not mean people neces-sarily are, particularly if their occupa-tion is not labor-based. In the pursuitof effortless solutions to the Americanobesity crisis, researchers are lookingat brown fat as a possible target forweight management.

On the face of things, this seemsreasonable. After all, if a signal couldbe generated by a pill that wouldinduce a 10 percent to 20 percentincrease in daily energy expenditure,it could be the metabolic equivalentof “exercise in a pill.” Yet, there areproblems with this approach. First,there is little brown fat in adults, theprimary population suffering fromoverweight and obesity-related con-sequences. So directly stimulatingbrown fat as it exists is fairly futiledue to the limited effect.

6The

“promise” of brown fat lies inincreasing the total amount of brownfat to a significant amount of the totalbody mass and then stimulating it toincrease daily energy expenditure(the number of calories burned dur-ing the day). However, there are threeserious drawbacks to this proposalthat have not been fully considered.

The Skinny OnBrown Fat

Brown fat arises from the same

precursors as skeletal muscle. In orderto increase brown fat, the signals forcellular differentiation have to beswitched from pro-muscle to pro-brown fat. By favoring the commit-ment to brown fat, the precursor poolfor skeletal muscle is depleted and thebody is impaired relative to respond-ing to exercise or muscle injury. In asociety where frailty and inactivityhave contributed to the obesity prob-lem, this is a drawback that needs tobe strongly considered. There arepotential ways of doing this, prompt-ing the precursor cells to becomebrown fat, including an identified tran-scriptional regulator called PRDM16,as well as PPAR-gamma activators,olive oil and garlic.

14-16

The “waste” product for brown fatwhen it is burning calories is heat. Thebody can only tolerate a limited rangeof body temperature before catabo-lism, fatigue and tissue damageoccurs. In extreme cases, the brain can“cook” and a person can die fromhyperthermia (excessively high bodytemperature). People, particularlyinfants, can suffer from high feversreaching over 105ºF. If this temperaturepersists, brain damage and death canoccur in hours to days. Even a persist-ent lesser fever can cause problemswith cognition (thinking) and organfunction, including dehydration frompronounced sweating. Certain peopleare particularly sensitive to certainanaesthetics and enter into a stateknown as malignant hyperthermiawhen being put under for surgery.

17

This is a medical emergency and istreated very aggressively when it hap-pens. The uncoupling drug DNP (2,4dinitrophenol), used by many weighttrainers to reduce body fat, has beenimplicated in at least two deaths.

18

Even if brown fat could be“metered” to produce only a setamount of heat, it is stimulated bybeta-adrenergic stimulants— drugslike adrenalin. This class of drug wasused for decades, as skeletal musclesrespond to the same drugs by increas-ing heat production and cellular activi-ty, the so-called “thermogenic” weightloss drugs and supplements. Unlessbeta-adrenergic drugs specific tobrown fat are developed, the potential

fatattack



fatattackfor adverse cardiovascular effects ormood disturbances are just as rele-vant as they were with ephedrine-products and clenbuterol.

19

It is amazing that brown fat actsmuch like muscle, despite being a cellthat stores fat (temporarily). It makessense in terms of evolution/develo-pment and survival that a heat-pro-ducing tissue would be needed duringperiods of prolonged immobility orhibernation. When one thinks aboutthe shared functions of skeletal mus-cle and brown fat in regards to main-taining a steady temperature, the reve-lation that they are closely related tis-sues becomes logically apparent. Forcenturies, brown fat was considered afat, proving once again appearancescan be deceiving.

One possible use for brown fatgeneration/stimulation therapy couldbe in treating comatose patients orthose who have suffered a stroke withresulting paralysis. Yet, for the athlete,even the healthy non-athlete, manipu-lating brown fat and the shared brownfat/muscle precursors to boost calorieburning and reduce body fat mayhave unintended negative conse-quences. For now, chalk this discoveryto the (very) interesting, but likely oflittle practical value for active adultscategory. In fact, the same benefitcould likely be achieved by reclining ina cool bath until the water gets coldenough to induce shivering.

20I used

the technique to drop body fat inpreparation for competition but thepractice holds risk for those with heartconditions, so it should not beattempted without checking with one’spersonal physician. �

References:1. Leaf A. Historical overview of n-3 fatty

acids and coronary heart disease. Am J ClinNutr, 2008 Jun;87(6):1978S-80S.

2. Kien CL, Bunn JY, et al. Increasingdietary palmitic acid decreases fat oxidationand daily energy expenditure. Am J ClinNutr, 2005 Aug;82(2):320-6.

3. Walker GE, Verti B, et al. Deep subcu-taneous adipose tissue: a distinct abdomi-nal adipose depot. Obesity, (Silver Spring)2007 Aug;15(8):1933-43.

4. Miyazaki Y, Glass L, et al. Abdominalfat distribution and peripheral and hepaticinsulin resistance in type 2 diabetes melli-tus. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, 2002

Dec;283(6):E1135-43.5. Fox CS, Massaro JM, et al.

Circulation, 2007 Jul 3;116(1):39-48.6. Asakura H. Fetal and neonatal ther-

moregulation. J Nippon Med Sch, 2004Dec;71(6):360-70.

7. Rintamaki H. Human responses tocold. Alaska Med, 2007;49(2 Suppl):29-31.

8. Henchoz Y, Malatesta D, et al. Effectsof the transition time between muscle-ten-don stretch and shortening on mechanicalefficiency. Eur J Appl Physiol, 2006Apr;96(6):665-71.

9. Watanabe M, Yamamoto T, et al. Cold-induced changes in gene expression inbrown adipose tissue: implications for theactivation of thermogenesis. Biol PharmBull, 2008 May;31(5):775-84.

10. Cannon B, Nedergaard J. Neither fatnor flesh. Nature, 2008 Aug 21;454:947-8.

11. Seale P, Bjork B, et al. PRDM16 con-trols a brown fat/skeletal muscle switch.Nature, 2008 Aug 21;454(7207):961-7.

12. Singh R, Artaza JN, et al. Androgensstimulate myogenic differentiation andinhibit adipogenesis in C3H 10T1/2 pluripo-tent cells through an androgen receptor-mediated pathway. Endocrinology, 2003Nov;144(11):5081-8.

13. Seale P, Kajimura S, et al.Transcriptional control of brown fat deter-mination by PRDM16. Cell Metab, 2007Jul;6(1):38-54.

14. Centers for Disease Control andPrevention. Heat-related deaths—UnitedStates, 1999-2003. MMWR Morb MortalWkly Rep 2006 Jul 28;55(29):796-8.

15. Oi-Kano Y, Kawada T, et al. Extra vir-gin olive oil increases uncoupling protein 1content in brown adipose tissue andenhances noradrenaline and adrenalinesecretion in rats. J Nutr Biochem, 2007Oct;18(10):685-92.

16. Oi Y, Kawada T, et al. Allyl-containingsulfides in garlic increase uncoupling pro-tein content in brown adipose tissue andnoradrenaline and adrenaline secretion inrats. J Nutr, 1999 Feb;129(2):336-42.

17. Rosenberg H, Davis M, et al.Malignant hyperthermia. Orphanet J RareDis, 2007 Apr 24;2:21.

18. Miranda EJ, McIntyre IM, et al.Two deaths attributed to the use of 2,4-dinitrophenol. J Anal Toxicol, 2006Apr;30(3):219-22.

19. Chan TY. Food-borne clenbuterolmay have potential for cardiovasculareffects with chronic exposure (commen-tary). J Toxicol Clin Toxicol, 2001;39(4):345-8.

20. Pretorius T, Cahill F, et al. Shiveringheat production and core cooling duringhead-in and head-out immersion in 17degrees C water. Aviat Space Environ Med,2008 May;79(5):495-9.

172 MDwww.fantamag.comwww.fantamag.com

nutritionperformance

By Robbie Durand, MA

Research UpdateLeucine-Enriched EssentialAmino Acid Drink AfterExercise Increases MuscleGrowth Genes

If you are looking to pack on some muscle size, you maywant to consider adding an essential amino acid drinkenriched with leucine after exercise. Researchers examinedthe anabolic effects of a leucine-enriched essential aminoacid drink in young and old men after a bout of resistanceexercise. Researchers took muscle biopsies to examine theexpression anabolic and catabolic proteins.They found thateven though the older and younger men performed thesame workout (70 percent of 1 RM, 8 sets of 10 repetitions),young and older men had different genes being turned onafter exercise.They found:

1. A protein called REDD2 (catabolic),which is a negative regulator ofmTOR (a key anabolic pathway), wasreduced in both younger and oldermen when they drank the leucine-enriched essential acid drink.This meansleucine turns off catabolic genes. Goodnews for everyone!

2. A protein called Rheb (anabolic),which is a positive regulator ofmTOR, was only increased in theyoung men who consumed theleucine-enriched essential aciddrink. This means younger men havegreater anabolic genes being turned onafter exercise, compared to older men.

3. They also found IGF-1 levelsincreased only in the young, while the older men had nochanges and also blunted satellite cell activity. Older menhave a blunted muscle hypertrophy response to exercise; adecrease in IGF-1 seems to be a key cause.

The results of the study suggest that an essential aminoacid drink enriched with leucine, which was designed tomaximally stimulate protein synthesis, can benefit botholder and younger men after resistance exercise, but oldermen lose key anabolic-signaling pathways compared toyounger men.

Drummond MJ, Miyazaki M, Dreyer HC, Pennings B, Dhanani S,Volpi E, Esser KA, Rasmussen BB. Expression of growth-relatedgenes in young and old human skeletal muscle following an acutestimulation of protein synthesis. J Appl Physiol, 2008.

American’s Jacked Up OnEnergy Drinks!

The USA has won more gold medals...Americans con-sume more energy drinks than any other country.Energy drinks vary widely in both caffeine content (rangingfrom 50 to 505mg per can or bottle). The caffeine content ofa 6-ounce cup of brewed coffee varies from 77 to 150mg.The review article explained the FDA approved caffeine andlimited the maximum caffeine content of cola-type softdrinks to 71mg/12 fluid oz or 0.02 percent caffeine (Food and

Drug Administration, 2003). At least 130energy drinks now exceed 0.02 percentcaffeine recommendations, includingone that contains 505mg in a 24-oz can(the equivalent of 14 cans of a typicalcola or several cups of coffee). The arti-cle also reviews the not-so-bright peoplewho have experienced adverse healthproblems from energy drink overdose.For example, the “dumb-ass” of the yearaward goes to a 28-year-old motocrossathlete who nearly died when his heartstopped during a competition. He hadconsumed eight cans of Red Bullover a 5-hour period.

The review article also documentedthe growing problem of consumingenergy drinks and alcohol. As reportedin a pervious study, ingestion of a Red

Bull with vodka reduced participant’s perception of impair-ment of motor coordination in comparison to vodka alone.Basically, people think that they were not drunk when con-suming Red Bull and alcohol, but they really were.Thismeans people drinking Red Bull with alcohol will leave thebar and get behind the wheel thinking they are fine whenthey are really drunk! Energy drinks are great preworkout orwhen mental vigilance is needed, but they should not beconsumed with alcohol or taken in excess.

Reissig CJ, Strain EC, Griffiths RR. Caffeinated energy drinks-Agrowing problem. Drug Alcohol Depend, 2008 Sep 20.


For example,the “dumb-ass”

of the yearaward goes to a

28-year-oldmotocross ath-lete who nearlydied when hisheart stoppedduring a com-

petition.



nutrition performanceEPA ReducesMuscle TissueBreakdown

Fish oil is recommended for ahealthy diet because it contains theomega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoicacid (EPA) and docosahexaenoicacid (DHA), precursors toeicosanoids that reduce inflamma-tion throughout the body. In additionto reducing the risk of cardiovasculardisease, recent studies suggest thatEPA can have anti-catabolicactions on muscle.To date, EPAhas been shown to reduce proteinbreakdown in cancer patients andduring disease conditions, which ledto hyper-metabolic disease that led toexcess body heat, and during starva-tion. Researchers from AstronUniversity in the United Kingdomreported EPA blunted protein break-down, which causes sepsis (a cata-bolic condition) in rats. They foundthat EPA completely blocked theactions of a catabolic genecalled ubiquitin-protease path-way. Fish oils may be a good supple-ment to include while dietingbecause of its potent anti-catabolicactions.

Khal J, Tisdale MJ. Downregulation ofmuscle protein degradation in sepsis byeicosapentaenoic acid (EPA. BiochemBiophys Res Commun, 2008 Oct17;375(2):238-40.

Spearmint ExtractReducesTestosterone

Spearmint tea is a mint tea typethat is advocated for digestive healthbenefits and relaxation. Spearminttea was recently found to reduceexcess hair growth in women, butscientists really had no idea how.Stay away from spearmint tea; it’sworse than you can imagine!Spearmint is anti-androgenic,meaning it decreases testos-terone. Researchers from Indiareported that long-term use of aspearmint extract caused a decreasein LH, with reductions in testosteronelevels in rats. Scientists found thatlong-term use of spearmint extractcaused reduced availability of choles-terol to steroidogenic cells, leadingto a downregulation of testosterone

synthesis. Skip spearmint tea unlessyou are looking to look good in a pairof high heels!

Kumar V, Kural MR, Pereira BM, Roy P.Spearmint induced hypothalamic oxida-tive stress and testicular anti-androgenici-ty in male rats— altered levels of geneexpression, enzymes and hormones. FoodChem Toxicol, 2008.

Whey ProteinHydrolysateEnhancesRecovery

Whey protein has been shown tobe anabolic and increase musclestrength and muscle mass, but whatabout muscle recovery? Researchersfrom the Centre for Metabolic Fitnessand Nutritional Physiology ResearchCentre in Australia put whey proteinto the ultimate test of muscle dam-age…eccentric exercise!They hadmale participants perform 100 maxi-mal eccentric contractions with legextension and were either given aflavored water, 25g whey protein iso-late, or 25g hydrolyzed whey (orwhey protein hydrolysate).Hydrolyzed whey is usually a wheyprotein isolate that have had some ofits amino acid peptide bonds brokenenzymatically into shorter chains ofamino acids. This leads to betterabsorption in the stomach.Interestingly, peak muscle forcedecreased approximately 23 per-cent following eccentric exerciseand remained suppressed in thecontrol and whey protein isolategroup, but recovered fully in thewhey protein hydrolysate groupby 6 hours. Muscle sorenessincreased in all groups, with no dif-ference between any if the groups.The research suggests that whey pro-tein hydrolysates, but not isolate,increases muscle recovery from dam-aging eccentric exercise. Whey pro-tein hydrolysates seem to be a supe-rior source of whey proteincompared to isolates. �

Buckley JD, Thomson RL, Coates AM,Howe PR, Denichilo MO, Rowney MK.Supplementation with a whey proteinhydrolysate enhances recovery of muscleforce-generating capacity following eccen-tric exercise. J Sci Med Sport, 2008

178 MD


SupplementPerformance

By Jose Antonio, PhD


Maslinic AcidMaslinic acid (which goes by the chemical name

tongue-twister of 2-alpha, 3-beta-dihydroxiolean-12-en-28-oic acid) is what is called a triterpenoid compound, pre-sent in fruit and leaves of Olea europaea. Cholesterol isone example of a triterpene. Phytosterols and phytoecdys-teroids are also triterpenes. Now I know that animal stud-ies don’t always translate into human studies, but at thesame time, this is often where we find new cool ingredi-ents. In this study, scientists investigated the effects ofmaslinic acid on growth, protein-turnover rates and nucle-ic acid concentration in trout white muscle.Yep, that’strout. As in fish. But the results are rather intriguing. Fivegroups of 180 trout of a mean body mass of 20 gramswere fed for 225 days with diets containing zero, 1, 5, 25and 250mg of maslinic acid per kg of diet. At the end ofthe experiment, white-muscle weight (which is their fast-twitch muscle) and protein-accumulation rate of trout fedwith maslinic acid were higher than in the control group.The total content of DNA, RNA and protein in trout fedwith 25 and 250mg of maslinic acid per kg bodyweightwas significantly higher than in the control. The pro-tein:DNA ratio was also slightly higher than control.

It gets even better! In the same groups of trout, pro-tein synthesis rates increased to more than 80 percentover the control values, while no differences were foundin protein-degradation rate. Thus, maslinic acid can act asa growth factor when added to a standard trout diet.What if we added it to a human diet? Maslinic acid hasother very intriguing properties as well. For instance,treatment with maslinic acid results in a significant inhi-bition of cell proliferation and causes apoptotic death in

colon cancer cells. And to top it off, another studyshowed that maslinic acid might modulate glucosemetabolism partially through reducing insulin resistance.So to summarize, maslinic acid may help promote skele-tal muscle hypertrophy, improve glucose metabolismand for you health nuts, fight cancer cells in the colon.Not a bad trifecta!

SemicarbazideIn organic chemistry, semicarbazide is a derivative

of urea, where NH2 on one side has been replaced withH2NNH2 hydrazine, yielding H2NNHC(=O)NH2.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semicarbazide) Researchhas shown that inhibition of semicarbazide-sensitiveamine oxidases (SSAO) and monoamine oxidases(MAO) reduces fat deposition in obese rodents: chronicadministration of the SSAO-inhibitor semicarbazide (S)in combination with pargyline (MAO-inhibitor) has alsobeen shown to reduce bodyweight gain in obese rats.So what happens in non-obese, non-diabetic rats?Prolonged treatment of non-obese rats with a high doseof S (900 micromol per kg bodyweight per day) reducedbodyweight gain and limited white adipose tissueenlargement. When chronically administered at a three-fold lower dose, S also inhibited SSAO activity, but notfat depot enlargement, suggesting that effects otherthan SSAO inhibition were involved in adipose tissuegrowth retardation.

OctopamineDid you know that in mammals and humans, nora-

drenaline is a key modulator of aggression? And thatoctopamine, a closely related biogenic amine, has beenproposed to have a similar function in flies? Octopamine,of course, has also been proposed as a substitutionproduct of synephrine vis-a-vis weight loss. Octopamineis able to activate in-vitro (that’s test tube) fat breakdownor lipolysis in rat fat cells via beta-3-adrenergic receptoractivation, while it activates glucose uptake in human fatcells via its oxidation by amine oxidases. Octopamine

When You Need MoreThan Just Creatine

In the same groups of trout, protein synthe-sis rates increased to more than 80 percentover the control values, while no differences

were found in protein-degradation rate.



supplementperformancetreatment was found to produce a 19 percent decrease inbodyweight gain, when compared to the 177 gramsgained by controls (rat study). The decrease in body-weight gain was not due to a pronounced and sustain-able anorectic (appetite lowering) effect of octopamine;also, elevated plasma insulin of obese rats was loweredby octopamine. It would be interesting to see if a caf-feine-octopamine stack would work better than the tradi-tional caffeine:synephrine combo.

GlabridinStay tuned for a new category of weight-loss supple-

ments based on the presence of glabridin. Kaneka, aJapanese firm, has a patent on this new ingredient.Thedata on this to say the least, is very interesting. In oneinvestigation, scientists applied licorice flavonoid oil(LFO) to high-fat diet-induced obese mice and investigat-ed its effect. LFO contains hydrophobic flavonoidsobtained from licorice. Wow, sounds complicated. Well,get this.The oil is a mixture of medium-chain triglyc-erides, having glabridin, a major flavonoid of licorice.Obese mice were fed on a high-fat diet containing LFO atzero (control), 0.5 percent, 1.0 percent, or 2.0 percent foreight weeks. Compared with mice in the control group,those in the 1 percent and 2 percent LFO groups effi-ciently reduced the weight of abdominal white adiposetissues and bodyweight gain. Their fat cells shrunk andthey found that in the liver, genes for beta-oxidation (fatburning) went up and those for fatty acid synthesis wentdown. Now that’s a good trend, my friend.These findingsproved that LFO prevented and reduced diet-inducedobesity.

This flavonoid has other amazing effects. For instance,glabridin, isolated from the roots of Glycyrrhiza glabra,was tested for its effect on cognitive function. Indeed,glabridin appears to help with memory improvement.So, a fat-loss potentiator and something to help you findyour car keys. A good duo, indeed!

N-butyldeoxynojirimycinHigh doses of N-butyldeoxynojirimycin (NB-DNJ) in

healthy, lean and leptin-deficient obese (ob/ob) mice canpromote weight loss, according to recent studies. Theeffect of NB-DNJ treatment on subcutaneous adipose tis-sue (i.e., fat under the skin) and on epididymal fat padswas measured. Lean mice treated with NB-DNJ admixedwith their diet lost weight in the form of adipose tissue.This resulted in a 40 percent reduction in skin thicknessand a reduction in epididymal fat pad weights after fiveweeks of treatment. Following the depletion of adiposetissue mass, the mice grew normally and did not haveany reduction in lean mass. Cool. Lose fat and keep yourmuscle! Sounds like caffeine-ephedra! Obese mice treat-ed with NB-DNJ also lost weight or gained weight at agreatly reduced rate compared with nontreated controls.The cause of this weight loss? Apparently, NB-DNJ caus-es weight loss as a result of reduced food consumption

due to central appetite suppression.That is, your braintells you that enough is enough and to stop eating thoseFrench fries.

Protein Still Rules!I still hear the nonsense from clinicians that all calo-

ries are the same and it only matters how many caloriesyou eat during the day. To that I say, “You’re an idiot.”Read the literature. Protein, carbs and fats are not treatedthe same by your body. Try overeating doughnuts andovereating on skinless chicken. If you were to overeat by500 calories daily, are you going to tell me that you’dgain the same amount and kind of weight eating dough-nuts as chicken?You are a moron. Anyhow, this investi-gation assessed changes in resting energy expenditureand substrate oxidation in overweight and obese womenin response to a weight-loss intervention that combineda high-protein, reduced-calorie diet with increased physi-cal activity. Sounds like some fitness competitors post-competition who go high on the hog and then end upsaying, “Soooey!” OK, that was mean.

In this study, 39 overweight and obese women (meanage 30.9 years) participated in a 10-week weight-loss pro-gram in which they ate a reduced-calorie diet for whichprotein provided 30 percent of total energy and approxi-mated 1.4 g/kg.That’s not that high, but it’s a helluva lothigher than the stinkin’ RDA. Subjects incrementallyincreased physical activity (i.e., steps walking) through-out the diet intervention period. They discovered that theweight-loss intervention combining consumption of ahigh-protein, reduced-calorie diet with increased physicalactivity promotes weight loss without negatively impact-ing resting energy expenditure (REE) in this populationof women.That is an amazing finding. Part of the prob-lem with any diet is the drop in REE. Kick up the proteinintake and lift weights is what I’d suggest.

Creatine-CarnosineConnection

Given its versatile biologic properties, such as anti-oxidative, anti-glycation and pH-buffering capacity,carnosine has been implicated as a protective factor inthe aging process. Can you say, beta-alanine?! In thisstudy, scientists looked at the age-related changes inskeletal muscles as well as the effect of lifelong creatinesupplementation on mice. At 25 (young mice), but not at60 weeks (old mice), oral creatine supplementation sig-nificantly increased carnosine (+88 percent) and anserine(+40 percent) content compared to age-matched control-fed animals. Intriguing indeed. However, taurine andtotal creatine content was not affected by creatine sup-plementation at any age. Creatine-treated mice showedless muscle fatigue (soleus muscle) and enhanced forcerecovery (m. extensor digitorum longus [EDL]) comparedto controls at 25 weeks, but not at 60 weeks. So, it lookslike creatine supplementation is able to transiently, butpotently increase muscle carnosine and anserine content,



supplement performance

which coincides with improved resis-tance to contractile fatigue. But asyou get older, you may need morethan just creatine.

AllicinWhat are the effects of allicin sup-

plementation on exercise-inducedmuscle damage (EIMD) in well-trained athletes? Subjects were ran-domly assigned to an allicin supple-mentation group (AS group) and acontrol group and received eitherallicin or placebo for 14 days beforeand two days after a downhill tread-mill run. The results suggested thatallicin might be a potential agent toreduce EIMD. If you’re wonderingwhere you’d likely get allicin…that’sright, from garlic. �

Jose Antonio, PhD, is vice presi-dent of the National Strength andConditioning Association. He has aPhD in muscle physiology and ischief executive of the InternationalSociety of Sports Nutrition.

References:Fernandez-Navarro M, Peragon J,

Amores V, De La Higuera M, Lupianez JA.Maslinic acid added to the diet increasesgrowth and protein-turnover rates in thewhite muscle of rainbow trout(Oncorhynchus mykiss). Comp BiochemPhysiol C Toxicol Pharmacol, Mar2008;147(2):158-167.

Reyes-Zurita FJ, Rufino-Palomares EE,Lupianez JA, Cascante M. Maslinic acid, anatural triterpene from Olea europaea L.,induces apoptosis in HT29 human colon-cancer cells via the mitochondrial apoptot-ic pathway. Cancer Lett, Sep 12 2008.

Liu J, Sun H, Duan W, Mu D, Zhang L.Maslinic acid reduces blood glucose inKK-Ay mice. Biol Pharm Bull, Nov2007;30(11):2075-2078.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SemicarbazideCarpene C, Abello V, Iffiu-Soltesz Z,

Mercier N, Feve B, Valet P. Limitation ofadipose tissue enlargement in rats chroni-cally treated with semicarbazide-sensitiveamine oxidase and monoamine oxidaseinhibitors. Pharmacol Res, Jun2008;57(6):426-434.

Hoyer SC, Eckart A, Herrel A, et al.

Octopamine in male aggression ofDrosophila. Curr Biol. Feb 122008;18(3):159-167.

Bour S, Visentin V, Prevot D, Carpene C.Moderate weight-lowering effect ofoctopamine treatment in obese Zuckerrats. J Physiol Biochem, Sep2003;59(3):175-182.

Fontana E, Morin N, Prevot D, CarpeneC. Effects of octopamine on lipolysis, glu-cose transport and amine oxidation inmammalian fat cells. Comp BiochemPhysiol C Toxicol Pharmacol, Jan2000;125(1):33-44.

Aoki F, Honda S, Kishida H, et al.Suppression by licorice flavonoids ofabdominal fat accumulation and bodyweight gain in high-fat diet-induced obeseC57BL/6J mice. Biosci BiotechnolBiochem, Jan 2007;71(1):206-214.

Cui YM, Ao MZ, Li W, Yu LJ. Effect ofglabridin from Glycyrrhiza glabra on learn-ing and memory in mice. Planta Med, Mar2008;74(4):377-380.

Priestman DA, van der Spoel AC,Butters TD, Dwek RA, Platt FM. N-butyldeoxynojirimycin causes weight lossas a result of appetite suppression in leanand obese mice. Diabetes Obes Metab,Feb 2008;10(2):159-166.

Pasiakos SM, Mettel JB, West K, et al.Maintenance of resting energy expendi-ture after weight loss in premenopausalwomen: potential benefits of a high-pro-tein, reduced-calorie diet. Metabolism, Apr2008;57(4):458-464.

Derave W, Jones G, Hespel P, HarrisRC. Creatine supplementation augmentsskeletal muscle carnosine content insenescence-accelerated mice (SAMP8).Rejuvenation Res. Jun 2008;11(3):641-647.

Su QS, Tian Y, Zhang JG, Zhang H.Effects of allicin supplementation on plas-ma markers of exercise-induced muscledamage, IL-6 and antioxidant capacity. EurJ Appl Physiol, Jun 2008;103(3):275-283.

Beelen M, Koopman R, Gijsen AP, et al.Protein coingestion stimulates muscle pro-tein synthesis during resistance-type exer-cise. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, Jul2008;295(1):E70-77.

Borsheim E, Bui QU, Tissier S,Kobayashi H, Ferrando AA, Wolfe RR.Effect of amino acid supplementation onmuscle mass, strength and physical func-tion in elderly. Clin Nutr, Apr2008;27(2):189-195.



MuscleGrowthUpdate By Robbie Durand, MA

“Everyone wants to be a bodybuilder, but no one wants to liftheavy-ass weights!”—Ronnie Coleman

Muscle growth is a complex process; professional body-builders are divided into two camps: the light weight, high-repcamp and the heavy weight. In order for a muscle to grow, mus-cle overload must occur with resistance exercise; no argumentthere, however several books have advocated high-rep exercises

to stimulate muscle growth. The best example, the 50-repsquats to blast leg muscle, is a commonly used method.

The most famous bodybuilder advocating high repsfor muscle growth was Tom Platz; he was famous

for sets with reps of 20 to 30 in the squat. Asmall reminder, Platz was known to squat500 pounds for over 30 reps!!! Proponentsof the high-rep training claim that high reps

increase blood flow, which enhance nutrientdelivery, cause massive increases in

nitric oxide and greater muscle pumps,which stimulate muscle growth.

VascularOcclusion WithLight WeightProduces MuscleHypertrophy

It was previously thought thatonly performing resistance exercise at

a load greater than 65 percent was enoughto stimulate muscle growth. However, some

recent studies have reported that muscle tension is not theonly way to produce muscular hypertrophy. For instance, alow-intensity (~50 percent 1 RM) resistance training per-formed with leg extensions caused a marked increase inmuscular size [~12 percent gain in muscle size and strength

High Reps vs. Heavy Weights:

Which Is Better For Muscle Growth?

188 MD



(~20 percent gain) when combinedwith moderate vascular occlusion.

8

The effects of these exercise trainingregimens with restricted muscularblood flow are likely mediated by thefollowing processes: 1) stimulatedsecretion of growth hormone by intra-muscular accumulation of metabolicbyproducts, such as lactic acid

10; 2)

moderate production of free radicalsand tissue damage promoting tissuegrowth

9; and 3) additional recruitment

of fast-twitch fibers in a hypoxic (lowoxygen) condition.

11These studies

suggest that the muscle mass-building effects of resistanceexercise involves not only muscletension (weight) but also meta-bolic, hormonal and neuronal fac-tors. Higher repetition exercises hasbeen shown to increase testosterone,growth hormone (GH) and insulin-likegrowth factor 1 (IGF-1).

1,2,3,4You will

definitely feel a greater muscle burnwith a lighter weight and feel morepumped, but does a light weight,high-rep program such as the 50-repsquat routine lead to greater musclegrowth?

Light WeightExercise vs. HeavyWeights: Which IsBetter?

Researchers tested a light-weightprotocol and a heavy resistance exer-cise program to determine if lightweight programs with lots of reps canstimulate muscle growth. Researcherstook 12 healthy young men and madethem perform 12 weeks of resistanceexercise on a leg extension machine;they performed three workout ses-sions per week. A total of 10 sets wasassigned to two groups:

a) One leg with light weight; 36 repe-titions per set (15 percent of 1 RM)

b) The other leg with heavy weight; 8repetitions per set (70 percent of 1 RM)

Here is what’s really interesting;even though they performed differentrep ranges, both groups performedthe same workout volume. Thegood thing about this study is that thesubjects served as their own controls,so they were not being compared toother people.

Heavy ResistanceExercise BeatsLight Weight, High-Rep forMuscle Size

At the end of 12 weeks, the cross-sectional size or muscle growth ofeach leg demonstrated increases inmuscle size, but the heavy resis-tance group demonstratedgreater gains in muscle mass.

5

The heavy resistance exercise groupdemonstrated a 7.6 ± 1.4 percent gainin muscle mass while the lightweight group gained 2.6 ± 0.8 per-cent. The heavy resistance traininggroup also gained greater increasesin muscle strength as well. The studyshows that light weight/high-rep rou-tines do increase muscle mass, butjust not to the same extent as heavyresistance exercise.

Despite getting a good musclepump, you are not going to growwithout loading up the bar withsome iron! When I read this study, Iremember an episode of NO BULLRADIO where Dave and John werediscussing, “Who was the strongestbodybuilder ever?” Several nameswere mentioned: Johnnie Jackson,Dorian Yates and Greg Kovacs. FlexWheeler set the record straight:“Ronnie Coleman was the strongestbodybuilder ever...period!” Is it anycoincidence that as heavy as Ronnietrained, he also racked up eight Mr.Olympias? No high-rep training forRonnie, only heavy weights!!

MuscleHypertrophyWithout IncreasesIn Acute AnabolicHormones

Another interesting finding wasthat increases in muscle hypertro-phy occurred without increasesin circulating anabolic hormones.This finding of increases in musclegrowth without changes in circulatinglevels of anabolic hormones makesone question: How important are theacute anabolic hormone responses toexercise? When I first started studyingexercise endocrinology, I thought thatthe workouts that caused the greatestincrease in anabolic hormones had to

increase muscle mass. Currentresearch shows that acute anabolichormones responses are important,but are not the Holy Grail for increas-ing muscle size. Remember,endurance exercise can produce con-siderable increase in GH and testos-terone in response to exercise, yetthey don’t produce muscle hypertro-phy. Powerlifters demonstrate signifi-cant muscle size yet the typical pow-erlifting workout produces lowanabolic hormone responses.Previous studies have shown thatingestion of whey protein beforeexercise blunted testosterone and GHresponses,

6but many studies suggest

that pre-exercise protein supplemen-tation is essential for increasing mus-cle mass. I would not miss a pre-exer-cise whey protein shake in hopes of abetter acute testosterone response.

Muscle TensionMay Be MoreImportant ThanAcute HormoneResponses

This research also is in conjunc-tion with researchers at the ExerciseMetabolism Group at McMastersUniversity who recently reportedthat muscle hypertrophy took placewithout acute increases in anabolichormone concentrations.

7Ten

healthy young male subjects per-formed unilateral resistance trainingfor eight weeks (three days/week).Unilateral resistance exercise is basi-cally where you train one leg, whilethe other leg is used as a control oruntrained muscle. Exercises per-formed in the study were kneeextension and leg press performedat 80-90 percent of the subject’s sin-gle-repetition maximum (1 RM).Blood samples were collectedbefore, immediately after, 30, 60, 90,and 120 minutes post-exercise. Thefirst training bout and following thelast training bout were analyzed fortotal testosterone, free testosterone,GH and insulin-like growth factor-1,along with other hormones. Thighmuscle cross-sectional area of the(vastus lateralis) was measured pre-and post-training.

Acutely, no changes in GH, testos-

MuscleGrowthUpdate



terone, or IGF-1 concentrations wereobserved in the 90 minutes follow-ing exercise and there was no influ-ence of training on the anabolic hor-mones measured. GH did show amoderate increase 30 minutes post-exercise, but returned to baselinevalues by 90 minutes. Training-induced increases in muscle hyper-trophy were observed in type IIband IIa muscle fiber. No changeswere observed in muscle size in theuntrained leg. In conclusion, uni-lateral training induced localmuscle hypertrophy only in theexercised limb, which occurredin the absence of testosterone,GH or IGF-1-circulating levels.The moral of the story, don’t get socaught up in the acute anabolic hor-mone response that you limit yourpoundage.

A light weight, high-rep pro-tocol does produce musclehypertrophy, but light weight,however heavy resistance exer-cise produces greater musclemass gains. Muscle “burn” doesnot stimulate growth; overload

stimulates growth. “Muscle pumps”and “feeling the burn” are not real-ly what building muscle is about,nor is it a good indicator of musclegrowth, as the study demonstrates.You can get a good “burn” bydoing 20-30 repetitions; however,training at that rep range does notefficiently overload the muscle. Thebottom line of the study is thattraining loads less than 70 percentof a 1 RM are not going to inducesignificant gains in muscle mass orstrength. High-rep training may begood for muscle pumps but notgood for increasing muscle size orstrength.

Key Points:• Light weight, high-repetition

workouts do not stimulate musclegrowth effectively; heavy resistanceexercise is a greater stimulator ofmuscle growth.

• Muscle hypertrophy occurreddespite increases in anabolic hor-mones; muscle growth factors (IGF-1, MGF) may be more importantthan the acute hormone increases.

References:1. Hakkinen, K., and Pakarinen, A. Acute

hormonal responses to two different fatigu-ing heavy-resistance protocols in male ath-letes. J Appl Physiol, 74: 882-887, 1993.

2. Raastad, Truls., Bjoro, Trine., andHallen, Jostein. Hormonal responses tohigh- and moderate-intensity strength exer-cise. Eur J Appl Physiol, 82:121-128, 2000.

3. Kraemer, W.J., Marchitelli, L.J.,Gordon, S.E., Harman, E., Dziados, J.E.,Mello, R., Frykman, P., McCurry, D., andFleck, S.J. Hormonal and growth factorsresponses to heavy-resistance exercise pro-tocols. J Appl Physiol, 69:1442-1450, 1990.

4. Hakkinen K, Pakarinen A. Acute hor-monal responses to two different fatiguingheavy-resistance protocols in male athletes.J Appl Physiol, 1993 Feb;74(2):882-7.

5. Holm L, Reitelseder S, Pedersen TG,Doessing S, Petersen SG, Flyvbjerg A,Andersen JL, Aagaard P, Kjaer M. Changesin muscle size and MHC composition inresponse to resistance exercise with heavyand light loading intensity. J Appl Physiol,2008

6. Hulmi JJ, Volek JS, Selänne H, MeroAA. Protein ingestion prior to strength exer-cise affects blood hormones and metabo-lism. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 2005Nov;37(11):1990-7.

7. Wilkinson SB, Tarnopolsky MA, GrantEJ, Correia CE, Phillips SM. Hypertrophywith unilateral resistance exercise occurswithout increases in endogenous anabolichormone concentration. Eur J Appl Physiol,2006 Dec;98(6):546-55.

8. Takarada Y, Sato Y, and Ishii N. Effectsof resistance exercise combined with vascu-lar occlusion on muscle function in athletes.Eur J Appl Physiol, 86: 308–314, 2002.

9. Takarada Y, Takazawa H, and Ishii N.Applications of vascular occlusion diminishdisuse atrophy of knee extensor muscles.Med Sci Sports Exerc 32: 2035–2039, 2000.

10. Takarada Y, Nakamura Y, Aruga S,Onda T, Miyazaki S, and Ishii N. Rapidincrease in plasma growth hormone afterlow-intensity resistance exercise with vascu-lar occlusion. J Appl Physiol, 88: 61–65,2000.

11. Takarada Y, Takazawa H, Sato Y,Takebayashi S, Tanaka Y, and Ishii N. Effectsof resistance exercise combined with mod-erate vascular occlusion on muscular func-tion in humans. J Appl Physiol, 88:2097–2106, 2000.

MuscleGrowthUpdate

Breaking

Research

Update:

GH INCREASES SERUMIGF-1 BUT NOT MUSCLEIGF-1 LEVELS or MGF!

Proponents of high-rep training advocate that thelarger increases in GH stimulate IGF-1, which makes it more

important for muscle growth. Researchers from London reported disap-pointing results on the anabolic effects of GH for promoting muscle growth.The anabolic actions of GH has been previously been thought to be mediatedby increases in IGF-1. The researchers took seven young, healthy men (aver-age age of 24 years old) and gave them injections of GH (.075 IU kg per day)or a placebo for two weeks and performed a bout of resistance exercise. Thesubjects completed 10 sets of six lifts of a weight equivalent to 80 percent oftheir 1-RM. Two minutes rests were given between each bout of 10 repeti-tions. The main finding was that two weeks of

In conclusion,the study shows that the regulation of IGF-1 by GH differs in muscle andliver.

Perhaps a larger dose mayhave had a different effect. GH as a muscle builder has been disappointing;the fact that GH increased serum but not muscle IGF-1 or MGF may be thereason why.

Aperghis M, Velloso CP, Hameed M, Brothwood T, Bradley L, Bouloux PM,Harridge SD, Goldspink G. Serum IGF-I levels and IGF-1 gene splicing in mus-cle of healthy young males receiving rhGH. Growth Horm IGF Res, 2008


www.musculardevelopment.com January 2009196 MDwww.fantamag.comwww.fantamag.com


Last year, the surprise at the Mr. Olympia was Germany’s Big BadWolf. At 270 pounds, with broad shoulders, a small waist and shapeto die for, he was so impressive that many felt the judges intention-ally never compared him to winner Jay Cutler for fear he wouldpoint out just how badly Dennis trumped him.

Dennis got fifth place, and most fans felt he deserved better.Viewers of the web cast on www.bodybuilding.com voted him astheir pick for the “People’s Choice,” beating out Cutler, Martinez,Dexter and Ronnie. The stage was set for Dennis to come back andsnatch the title away from Jay decisively in 2008. Wolf took thewhole year off to concentrate on improving and making sure he wasindeed ready to hold the Sandow trophy this year. But somethinghappened that resulted in Dennis lacking the “wow” factor. The con-dition and shape were there, but Wolf was flat. Even though he once

THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE

DENNIS WOLF

What The F*ck Happened At The O?

Exclusive Interview By Ron HarrisPhotography by Per Bernal


again got the nod for People’s Choice, a lot of peoplewere disappointed and wanted answers. Dennis was sup-posed to win the Mr. Olympia this year and from all pho-tos and videos we saw in the final weeks, he could have.So why didn’t he? As a big part of the hype machine thatpumped Dennis up as the next Mr. O, MD tracked himdown a week after the show and got to the bottom of thewhole situation.

RH: Some people say you looked exactly thesame as you did last year, and others say youlooked much better. What do you think?

DW: First, I will say that I was not 100 percent and didnot look the way I wanted to. But I did look different fromlast year. The weight on the scale would not reflect that,because it was pretty exactly the same as 2007— rightaround 270 pounds. But I was much harder and drier atthat weight than I was last year. I also improved my weakpoints quite a bit: my back, my hamstrings and my glutes.If you put photos of me in the back and side poses side-by-side from last year and this year, it is very apparentthat those areas all came up. But I was not the Dennis

Wolf I wanted to be onstage this year. I was very disap-pointed in myself because I lost a little over 15 pounds inthe final two weeks before the Olympia.

RH: Fifteen pounds? Seriously?DW: Yes. I tried something different and took the carbs

completely out of my diet for the first time ever. I wantedmy conditioning to be the most fantastic in the whole con-test. But we all learn from our mistakes, or at least we allshould. Now I know what not to do next time.

RH: Some people say that you had a goldenopportunity to win the show, since you had a lot ofhype and publicity leading up to the Mr. Olympia,and once again Jay Cutler was not in his best con-dition. Do you see it that way, that you missed agreat opportunity, or not?

DW: I can’t argue with that, because it’s how I feel, too.Guys say this all the time about looking so much better acouple weeks before the contest and I don’t know howoften it’s really true. But I can tell you in all honesty andwithout even exaggerating that if I had stepped onstagethe way I looked at two weeks before the show, I probably


would have won. My condition was thesame, but I was so much fuller at 285 poundsshredded to the max.

RH: I do not doubt you on that for aminute. You’re a humble guy and youdon’t make idle claims. This was thefirst contest you did not work with yourfriend Peter Trenz on. Was Peter upset atall that you chose to work with Chad forthe Mr. Olympia?

DW: Of course “Pit” wasn’t happy that wewouldn’t be working together for theOlympia. But he’s a great guy and he’s beenmy friend for years, so he always under-stands that any decision I make is nothingpersonal against him. I wanted to look for-ward in my career and try something newand different. Chad had done an excellent jobwith guys like Ronnie, Flex and Victor. I had

to see what he could do for me, too. I didn’t wantto look back at my pro career and wonder, hmm,would I have done any better if I had teamed upwith Chad Nicholls?

RH: What was it like working with Chad?How did he have you doing things different-ly than you had in the past?

DW: The diet was much shorter than what Inormally do, but it was also much tougher.Usually I diet for about 16 weeks, more gradual-ly. This time, I looked ready after just followinghis diet for five weeks. But I still had anotherfive weeks to go before the Olympia. The con-cern at that point was how do I keep my sizewhile maintaining that condition for over amonth more? Chad didn’t expect me to drop thefat as quickly as I did, and neither did I. So Iwound up over-dieting and looking so flat. I didmy best not to let my spirits get down at the


“Chad had done an excellentjob with guys like Ronnie, Flex

and Victor. I had to see whathe could do for me, too.

I didn’t want to look back atmy pro career and wonder,hmm, would I have done any

better if I had teamed up with Chad Nicholls?”


show, but the whole time I was thinking, if I wasn’t so flat,if I wasn’t so flat! I know a lot of people were saying, “Oh,this Wolf guy was supposed to be so great and he doesn’tlook so great to me.” But the Wolf who was onstage in LasVegas was a shadow of what I should have been.

RH: Some people blame Chad for you not lookingas spectacular as they had hoped you would. He didhandle your prep. Do you blame Chad? Or did he do agood job?

DW: Chad definitely did a great job. Despite the way itturned out, I still consider it the best contest preparation Ihave ever had. He is very thorough and detail-oriented,and an extremely intelligent man. But it was the first timewe ever worked together. He didn’t know how my bodywould respond to certain variables. There is no way toknow that ahead of time. So I am very confident that thenext time we work together the results will be much better.

RH: So things did not go as planned. Can you tellus what happened?

DW: Like I said, I was about 285-286 pounds after onlyfive weeks of dieting. A decision was made at two weeksout to cut out the carbs, so I could dial everything in just alittle more and have that freaky, grainy type of condition likeDorian Yates was known for. With my size and shape andthat condition, I would have been very tough for any of theguys to beat. But going down to zero carbs caused me tolose muscle mass. The hope was that my carb loadingwould take care of that and I would fill back out to at least280 or so, but I just couldn’t seem to fill out. It wasn’t just alack of glycogen in the muscles that made me look the way Idid; the fact was that I had actually lost muscle size. Youcan’t get that back just by eating a lot of carbs for a coupledays. Like I said, Chad and I both learned a lot from theexperience and it will never happen again. But unless you


make a mistake, you never learn what works and whatdoesn’t. People assume we pros are all the same becausewe all have very good genetics, but we do all respond dif-ferently to nutrients. What works for me may not work forDexter or Phil, and vice versa.

RH: I saw a lot of photos of you over the lastfew weeks leading up to the Mr. Olympia, and itlooked like you were going to be much bigger and

better this year. Attwo or threeweeks out, howwould you say youlooked? How didyou feel about theway your physiquewas shaping up?

DW: Two or threeweeks before theOlympia, I was in thebest shape of my life.I have never been sobig and in such greatcondition. Really, Iwas looking in themirror at that timeand could not evenbelieve what I was

seeing. Even though I was confident since I made the topfive last year, I wasn’t really thinking I would win this yearuntil then. At two and three weeks out it hit me that youknow, I really can win the Mr. Olympia. I know I am goodenough to do it unless Jay looks like he did in 2001 orsomething. But by the time I got onstage at the show, Iknew there was just no way I was going to win it thisyear. But I still had to do my best up there.

RH: Knowing what you know now, would youhave done anything differently in the last fewdays?

DW: I will never drop my carbs like that again.Obviously some guys can do that and they don’t lose anymuscle. Apparently, my type of body really does requirecarbohydrates, and going without them for any extendedperiod of time does nothing good for me. I don’t get anyleaner, I just lose size and fullness.

RH: The first callout in the judging was Jay,Dexter, Toney and Heath. Did you immediatelythink something was wrong when you weren’t inthat first callout?

DW: I will be honest. When the names wereannounced for that first callout and “Dennis Wolf” wasnot one of them, I got even more down than I alreadywas. We all know how the judging works. Nobody everwins if he is not in that first group to be compared. If youare good enough to win, they notice you right away. Ifthose four guys weren’t the top four, then I was prettysure the top three was in there out of the four. So I knew

that not only was I not possibly winning, but my chancesof even being in the top three were very low. I tried not toshow how disappointed I was, but I think a lot of peoplecould tell by my body language. It was just so depressingbecause I trained a whole year with nothing but this con-test as my goal, and it was clear I wasn’t a contender.

RH: Last year you were never compared to JayCutler, and this time you were, several times. Was itsatisfying to finally be allowed to be compared tothe two-time Mr. Olympia?

DW: It was a good feeling. I think everybody could see


“I tried not to showhow disappointed Iwas, but I think a lotof people could tell bymy body language. Itwas just so depress-ing because I traineda whole year withnothing but this con-test as my goal, andit was clear I wasn’ta contender.”


that even as flat as I was, once again Jay was not betterthan me. The scores did not reflect that, but I think the pic-tures from the contest will bear it out pretty good. You willhave some good comparison shots of us in this issue,right?

RH: I’m sure we will. Your back was a weakpoint in the past, yet most people felt you beat Jayin the back poses this year. How did it feel to hearthat?

DW: That did feel really good. It means I have beendoing my homework and training my back very hard. Jay

had said a few months ago that my back didn’t look anybetter from 2007. Maybe now he will change his opinionabout that?

RH: I doubt it. He’ll probably rave about howgreat his fellow Weider athletes Dexter and Phillooked, and throw you under the bus. You also did avery good job at improving your glutes and ham-strings. Were there any new exercises or techniquesyou used to accomplish this?

DW: I did a lot of barbell good-mornings, which is anexercise for the lower back I don’t think too many body-


builders these days do. I sure don’t see itbeing done ever. I also did a version ofgood mornings using the hack squatmachine facing the opposite way. In gen-eral I trained my lower back and ham-strings much heavier than ever before,and they grew.

RH: When it came to posing andpresentation, you were perhaps thevery best in the show. Did you worka lot on your poses over the lastyear so you would hit them allperfectly?

DW: I did put a lot of time intoposing practice since last year.My goals weren’t just toimprove certain body parts,but everything it takes to bethe best pro I can be. Iwatched tapes and sawthat my posing was good,but it could be better. Iwanted everything to besmooth and polished.

RH: Some peoplethought you deservedfourth or fifth, and therewere some who thought youlooked good enough to win thewhole show. Does this just prove thatbodybuilding all comes down to amatter of opinion and personal pref-erence?

DW: Bodybuilding is, always has been,and always will be about the personalpreferences of whoever is looking at thephysiques. Some people like my type ofphysique: taller, big and with good sym-metry. Other people care more about sizeand don’t really care about the shape andproportions so much. Everybody likeswhat they like. That’s why we are judgedby a panel of experienced eyes who aretrying to find the man with what they feelis the ideal total package. But because thatmeans something a little different even tothem, you get different types of bodieswinning.

RH: A lot of fans thought JayCutler didn’t even deserve to be inthe top five, because of his widewaist, the loose skin on his lowerback and glutes, and the fact thatone leg is much smaller than theother one. If you were a judge, wherewould you have put Jay?

204 MD

Dennis Wolf at the2008 Mr. Olympia.

www.musculardevelopment.com January 2009www.fantamag.comwww.fantamag.com

DW: I like Jay a lot. He is one of the nicest guys I haveever met and had the privilege to talk to. But the way helooked this year, I would not have had him in the top six.Maybe seventh or eighth. At his best, he was incredible.But this was not his best at all.

RH: It also needs to be said that in the end,you did place higher in the 2008 Mr. Olympiathan you did in 2007. To go from fifth in the

world to fourth is something to be proud of. Doyou take pride in that?

DW: I do. I’m proud to say I am fourth in the wholeworld. It was my goal to do better than I did last year, and Iaccomplished that. I just wasn’t happy with myselfbecause I know I could have done a lot better than that. Icould have that Sandow trophy right now and be trainingto defend my Mr. Olympia title next year!


DENNIS OUT OF THE ARNOLD:

A HERNIASIDELINES THEBIG BAD WOLF

Just before deadline, we received someunfortunate news from Dennis, who hadbeen touring Australia in early to mid-

October. Apparently he hadbeen training for the Mr.Olympia with an undiag-nosed hernia. Being thetrooper that he is, Wolf did-n’t let it stop him andfought through the painuntil the show was over. “Ididn’t want anyone toknow, because then itsounds like an excuse,” he

said. It also explains why his stomach wasuncharacteristically distended at timesduring the Mr. Olympia contest, and whyhis bellybutton had transformed into an“outie.” But the situation is being reme-died very soon. “My doctor says we haveto operate as soon as possible,” he toldme. “I don’t get back to Germany until theend of October, so we are scheduling mysurgery for then.” He will be unable totrain for six weeks following the procedure,and must avoid squats and leg presses foran additional three months. This meansDennis will not have time to train for theArnold Classic, a contest he stood a goodchance to win in 2009. Luckily, he will stillhave ample time to prepare for the Mr.Olympia. “I am sorry to all my fans whowanted to see me compete at the ArnoldClassic, but if I tried to put off the surgerymuch longer things would only get worse.Thanks to all of you for your support, andalso to Mr. Steve Blechman and MD, whoare always on my side.” Look for moredetails here in MD next month.

BREAKING NEWS! BREAKING NEWS!


RH: Do you feel there was too much expectationon you to win this year? Did you feel a lot of pres-sure on you to win?

DW: Yes, so many people were saying I would win theMr. Olympia this year and they really expected me to doit. I feel like I let them down in a way. It hurts to hear that Iwas all hype and the magazines made me out to besomething so much better than what I really am. But it’s

all in the past. Now I am looking forward to 2009. RH: With your height and structure, many feel

you will definitely make a great Mr. Olympia oneday soon. What do you think it will take for you towin the biggest title in professional bodybuilding?

DW: I really think my best chance to win the Sandowwill be in 2009 and 2010. After that, hopefully it will all beabout holding on to the title for as long as I can. ■



VICTOR VS.DEXTER & PHIL HEATHBy Flex Wheeler, Photography by Per Bernal

The latest Olympia lit the fuse for a megaton of TNT that’s gonna blow thebodybuilding world to high hell in 2009. First, you have the Arnold Classic, witha lineup that even Don King wouldn’t dare dream up: Victor, Kai, Branch, Wolf,



Phil, Melvin, Dexter and Jay (OK, not 100 percent aboutthose last two, but I can dream). How’s that gonna turnout, I wonder?Then we have the midseason shows lead-ing up to…the Olympia. I know, I’m getting way ahead ofmyself, but cut me some slack. Bodybuilding just got excit-ing again.

At present, Dexter Jackson rules the iron universe, at230 pounds. Now that’s not small, but it sure ain’t 275pounds, either.You have to go back 26 years to find achampion under 250 pounds. It all started with Haney, andeach successive Mr. Olympia since has raised the bar. Butnow instead of pure size, we’re rewarding pure perfection.Does this open the door for the rest of the field? I think so.Last year’s Olympia was a precursor for what should fol-low in the new era.The bodybuilding landscape is chang-ing as the days of the mass monsters pass into that quietnight.Yes, we still clamor for size, but why settle for sizealone when you can have it with shape, symmetry, pro-portion and conditioning— the very ideals of bodybuild-ing?The total package is taking center stage again.

Of all the stellar stars mentioned above, three standout as symbols of the timeless art of bodybuilding: VictorMartinez, Dexter Jackson and Phil Heath.These threehave it all.They’ve met once before in the real world.Victor and Dexter finished one and two, with Phil comingin fourth— but that was two years ago and times havechanged. Dexter is Mr. Olympia now and Phil has madestaggering improvements, poised to challenge forsupremacy. Victor’s beaten Dexter twice and was, for allintents and purposes, Mr. OIympia in 2007 (albeit theuncrowned champion). He’s healed from the injury thatsidelined him in 2008 and by all reports, training like aman possessed to bang his way back to the top. Now,because we’re not absolutely sure that these three willcollide at the Arnold and with the Olympia too far off towait (we wouldn’t do you loyal readers like that), wedecided to make this dream matchup happen in the MDuniverse…with a slight twist: it’s gonna be two on one.So here’s MD’s own, Victor Martinez, vs. Dexter Jacksonand Phil Heath, Cyber Wars 2009. Action!


DEXTER JACKSON November 26, 1969, 5’6”, 235 pounds

Had the best year in pro bodybuildingin 2008 (maybe in history)— five titles,bookended by the Arnold and Olympia.

1992 NPC Southern States, Lightweight, Third

1995 NPC USA Championships, Light-Heavyweight, First

1996 NPC Nationals, Light-Heavyweight, Sixth

1998 North American Championships, Light-Heavyweight, First and Overall

1999 Arnold Classic, Seventh

1999 Grand Prix England, Fourth

1999 Night of Champions, Third

1999 Mr. Olympia, Ninth

1999 World Pro Championships, Fourth

2000 Arnold Classic, Fifth

2000 Grand Prix Hungary, Second

2000 Iron Man Pro Invitational, Third

2000 Night of Champions, Eighth


2000 Toronto Pro Invitational, Second


2001 Grand Prix Australia, Third

2001 Grand Prix England, Fourth

2001 Grand Prix Hungary, Third

2001 Night of Champions, Second

2001 Mr. Olympia, Eighth

2001 Toronto Pro Invitational, Second

2002 Arnold Classic, Third

2002 Grand Prix Australia, Second

2002 Grand Prix Austria, Second

2002 Grand Prix England, First

2002 Grand Prix Holland, Third

2002 Mr. Olympia, Fourth

2002 San Francisco Pro Invitational, Third

2002 Show of Strength Pro Championship, Sixth

2003 Arnold Classic, Fourth

2003 Maximum Pro Invitational, Third

2003 Mr. Olympia, Third

2003 San Francisco Pro Invitational, Third

2003 Show of Strength Pro Championship, First


2004 Grand Prix Australia, First

2004 Iron Man Pro Invitational, First


2004 San Francisco Pro Invitational, First

2005 Arnold Classic, First

2005 San Francisco Pro Invitational, Second



2007 Arnold Classic, Second



2008 IFBB Australian Pro Grand Prix VIII, First

2008 IFBB New Zealand Grand Prix, First

2008 Mr. Olympia, First

214 MD www.musculardevelopment.com January 2009www.fantamag.comwww.fantamag.com

PHIL HEATHDecember 18, 1979, 5’9”, 240 poundsForget future star—his time has arrived.

2003 Northern Colorado State, Novice, Light-Heavyweight First and Overall

2003 NPC Colorado State, Light-Heavyweight, First

2004 NPC Colorado State, Heavyweight, First and Overall

2005 NPC Junior Nationals, Heavyweight, First and Overall

2005 NPC USA Championships, Heavyweight, First and Overall

2006 Colorado Pro Championships, First

2006 New York Pro Championship, First


2008 IFBB Iron Man, First

2008 Arnold Classic, Second


VICTOR MARTINEZJuly 29, 1973, 5’9”, 250 poundsFoaming at the mouth to get back in this

mother@#$%!1997 NPC New York Metro Championships, Light-Heavyweight, First and Overall

2000 NPC Junior USA, Heavyweight, First

2000 NPC Nationals, Heavyweight, First and Overall

2001 Night of Champions, Eighth

2002 Arnold Classic, 13th

2002 Iron Man Pro Invitational, Ninth

2003 Night of Champions, First


2004 GNC Show of Strength Pro Championship, First

2005 Arnold Classic, Seventh

2005 New York Pro Championship, Third

2005 Mr. Olympia, Fifth

2005 San Francisco Pro Invitational, Fifth




2007 Mr. Olympia, Second



PIECE BYPIECEBICEPS-Phil

Full, double-splitpeaks that stand outfrom every angle

TRICEPS-Three-WayTie

All three are carry-ing around hamhocks

CHEST-VictorWidest and thick-

est, with some of thebest upper pecs in thegame

DELTS-PhilNot the widest

clavicles, but look atthe sheer amount ofmeat he’s packed on

LATS-DexterSporting more

width than everbefore, with knotsand bumps that takeon a life of its own

QUADS-PhilGreat sweep and

lower thickness withcrazy separation andstriations

HAMS-PhilAwesome hang

from the side with allthe grooves andcracks

CALVES-PhilSome of the best

calves on a brotheryou’ll ever see


THE SUM OF ALL PARTS

MASSWhat a trio! Dexter is the

smallest, but he’s no small fry.For his height and frame, he’spacking as much dense mass ashumanly possible. Phil andVictor are about even in height,but Victor carries roughly 10pounds more. Victor’s structureallows him to hold the mostmass while retaining his superblines.

Victor

SHAPE All three are the very defini-

tion of aesthetics. Each muscleis beautifully shaped and flowsfrom one to the next like liquidmetal. Phil’s got amazing round-ness and fullness. Dexter and

Victor are in the same ballpark.Structure gives Victor the edgehe needs.

Victor

PROPORTION &SYMMETRY

Nothing’s missing on any ofthese guys (although the argu-ment can be made that Dexter’scalves could use a little moremeat). Phil runs the risk of over-powering arms. Symmetry isflawless on all three, but Victor’sgot everything, plus more size.

Victor

CONDITIONINGA former problem area for

Victor seems to have resolveditself the last couple of years.Phil has never been off, regular-ly displaying conditioning thatputs him in the top percentile of


any contest. But the Blade’s keenedge has been slicing the competitionfor a decade and believe it or not, he’sgetting sharper.

Dexter

THROWDOWNFront Double Biceps

Decisions…decisions. Which oneto make? All three are the epitome ofbodybuilding in this first pose.Youcan’t hide any flaws, which is a testa-ment to anyone who shines in thisshot. Peaked biceps, hanging triceps,booming delts and pecs; full lats,tight waists and great wheelsabound.This is Phil’s money pose.His arms are among the best in thegame— period. Flaring quads with

crisscross striations complete thepackage. Dexter’s no slouch, either.Head-to-toe proportion, but his frontthighs aren’t quite as separated asPhil’s. Victor has it all, maybe just asmidgeon behind in detail to Dexter,but he’s got the size advantage overboth.

Victor

Front Lat SpreadPhil shows excellent thickness. It’s

all maxed out. But his lack of claviclewidth gives him a bunched up look;he doesn’t spreeeaaad. Dexter hasterrific lines in this pose. Nothing’smissing. Victor is the widest and thick-est, with upper pecs threatening toclip his nose.

Victor

Side ChestGreat thickness and detail all

around— probably the top three in theworld! Hanging hams, deep splits andround fullness everywhere. Phil’s actu-ally looking thicker than Dexter thesedays, but the Blade’s lines are so cleanand aesthetic. He had the best sidechest in the Olympia. Victor is unbeliev-able, too. His upper pecs are explodingand his legs have tremendous width.

Victor

Side TricepsDexter looks fabulous and Phil looks

like he stole Kevin Levrone’s triceps—but Victor’s no slouch in the tricepsdepartment, either. Plus he’s got supe-rior mass from this angle.

Victor


Rear Lat SpreadThis is where it turns into a two-man war. Phil’s

thick, no question, but his narrow clavicles precludethe kind of width the other two are capable of.Dexter’s made unimaginable improvements to hisback in the last couple of years. He’s taken them outwider than I ever thought possible. But Victor’s push-ing the other two off the stage with one of the bestspreads in the business. His lower back is unreal. Allthree have superb hams and glutes, stripped to helland back but Victor’s wingspan….

Victor

Rear Double BicepsPhil continues to bring up that back, but at the

moment, he still loses out in both the mass andwidth departments. So it’s up to Dexter’s to toppleVictor. Victor’s got that width and thickness, plus heain’t lacking in details. But Dex has one of the mostintricately carved back double bi’s in the sport.Everything’s in high-def, plus you just can’t deny thedryness of his lower extremities.

Dexter


Abs & ThighDexter’s got the best midsec-

tion, Phil’s got the best legs, andVictor’s got the most size and taper.Overall, I have to go with Phil,because he’s got everything plusthe sickest legs of the bunch (it isbest abs and thigh).

Phil

Most-MuscularDexter’s striations are squirming

to life, Phil’s on the verge ofimploding and Victor’s showingwhy he defies classification aseither a shape or mass guy.However, Dexter looks like a walk-ing anatomy chart.

Dexter

FINAL TALLYDexter Jackson 4Phil Heath 6Victor Martinez 9

And the winner is….

Victor MartinezIt was a valiant effort by

the Blade and the Gift, but theTrue Victor was not to bedenied. He’s got everythingboth Dexter and Phil have,with superior structure andsize. All that combined withenough conditioning was toomuch even for competitors oftheir caliber.You see, Victor isa special breed of bodybuilderwho can walk in the land ofshape and size simultaneous-ly. He commands the stagefrom every angle with round,full muscle placed in sheerperfection.This is how I sawthe dream battle betweenthese three titans unfold inthe MD Universe. I can’t waitto see it happen for real! ■



Ihate to say this, but as a group, we bodybuildingfans really do suck. We are about as loyal as a youngtrophy wife when some guy with more moneycomes along. We love a pro when he’s doing well

and sing his praises to the sky. But God help that guy ifhe starts to slip and has a couple bad shows. In theblink of an eye, he goes from a man whose star is onthe rise to a washed-up has-been whose 15 minutes areup. In the case of Toney Freeman, we all got on the X-Man bandwagon in 2006, when he went from a guymost never thought would amount to much as a pro toa breakout star by virtue of winning the Europa showand going on to place seventh at his first Mr. Olympia afew weeks later.

The winning streak rolled on in full force the follow-ing spring, as one of the greatest tall men the sport hasever seen racked up wins at the Iron Man andSacramento pro shows and capped off the spring withthird at a very tough Arnold Classic, where Victor wonand Dexter was the runner-up. Freeman was being talkedup as a definite threat to break top five at the ‘07Olympia, but showed up looking watery and flat. After fol-

lowing up that 14th place with an eighth at the Iron Manand seventh at the Arnold Classic this past spring, manyfans lost faith in the X-Man. Time was probably catchingup to the dude, who would turn 42 in August of 2008. Thesilly aspect of this is that it wasn’t like Toney had someglaringly weak body parts that never improved or hadsuffered a horrible injury. No, the guy just showed up offhis best condition a few times in a row. When that’s theonly problem, any of us who have been around this gamelong enough should know that it’s a situation that can def-initely be rectified. And it was.

Toney got back with his nutritionist, Dave Palumbo,and turned it all around. By the time the season was up,Toney had two more pro titles and a fifth place at the Mr.Olympia to his credit. And what do you know? All of asudden, we’re all back on his jock! That’s just the nature ofthe beast. But there were those of us who had a feelingMr. Freeman’s best days weren’t behind him just yet. Thismonth, we pay tribute to one of the sport’s best competi-tors, with an insight into some of the training and dietsecrets that took him beyond the realm of the averagepro bodybuilder and made him: the X-Man!

By Ron Harris, Photography by Per Bernal


1. Toney is not naturally big or wide.Unlike some men such as Ronnie, Jay or Ruhl, Toney

Freeman was not gifted with naturally wide clavicles. Andhe certainly wasn’t one of those guys who people ask ifhe’s a bodybuilder before he even touches a weight. Whenhe started training nearly 20 years ago at age 21, heweighed just 155 pounds at 6’2” and his arms taped out ata paltry 13 3/4 inches. The fact that he has nearly doubledhis bodyweight and become one of the most muscularspecimens alive breathes hope into the guys out therewho didn’t hit the genetics lottery.

2. Toney’s back was a weak point for years.Freeman took a good look at his physique around 1995

and realized that even though he managed to get his backfairly wide, he was in dire need of thickness. That’s whenhe began adding in more rows and deadlifts. Even moreso than the exercises he chose, Toney found what washolding him back for years was his poor form and lack of a



Training Split*Day one: Legs (Quads and some hams)Day two: Chest and some bicepsDay three: Backs and some tricepsDay four: Shoulders and trapsDay five: Hamstrings and deadliftsDay six: Arms

*Toney usually trains 13 days in a rowon this rotation, then takes one day offbefore resuming it.


mind-muscle connection. “When youhave long arms like I do, the natural ten-dency is for the biceps to take over whenyou do most back exercises,” heexplains. “And I exacerbated the problemby going way too heavy.” He began tofocus on squeezing his back and alsoupped his reps from 6-8 to 8-12. “A lot oftimes I would be so concerned withusing a ton of weight that I justifieddoing lower reps, but they didn’t keepthe muscle under tension long enough.Once I started doing slightly higher reps,I felt the back working more and I knew Iwas onto something.”

3. Chin-ups have been a key to hisback development and remain so.

Toney is convinced that the key to hiswings getting so ridiculously wide was avery steady diet of wide-grip chin-upsthat his lats continue to feast on eventoday. “I just loved the exercise, and Ikept getting stronger at it week by weekand month by month,” he tells us.“When I was only weighing around 180or 190 pounds, I read that Arnold used todo 100 reps of wide-grip chin-ups whenhe trained back, so I tried it. It would takeme maybe 3 or 4 sets, and soon eventhat was easy so I had to add weight.” Heeventually was able to hang three 45-pound plates from his waist. Toney stillchins twice a week; both on his back dayand the day he works deadlifts.Normally, he picks a target number like50 and takes as many sets as he needsto reach that total.

4. Toney’s arms never really grewuntil he stopped going stupidheavy.

Going too heavy was Toney’s biggestroadblock to arm growth for many years,and it wasn’t until he trained with formertop national heavyweight competitorEdgar Fletcher for a few weeks in themid-‘90s that he gained a new perspec-tive on proper muscle stimulation.“Edgar had enormous arms, and Iwatched him sit down at the preachercurl using just a 10 and a 5 on each sideof the bar for his work sets,” he tells us.“I asked him why he was going so light,because my arms were half the size ofhis and I could use a 45 on each side.



Edgar explained that unless you can flex the bicepswhile you’re doing the rep, the weight is too heavy andyou’re not doing it right. Once I tried going lighter butwith that intense and controlled contraction, I realized Ihad been working my ego much harder than my biceps.”Freeman’s arms began to grow again.

5. He really brought up his chest and arms by overtraining them.

In December of 2005, Toney left his home in Atlantaand headed off to Seattle, where he would live andbreathe bodybuilding for 12 weeks under the guidanceof trainer Anthony Aponte. Freeman had just pulled ahamstring and could not train legs at all, which created aunique opportunity to improve the two areas that trulyneeded it: chest and arms. Both were hit three times aweek, chest in the morning and arms at night. And whenI say hit, they were whacked with no mercy. Biceps andtriceps each got five or six different exercises, and thetotal number of sets averaged between 55 and 57. Thereps were the standard 10 to 12, but many times Apontewould extend the sets with 5 or 6 more forced reps. “Hewould pick up where the muscle would fail,” Toney says.“It was very intense. The pain felt like a blowtorch, moreso because he demanded that I kept the form strict nomatter how much it hurt.” It was pure torture, but there


pounds have waists that are probably about 36-38 incheson contest day, and well over 40 in the off-season.Freeman’s is 30-31 inches onstage. At his heaviest, 310pounds, his waist has never been more than 36 inches. Thishelps create one of the most dramatic X-frames a humanbeing has ever possessed. What’s his secret to keeping thatgenetically miniature waist from expanding? “I increased


was a light at the end of the tunnel of pain.Freeman’s arms went from 21 inches cold to 22 1/2inches by the time he left Seattle.

6. Toney’s secret weapon is a wasp waist.No matter what they claim, I can assure you that

most of the guys competing in the range of 250-280



my meals and decreased the por-tions, for one thing,” he said. “Forabs, I don’t use extra weight andfocus mainly on the lower abs,” headded. And finally, he gets colonicsdone several times a year to flushout his colon completely.

7. Toney always hated thequestion, “How much yabench?”

“I sucked at benching, mainlybecause of my long arms,” he says,“and I was pretty horrible at shoul-der presses, too.” Rather than fur-

ther reinforce his structural limita-tions, Toney focused on lateral rais-es of all types for his shoulders. Forchest, he focused on form and feel-ing and eventually did build prettyimpressive strength to go alongwith thick pecs.

8. Toney works traps beforeshoulders.

“The traps are involved in a lotof shoulder exercises, and some-times it’s easy to let them start tak-ing over when you get tired,” herelates. “It makes sense to me to

work them before shoulders so they getpre-fatigued. That way, your delts are forcedto work harder with less assistance for thetraps.” His favorite training method for trapsis to superset barbell shrugs to the frontand back, five times. The reps are in the 8-15 range, and he advises all to use no moreweight than what will permit a full range ofmotion. “If the bar is just twitching andyour traps are barely coming up, you needto lighten up and do it right.”

9. He stands and delivers when itcomes to shoulders.

Pressing to the front is a mainstay exer-cise for Toney’s shoulders, and he will do itseated or standing with a bar, or seated at aSmith machine. “Standing presses are a lotmore difficult because you can’t lean backat all, and you have to keep everything tightand balanced.” Just to give you an idea ofthe difference, he can handle 315 on theSmith machine for sets of 12 reps any oldday, while on standing barbell presses herarely goes heavier than 185 or 205 at most.“With presses in general, I never use aweight I can’t get for at least 8 reps,” henotes. “Anything heavier than that is askingfor trouble as far as I am concerned.”

10. Laterals made his shoulders wide.“The single-most important thing you

can do if you want great shoulders is tolearn how to do a perfect side lateralraise,” Toney boldly proclaims. “If you canlearn how to isolate that medial head andnot involve any other muscle groups, youare well on your way.” Freeman alternatesbetween two methods of doing his sidelaterals. When he does them standing, helikes to run down the rack. After warmingup with a couple light sets, he starts at the60s and does 5 reps. Without rest, herepeats 5 reps going down in 5-poundincrements (55, 50, 45, etc.) until he getsto the 5s and does as many reps as possi-ble until his arms can’t move. That’s 12pair of dumbbells in a row and roughly70-80 reps, and that’s just 1 set!Toney willalso do seated dumbbell laterals, but withan 8-second pause at the top of each rep.For these, he only needs 25-30 pounds atmost for 10-12 excruciating reps. If youhaven’t had a pump in your side delts inawhile, either one of Toney’s methods isbound to do the trick.



RH: Dave, Toney had a bit of a slump for a coupleshows, and as typically happens, some peopleimmediately wrote him off as being all done. His 15minutes were up, or whatever. As his nutritionist,were you concerned that his best days might bebehind him, or was it just a bump in the road?

DP: Actually, I wasn’t working with him at all in thattime period.

RH: I must have missed that; it was probably onthe boards. Was he on his own then?

DP: For the 2007 Mr. Olympia, Toney used a friend ofhis who had convinced him he could have him lookingbetter than I could. It turned out badly. For the Iron Manand the Arnold this year, he went back to my diet, but hetried doing it on his own.

RH: That didn’t work, apparently.DP: It’s just too hard to crack the whip on yourself. If I

had him doing 3 hours of cardio, on his own, he mightdecide that he would be fine with 2 hours, just little thingslike that. We never had a falling out. There wasn’t bad

blood or anything like that between us, but it was FlexWheeler who mediated and brought us together at theArnold again. I helped him in the two weeks after that forthe New Zealand show, where he grabbed an Olympiaqualification with third place. Then we went full-blast forthe three shows right before the Olympia. He won theTampa Pro and the Europa show, and then there was thatfunny fourth place at the Atlantic City. That was a very con-troversial decision.

RH: What was controversial about it? Should hehave beat Melvin and won?

DP: No, he didn’t deserve to beat Melvin, but he defi-nitely should have beaten Darrem and Johnnie Jackson.But it was the last chance for both of them to qualify for theOlympia, so there was speculation that this could have hadsomething to do with the final outcome. This was what alot of people were saying after the show, anyway.

RH: So your record with Toney is actually damngood.

DP: Four pro wins, third at the Arnold, another third in


New Zealand, and that erratic placingin Atlantic City.

RH: Would you say that notworking with you is what causedhis condition to suffer there for alittle while?

DP: That was part of it, but Toneywas also out of his groove for awhile. He was down in Florida livingwith [female bodybuilder; namewithheld] for a while and not in hisroutine. All in all, he just didn’t havethe right team behind him and that’simportant.

RH: So is it safe to say you

two will continue workingtogether?

DP: Yeah, I think we’re married forlife now! (laughs) I keep him in line,and I also know his body very wellnow. And Toney is easy to work with inthe sense that if I tell him to do some-thing, he doesn’t argue or try torationalize his way out of it, he justdoes it.

RH: Would you say that thisrecent Mr. Olympia was the bestToney has ever looked? Is he capa-ble of looking even better?

DP: It is the best he’s ever looked or

at least equal to his previous best. He canlook better than that. His glutes had nice,deep lines from the side, but they weren’tas clear when viewed from the back shots.One thing I learned over the last coupleshows is that you can’t fill Toney out unlessyou deplete him to near death. If we don’ttake him down to that point, the resultswhen he carbs-up are less than spectacular.Toney doesn’t lose muscle when he doesthis, so that’s not a concern.

RH: Speaking of that, what does hecarb up on? Potatoes, waxy maize, piefilling?

DP: No, he only carbs-up on white rice.And we keep it at 300 grams a day.

RH: That doesn’t sound like enoughfor a guy that steps onstage over 280pounds.

DP: We know from past experience that ifwe go with a lot more, he just spills over.You have to understand that toward thevery end we also take out fats so he’s onlyeating protein, so when he’s filling out he’seating protein, fats and carbs all together forthe first time during the diet. It’s like toppingoff a tank. You need to put just the rightamount of the right fuel in.

RH: Can you give me an idea ofwhat his diet was like for most of theprep?

DP: Sure. Each meal had about 50 gramsof protein, which could be from omega-3whole eggs, salmon, bison or swordfish. Hewould also have 25-30 grams of fats. Someof that would come from the proteinsource, or else he would get it from all-nat-ural peanut butter, macadamia nut butter,or almond butter. At four weeks out, westarted to rotate these days with dayswhere the fats would be replaced byfibrous carbs like a cup of green beans orasparagus. Because the calories from thosewere so much lower, Toney was running onfumes on those days, basically. For the lasttwo weeks, he was eating all protein andfibrous carbs. Then on the last couple days,we put the fats back in along with the rice,and you saw the results.

RH: I did, and they were veryimpressive. You two obviously make agreat team.

DP: We do. And the best is yet to comefor the Arnold. He’s starting the diet at amuch leaner bodyweight, so just wait andsee what the X-Man has in store next time.


ToneyFreeman atthe 2008 Mr. Olympia



Complete Contest History1990 AAU Junior Mr. America Fourth, Tall class1993 NPC Junior Nationals Heavyweight winner1993 NPC Nationals Sixth, Heavyweights1994 NPC Nationals Fourth, Heavyweights1995 NPC Nationals Fourth, Heavyweights2001 NPC Coastal USA Second, Super-Heavyweights2001 NPC Nationals Eighth, Super-Heavyweights2002 NPC Nationals Super-Heavyweight

& Overall Champion2003 Night of Champions 11th Place2003 GNC Show of Strength Ninth Place2004 Night of Champions 10th Place2004 GNC Show of Strength Eighth Place2005 Arnold Classic 10th Place2006 Pro Iron Man Seventh Place2006 Arnold Classic Ninth Place2006 San Francisco Pro Fifth Place2006 Europa Super Show Winner2006 Mr. Olympia Seventh Place2007 Iron Man Pro Winner2007 Arnold Classic Third Place2007 Sacramento Pro Winner2007 Mr. Olympia 14th Place2008 Iron Man Pro Eighth Place2008 Arnold Classic Seventh Place2008 Australia Grand Prix Fourth Place2008 New Zealand Grand Prix Third Place2008 Tampa Bay Pro Winner2008 Europa Super Show Winner2008 Atlantic City Pro Second, Masters2008 Atlantic City Pro Fourth Place2008 Mr. Olympia Fifth Place



were still writing “2007” on our checks, he injured his knee and was forced out ofdefending his title at the Arnold Classic. Worse, he missed the Mr. Olympia, the showmany thought had been stolen from him last year and he was due to dominate thistime around. But shit happens, right? Victor has made the best of a bad situation and isnow gearing up to make 2009 the year he truly makes his mark on this sport. I talkedto him about his injury rehab, who his strongest challengers will be and how he plansto take them all out.

RH: I’m gonna start with something pretty random. In part one of this inter-view, we ran some great shots of you training legs at Metroflex Gym takenright after the Europa show. One thing drove me crazy, though. In every singleshot of you training legs, your damned legs were covered up by long, baggyshorts! What the hell was up with that?

VM: It was Per’s idea; not sure if he was trying to make it a big mystery or some-thing. But that’s what I wear when I train legs anyway, shorts like that.

RH: What? You don’t have the little spandex shorts?

Exclusive Interview by Ron HarrisPhotography by Per Bernal

2008 was a tough year for both Victor Martinez and his many fans. While most of us

THE COMEBACKOF VICTORMARTINEZ PART 2

NEXT YEAR’S VICTOR!



VM: Come on, man; are you serious?I have worn those for some photoshoots, but not once in real life.

RH: OK, enough about how longyour shorts are. Did it kill you tosee Dexter win the Mr. Olympiawhen you have beaten him the lastthree times you competed againsthim, including two Olympias and

an Arnold?VM: It was a mixed feeling. On one

hand, yeah, it was great to see Dexterget it because he’s been knocking onthat door a long time. But it also wastough because I knew that could havebeen me up there winning. It shouldhave been me, if I hadn’t got hurt.

RH: Were you happy to see the

judges do the right thing and letthe best man win? And at thesame time, were you wonderingwhy it didn’t work out that wayfor you back at last year’sOlympia when you had Jay beatfair-and-square?

VM: That’s a hard question toanswer. I don’t know why they decid-ed on Dexter. Maybe they figured



they would let Jay slide one time, but if he showed uplooking bad again they would have to finally punish himand take his title away. I have no idea what goes on inthe judges’ minds.

RH: Do you think Jay looked worse last year, orthis year?

VM: Condition-wise, he was worse last year. But over-all, his physique looked a lot more beat-up and funky thisyear. Not only did I think Dexter had him beat easily, butPhil Heath should have beaten him, too. Probably even

Wolf and maybe Toney. But fourth, fourth was about whereI would have had Jay this time.

RH: Do you think Dexter will be your biggestthreat next year as the defending champion, or is itpossible Phil Heath or Dennis Wolf could end upbeing the toughest guys to beat?

VM: I don’t underestimate anybody. Phil keeps gettingbetter. Wolf didn’t look better this time, but I think that’s justbecause he messed up at the end. I had seen him guestpose earlier in the year and he had made improvements.



I have beaten Dexter the last couple times we competedagainst each other, but he’s Mr. Olympia now. Historyshows that the man holding the title can show up a littleoff and still win.

RH: After that fiasco last year, you talked abouthow you thought you would probably need to bringthe same package but with 5-10 percent more sizeto beat Jay with no questions asked. Now that asmaller guy has the title you want, do you still needthat extra size?

VM: I probably wouldn’t need itto beat Dexter, but Heath and Wolfkeep getting bigger and better.Dennis was 270, so he could be280 or more next time. It’s noteven about them. It’s about mebeing the best I can be. I know Ican put on a little more mass andstill maintain my lines and myshape and when I do, I will be thatmuch tougher to beat.

RH: You are coming back totry for your second ArnoldClassic win a few monthsfrom now. Is Dexter alsodoing that show? If so, whatwould it look like if the reign-ing Mr. Olympia got beat atthe Arnold?

VM: I really doubt he will do it,but you never know. He mightdecide he wants that extra-big pay-check. If I beat him there, it wouldlook bad for him and it would putme in a better position for theOlympia, that’s for sure.

RH: Let’s talk about yourlegs and how they are comingalong. When did the injury hap-pen, and when did you returnto training legs?

VM: The injury happened onJanuary 15, and I didn’t start train-ing legs again until May. That wasvery easy training and it’s beengetting heavier and more intense alittle bit at a time ever since then.

RH: What was the rehabprocess like? Did you workwith a physical therapist? Didhe or she have you doing any-thing unique to strengthen theknee again, something you did-n’t already do in the past?

VM: I started physical therapythree weeks after my surgery at a

place called Star Rehab Center. The guy I have been work-ing with is named Brian Gurney. He does a lot of manualbending and twisting, and in the early stages we did a lotof electrical muscle stimulation on the quadriceps, becauseit had atrophied so much. I was going three or four timesevery week, but now I only go once a week.

RH: Is there any pain in the knee at all?VM: Most of the time, no. If I go up some stairs too

fast or something like that, I definitely feel it. It’s justsometimes I forget how careful I need to be. It doesn’t



hurt when I train legs, but the knee will ache for a day ortwo after that workout.

RH: I guess that’s not a big deal; many guys whohave been training heavy for a while have kneesthat ache. Size-wise, how does the injured leg com-pare to the other one these days?

VM: It’s an inch smaller. I think when I started the rehab

it was about 4 inches smaller.RH: Not to bag on Jay too much, but he won two

Mr. Olympia titles with one leg much smaller thanthe other.

VM: Yeah, but I’m not going to count on getting thatsame break. I have to get the leg back up to match.

RH: Do you spend a lot more time warming up



before a leg workout than you did before? Do youstretch them before or after? Are you havingthings like deep-tissue massage or ultrasounddone on the leg?

VM: I always warmed up and stretched. I think 5 min-utes on a stationary bike is fine to warm up as long as youalso take time to warm up with your exercises instead of

being stupid and jumping right into heavy weights. I havedeep tissue done all the time. Brian Gurney does that, orJohn Pena. My training partner Jakob even knows how todo deep-tissue work. I never really felt ultrasound did muchfor me, so I don’t bother with that.

RH: Can you run me through the most recentworkout you did for quads?

VM: Sure. I started off with leg extensions. I do the topthree-quarters of the range of motion because it’s not safefor me to start from a full stretch.

RH: Personally, I don’t think it’s safe for anybodyto start from that point.

VM: Maybe not. Then I did squats. After that I do a typeof lunge called the “runner’s lunge.” You hold on to an over-head cable pulley for resistance. You have one foot in frontof you on the ground, and the other behind you on a lowbox. You extend forward as far as you can and then kick offwith the lead leg.

RH: That’s a new one. Did you invent that orsomething?

VM: No, I got that from my training partner, Jakob. ThenI did step-ups and leg presses; that was it.

RH: How do the weights you use now in leg train-ing compare to what you were using last year at this


time? Say, for squats?VM: I am using 275 to 315 now, where

before I would do 405 all the time.RH: When you’re talking about

muscle memory and rebuilding previ-ously existing muscle mass as in thecase of your leg, do you think it’snecessary that you have to regain allthe strength to get the size back? Orare there other ways to get it done?

VM: If you slow the reps down andreally focus on working the muscle,less weight can feel like more. Plenty ofguys have been able to maintain mus-cle without training as heavy as theyused to, so you should also be able torebuild muscle.

RH: I just read an interesting arti-cle my wife forwarded to me abouthow figure athletes train. The onlyreason I bring it up is because theauthor claims that walking lungesare about the most destructive exer-cise you can possibly do for yourknees. They put a tremendous shear-ing force on the knee. How heavydid you used to go on those, and doyou do them now?

VM: I hardly ever did walking lunges.Over the last couple years I’ve beendoing step-ups, and I like those a lot bet-ter. I find them to be more effective.

RH: Do you step up onto a flatbench?

VM: No, the cushion of the benchmakes your feet too unstable. Womencan do that because they are only usingbodyweight or not much weight. I try togo pretty heavy while holding a pair ofdumbbells, and I step up onto a box. Notmany guys have ever really tried step-ups, but they should. I bet a lot of themwould switch from lunges to those.

RH: From the photos I saw in partone, it looks like your calves areactually better than before. Were youdoing more for them while youcouldn’t do much for legs?

VM: Yeah, because I figured the bloodflow would help with the healing processfor my knee. And I know my calves couldbe better, anyway. When I stood next toJay, his calves blew mine away.

RH: Well, that’s not the case whenyou’re next to Dexter, but I digress. Iknow a main goal in your quad train-



ing is to build more outer sweep. What exercises areyou doing to achieve that?

VM: Once in a while, I do hack squats, but mainly I likedoing leg presses with my feet together. That hits the outerpart of the quad best for me.

RH: You just started phase one of your trainingprogram with Chad for the Arnold. What exactly arethe goals in phase one, and what does it mean interms of training and nutrition?

VM: The training stays the same, because I always trainwith high intensity. It’s mainly my diet that’s different. Weincrease the calories and I eat up a storm. The goal is toput on as much lean mass as possible. Phase one is onlyabout five weeks long. If I ate like this much longer, Iwould turn into a butterball and they would be trying tothrow me in the oven on Thanksgiving.

RH: A lot of people thought you looked damn-near perfect at the 2007 Mr. Olympia. Are you con-fident you can bring a package that’s even betterthan that next time? And realistically, is there any-

one out there you think can beat it?VM: I’m not gonna sit here and talk shit like I can’t be

beaten or that I’m the greatest. It’s a comeback and I’mdealing with this knee. Getting into my best shape will be achallenge. But I tore my pec a few years back and cameback better than ever, so I know I have it in me. You’ll knowwhen you see me at the Arnold how successful I was.

RH: Last question. I want to know if you saw themovie “Bigger, Stronger, Faster.” If so, were youupset at how they used you as an example to showhow much bigger the pros of today are by compar-ing your height and weight to that of Arnold in hisprime? He made mention of your previous legalproblems involving steroids. And the worst thingwas, my old co-worker Chris Bell shorted you by twoinches and said you were only 5’7”!

VM: I never saw it, and I refuse to promote it in any way.I thought it was wrong to use me the way he did withouteven asking me and make me look bad like that. And forthe record, I’m 5’9”. ■



By Lee Priest, Photography by Per BernalEditor’s Note: You’ve read contest reviews before, and

they are usually about as thrilling as the morning stockmarket reports for those of us who are financially retarded.That’s because the writer is typically choosing his wordsvery carefully and is terrified of offending any of the ath-letes. We thought it might be interesting to give Lee Priest

the task of reviewingthe top 10 as he sawthem at this year’s Mr.Olympia via the webcast from his home inAustralia. We knew hewouldn’t pull anypunches and wouldspeak his mind with-out reservation, andLee did not disappoint.

So now they’ve gotme doing fucking con-test reports here inMD? This is the firsttime and maybe thelast time, because I’m

sure some of the guys will cry and moan about how cruelmy assessments are. Well, too fucking bad, buddy. The fol-lowing comments are purely based on the physiques. If theguys can’t deal with that and choose to take it personally,that’s their problem. I’m not here to say how wonderful allthe guys looked. Obviously they made it this far, so they are

CONFESSIONAL

DEXTER JACKSON



all very good. But Steve asked me to call ‘em like I saw‘em, so here was the top 10 in the eyes of The Priest.

1. Dexter JacksonThe commentators kept raving on and on about how

Dexter was 4.7 pounds heavier than he was at theArnold. If he was, I didn’t see it. Dexter looked the sameto me as he always does. I don’t think he really gains allthis size and bodyweight like he says he does. What hap-pens is that his condition varies a bit from show to showand he might be a little fuller or flatter. With such asmall frame, little changes like that creates an illusion.But regardless, Dexter has excellent shape and symme-try, with a small waist and is always shredded. Evenwhen he’s a tiny bit off he’s still usually in better shapethan everyone else. I want to say well done to Dexter forwinning the Mr. Olympia. I honestly never thought Iwould live to see the day when an aesthetic physiquewas rewarded instead of sheer bulk. This did give menew faith in the judges and shows me they really arewilling to make the sport better by choosing the bestphysique up there instead of just the biggest or heaviest.And since I have beaten Dexter in the past (1999

Olympia, 2000 Night of Champions and Olympia, 2002San Francisco Pro and GNC Show of Strength), maybethere is still hope for me!

2. Jay CutlerWhere do I begin? At the press conference on

Thursday, Jay announced to all of us that he was looking“his best ever.” A couple years ago Ronnie remarked in abackstage interview that Jay Cutler must be smokingcrack if he thought he was going to beat him that year. IfJay honestly thought this was the best he ever looked,he has to be out of his mind. Dan Solomon must have hishead so far up Cutler’s ass that he can taste what Jayjust ate, because he was repeating that same bullshitover and over again as he commentated during the web-cast. First of all, Jay was not in shape on Friday nightduring the prejudging. The only thing on his physiquethat was ripped are his legs. Jay’s back was smooth andhad folds of loose old-man skin hanging down at the bot-

JAY CUTLER

PHIL HEATH


tom, and his shoulders and arms looked incredibly soft.And blocky…Jay is so wide-waisted and blocky that youcould stick a handle on him, open him up and put themilk in. People were saying he should win because hestill had the most mass, a fact I don’t even agree with.But even if he did, then why wasn’t Markus Ruhl everMr. Olympia? Markus carried more mass than Jay andhad a smaller waist. The thing that really puzzled me iswhy Jay wasn’t in shape. He only had one show to getready for and had an entire year to do it.

Guys like Silvio and Toney did something like a half-dozen shows this year and they still showed up in condi-tion. Jay lives right there in Las Vegas, so it’s not likehe could blame a long flight for screwing him up andmaking him hold water or something. Speaking ofwater, the commentators also made a big deal abouthow Jay lost 12 pounds between Friday and Saturdaynights and looked so much better. If you’ve properlyprepared for a contest, there is no reason on earth youwould need to drop that much water. Furthermore, theonly way to accomplish that is by using diuretics, whichare on the IFBB’s banned substance list. I think Jaysimply got really lazy this year. He knew Ronnie would-

n’t be competing, so he figured he would be the only hugeguy up there and winning a third time would be nosweat. He even made some remarks earlier this yearabout how he only needed to be at 90 percent to win,which was a pretty arrogant thing to say about thetoughest bodybuilding contest in the world. You neverheard Ronnie say he didn’t have to be his best to keepwinning, and he was a much more dominant championthan Jay could have ever hoped to be. If any of thiscomes across as a personal attack, it isn’t. I have nothingagainst Jay as a person. The fact is that he did not showup looking like Mr. Olympia, and he paid the price. Ifanything, he was very lucky to be given second place asmyself and many others didn’t even feel he deserved tobe in the top five this year.

3. Phil HeathI was really surprised at how good Phil Heath looked.

His condition was probably the very best in the show,and he has some amazing body parts like his arms andshoulders. For a black guy, his calves are pretty great,


DENNIS WOLF

TONEY FREEMAN


too. Phil had a lot of hype to live up to, and I think hedid a good job. He was working hard during the judgingand putting tons of effort into each pose. Will he be Mr.Olympia, like a lot of people seem to think he is destinedto be? Who knows? They said that about Flex, Kevin,Shawn and a few other guys who were certainly goodenough to win that title. He does look a bit narrow insome poses, but so did Flex Wheeler. I thought it wasvery close between Phil and Dexter this time, and Philis still a young guy who gets better every time you seehim. As we all know, Dexter is just about maxed out. SoI doubt Dexter will be able to hold this kid off next time.

4. Dennis WolfI knew from his sunken face at the press conference

that Dennis was in awesome shape. It’s a look you hard-ly ever see anymore. And he was pretty ripped, butsomething must have gone wrong toward the end of hisprep, as he was totally flat. He still looked good, butclearly he missed a hell of a chance to win the Olympia.With his shape and mass and his small waist, Denniscould have blown Dexter and Phil away had be been

fuller and with the deeper muscle separations thatwould have come along with that. I knew it was all overfor Wolf when he wasn’t in the first callout. But Dennis isstill a relatively new guy and is probably still figuring allthis stuff out. I wouldn’t mind seeing him win anOlympia or two down the road.

5. Toney FreemanThis was probably the best I have ever seen Toney. He

definitely deserved to be in the top five and could proba-bly have been as high as third. He’s done a great job offilling out that tall-ass frame of his and was shredded tothe bone. It’s funny about Toney. When he’s off, like hewas last year at the Olympia, he doesn’t impress me atall. But when he’s on, it’s a whole other physique. I stillthink he needs bigger arms, and his calves would leadme to wonder if there is even a calf machine at the gymhe trains at. And if I can make a critique about his pos-ing routine, it’s to please cut out all the hip gyrations.Apparently, Toney used to be an exotic dancer in his


MELVIN ANTHONY

SILVIO SAMUEL


younger years. X-Man, if the audience wanted to see aman dance around like a stripper, Las Vegas has outfitslike Chippendales or Thunder From Down Under. Callme old-fashioned, but I think you’re just supposed topose in a bodybuilding contest, not dance or grind yourhips like you’re fucking some invisible girl onstage.

6. Melvin AnthonyIt may have been late September, but Christmas defi-

nitely arrived early for Marvelous Melvin. Sixth placefor him was the biggest gift of the show after Jay’s sec-ond place. Melvin just didn’t ‘bring it.’ In fact, he musthave left ‘it’ back home in California. He was off, plainand simple, and as usual it was worst in his glutes andhams. And yes, I know he’s an amazing poser. But Iguess I am going to have to be the asshole who pointsthis out. If you saw the movie “Zoolander,” Ben Stiller’smale supermodel had all these “looks,” or facial expres-sions, with names like Magnum and Blue Steel. But theywere really all the same exact look. Well, Melvin keepschanging the music he uses but…it’s the same routineevery time! He starts out slow, then he does some

break-dance popping and locking crap, then he leansway back like he’s doing the limbo. Sure, it’s cool…thefirst 50 times you see it. I can only dream of being ableto pose like Melvin of course, but if I could, I think Iwould at least try to mix it up every couple years.

7. Silvio SamuelYou have to hand it to Silvio. The guy did nine shows

last season and was in shape at every single one. Thisyear he “only” competed five times, but the only otherguy who was his equal with condition at this year’sOlympia was probably Heath. Silvio has great lines andnice, round muscle bellies. His back could be better, but Istill thought he deserved better than seventh. HowMelvin beat him is as big of a mystery to me as wherethose stray socks disappear to in the dryer. We’ll neverknow. I said I was only going to talk about the physiques,but I did want to add that Silvio is a real gentleman andvery down to earth from the times I have met him.


DENNIS JAMES

MOHAMMADEL MOUSSAWI


8. Dennis JamesDennis has been around a long time. This was the

eighth time he’s competed in the Mr. Olympia, andsometimes I wonder if the judges just get sick of seeinghim after awhile. I’m glad he finally stopped playingthe size game, because for a while there, it looked likehe was about to give birth to triplets. He has slimmeddown and his shape is a lot better now that his waist isunder control, but Dennis still could have been tighter.I know he used to have good muscle separation wayback when he got his pro card, but after that he blewup with bulk and we never saw it again. I don’t know ifhe can get that back, but if he does he could be in thetop five again.

9. Mohammad El MoussawiIt was good to see some new blood up in this year’s

top 10, including Heath and Moe. This guy had a reallygood physique, but he was tighter earlier this season atthe Iron Man and the Arnold. I don’t know if he thoughthe had to be bigger for the Olympia, but Moe should

always bring that crazy-shredded look if he wants to dowell. I could be wrong, but I don’t think his frame canhold a lot more mass than it already has unless he wantsto get a pregnant belly. So instead of trying to blow upand destroy his physique, I hope Moe just adds a little bitin the right areas and focuses on coming in as hard aspossible. But all in all, not bad for a Kiwi (NewZealander).

10. Gustavo BadellWhat the fuck happened to this guy? For two years in

a row he was top three in the Mr. Olympia and winningthat retarded challenge round over everyone, includingRonnie. Since then, he has done downhill fast. His legshave shrunk, and he can’t seem to get that condition likehe used to. He looked better this time than I’ve seen himin a while, but his back was still pretty soft and his legslook like he just doesn’t train them hard anymore. Idon’t know if Gustavo will ever be able to look as goodas he did a few years ago (he did win a pro show asrecently as February of 2006), or if his body has justhad it. Sometimes, whether it’s related to all the heavytraining, drugs or whatever, a man’s body just stopsresponding the way it used to. Look at Ronnie, and nowJay. The body just gets beat up. For Badell’s sake, I hopeit’s not over for him quite yet. If he does somehow man-age to rally and get his look back that he had in 2004and 2005, they should make him a saint…because itwould be a fucking miracle!

Overall ImpressionsEven though the depth of the lineup is nothing like it

used to be back in the ‘90s (I sound like a broken recordwith that refrain, don’t I?), it was still a good show. Itwas exciting to see a true “changing of the guard” with atotally different physique being crowned Mr. Olympia.This was the first time since before Lee Haney startedwinning in 1984 that the title hasn’t gone to the biggestguy up there. So yes, thisPriest has renewed faith inthe judging and in thedirection of the sport!Hopefully the title canchange and keep thingsfresh. Dexter might holdon to it, or it could just aseasily change hands tosomeone like Martinez,Heath or Wolf. And maybe,just maybe, a heavily tat-tooed 5’4” guy from Australia could even win it some-day! Don’t laugh; they also said the Berlin Wall wouldnever come down and a black man would never be elect-ed President of the USA. Oh wait, that hasn’t happenedyet, at the time I’m writing this, has it? Never mind. LeePriest, contest reporter from MD, signing out. ■


MY TOP FIVEDexterHeath*ToneyWolf

Silvio*I thought you could have

switched up Phil, Freeman,and Wolf pretty much in

any order.

GUSTAVOBADELL



By Ron Harris, Photography by Per Bernal

Who is the best bodybuilder in the world today under 202 pounds? According to the results of the inaugural 202Showdown at the recent Mr. Olympia Weekend, that man is the Giant Killer, David Henry. Having gone three for threethis season in the new 202 class, it’s tough to argue that Henry is the undisputed champion. But to be the very best,you have to beat the very best. Fans of Lee Priest have been saying for years that if there were a short class or alighter weight class at the Mr. Olympia (as existed from 1974 to 1979), the Blond Myth would have won many times.We didn’t get to find out this year, because even though Lee had been reinstated back into the IFBB, a biceps tendoninjury knocked him out until next spring. But even with next year’s 202 Showdown (which could possibly change itsname) almost a year away, the talk is already starting about a titanic battle between Dave and Lee. Add a possiblecomeback by Shawn Ray into the mix, and the stage is being set for some serious rivalries. We spoke with Dave andLee about the 202 Showdown and what they have in store for us next year. And if I let Dave do most of the talking,it’s only because we hear from Lee every month!

RH: Dave, congratulations on becoming the first-ever 202 Olympia Showdown champion! How doesit feel to have the title?

DH: I feel the same way as the winner of the regular Mr. Olympia does, on top of the world. It’s the first time in mycareer I can say I’m number one in the world on that given day. Some fans have e-mailed me to say that they think that

Dave Henry vs. Lee Priest in 2009: Who Will Win?


pound-for-pound, I am the best bodybuilder compet-ing today in the IFBB. I appreciated those commentsvery much.

RH: Lee, now that you have seen the 202class really take off in 2008, what do you thinkabout it? Good idea or bad idea?

LP: I think it’s a great idea. So many times, we seea smaller or shorter guy with a very completephysique lose to a bigger guy who’s missing entirebody parts. It’s because people get so easily over-whelmed by mass. They say, “Oh, wow, he sure ishuge!” That leads them to forget about symmetry,condition and other important factors. We have beenseeing this at the Olympia for years. So now thatthere is another option and a class for lighter guyswho do have all those attributes, I think it’s excellent.I only wish they would have started the fucking thing15 years ago when I was starting out as a pro!

RH: Dave, even though Dexter is 2 inchestaller and a little over 30 pounds heavier, Ithink a strong argument can be made that youare just as thick overall.

DH: I think so. Put me up onstage in my best con-dition against anybody and I think I can hang, what-ever his height and weight may be. I’ve been in thetop five at many open shows and was top 10 in theMr. Olympia last year. How I didn’t get that again thisyear is a controversial topic. I spent a lot of timeanswering fans’ e-mails asking why I was down in15th. I even had guys in the top 10 who were con-fused. Unfortunately, I don’t have an answer for it.

RH: Did you think it was close between you,Kevin and Flex Lewis, or did you dominate thatparticular show?

DH: I know that those guys look good from thefront, but when we turn around I have a major edge.But they looked fantastic, and that’s exactly what Iwas hoping for. I want to win at my best, but if I don’twin, I’d rather it be when I was at my best, too. That’sbetter than losing and knowing I didn’t push myselfhard enough. And you can take more pride in beat-ing others when they are at their best rather thancatching them on an off day. But I brought my A-game, and the scorecard showed that it was enoughto win with all first-place votes.

RH: A perfect score, like Ronnie used tohave for years at the Mr. O.

DH: This was the fourth time in my career it’s hap-pened. I won with perfect scores at the 2002 NPCNationals, the 2005 Wildcard Showdown at theOlympia, the Tampa show a few weeks ago and thenthe 202 Showdown.

RH: Lee, getting back to Kevin English andFlex Lewis for a minute. How do you rate themin terms of strong and weak points?

LP: I’m glad that they are getting some exposure


and doing well, but they are very lucky that they are start-ing their pro careers at the same time that this 202 class istaking off. I never had that when I was an up-and-comingstar and had to go up against freaks like Dorian, Shawn,Kevin, Flex, Ronnie, Paul Dillett, Chris Cormier, Nasser andlater, Jay. Kevin and Flex are getting a nice break by beingable to competeagainst the smallerguys like them-selves. I am surethey will both rackup a few wins inthis class before it’sall said and done,but would they everhave won a proshow with noweight classes,going up againstthe really big guys?I’m not so sure.Kevin has somegood body parts,and so does Flex,

but they both still need a lot of work if they were to trulyhang with the bigger guys.

RH: Dave, you nearly beat Lee the last time youcompeted against him at the 2006 Iron Man. Whatimprovements have you made since then, andassuming Lee hasn’t made any, could that be

enough to edgehim out thenext time youtwo compete?

DH: Let mesay that Lee is agreat competitor.The man is thickas hell from everyangle. We reallyhave two very dif-ferent physiques,one of thoseapples-and-oranges situa-tions. He lookedfantastic when hebeat me at the


Iron Man, but I don’t know if he’s changed since then. Iknow I have. Over the last couple years, I have put on sizein the right places and my confidence level is much higher.If they go by structure alone, I have him there. Lee hasnailed his condition a few times, but he’s also been a bitoff more than once from the waist down. He just isn’t con-sistent with that yet to the point where it’s not an issue.

RH: When you compare strengths and weakness,it’s odd that you have superior chest and backthickness to Lee, while he does have a better lowerbody. What type of challenge does that present tothe judges when they have to decide who shouldwin?

DH: Well, I have been bombing my legs hard since thelast time Lee was onstage with me, and they are no longera flaw. With the upper body, I am wider across the shoul-ders and do have more thickness and roundness to boththe chest and the shoulders. His arms have always beenstraight-up freaky. It’s funny; you could swap some of ourbody parts and create the world’s greatest 202-poundbodybuilder who ever lived!

RH: But again, how would the judges be able tochoose who’s better?

DH: One thing I know is that when we turn around, Ihave the upper hand. When you talk about back thickness

and detail, glute-ham tie-ins, all of that, I have the advantage.Neither of us have a blocky midsection, but my back andwider shoulders give me better overall shape.

RH: Lee, David Henry is the reigning 202 championof the world. How do you rate Dave? What are hisstrong and weak points, and what would it take foryou to beat him?

LP: He is the current champion. You’ve already said whathis strong and weak points are. I know for me to beat him Iwould really just have to be in my best condition. He has meon a couple areas maybe, but it’s not a body part contest. It’sa physique contest. Overall, I feel I have a more complete-looking physique and better overall shape. He thinks hedoes, and that’s fine. We all have to be confident that we canwin. The truth is, anybody can be beaten on any given day ifthey aren’t at their best and the other guy is.

RH: Dave, Lee mentions condition. For a coupleshows earlier this year, you weren’t your usual shred-ded-to-the-bone self. What happened?

DH: I wasn’t prepared the way I should have been. That’s


“I want to win at my best, but if I don’t win,I’d rather it be when I was at my best, too.That’s better than losing and knowing I didn’tpush myself hard enough.” —Dave Henry


it. It’s my fault and I blame no one or nothing else. But Iam the type of person who learns from my mistakes, sothat’s in the past now.

RH: Conditioning is definitely a strong point ofDave’s, Lee. He’s very consistent with it and that’swhere you will really have to shine to beat him, atleast in the opinion of many fans. Do you think youhave finally figured out how to duplicate that typeof condition that won you the Iron Man so that hewon’t edge you out in that department?

LP: If you look at all the old contest photos of me, you’llsee that I was always in shape. It did take me a few yearsbefore I got that ultra-shredded look to my legs, but myupper body was always where it needed to be. Have I fig-ured it all out? No, you never do. Your body reacts differ-ently at every show. Look at the last Olympia and how acouple guys really screwed up while oth-ers were in the best shape of their lives.If we could figure it out once and for all,no one would ever show up off his peak.We would all have cross-striated fuckingglutes and you would be able to countthe muscle fibers in our eyelids.

RH: Dave, you have made tremen-dous improvements since turningpro six years ago, adding over 25pounds of pure muscle. You havealso gone on record many times assaying that you give much of thecredit to your training style, DC,which is based on high-intensity andlow overall volume. Lee trains in thestandard high-volume style and hasnever used a logbook to force him-self to be accountable and makestrength gains. I know you don’tcare whether or not DC would workbetter for Lee and he isn’t interestedin it anyway, but just being hypo-thetical, do you think that maybe hisphysique could be better if he hadswitched over to DC a few years agolike you did?

DH: There seems to be a commonmisconception that I am the guy whothinks DC Training is the only way totrain, and that I am trying to preach it toeveryone. So not true. I really don’t careif Lee or anyone else uses DC, or whatthey think about it. I know what it’s donefor me since I started using it in July of2004 when I started working with DanteTrudel. I continue to make gains and Iknow I haven’t yet maxed out my frame.These other guys can sneer at DC andsay, “That’s not enough training for me.”

Yet they look the same year after year and I improve all thetime. I honestly don’t know if Lee would look any different.I suspect he has probably put on just as much muscle ashis frame will hold before he starts looking blocky.

RH: Lee…response?LP: He’s right in the sense that I do have all the mass I

need and that my structure can carry without starting tolook like a refrigerator, though Jay won two Olympias withthat look! No comment on the training. He does what he


“So now that there is another option and aclass for lighter guys who do have all thoseattributes, I think it’s excellent. I only wishthey would have started the fucking thing 15years ago when I was starting out as a pro!”—Lee Priest


does, I do what I do and it’s always worked fine for me. RH: Dave, Dante Trudel, creator of DC Training, is

a vital part of your team. Who are some others?DH: My wife Nikki runs the Cruise portions of my train-

ing. I set it up so that I blast up until two weeks out, thendo my Cruise right up to it. Nikki has me doing higher vol-ume and a lot of giant sets with lighter weights to flushblood in there. You see it in my DVD “Extreme Measures”(available at www.toopumped.net) along with my Blasttraining. I’ve had women come up to me and tell me theylove the way she kicks my ass! I also have to mentionScott Stevenson, who handles my diet. He’s in the DVD,too. And of course, MuscleTech has been a huge helpthroughout my pro career.

RH: I believe you have competed in shape asheavy as 210 or so, correct? Is it tough for you toget down to 202 pounds, and do you have to sacri-fice any muscle mass to do it?

DH: No, the heaviest I have ever competed at in prop-er condition was 206. And it is hard for me to get downto 202. I work hard enough in the off-season so that Imake it hard. I have to drop 6 or 7 pounds of water thenight before I weigh in to get to 202 now. I actually

weigh in a couple pounds less than that, so I have about6-9 pounds to play with assuming I lose about half of itthe next time I diet.

RH: What if you can’t make the cut?DH: That day will come sooner or later. When it does,

I’ll just jump right into the Open. I’m not scared to com-pete against the best bodybuilders out there, over orunder 202 pounds.

LP: I feel the same way. If you are so worried aboutcompeting against heavier guys, you should remain anamateur your whole life.

RH: Shawn Ray is now talking about possiblycoming back next year to try and win the 202Showdown at the Mr. Olympia. First of all, wouldyou look forward to sharing the stage with a guywho was top five at the Mr. Olympia for 12 years ina row?

DH: Is he really? I didn’t know that. It would be anhonor, for sure. Shawn was someone I looked up to and

had tremendous respect for back in theday, and still do. People have even mis-taken me for him at airports a coupletimes, although I don’t really see a strongresemblance. He was out of the sportbefore I was into it, so I would love thechance to stand next to him.

RH: Shawn will be 45 next year,and he’s been out of heavy trainingfor the better part of a decade. Doyou think it’s possible for him toregain his former physique, or atleast come very close?

DH: The mind is the most powerfulfactor in bodybuilding, and that’s an areaShawn has always been known for. If heputs his mind to it, I would bet he cancome close to looking as good as he usedto. He was a very formidable competitorand would be a force to reckon with.

RH: Lee, do you think Shawn canstill come close to looking as good

as he used to?LP: I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t be able to.

Muscle memory is a powerful thing, and it’s not like he’s 60or 70 years old. I think he’s the same age as Ronnie, andRonnie is still a beast. So unless Shawn’s muscle memoryhas Alzheimer’s disease, he should be able to get his massback pretty fast. Shawn has a lot of pride and I know hewouldn’t come back unless he was looking great. My guessis that he will train for a while and see how he’s lookingbefore he makes any type of decision. I know I would.

RH: You never beat Shawn before. Do you think


THE STATS!Lee Priest Dave Henry

Ht: 5’4” 5’5”Wt: 199-210 202-205Age: 36 33Best body part: Arms, legs Back, armsWeak point: Back, chest LegsPro since: 1993 2002Pro shows: 44 29Pro wins: 5 3Training style: High-volume DoggCrapp


you could beat him if you two competed againsteach other next year?

LP: Just because I didn’t beat him doesn’t mean I nevershould have. This sport is all a matter of the judges’ opin-ions. I don’t worry about beating anyone because that’s upto the judges, not us. It would be fun to compete againstShawn again. There aren’t many of us dinosaurs from the‘90’s still doing this shit.

RH: Dave, how does it feel knowing that youwould go into the 2009 202 Showdown as thedefending champion, as well as the first man toever hold that title?

DH: Well, I’m not sure what it will be called nextyear…hopefully something with Olympia in the title like“202 Mr. Olympia.” It should carry the same prestige asthe Mr. Olympia. The prize money should be tripled, and Iwould like to see prize money all the way down to 15th

place. These guys all work long and hard and deserve a lit-tle more than “thanks for coming.” Even $1,000 or $2,000would show that their efforts were appreciated, becausesome of these guys will never carry the mass to competesuccessfully in the Open class the way Kevin English and Ido. Let those guys go home with a good feeling so thatthey’ll get motivated to come back next year. I’ve spoken

with Robin Chang about all of this, and he is very receptiveto my ideas.

RH: Does it seem fair to you that a rule was justinstituted saying that you can only compete in the202 or the Open Olympia, but not both? What wasthe reasoning behind that? Is it going to be that wayfor all shows with both an Open and a 202?

DH: It’s what needs to be done to make the 202 class asgood as it can be. As the 202 gets more prestige, coverageand better prize money, there will be a lot more incentivefor the guys who turn pro as middleweight and light-heavyweights to keep their shape, lines and conditionrather than trying to bulk up so they can compete againstthe guys who are 240, 260 or whatever. Everybody I havetalked to loves the 202 class. They feel it’s more realisticand attainable. Some guy out there who’s 170 poundslooks at the 202 class and thinks, yeah, if I work hard for afew years, maybe I could hang with those guys. That sameguy looks at Cutler, Wolf, those huge guys who are 270pounds and they are like aliens to him. I think the 202 classis going to go a long way toward getting more mainstreaminterest in pro bodybuilding.

RH: Lee, I know that a lot of fans can’t wait tosee how you will do in the 202 class. If you have


to choose at any given showbetween the 202 and the Open,would it be a rough decision?

LP: Yes, I think it would be. I wouldjust go by how I felt on that day.Maybe I would try 202 at one showand open at another. It would botherme if I were never competing againstthe top guys in the Open when I’vedone it so many times before. Nooffense to the guys in the 202 now,but there just isn’t a lot of tough com-petition yet, at least not for me. Thatmight come across as sounding arro-gant, but like I said I have competedagainst the best in the world over theyears and always held my own.

RH: Dave, do you think it’s pre-sumptuous to assume that thebiggest challenge to you next yearwould come from Priest, whenthere is no shortage of talent inthe 202 class?

DH: I really don’t even focus onanybody else. I just do my best tomake sure I have the best physiquepackage I possibly can. If I am at mybest, I know I am capable of standingnext to anyone.

RH: If you return to defend thetitle, and Lee and Shawn are also


Priest and Henry face off at the 2006 Iron Man.

onstage, do you think that wouldhelp to make the 202 Showdownmore of a fan draw?

DH: Lee and Shawn being therewould definitely up the ante and helpdraw a bigger crowd. Shawn’s beenretired since 2000 and still has a hugefan base. Lee has been away a coupleyears and is also a fan favorite aswell as a controversial figure. We all

have very different physiques, person-alities and fan bases. If we were all inshape I think it would be a heck of ashow.

RH: Lee, you will probably neverbe Mr. Olympia. Would winning the202 Showdown be the next bestthing?

LP: No, I really don’t think so. To meit would be just like winning anotherpro show like the Iron Man or a GrandPrix event. Just because the 202Showdown is at the Olympia doesn’tmake it any more prestigious quite yet.It’s still all the same guys from theshows you did to get there.

RH: Dave, aside from the O,which other shows are on youragenda for next year?

DH: I did eight shows this year ifyou count all the ones I doubled up onwith both the 202 and Open. For 2009, Iwant to do New York again. If theydon’t have a 202 I’ll just do the Open. Iwant to defend my title in Tampa.Atlantic City is a possibility, and I amdefinitely defending my title at theOlympia. I’m skipping the Iron Man andthe Arnold next year so I have time tomake the improvements I want in orderto really make a big impact the nexttime I hit the stage. We call it “ProjectFrankenHenry.”

RH: Lee, I will let you have thelast word. Do you like the idea of

TH

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Priest at the 2006Arnold Classic.

Above and below: Henry at the 2008Mr. Olympia where he won the firstannual “under 202 class.”

Above andbelow:Priest at the2006 ArnoldClassic.

having the 202 Showdown as a separateevent, or do you think it would make moresense to have an over and under 202 winnerpose down for the Overall Mr. Olympia, theway they did it in the ‘70s for a little while?

LP: You have to keep them separate. I guessthe posedown would be fun for the fans, butit wouldn’t mean anything. They almostalways go for the heavier guy in the end. Ifyou’re good enough to be Mr. Olympia, youshould be competing in the Mr. Olympia. Theonly guys to ever win the Overall Mr. Olympiaagainst the heavier class winners were FrancoColumbu and Frank Zane, and the sport has changeda lot since then. The big guys back then were nothinglike they are today, and a smaller guy could beatthem with condition and symmetry. I think thosedays are long gone, for better or worse. ■



BY JOHN ROMANO, PHOTOGRAPHY BY PER BERNAL

For the last 16 years, the Olympia title has been held by three men who, whileredefining what inspires awe, their descriptive terms precluded such applicable andexpected adjectives as “aesthetic,” “natural,” “sweeping,” “pleasing” and “flowing.”Given the logical comparison of bodybuilding to sculpting, one would think theideal would naturally have originated in an artist’s studio. Metaphorically however,for the last 16 years our champions have not found their genesis in a sculptor’s stu-dio at the hand of a great and revered master. They seem to have been built in afoundry or a shipyard, or someplace where they make tanks. To say this “evolution”is a drastic departure from our creator’s intent is as vast an understatement thatcould ever be construed.

However, now, with the crowning of Dexter Jackson— and with the likes of VictorMartinez, Kai Greene, Toney Freemen, Phil Heath and Dennis Wolf waiting in thewings— the classic descriptions of what constitutes the beauty of the male physiquemight just perhaps be becoming less abstract, and likely will be brought tofruition…even though Jay Cutler might still be around.

DOES DEXTER’S AUSPICIOUS VICTORY INDICATE IT’S

OUT WITH THE FREAKS AND IN WITH THE PHYSIQUES?

AN OLYMPIA EVOLUTION…



Bodybuilding, atthe highest leveland in the purestsense, is no less anartistic pursuit nor alife commitmentmuch different thanany great masterwho sought to freethe forms impris-oned in a block ofmarble that havetoday become someof the world’s mostcelebrated works ofart. In the ItalianNational Museum inNaples stands the 9-foot tall “Farnese”Hercules, carved inthe early third century BCE by Glykon ofAthens. This work is clearly indicative ofthe form that became the benchmark ofmodern-day physique artists. In torturousdetail, Glykon chiseled his way throughthe porous rock to etch out contours, cutsand veins that leave all who gaze uponthis monstrous work nearly speechless. Ifyou have ever come face-to-face with thisstatue, you can understand the sheer emo-tion it evokes. If you haven’t, sitting in thefirst row of a Mr. Olympia contest will dothe same thing.

Somehow, over 2,500 years ago, with-out the benefit of gyms and free weightsand willing examples of the devotion toresistance training, complete with theappropriate supplements, drugs andapplied sports nutrition, the great masterscreated what would become the image ofthe most masculine of men.

The statue of Poseidon at the port ofCopenhagen, images of Alexander theGreat, Zeus and Michelangelo’s carving ofMoses all proclaimed centuries ago whatwould become the ideal the modern daybodybuilder would chase. This ideal,handed down over centuries, elevated thelevel of respect one would have for thehuman form that, when applied in thegym, would logically evince the very pin-nacle of size, symmetry and natural aes-thetics. Unfortunately, for the last 16years, these three vital aspects of artisticcreation had been pushed aside in favor ofunbridled mass. That’s not to say what

Dorian, Ronnie and Jay embodied was notawesome. It certainly was, but in a freak-ish kind of way. If these guys were madeof marble and put up for sale 1,500 yearsago, I don’t think anyone would havebought them, nor displayed them as fineworks of art. Yet, somehow, in the flesh inmodern times, nine judges bought themand kept buying them back every yearthey were for sale— so to speak.

The awesome statues hammered out bythe ancient Greeks and Romans were notmodeled after anyone; these were, after all,depictions of gods. In fact, Michelangelobelieved the form was already in the blockof marble, trapped inside if you will, like aprisoner. It was the artist’s job to free them.To prove the point, he created a series ofsix sculptures known as the “Prisoners,” aseries of sculptures that look to be leftunfinished. The images appear to be strug-gling for release from the block of marble.You can clearly see that nature has deter-mined what exemplifies aesthetics andsymmetry of the human form as natureitself has locked it in the stone. No modelsat for these works. Theoretically, it wasthe genius of Michelangelo that saw intothe block of marble and unlocked whatnature had trapped inside. Natural aes-thetics and symmetry are the hallmark ofa great work of art and these idealsshould never be tampered with when cre-ating a champion physique, neither instone nor in the flesh. Remember, it’s notnice to fool Mother Nature.

In spite of what the championscrowned during what might come to beknown as the mass era of the late ‘90s andearly 2000s embodied, those at the helmknew the size game was deep into extrainnings and the crowd was getting restless.This was evinced by the now-famousIFBB advisory on symmetry and naturalaesthetics of April 2005 which states:

With a mandate from President BenWeider, the Professional Committee and ateam of expert advisors recently evaluatedthe issues associated with muscular devel-opment, such as size, shape, density, sepa-ration and definition, in relation to sym-metry and natural aesthetics. Certainobjective criteria are involved in assess-ing symmetry and natural aesthetics in


competitive bodybuilding. Of great signif-icance are the qualities of balance, pro-portion and the overall “flow” of thephysique, including classic attributes suchas a dramatic “V-taper”; from broadshoulders and a wide back to a stream-lined waist and a flat, muscular abdomen.In addition, there should be balancebetween upper and lower body develop-ment, and harmony between the left andright sides of the body. These characteris-tics have been the hallmark of a body-builder’s physique fordecades, and it is theintent of this AdvisoryNotice to reaffirmtheir significance.Distended abdomensand distorted musclesnegatively impactupon symmetry andnatural aestheticsand, therefore, detractfrom the overallphysique. Athletes andjudges are advisedthat muscle size at the expense of symme-try and natural aesthetics will not beassessed favorably.

There were only three things wrongwith that advisory. First, the hallmarkcharacteristics of a bodybuilder have beenaround for centuries, not mere decades.Next, it shouldn’t have taken so long tobe mandated, and finally, it was notimmediately implemented. It took threeyears to be brought to full fruition withthe crowning of Dexter Jackson. Now, Ithink this achievement needs to be laudedfor what it is. I was probably the most-guilty member of our world in proclaim-ing Jay’s victory long before the Olympiatook place this year. I think it was inNovember last year when I said that Jaycould show up in a wheelchair and stillwin. As ridiculous as that sounds, manyof you agreed with me. That’s how pre-dictable this whole thing had become.

The auspiciousness of Dexter’s victorystarts with the fact that it wasn’t just afluke that Jay beat Ronnie while he wasstill in office— a feat that hadn’t beenduplicated since Samir Bannout lost hisincumbency in 1984 to Lee Haney andfour other guys. Dexter beating Jay sup-ported the notion that when a guy deserves

to win, he should win…something that hasbeen conspicuously missing for years andcost several guys Olympia titles that wererightfully theirs: Mike Mentzer, RichGaspari, Kevin Levrone, Shawn Ray andFlex Wheeler immediately come to mind.This concept of “the best man winning”was in its bleakest hour last year when Jay

“narrowly” beat Victor Martinez in whatwas perhaps the most confounding upsetsince the 1991 Ms. Olympia when LendaMurray inexplicably edged out BevFrancis in the finals. When shit like that

happens, you better come back the nexttime around with a more believable out-come, or else selling bibles in a brothelwill be easier than selling Olympia ticketsin Las Vegas. If for nothing else, I’mgrateful I was wrong.

Next, Dexter beating Jay evinced morethan just the righteousness of the best manprevailing. With the likes of VictorMartinez, Kai Greene, Phil Heath, ToneyFreeman, and Dennis Wolf in the top row,all of whom portray bodybuilding in theclassic sense, it shows just how out ofplace Jay looks standing up there. I reallyfelt that finally, the beast look had becomepassé and we were once and for all gettingback to what the artists of ancient Greeceand Rome had in mind when they thoughtthis whole thing up. At 5’6” and 235pounds, Dexter is not what you’d call a“giant,” but it just goes to show you thatwhen all the pieces are put together theright way, height and weight mean little.He was able to topple the champion 50pounds his senior.

Will Dexter run up a string of Os likeHaney and Coleman? Assuredly not. Butthe fact that he won this year is far moreof an achievement than if he will, and notjust for Dexter. The whole industry is


This concept of “the bestman winning” was in itsbleakest hour last yearwhen Jay “narrowly”beat Victor Martinez inwhat was perhaps themost confounding upsetsince the 1991 Ms.Olympia when LendaMurray inexplicablyedged out Bev Francis in the finals.


profiting from his win andI hope more than anythingthat the office of Mr.Olympia is occupied inthe future by the guys whodeserve it, not just the guywho is already there. Andtrust me when I tell youthere are guys who willdeserve it.

Let’s start with VictorMartinez. Ask 10 peoplewho won the ‘07Olympia and nine willtell you that while Jaytook home the Sandow,he’s carrying it for Victor.The other one is probablya judge who was judgingthat day. In all my yearsof watching bodybuildingcontests with question-able outcomes, this onewas by far and away theworst case of “bad judg-ing” I, and the world, hasever seen. If I were Jay, Iwould have Fed-Ex’d thetrophy to Victor firstthing Monday morningalong with a sympathycard. I wouldn’t evenhave wanted that Sandowin my house. I’d havekept the money, though. The judgesfucked up, not Jay. I mean, principle isone thing; cash is another story.

For 99 percent of the free world, VictorMartinez has an O under his belt already.The next time he steps on the Olympiastage, he will take it home with him. Theguy has potential beyond perfect andcould possibly be the epitome of whatMichelangelo thought was trapped inthose blocks of marble. If you look up“symmetry and natural aesthetics” in thedictionary, you should see a picture of Vic.If you were a renaissance sculptor, Victorwould have been your ideal. If you wereMichelangelo and gazed upon Victor, youwould have wept. That is how good he iswhen he is on, and that is how perfectly herepresents the ideal with respect tophysique art…natural aesthetics, symme-try, balance and anything else you canthink of. Even in silhouette his shape is

breathtaking; if you were atthe ‘07 Arnold where theybrought the guys outonstage from behind a back-lit screen you know what Imean. Wide round shoul-ders, tiny waist, sweepingquads, bulbous calves, theimage he projects could beof a man 30 pounds heavier.

Funny how life is. If thejudging hadn’t been so faroff last year, and had Victornot ripped his patellar ten-don off the bone this year,he’d have two Sandows onhis mantle right now. Fatebrought him none. But notfor long. In his seven-yearpro career, Victor has wonthe GNC Show of Strength,the IFBB Night ofChampions and the ArnoldClassic. If things go right forhim this year he will addanother ASC victory to thatlist along with his long-overdue Mr. Olympia title.There is no doubt that ifDexter is ushering in an eraof shape, symmetry, naturalaesthetics and condition,Victor will be king.

Hot on his heels is goingto be Kai Greene. Idon’t know what’smore amazing aboutthis guy, hisphysique, his story, orthe way he entertainsthe crowd with hisposing routines.Either way you lookat him, Kai is in aworld all his own. Ofthe new guard,pound-for-pound, heis the most massiveand the most freaky,yet closer in form toDexter than he is toJay at this point. Kaibrings an almostunethical amount ofwell-shaped mass tothe realm of what can

pass for natural aesthetics, much likeRonnie did in 1998, but he still holds theline. Of all the competitors poised to con-quer the battle for the Sandow, Kai is themost interesting. Not only is his physiquean amalgam of striking shapes, but hisposing is off the chain. Kai certainly hasweak points, but he knows how to mini-mize their effect on the overall picture. Hecontinues to improve and grow into hisnewly added mass and as long as he keepsthe problem areas in check, this guy willdominate and wow crowds for a term thatno one will ever forget.

Kai is a serious contender who hasbeen competing since 1997— four yearsshort of Jay’s and Toney Freeman’s com-petitive careers— which both began in1993. This makes Kai, along with Toney,the old masters of the new guard. If Kai isgoing to rule the roost, he is going to do itsooner rather than later. The same goes forToney. Toney may not have quite thechance Kai does of being a Mr. Olympia,but his presence will surely impact thefront row. He is the ultimate X-Man andmore accurately demonstrates the artisans’lines of ancient Greece and Rome thananyone up there. As big as Toney is (6’2”and somewhere near 280 pounds), hisphysique flows more toward Dexter thanto Jay. Again, he exemplifies the axiom oflines over mass and will spend the nextseveral years doing battle in the front row,


thanks to Dexter’s win this year.Dennis Wolf, at 5’11” and 265 pounds,

is the second youngest of the new guardand perhaps one of the most favorite com-pilations of mass, symmetry and naturalaesthetics next to Victor and Kai.Although Dennis is from Germany, heembodies the “all-American” look. Blond,good looking, with a body like an actionhero. He makes Dex look like a little boy.But, there is no denying the similarity intheir proportion. His lines flow more likeDexter’s than Jay’s. I know that maysound hard to believe because of all thehype over Dennis being compared to Jay,but you just can’t deny the proportions.While Dennis is more or less the samebasic size as Jay, his aesthetics mirrorDexter’s more than Jay’s. If you were asculptor in ancient Rome you’d be freeingDennis from a block of marble, not Jay.

This year’s Olympia seems to havebeen a let down for Wolf fans. They wereexpecting much more from the GermanGiant. He seemed overdieted and flat atthe show and not nearly the rival to Jay hehad been forecast all year. I imagine that’sa lot of pressure for a young competitor.But, make no mistake, the very same char-acteristics of form that give Dexter hisincredible illusion of almost cartoon char-acter proportions are present in Dennis;the wide shoulders, small waist andsweeping quads— he’s got what it takes to

be Mr. Olympiaeven if Jay had won.Dexter’s win made ahuge statement interms of what thefuture holds for thesport. I think Denniswas exempt fromthat. If he finds themass to complementhis frame withouttaking anythingaway from his aes-thetics, there is nodoubt Dennis will beMr. Olympia, even ifit was Jay who wonand the “business asusual” mass monsterwas still in vogue.

Finally, PhilHeath, at 5’9” and

240 pounds, is the youngest and slightestof potential Mr. Olympias waiting in thewings. Some criticize him for having nar-row shoulders and back, but the rest ofhim is so remarkable that it might not mat-ter. If Heath hangs in there long enough,he will bring home a Sandow. But, ifDexter hadn’t won this year, such a state-ment couldn’t be made with such convic-tion. Heath is a freak for sure, but a mon-ster he is not, nor ever will be. There is anundeniable beauty to his lines, but if thecriteria were going to stay in theDorian/Ronnie/Jay realm, he would neverstand a chance of winning. Now, there isno doubt Heath will one day be aking…thanks in large part to Dexter win-ning this year.

I’m sure there are some wildcards outthere who are going to come out of thewoodwork and shock and amaze us.Melvin Anthony might even get it togetherlike he did this year and push thingsalong; he’s got the right look. But thatremains to be seen. The fact that a newdirection has been plotted with the crown-ing of Dexter gives many players hope. Itgives all of us hope, because this thing welove seems to have been freed from themonsters who ruled it. Now the door isopen for more guys to set their sights onthe crown. That never would be the casetoday if Jay brought home the win. If hehad, looking the way he did, I can’t imag-

ine the long-term damage that would havebeen done to the sport. I could just hearguys saying, “Why bother? They are justgoing to give it to Jay.” But don’t get mewrong; if Jay really deserved it, I’d be firstin line to bring him praise. But since hismantra seemed to be mo’ mass, mo’ mass,mo’ mass, the best thing that could havehappened this year did.

For the years that saw Ronnie domi-nate the stage, it was latterly that his feudwas with Jay, and it was from there thatmass was the objective at the expense offlowing lines and natural aesthetics.Starting in 2001, skipping 2002 and thenevery year until he won in 2006, Jay tooksecond to Ronnie mainly because Ronniejust plain outmuscled him. That’s not tosay that Jay shouldn’t have beaten Ronniein ‘01, but it was from there that the sizegauntlet was thrown down and it was fromthere the gross departure from the ideal hitits stride; ‘01 was the last year Jay got asclose as he ever has to the ideal. With eachconsecutive year that Ronnie got bigger,Jay followed him up the scale to the pointwhere if you butchered them, the twocould feed a small African nation and theircongruence to the ideal was as vague asObama’s economic plan.

So, the fact that Jay has now taken sec-ond to Dexter is quite telling. The guyswaiting to come out and strike at Dexterall flow the same way Dexter does, andfor the next foreseeable future, I think thethrone is going to trade places pretty readi-ly. That’s just my assumption. If they hadgiven it to Jay again this year, our futurewould have been severely compromisedboth from a credibility standpoint and to aperhaps lesser, but not unimportant, artis-tic standpoint. While Dexter Jackson’sOlympia reign might be one of the short-est in bodybuilding, it will probably godown in history as one of the most pivotal.It marks the point in time when the questfor unbridled mass took a backseat to theflowing lines of what pleases the eye andupholds the ideal that was fostered cen-turies ago by men who we refer to as“genius.” Looking at Dexter, and the guysready to take him on next year, you canclearly see why, when the great masters ofancient Greece and Rome unveiled theirmighty works of art, people all throughoutthe ages called those statues gods. ■


288 MD

2008 “BEST OF”


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The Women of MD’s Major Distraction!



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testosteroneBy Dan Gwartney, MD


Weight LossDrops Free

TestosteroneLife is balance. The teeter-totter

on school playgrounds is a per-fect example of how things tend

to gravitate toward equilibrium unlesssome outside force acts. A pair ofequal-weight first-grade childrenwould soon get bored and wander offunless they start leg pressing theteeter-totter up and down in alternatefashion. However, when the recess bellrings and all the students have scam-pered back into class, the teeter-totterwobbles back into the neutral position.

Physiology is much like that teeter-totter, despite all the efforts ofmankind. Unless there are abnormalconditions (e.g., famine, infection, can-cer), creatures tend to approximate theaverage of their respective species. Ofcourse, mankind has tossed all therules out the window, with Westernsocieties living in very unnatural envi-ronments. This has resulted in over-representation of the extremes andbroad deviations from the “average”when plotting common measurementssuch as height and weight. Take theclear example of childhood obesity,which is not defined by an agreedupon concrete BMI (body mass index)or body fat percentage. Children areconsidered overweight if their weightis greater than the 95th percentile andat-risk for overweight if they arebetween the 85th and 95th percentilesby the Centers for Disease Control andPrevention in the United States. InEurope, they are more clear, callingchildren over the 95th percentile obese

and those called “at risk” in the U.S.overweight. Theoretically, only 5 per-cent of children should be obese andno more than 10 percent overweight.Yet, the prevalence for childhood over-weight/obesity is 25 percent and 11percent in the U.S. This means morethan one-third of children are starting

life with a weight-management prob-lem, over twice the “defined” amount.

Overweight/obesity managementdoes not get better with age, it actu-ally gets worse. As the body maturesand the wild hormonal swings ofadolescence stabilize, the body seeksto regain equilibrium. Unfortunately,if it is forced to do so in an unnaturalenvironment or condition, it does soby shifting its metabolic/hormonalbalance. Next time you are in the air-port, look at the people carrying aheavy suitcase. They balance theirposture by leaning their upper body

to the side opposite the luggage.Now, imagine a person carrying onepiece of heavy luggage in the samehand all his life. Eventually, he wouldsuffer joint problems, back pain andhave a strange gait (walk).

Excess weight not only is unhealthydue to the structural demands it placeson the body, but also because of meta-bolic imbalances it creates. Theseimbalances involve a number of sys-tems, affecting every organ in thebody over time. One clear example isthe androgen status of a person.

Fat is not a metabolically quiet tis-sue; it is active and secretes hor-mones and factors that alter themetabolism of other tissues and thephysiology of the individual. Further,the state of being overfed also altersthe normal swing between hungerand satiety (fullness) that provides arhythm in the peripheral tissues andthe brain, as energy stores are moni-tored and managed. If a person isalso habitually sedentary (a couchpotato), then the absence of signalsfrom working muscle, as well asdecreased disposal of nutrients fromthe blood (sugar, fatty acids, aminoacids, etc.) compounds the problemto an even greater degree.

Central obesity, characterized bythe “apple shape” or a “beer belly,” isassociated with low total testosterone.Aging, obesity, prolonged immobiliza-tion and other states that are associat-ed with an elevated fat mass tend tohave lower total testosterone concen-

Excess weightnot only is

unhealthy dueto the structural

demands itplaces on thebody, but also

because of meta-bolic imbalances

it creates.


trations than seen in healthy, active,normal-weight males.

Understanding these relationshipscause one to be perplexed on the sur-face when confronted with the revela-tions elegantly reviewed in an articlerecently published in the journalNutrition Reviews. Researchers fromLaval University in Quebec City,Canada, summarized the effects ofweight loss due to hypocaloric dietingon the androgen status of men andwomen. Though the effects were morepronounced in women, the conclusionheld true for men as well. In a state ofweight loss due to reduced foodintake, bioavailable testosterone wasreduced as well.

Bioavailable testosterone refers totestosterone that either circulatesfreely in the bloodstream or is looselybound (held) by the nonspecific pro-tein-carrier, albumin. Testosterone inthese two states (free or albumin-bound) can easily pass into target tis-sue, such as skeletal muscle, andinteract with intra-cytoplasmic recep-tors and co-regulators to affectchanges (the albumin-bound testos-terone “breaks free” first). In the mus-cle, this means free and albumin-bound testosterone are primarilyresponsible for the androgen-relatedmuscle hypertrophy. The contrastingstate is testosterone bound to themore specific protein-carrier called“sex hormone-binding globulin”(SHBG). SHBG-bound testosterone isconsidered to be “unavailable” tocause changes in androgen-sensitivetissue, such as muscle. This is notentirely correct, as it is believed thatSHBG-bound testosterone, as well asalbumin-bound testosterone, mayinteract with androgen receptors incell membranes. The quick responsesof these membrane-bound receptorsare called nongenomic, as they do nottravel to the nucleus of the cell (wherethe DNA lies). Instead, the nongenom-ic receptor responses take place at ornear the membrane, changing theactivity of enzyme pathways that trig-ger anabolic cell functions.

In the Nutrition Reviews article, theobservation was that people who loseweight by following a hypocaloric diet

experienced an increase in SHBGwhile total androgen concentration didnot change. It was noted that the typeof diet followed (low-fat, low-carb, etc.)did not affect the effect of weight losson androgen status. This implies thatpeople who are actively losing weightexperience a reduction in free andbioavailable testosterone. This is con-sistent with previous studies that showa decrease in SHBG in men in associa-tion with weight gain.

This finding is not a real surprise ifone considers the everyday experi-ence of dieters or more specifically,those of athletes/bodybuilders who arecutting weight to meet a weight-classrestriction or to get “ripped” for com-petition. Dropping calories belowmaintenance is subjectively associatedwith a marked lowering of 1-rep maxand loss of lean body mass. Many ath-letes combat this by depending moreheavily upon ergogenic aids (e.g., sup-plements, stimulants, anabolic drugs).

For the drug-free athlete, there area few strategies that can amelioratethe weight-loss induced decrease inbioavailable testosterone. Focusing onhypertrophy-oriented lifting (highervolume, shorter rest) induces a greaterspike in testosterone (and cortisol)than powerlifting schemes. The proto-col followed in one study showing thisusing salivary testosterone (and corti-sol) was 10 sets of 10 reps with 2-minute breaks between sets. Also,while the media focuses on the “baconand eggs” component of Atkins-likediets, including a significant amount ofcarbohydrates, poly- and mono-unsat-urated fats will help maintain totaltestosterone. Zinc, magnesium andother micronutrients may also aid inmaintaining androgen status, particu-larly for those who follow diets withnarrowly defined food choices.

The interesting tangent to the rela-tionship between weight loss andandrogen status is defining the rela-tionship. Is hypocaloric weight loss thecause of reduced bioavailable testos-terone, or does an abnormal ratio ofbioavailable to SHBG-bound testos-terone support the growth of fat mass?

During weight loss, adipocytesrelease stored fats from triglyceride

vacuoles. These vacuoles are like oildroplets in water. Unfortunately, thesevacuoles may have held not onlystored fat, but also fat-soluble envi-ronmental pollutants. Endocrine dis-ruptors are chemicals present in theair or water, commonly released fromindustrial sources. The chemicalbisphenol A that is present in certainplastics is one example that has beenin the news recently. Bisphenol Aexposure is postulated to increase therisk of numerous cognitive, reproduc-tive and metabolic problems, in part,through its agonistic actions at theestrogen receptor (ER-alpha).Estradiol, the natural estrogen pro-duced as a metabolite of testos-terone, increases SHBG production.

Elevations in bioavailable testos-terone could be a protective adaptationto early weight gain, as testosteronereduces the proliferation of fat cellsfrom stem cell reserves and activatesthe breakdown and release of storedfat. If fat gain goes unchecked though,the fat cells are capable of inactivatingtestosterone and converting it intoestradiol to promote the further stor-age of fat and growth of new fat cells.The binding of bioavailable testos-terone to the sequestered (hiddenaway) SHBG-bound testosterone maybe a physiologic adaptation to encour-age the return to a normal weight andrelease further stored fat to provideenergy during a period of relative star-vation. Increasing the SHBG-boundcomponent of testosterone duringweight loss may allow for fat cell prolif-eration and prevent the developmentof hypertrophic adipocytes (fat cells)which are associated with many of themetabolic problems of obesity.

These simple observations andthoughts do not begin to touch uponthe complexity of these findings, as theactions of other tissues and hormonesthat are affected by the relative energystores (fat) have not been addressed.Adipokines, leptin, ghrelin, insulin sen-sitivity, etc., all combine to harmonizein the hormonal orchestra of humanmetabolism. When one section is outof tune, it is inevitable that the sym-phony is ruined regardless how muchlouder the rest of the orchestra plays.


testosterone



Obesity is an imbalance between aperson and his environment. In somecases, it is an inevitable consequenceof a genetic error in coding. In mostcases, it is the consequence of thebody being forced to accommodateillogical or unnatural conditions. Inresponse to obesity and attempts toreturn to normal weight, changesoccur, including changes in theendocrine system. Androgens, includ-ing testosterone, are potent anabolichormones that dictate the function ofmany tissues and are regulated inresponse to physiologic conditions.When food supply is low, bioavailabletestosterone is decreased to reducethe demands for protein and othernutrients during food shortages. Forthe athlete, the consequence may bea loss of strength or lean mass. It ispossible that testosterone concentra-tions, particularly bioavailable testos-terone, may be maintained by payingclose attention to including specificnutrients (e.g. poly- and monounsatu-rated fats, zinc, magnesium, etc.), butawareness of lessened anabolic sup-port is necessary for the athlete sohe/she may tailor their efforts andexpectations appropriately. �

References:Dehghan M, Akhtar-Danesh N, et al.

Childhood obesity, prevalence and preven-tion. Nutrition Journal, 2005;4:24.doi:10.1186/1475-2891-4-24

DeClercq V, Taylor C, et al. Adipose tis-sue: the link between obesity and cardiovas-cular disease. Cardiovasc Hematol DisordDrug Targets, 2008 Sep;8(3):228-37.

Smith PM, Ferguson AV.Neurophysiology of hunger and satiety. DevDisabil Res Rev, 2008;14(2):96-104.

Chu LW, Tam S, et al. Serum total andbioavailable testosterone levels, central obe-sity, and muscle strength changes withaging in healthy Chinese men. J Am Geriatr,Soc 2008 Jul;56(7):1286-91.

Schneider HJ, Sievers C, et al.Prevalence of low male testosterone levelsin primary care in Germany: cross-sectionalresults from the DETECT study. ClinEndocrinol, (Oxf) 2008 Aug 7. [Epub aheadof print]

Morisset AS, Blouin K, et al. Impact ofdiet and adiposity on circulating levels ofsex hormone-binding globulin and andro-

gens. Nutr Rev, 2008;66(9):506-16.Heinlein CA, Chang C. Androgen recep-

tor (AR) coregulators: an overview. EndocrRev, 2002 Apr;23(2):175-200.

Michels G, Hoppe UC. Rapid actions ofandrogens. Front Neuroendocrinol, 2008May;29(2):182-98.

Mohr BA, Bhasin S, et al. The effect ofchanges in adiposity on testosterone levelsin older men: longitudinal results from theMassachusetts Male Aging Study. Eur JEndocrinol, 2006 Sep;155(3):443-52.

Webster S, Rutt R, et al. Physiologicaleffects of a weight loss regimen practicedby college wrestlers. Med Sci Sports Exerc,1990 Apr;22(2):229-34.

Crewther B, Cronin J, et al. The salivarytestosterone and cortisol response to threeloading schemes. J Strength Cond Res,2008 Jan;22(1):250-5.

Tamimi R, Mucci LA, et al. Testosteroneand oestradiol in relation to tobacco smok-ing, body mass index, energy consumptionand nutrient intake among adult men. Eur JCancer Prev, 2001 Jun;10(3):275-80.

Gromadzka-Ostrowska J. Effects ofdietary fat on androgen secretion andmetabolism. Reprod Biol, 2006;6 Suppl 2:13-20.

Imbeault P, Chevrier J, et al. Increase inplasma pollutant levels in response toweight loss in humans is related to in vitrosubcutaneous adipocyte basal lipolysis. IntJ Obes Relat Metab Disord, 2001Nov;25(11):1585-91.

vom Saal FS, Myers JP. Bisphenol A andrisk of metabolic disorders. JAMA, 2008 Sep17;300(11):1353-5.

Loukovaara M, Carson M, et al.Regulation of sex hormone-binding globulinsecretion and gene expression by cyclohex-imide in vitro. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol,1995 Aug;54(3-4):141-6.

Singh R, Artaza JN, et al. Testosteroneinhibits adipogenic differentiation in 3T3-L1cells: nuclear translocation of androgenreceptor complex with beta-catenin and T-cell factor 4 may bypass canonical Wnt sig-naling to down-regulate adipogenic tran-scription factors. Endocrinology, 2006Jan;147(1):141-54.

Blouin K, Boivin A, et al. Androgens andbody fat distribution. J Steroid Biochem MolBiol, 2008 Feb;108(3-5):272-80.

Bays HE, Gonzalez-Campoy JM, et al.Pathogenic potential of adipose tissue andmetabolic consequences of adipocytehypertrophy and increased visceral adiposi-ty. Expert Rev Cardiovasc Ther, 2008Mar;6(3):343-68.

testosterone

310 MD


By Robbie Durand, MA


bodybuildingscience

Victor Conte is of course referringto Viagra. Like Viagra, Cialis alsois used to treat erectile dysfunc-

tion. What’s the difference betweenthe two? Although Viagra and Cialisboth work by inhibiting an enzymecalled phosphodiesterases, whichincreases vasodilatation, there arepharmacologic distinctions betweenViagra and Cialis, being that Cialishas a longer half-life (17.50 hours)compared to Viagra (4.0–5.0 hours)and Levitra (4.0–5.0 hours), resultingin longer duration of action

14which is

partly responsible for Cialis beingdubbed “The Weekend Pill.” Cialis’molecular structure differs significant-ly from Viagra; one of the benefits ofCialis is there are no visual sideeffects like Viagra and an absence ofeffect of food on absorption. Nitricoxide is a hot topic of debate in body-building, as NO-producing supple-ments are always one of the top-sell-ing products. Being in touch withmany bodybuilders and powerlifters,many swear that by taking Cialis, theyget better pumps in the gym and canrecuperate from exercise faster.

Many suspect its enhanced nutri-ent delivery or some other mecha-nism. Cialis demonstrates similarvasodilator (blood pressure-lowering)effects in healthy subjects when com-pared with Viagra in studies of 10mgor 20mg doses (mean systolic bloodpressure reduction, of ~4.3mg).

12Many

of the experts in sports will attest thatnitric oxide only increases perfor-

mance in environments with low oxy-gen availability, such as high-altitudetraining or areas with high air pollu-tion. Brazilian Eduardo de Rose, presi-dent of the medical commission of thePan-American Sports Organization,stated in a recent interview:“Scientifically, the only proof thatViagra improves sports performancehappened at high altitude. That is whyit was decided not to include it in thebanned substance list. You will hardlyget to play a football match on MountEverest.” If there are no performace-enhacing effects, then why wereOlympic athltetes using it?There haveonly been a handful of studies on theperformance-enhancing effects ofCialis and sports performance, andnone yielded beneficial effects:

In one study, 14 healthy youngmales were given a 20mg dose ofCialis or a placebo and performed amaximal exercise test on a treadmill.The study found that a single dose ofCialis had no effect on exercise perfor-mance, exercise tolerance or car-diopulmonary responses.

5

The second study involved three“all-out” sprints to determine if Cialiscould increase anaerobic threshold.The study found no significant differ-ences in peak power, average poweror fatigue index compared to a place-bo. One positive finding noted was

that Cialis decreased the time to reachpeak power.The author concluded,“Cialis did not have an effect onpeak power, but time to peakpower output was reduced. Onlyto sports that need to reach maxi-mum power output in a few sec-onds could Cialis administrationbe beneficial.”

13

Bodybuilders are known for bring-ing cutting-edge pharmacology to theforefront of science. If NO (nitric oxide)products really don’t work, then whydo so many people use them? Giventhat the second study reported that theauthor claimed that Cialis mayincrease peak force, the powerlifterswho swear by Cialis increasing perfor-mance may be onto something thatresearch has not discovered yet.

Nitric OxideSupplementsIncrease SatelliteCells

You may have read in the NutritionPerformance section that aging resultsin a blunted anabolic gene response toexercise. It has been previously report-ed that aging results in a blunted satel-lite cell response to exercise. Adecrease in NO production with agingmay be a contributing role of thedecrease in muscle mass with aging.Previous research has shown thatblunting production of NO decreasesmuscle hypertrophy during muscleoverload.

9, 10Others have reported that

“All my athletes took it. It is bigger than creatine.”

-Victor Conte

Cialis IncreasesTestosterone



bodybuildingscienceNO is a primary signal for satel-lite cell activation.

11NO is an

important regulator of hepatocytegrowth factor (HGF), which is acytokine with various cellular func-tions on muscle.

2Specific to skeletal

muscle hypertrophy, HGF activatessatellite cells and may be responsi-ble for causing satellite cells tomigrate to the injured area.

1A previ-

ous research study that stretchedmuscle-induced hypertrophy viarelease of HGF found that therelease of HGF was dependent onNO concentrations.

3Interestingly,

researchers measured HGF levels inserum after an intense bout ofeccentric exercise. They found thatliver-derived HGF rose 19 percentapproximately 4 hours after exer-cise, which resulted in an activationof satellite cells! It is possible thatthe observed rise in serum HGFshowed that HGF may be carried tothe site of injury by immune cellsrushing to the site of injury, whichare increased in number during theinflammatory response to muscledamage… or that muscle itself pro-duces HGF, so they were not surewhich one it really was.

NO IncreasesSatellite Cells!

Researchers from the Center forExercise Science in Gainesville,Florida reported that increasingnitric oxide increased satellitecell activity! They took old andyoung mice and induced muscledamage in both groups.They foundthat the older mice had an impairedsatellite cell response. More impor-tantly, they found that L-arginine andnitric oxide precursors effectivelyincreased satellite cell activation andthat nitric oxide precursors “res-cued” satellite cell activation in oldermice.

4This study suggests that taking

a NO precursor supplement mayincrease satellite cell and lead togreater muscle growth! Anotherinteresting study reported in theJournal of Muscle and Nerve wasthat NO was able to reverse thedamaging effects of cortisol-inducedsatellite cell depletion.They foundthat NO had a dose-dependent effecton increasing satellite cell levels.

20

Cialis IncreasesTestosterone!

Based on the research, acutedosages of Cialis do not have perfor-mance-enhancing effects, but newresearch suggests that Cialisincreases testosterone! Researchershad participants perform three 30-sec-ond “all-out” sprints to exhaustion andmeasured testosterone and cortisolresponses to exercise.They found thatonly after Cialis and exercise didtestosterone increase, however Cialisalso increased cortisol levels. Cialisalso lowered the DHEA to cortisolresponse.The study demonstrates thatCialis increases the “stress” responseto the body, but also has some testos-terone-enhancing effects as well. It’sinteresting that a large dosage of caf-feine, which is a weak, non-specificPDE inhibitor, also caused an increasein testosterone and also an increase incortisol.

21So it seems that Cialis has

both positive and negative effects onmuscle. Cialis does not directly stimu-late testosterone secretion per se,meaning it does not stimulate LHrelease or SHBG release directly.Thisis not the first study to find that Cialisraises testosterone:

In a study of 74 patients with erec-tile dysfunction treated on demandwith 50mg of Viagra or 20mg of Cialisfor three months, basal levels of totaltestosterone and free testosteronewere at the bottom of the normalrange that was reversed after treat-ment in both groups. Testosteroneincrease in Viagra-treated cases wassignificantly lower than in those treat-ed with Cialis, suggested to be due tothe higher frequency of full sexualintercourse in the Cialis-treatedgroup.

15

Another study reported that theincrease in testosterone from takingCialis is mediated by a reduction inestrogen demonstration that Cialismay have anti-estrogen actions. It waspointed out that the T/estradiol ratiowas associated with long-term Cialistreatment.There was no increase in LHlevels from Cialis, demonstrating thatCialis did not directly increase testos-terone, but indirectly increased testos-terone by lowering estrogen.

16

One of the primary reasons thatmany older men have problems “ris-ing to the occasion” is that they haveexcess estrogen levels. Furthermore,in men with hypogonadism, a lowdose of clomiphene citrate (Clomid) iseffective in improving testos-terone:estrogen ratio, thus givingmore long-term benefit for the man-agement of erectile dysfunction inhypogonadal patients.

18It seems that

based on the current study, Cialis hassimilar actions to Clomid by improvingT:E ratio.

NaturalPhosphodiesteraseInhibitors: HornyGoat Weed andQuercetin

In 1960, the first mechanism discov-ered for caffeine was PDE inhibition,although this drug has effects on othernon-PDE proteins that cause some ofits symptoms. Thus, caffeine was thefirst known PDE inhibitor. It was latershown that at least 11 PDE familiesexist, and that caffeine inhibits most ofthem. Moreover, caffeine is not a verypotent inhibitor of these PDEs.

17Thus,

caffeine has often been referred to asthe “poor man’s Viagra.” Cialis, on theother hand, is a select PDE inhibitor.There are several natural alternativesto Cialis and Viagra that have demon-strated similar biochemistry.

For example, it was recentlydemonstrated that Horny Goat Weedwas found to have similar effectsto Cialis and Viagra on PDEenzymes. Horny Goat Weed was ableto inhibit PDE by 80 percent; interest-ingly, other sexual-enhancement sup-plements such as cinnamon andTribulus terrestris had small effects onPDE activity (15-23 percent). The otherbenefit of Horny Goat Weed is its lowtoxicity. Horny Goat Weed has beenused to treat erectile dysfunction inChina for more than 1,000 years.

7, 8

Quercetin is the other natural ingredi-ent that is a natural PDE inhibitor.Quercetin is a photochemical that ispart of the coloring found in the skinsof apples and red onions. It has beenisolated and is sold as a dietary sup-plement. A recent study showed thatpurified quercetin has similar effectsas Viagra and acted as a strong PDE


inhibitory activity not likely related toits antioxidant effects.

6Many studies

have shown that quercetin has beenable to lower blood pressure throughincreasing vasodilatation.

19

NO is clearly necessary for musclegrowth in animals and test cultures,but unfortunately no real long-termstudies on subjects taking NO-enhanc-ing drugs have been investigated. Wedo know that Cialis has no effect onmaximal performance, but the recentstudy showing that Cialis increasestestosterone makes one won-der…what about long term use? Arethe gym rats using Cialis onto some-thing new, not yet validated by long-term studies? Based on the research,NO-enhancing products should con-tribute to muscle hypertrophy; it justhas not yet be validated. �

References:1. Hawke, T.J., and D. J. Garry. Myogenic

satellite cells: physiology to molecular biolo-gy. Journal of Applied Physiology, 91: 534-551, 2001.

2. Anderson, J.E., Pilipowicz, O., 2002.Activation of muscle satellite cells in singlefiber cultures. Nitric Oxide, 7, 36-41.

3. Tatsumi, R., Hattori, A., Ikeuchi, Y.,Anderson, J.E., Allen, R.E., 2002. Release ofhepatocyte growth factor from mechanicallystretched skeletal muscle satellite cells androle of pH and nitric oxide. Mol Bio Cell,13(8), 2909-2918.

4. Jetters JL, Lira VA, Soltow QA,Drenning JA, Criswell DS. Supplementalnitric oxide augments satellite cell activityon cultured myofibers from aged mice. ExpGerontol, 2008 Sep 13.

5. Di Luigi L, Baldari C, Pigozzi F,Emerenziani GP, Gallotta MC, Iellamo F,Ciminelli E, Sgrò P, Romanelli F, Lenzi A,Guidetti L. The long-acting phosphodi-esterase inhibitor tadalafil does not influ-ence athletes’ VO2max, aerobic, and anaero-bic thresholds in normoxia. Int J SportsMed, 2008 Feb;29(2):110-5.

6. Lines TC, Ono M. FRS 1000, an extractof red onion peel, strongly inhibits phos-phodiesterase 5A (PDE 5A). Phytomedicine,2006; 13:236–239.

7. Xin ZC, Kim EK, Lin CS, et al. Effects oficariin on cGMP-specific PDE5 and cAMP-specific PDE4 activities. Asian J Androl,2003; 5:15–18.

8. Wang H, Liu Y, Huai Q, et al. Multipleconformations of phosphodiesterase-5:implications for enzyme function and drugdevelopment. J Biol Chem, 2006;

281:21469–21479.9. Smith LW, Smith JD, Criswell DS.

Involvement of nitric oxide synthase inskeletal muscle adaptation to chronic over-load. J Appl Physiol, 2002;92:2005–2011.

10. Soltow QA, Betters JL, Sellman JE,Lira VA, Long JH, Criswell DS. Ibuprofeninhibits skeletal muscle hypertrophy in rats.Med Sci Sports Exerc, 2006;38:840–846.

11. Anderson JE. A role for nitric oxide inmuscle repair: nitric oxide-mediated activa-tion of muscle satellite cells. Mol Biol Cell,2000;11:1859 –1174.

12. Kloner RA, Mitchell M, Emmick JT.Cardiovascular effects of tadalafil. Am JCardiol, 2003;92(suppl):37M–46M.

13. Guidetti L, Emerenziani GP, GallottaMC, Pigozzi F, Di Luigi L, Baldari C. Effect oftadalafil on anaerobic performance indicesin healthy athletes. Br J Sports Med, 2008Feb;42(2):130-3.

14. Corbin JD, Francis SH.Pharmacology of phosphodiesterase-5inhibitors. Int J Clin Pract, 2002;56:453–9.

15. Carosa E, Martini P, Brandetti F, DiStasi SM, Lombardo F, Lenzi A, Jannini EA.Type V phosphodiesterases inhibitor treat-ments for erectile dysfunction increasetestosterone levels. Clin Endocrinol, (Oxf)2004;61:382–6.

16. Greco EA, Pili M, Bruzziches R,Corona G, Spera G, Aversa A. Testosterone:Estradiol ratio changes associated withlong-term tadalafil administration: A pilotstudy. J Sex Med, 2006;3:716–22.

17. Corbin JD, Francis SH. Molecularbiology and pharmacology of PDE-5-inhibitor therapy for erectile dysfunction. JAndrol, 2003 Nov-Dec;24(6 Suppl):S38-41.Review.

18. Shabsigh A, Kang Y, Shabsigh R,Gonzalez M, Leberson G, Fisch H, GoluboffE. Clomiphene citrate effects on testos-terone/estrogen ratio in male hypogo-nadism. J Sex Med, 2005;2:716–21.

19. Nicholson SK, Tucker GA, BrameldJM. Effects of dietary polyphenols on geneexpression in human vascular endothelialcells. Proc Nutr Soc, 2008 Feb;67(1):42-7.Review.

20. Betters JL, Long JH, Howe KS, BraithRW, Soltow QA, Lira VA, Criswell DS. Nitricoxide reverses prednisolone-induced inacti-vation of muscle satellite cells. MuscleNerve, 2008 Feb;37(2):203-9.

21. Beaven CM, Hopkins WG, Hansen KT,Wood MR, Cronin JB, Lowe TE. Dose effectof caffeine on testosterone and cortisolresponses to resistance exercise. Int J SportNutr Exerc Metab, 2008 Apr;18(2):131-41.


bodybuildingscience


utstanding quadriceps sepa-ration demands freakishthigh mass that dives into

deep canyons etched on either sideof the muscle bellies. When it comesto top thighs, it is hard not to thinkabout the mass and cross-striationsof a shredded Jay Cutler, or the sizeand shape of a ripped-to-the-boneRonnie Coleman. This kind of thighdevelopment initially relies on regu-lar back squats and leg presses tobuild great mass builders. However,as good of a mass builder as theseexercises are, they simply do not getthe job done when it comes to devel-oping thigh separation and cuts.Achieving those deep separationsrequires exercises that build mass bytargeting each of the bellies undernear-constant tension and thismeans some specialization work forthe middle and the lower quadriceps.

You probably are drawn to thinkingabout leg extensions for ripping yourthigh mass. However, if you are willingto handle the work, the barbell lungeis an alternative and intensive way toblast a bulky thigh into strips ofcarved, sharp and lean mass. As abyproduct, lunges will greatly improveyour quadriceps, hamstrings andgluteal power and endurance and thiswill come in pretty handy when youstart your heavy squat sessions foradding even greater overall mass.

To do lunges properly, you mustrise above the crowd who is satisfied

with a few sets of leg extensions totighten the quadriceps. Lunges areonly for the serious lifter who is willingto push well through the pain barrierinto the valley of unbelievable thighs.Three sets of these will take yourthighs to new contours, valleys andgrooves that you did not know existed.

Muscles ActivatedBy Lunges

The hip and hamstring muscles areaffected strongly, but the greatest chal-lenge will be felt in the anterior quadri-

ceps muscle group. The quadricepsfemoris (“quads”) is a group of fourmuscles that covers the anterior andlateral parts of the femur bone of thethigh. The three vasti muscles taketheir origin from the respective part ofthe femur; the vastus lateralis mus-cle from the lateral part of the femur;the vastus medialis muscle from themedial part of the femur; and the vas-tus intermedius muscle from thecentral, anterior part of the femur. As aresult, the vastus lateralis muscle ispositioned on the lateral (outer) part of

By Stephen E. Alway, PhD, FACSM, Illustrations by William P. Hamilton, CMI


muscleform&function

Carving Unreal Quad Separation

With Barbell Lunges


the thigh; the vastus medialis coversthe medial (inner) part of the thigh. Thevastus intermedius is located interme-diate and deep to the vastus lateralisand the vastus medialis muscles. Thetendon from the vastus lateralis mus-cle combines with the tendons fromthe other two vasti muscles and thetendon of the rectus femoris to formthe quadriceps tendon. The quadricepstendon attaches to the patella(kneecap) and continues inferiorly(toward the foot) from the patella,where it is called the patellar ligament.The patellar ligament inserts into thetibial tuberosity, a bumpy portion onthe tibia bone of the lower leg.

The rectus femoris muscle is thefourth muscle in the quadriceps group.Unlike the vasti muscles, it begins onthe hipbones at the iliac crest andabove the socket where the head ofthe femur sits (acetabulum) in the hip.Its fibers run straight down from thehip to the knee. The tendon of the rec-tus femoris joins the tendons from thethree vastus muscles to attach to thepatella. Together, the three vasti andthe rectus femoris form the only realmanner that we have for extending theleg at the knee. The rectus femoris ismuch weaker when the hip is flexed(e.g., seated position such as doing legextensions).

Three hamstring muscles sit on theposterior side of the thigh. The bicepsfemoris muscle has a long and ashort head. The long head of thebiceps femoris begins on the posteriorpart of the ischial bone of the hip. Youliterally sit on these bones when youare in a chair. The short head of thebiceps femoris begins along the lateralside of femur bone of the thigh. Bothheads of the biceps femoris cometogether to attach to a single tendonthat connects to the small lateral boneof the lower leg called the fibula. Thesemitendinosus and semimembra-nosus muscles make up the medial(inside) hamstring muscles. The semi-tendinosus muscle attaches to theischial bone of the hip and it becomesa cord-like tendon as it approaches theknee. The semimembranosus muscleis about half (“semi”) membrane(“membranous) and half muscle. Itbegins on the ischial tuberosity andwith the semitendinosus; it crosses to

the medial side of the knee to attachon the tibia bone of the lower leg.

The gluteus maximus muscle isthe largest and thickest hip muscle andit contains the strongest and largestmuscle fibers in the body. The upperattachment of the gluteus maximus ison the major bones of the hip and thelower attachment is on the posteriorside of the femur bone of the thighbelow the hip joint. This muscle pullsthe thigh posteriorly (backward) duringthe push phase of lunges.

LungesLunges, like knee extensions, can

be tough on the knees, so you shouldcarefully warm them up with stretches

and some moderate biking beforedoing lunges. Although the exercisecan be done with dumbbells, youshould not find it difficult to keep yourbalance with the barbell version of thisexercise.

1. Place a barbell on a squatrack. Start with a light weight untilyou get the feel for the movement.Position your body in the samemanner as though you were doingsquats. Start with the bar across thetop of your trapezius under theshoulders, in the same way as ifyou were to do a squat.

2. Straighten your knees and standup vertically, so that the weight istaken on your shoulders.


muscleform&function

Lunge (start)



muscleform&function3. Take a full step backward, away

from the squat rack.4. Start with both feet about shoul-

der-width apart. One leg will act as ananchor (e.g., the left leg). The other leg(e.g., the right leg) will be your lungeleg for the first repetition.

5. Take a step forward toward thesquat rack with the lunge leg. Thisshould be a good stride length(approximately a 3-foot stride), but itshould not be so close to the squatrack that you will hit it at any point inyour movement.

6. Bend the knee on the front(lunge) leg until the knee angle reach-es 90 degrees. The thigh should beabout parallel to the floor in the downposition. At the same time as the kneefrom the lead leg is going forward, thethigh of the rear anchor leg shouldcome down to almost kiss the floor.Keep your back vertical to the floorand your eyes looking forward (do notlook down at the floor).

7. Step back to the starting position,then lunge forward with the other leg.

Alternate between left and right legs.Start with 15 repetitions each leg (30total steps). At the end of the set, takea step forward and return the barbellto the squat rack.

You can work up to 25 repetitionsper leg, but should not need morethan that. Take particular care as youare nearing the end of your set andyou are fatiguing, as this is a timewhen your balance could be compro-mised. You also need to make surethat you do not bend over from thewaist, as this will excessively increaseactivation of the gluteal muscles, notto mention increasing the chance oflosing your balance.

The musculature of your middleand lower back and calves will also beactivated during lunges. This providesan added bonus for increasing yourbody’s metabolism to maximize yourripped-to-shreds training goals. A deeplunge and greater stride will provide asuperior stretch and will improve acti-vation of all of the affected muscles.However, you must work into this

slowly. You should stretch your ham-strings, calves and quadriceps prior tobeginning the exercise. Be careful thatyou do not bend forward from thewaist during the lunge. If you findyourself leaning forward, you are likelyusing too much weight and/or yourstride is too short. It is not necessaryto use squat-like resistance on lungesto get the job done. This is more a fac-tor of sustaining constant tensionthroughout the range of motion thanmoving superhuman weights.

If you thought that leg extensionswere the only way to thigh cuts, youwill be surprised how quickly lungeswill etch striations and separationsacross the mass that you have accu-mulated in your underpinnings.Lunges are not ideal for buildingmass, but they are excellent for refin-ing and adding muscle density. Onceyou get serious about your lunges,you will begin to see a radical transfor-mation in the power, shape and sepa-rations in your anterior thigh and ham-strings. Your thighs will take on anall-new muscle quality with unreal,mind-blowing thigh separations withvalleys and peaks erupting across yourlower quadriceps. You will haveenough power to blow your competi-tion right off the stage. �

References:1. Ekstrom RA, Donatelli RA and Carp KC.

Electromyographic analysis of core trunk, hip,and thigh muscles during 9 rehabilitation exer-cises. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther, 37: 754-762,2007.

2. Escamilla RF, Zheng N, Macleod TD,Edwards WB, Hreljac A, Fleisig GS, Wilk KE,Moorman CT, III and Imamura R.Patellofemoral compressive force and stressduring the forward and side lunges with andwithout a stride. Clin Biomech, (Bristol, Avon)23: 1026-1037, 2008.

3. Farrokhi S, Pollard CD, Souza RB, ChenYJ, Reischl S and Powers CM. Trunk positioninfluences the kinematics, kinetics, and muscleactivity of the lead lower extremity during theforward lunge exercise. J Orthop Sports PhysTher, 38: 403-409, 2008.

4. Cronin J, McNair PJ, Marshall RN. Lungeperformance and its determinants. J SportsSci, 21, 49-57, 2003.

5. Hefzy MS, al Khazim, M and Harrison, L.Co-activation of the hamstrings and quadricepsduring the lunge exercise. Biomed Sci Instrum,33, 360-365, 1997.

6. Petrella JK, Kim JS, Mayhew DL, CrossJM and Bamman MM. Potent myofiber hyper-trophy during resistance training in humans isassociated with satellite cell-mediated myonu-clear addition: a cluster analysis. J ApplPhysiol, 104: 1736-1742, 2008.

Lunge (finish)


PATRICK ARNOLD

324 MD

ARNOLD, PATRICK

93351-11


It’s that time of the month again. Wellnot that time of the month; I am talk-ing about time for another install-

ment of the Patrick Arnold story. I can’tbelieve how this goes on and on. Ithought it would be two articles at max.I guess I gotta hurry it all up, so I canget back to the science stuff prettysoon. Anyway, here it is.

By late 1999, I had all but stoppedhearing from Dan Duchaine. I talked fair-ly often to his best friend, ShelleyHominuk, and she had expressed con-cern about Dan’s ever-deepening depres-sion. Dan would make comments toShelley such as, “I need to visit NewYork one last time,“ which makes sensein retrospect, but at the time justseemed odd. Then one day in January of2000, I saw a post on misc.fitness.weights by Will Brink entitled “R.I.P. DanDuchaine.” I read it and thought it was ajoke. I couldn’t fathom that Dan wouldjust die like that and I figured he was upto one of his little jokes to mess witheveryone. Dan couldn’t be dead; healways seemed like a cockroach…hecould take a lot of abuse, but he wouldalways keep on living.

Apparently, though, Dan had a seri-ous congenital kidney disorder. I hadheard about it, but I just did not knowhow serious it was. That, coupled with anongoing addiction to Nubain and per-haps other substances probably led to astate of physical, emotional and spiritualdespair. What most likely happened wasDan stopped treating his kidney diseaseand let himself deteriorate to the point ofdeath. Either that, or maybe he over-dosed. We will never know. Either way, itwas suicide of one sort or another, which

is very sad. Shelley found him in his beda couple of days after he had passedaway, and a funeral was set up veryquickly. I was unable to attend unfortu-nately, which sucked.

With the death of Dan, thingschanged in the industry. Many of myfriends at the time were ones I metthrough Dan, and I soon lost touch withthem. There no longer was a “seniorsteroid guru.” Dan had a way of writingand presenting information in a boldand entertaining way, and I don’t knowanyone since who has had that gift.Yeah, guys like me have a lot of knowl-edge, but we don’t have that literarycreativity. Anyway, Dan has beenmissed and one of the saddest things isthat kids today in bodybuilding don’tknow who he even was half the time.Not only that, but think of all the stuffDan has missed. Back then, there wereno designer steroids and the prohor-mone industry still only featuredmediocre first- and second-generationstuff. Also, the field of medical muscleresearch has exploded in recent years. Ioften wonder what he would think if hecould see how crazy stuff has gotten.

At the time of Dan’s death, thingswere going fine for my company. Notspectacular, but OK. We had come outwith a couple of transdermal sprays con-taining the prohormones 4-AD and nor-4-AD. These actually worked quite well;you could get a very good effect withouthaving to mega-dose like you wouldneed to do with the orals to achieve asimilar response. Still though, everyonewas selling the same stuff. Sure, therewere some new additions such as theDHT precursors, but nothing really out-

performed 4-AD, which at the time wasthe gold standard.

I knew that if I wanted my sportsnutrition line Ergopharm to explode Iwould need to find a new prohormoneproduct. I needed to find one that actual-ly outperformed everything else, ratherthan just be another compound, whichkept the pace. So I hit the books. I endedup in the University of Illinois veterinarylibrary, where I scoured through a bookon androgens. It was in German and Idon’t read or speak German, so it wasnot easy. But still, I could understandchemical names in German (sort of) andof course chemical structures needed notranslation for me. I noticed the com-pound 5alpha-andost-1-ene-3,17-dione(1-androstenedione for short) was listedin a table of natural androgen metabo-lites. I thought to myself that this was astrange and unexpected steroid to benatural, and I wondered if this family of“delta-1’s” as they are called, might bepharmacologically active.

So I drove over to the U of I biologylibrary and went and grabbed the bookAndrogens and Anabolic Agents byJulius Vida off the shelf. This book, oftenreferred to as simply Vida, was written inthe mid-to-late 1960s and is a compre-hensive literature review on the scienceof anabolic steroids. Within it is a table ofhundreds and hundreds of steroids,along with their anabolic and androgenicactivities, as reported in the published lit-erature. I looked up the compound5alpha-androst-1-ene-17beta-ol-3-one (1-testosterone for short) which would bethe active compound that 1-androstene-dione would convert to. To my delight, ithad remarkably high anabolic activity.

The End Of An Era, And Patrick’s Movin’ On Up

By Patrick Arnold


I then quickly ran around the bioand chem libraries at U of I for the restof the afternoon (this was before onecould just easily look stuff up onInternet databases), collecting all thearticles I could find on 1-testosteroneand 1-androstenedione. I was doublydelighted when I found out that thesedelta-1 compounds are somewhatresistant to liver first-pass degrada-tion, which meant that not only wasthis a highly anabolic compound, butit may have more oral activity thanyour typical prohormone.

Now the easy part was done. It tookonly about a day to collect most all ofthe research concerning the pharma-cology of 1-androstenedione and 1-testosterone. Now I had to figure outhow to make the stuff. That actuallytook the better part of a whole year,believe it or not. Of course today, Iknow how to whip up highly pure 1-androstenedione by a very simpleprocess I have since developed, butback then I had to screw around withnasty, smelly chemicals like bromineand DMF only to end up with a stickymess that would not crystallize.Countless times I tried the reactions,making modifications each time until Iwas able to come up with a decentcrystalline product.

I tested some of the stuff out onsome local guys and they came backto me with raving reports of strengthand mass. I could see just by lookingat the guys that the stuff was working.However, they reported some not-so-good things like stomach discomfortand burning sensations. It did not takelong for me to realize I had to dosomething to minimize these things,so I investigated making 1-androstene-diol, which is another 1-testosteroneprecursor. Unfortunately the dione todiol reaction (normally a simple oneand the same one we used to make 4-androstenediol from 4-androstene-dione) was not working right. I wasending up with about 50 percent of aDHT precursor as a side product. Afterwracking my brain, I finally called thecompany that makes the chemicalreagent used in the process andexplained my problem. They suggest-ed I try adding some Cerous Chlorideto the reaction and I did. Voila! I gothighly pure 1-androstenediol.

I named the product 1-AD and ofcourse it ended up being a huge hit. Itnot only put Ergopharm on the map,but it revolutionized and revitalized thewhole prohormone industry. And sincewe made it ourselves, we had exclu-sivity on the stuff for practically a year.Eventually all kinds of people cameout with 1-testosterone products, butstill the 1-AD remained the best bangfor the buck. By constantly working onnew ways to make it, we were able tolower cost well below that whichChina was offering their stuff for.

With the profits from 1-AD, wewere able to build our own 40,000-square foot, custom-built headquarterscomplete with full chemical productionfacility, well-equipped lab, contractmanufacturing production lines andample office space. We changed thename of our company from LPJresearch to Proviant Technologies. Wehad come a long way, all thanks to 1-AD (and a little bit to 6-oxo as well,which was the first anti-aromatasesupplement to hit the market).

Of course researching and develop-ing synthetic processes for productslike 1-AD and 6-OXO was not the onlything I was doing in the lab. At off-times and after hours, I would alsocook up synthetic stuff such as norbo-lethone, and I had made some con-tacts in the amateur and professionalsporting world. These contacts werelooking for undetectable performanceenhancers (steroids mainly) and I waswilling to oblige them. I was not look-ing to make a lot of money; I wasmostly just interested in seeing whatthese things could do for the athletes.And naturally, when a trainer orwhomever would report very positivefeedback, I felt a sense of accomplish-ment. I felt that I had made someonevery pleased and it almost seemed likea positive thing to me. I did not thinktoo much about the ethical issues atthe time, and justified everything byreminding myself that this cat-and-mouse crap was just part of the mod-ern world of sports. I was competingagainst other doctors or chemists orself-taught gurus out there who werehelping the competition.

Not everyone I dealt with waspleased with my work, however.There was this one guy in Europe

who worked with a high-level bicycleracing team. I met the guy when he e-mailed me and like everyone else, hewas looking for a chemical edge. Isupplied the guy with norbolethoneand THG, and after trying the stuff outon his cyclists he was extremely satis-fied. His team was winning races.One day he told me he needed more,so I made more. I mixed some THGup for the guy in proplyene glycoland put it in a large plastic bottle.Only, I did not use a fresh plastic bot-tle because I was in a hurry and couldnot find one. Instead, I took a largebottle that stored some noran-drostenedione. I emptied it out andwashed it with some methanol andsome soap and water.

In retrospect, I could not believehow stupid I was. I knew how sensitivethe doping tests were for nandrolonemetabolites and I knew that an infinite-ly small amount of norandrostene-dione would give a nandrolone posi-tive. But my impatience and lazinessgot the better of me and I used thenorandrostenedione anyway, thinkingthat if I just cleaned it out well it wouldbe fine. Anyway, a few weeks went byand then I got an e-mail from the train-er. He was in a panic; one of his ath-letes had tested positive for nan-drolone!! He told me it had to be thestuff I sent him. I told him he had to bewrong; I thought I knew the stuff Imade was fine. The next day I gotanother e-mail; another athlete waspositive! He was beside himself withdistress. I still denied it was my stuff.Then perhaps two more days went byand I got another e-mail. His entireteam tested positive! He told me hewas ruined and that his coachingcareer was destroyed and he had beenutterly disgraced. It was at that timethat I thought hard and rememberedthe norandrostenedione bottle. I feltabsolutely awful. I tried to help a guyout and I ended up destroying his life.I tried to help him concoct a coverstory involving flax oil and contamina-tion, but of course there was no waythat would be accepted. I don’t wherethe guy is today. I hope he didn‘tshoot himself or something.

That’s it for this month. Come backnext month for some crazy stuff aboutBALCO and chemistry and Feds. �


PATRICK ARNOLD


TRAINING, NUTRITION, DIET, & SUPPLEMENTATION

By Eric Broser


COMMANDMENTSFor Natural Bodybuilding

NOJUICEBodybuilding

Wow, time flies when you are havingfun! In the last nine issues of MD,we covered the following “com-

mandments” of natural bodybuilding: 1)be consistent; 2) be positive; 3) visualize;4) focus; 5) never become complacent; 6)wage war on the weights; 7) overcomeadversity; 8) have faith; 9) dream big. It isvery important to take these command-ments to heart, as there is nothing morevital to achievement than the propermindset. Your body will follow exactlywhere your mind leads it. Each thoughtyou have penetrates every single cell ofyour body, as well as the universearound you, which will eventually dictatethe outcome of most events in your life.Remember this…“Whether you believeyou CAN or you CAN’T, you are right.”

But what about the 10th

command-ment of natural bodybuilding? Well, this is one that Ileave up to you! I am interested to hear what you, thereaders and MD forum members, wish to add to the list.Please feel free to message me on the board or send ane-mail to [email protected], and let me know yourthoughts. I will print some of the best ones right here infuture “No Juice” columns!

Natural Diet Dilemma: Zero Carb vs. Low Carb, Part 2

This month, I will continue my discussion of why I feelthat a zero-carb approach to dieting is detrimental to thedrug-free bodybuilder.Thus far, I have mentioned that a lackof any carbohydrates in the diet will also cause a lack ofinsulin, which can compromise one’s ability to rapidly andefficiently uptake amino acids, glucose, creatine and othermuscle-building compounds into muscle cells at several criti-

cal times during the day. As well, this lackof insulin will also result in higher levelsof circulating cortisol, which can cause amyriad of problems for the dieting body-builder, such as impaired thyroid functionand lower GH output. But the negativesdo not stop there…

Reason #5: High cortisol levels can affect sleep patterns!

A little-talked-about fact in regard tocortisol is that it is actually one of the hor-mones associated with waking and sleep-ing patterns. Naturally, levels of cortisolare highest in the morning and lowest atnight, with a number of fluctuations dur-ing the day. The higher amounts of circu-lating cortisol in the early hours help towake us up. When the daily cycle of corti-

sol secretion is disrupted to a large degree, it can cause lev-els to remain elevated at night, with the result being aninability to relax and fall asleep. I don’t need to tell you justhow important sleep is to a bodybuilder, especially one whois dieting to lose body fat while doing everything possible tokeep hard-earned muscle mass intact. Insomnia? No thanks!

Reason #6: No carbs pre-or post-training can compromise the immune system!

The type of intense training that bodybuilders engage insuppresses the immune system, which of course can lead toincreased risk of illness. When the body is forced to workharder to fight off bacteria and infection, it will have lessenergy to put toward recuperation, repair and growth.Combating illness is certainly higher on the body’s prioritylist than building muscle and burning fat. Not to mention

Eric Broser

Part 10Natural Bodybuilding



that when you are sick, you might not be able to train ordo cardio as needed to facilitate maximum progress.Studies show that carbohydrate consumption built aroundworkouts (pre/intra/post) can reduce the immune systemreaction to vigorous exercise, helping to keep your mus-cle-building and fat-burning machinery working at opti-mum levels. Important stuff!

Reason #7: No carbs in the diet can impair genes for muscle hypertrophy!

Let’s face it…as a natural bodybuilder dieting down for acompetition, photo shoot, or even a nice vacation; your goalis not only to lose as much body fat as possible, but also toretain your muscle size. Most naturals (except the mostgenetically gifted) simply lose size on zero carbs and oftenend up looking more like fitness models or swimmers thanserious bodybuilders! And I know this is not acceptable tothe hardcore natty readers of Muscular Development!

Robbie Durand, a fellow MD columnist, recently dis-cussed a couple of recent studies (that I also have viewed),which showed that low muscle glycogen concentrationsreduce the expression of several genes responsible for mus-cle hypertrophy! While a 2005 study reported a blunting of animportant molecule in cell signaling and protein synthesispathways called PKB (or Akt), newer research has alsoproven that low pre-exercise muscle glycogen storesdecrease resting levels of two other major genes involved inmuscle growth…myogenin and IGF-1! No wonder drug-freeathletes tend to “string out” on zero-carb regimens!

So now that I have given you some food for thought(mostly protein and fats, but also some well-timed car-bohydrates), you can make a well-informed decision inregard to what fat-loss diet is best for you…the naturalbodybuilder. While I do not like to necessarily separatebodybuilding into two camps (enhanced and drug-free),sometimes it is essential to do so, because there are dif-ferences in how training and nutrition can, and should,be approached. Drugs are powerful tools that allow theguys/gals utilizing them room to do things that wouldbe detrimental to a natural trainee. I make no judgment,nor say that one form of bodybuilding is better than theother. But as a trainer and contest prep coach it is myjob to know how to optimize the progress of both typesof athletes!

In Part 3 of this mini-series I will lay out a generalguideline for how I feel it is best for a natural athlete toapproach a contest diet. Until then, train hard, stayfocused and of course…read MD!

Olympia NotesI just want to say a quick shout-out to Elyse and Steve

Blechman, John Romano, Dave Palumbo and the Smalleybrothers, who I had the pleasure of hanging out with at din-ner and the MD seminar. Thanks for making me feel like animportant part of Team MD! Also to fellow MD columnist andfuture IFBB pros, Branden Ray and Mike Liberatore, it wasawesome spending the Olympia weekend with you both atthe VPX booth! You guys are a lot of fun and tremendousassets and representatives of our sport! �

NoJuiceBodybuilding


By Gregg Valentino

DISCLAIMER: The following is uncensored/

unedited and in no way reflects the

opinions of the staff of Muscular

Development. Who the hell knows

what this guy might say... he’s a

mental freak. This article is for enter-

tainment purposes only.


MY OLYMPIAVIEW..THIS ISMY OPINONONLY NOT MD’s… Due to manage-

ment cuts, the light at the end of the tunnel will now beswitched off…. Excuse me, I have to recharge myflamethrower…..OK SO, ALTHOUGH I WAS NOT AT THEOLYMPIA PERSONALLY, I KNOW FOR A FACT I DIDN’TMISS A FUCKING THING!!!… YES , I WATCHED A FEWOLYMPIA VIDEO’S AND IT BORED THE SHIT OUTTAME……THE BIG GUYS ALL LOOKED OVER JUICED UP LIKEVEINY RIPPED WATER BALLOONS AND WITHOUT VIC-TOR MARTINEZ , KAI GREENE, BRANCH WARREN, ITWASN’T A REAL MR. OLYMPIA CONTEST…OK YES, DEX-TER JACKSON WAS THE BEST MAN UP THERE AND DEX-TER DESERVED TO WIN !!!..YO’ IM GLAD TO SEE THERIGHT MAN GET THE SANDOW TROPHY….SO A GREAT BIGCONGRATULATIONS TO DEXTER JACKSON FOR A WELLDESERVED WIN..ALSO, I THOUGHT TONEY FREEMANLOOKED FANTASTIC AS WELL, SO MY PROPS TO THE X-MAN( TONEY FREEMAN ) … …..A SIDE NOTE: >> DENNIS WOLFLOOKED GREAT BUT HAD VISUAL FLAWS, AND JAY CUT-LER WAS WAAAY OFF HIS PEAK AND JAY LOOKEDBLOCKY AS HELL ….I FEEL THIS OLYMPIA WAS DEFINITE-LY A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION WITH A DEXTERWINNING . BUT IN ALL HONESTY THE NEXT TIME I’M HAV-ING TROUBLE SLEEPING AT NIGHT I’LL JUST WATCH THEOLYMPIA VIDEO AGAIN AND I WILL FALL RIGHTASLEEP…..ZZZZZZ… ZZZZZZ…ZZZZZ.. WHAT!!!... DID YOUSAY SOME THING???....OOOPS YA SEE THAT SHIT, JUSTTALKING ABOUT THE OLYMPIA PUTS ME TO SLEEPEVERYTIME!!!….. LISTEN THIS SPORT IF YOU WANNA CALLIT A SPORT, IS NEVER GOING TO BE MAIN-STREAM ORANYTHING BUT A CULT TYPE -NITCH SPORT UNTIL ITGETS SOME GENERAL PUBLIC APPEAL AND IN THATAREA, ITS GETTING WORSE!!…YO’, THERE WAS A TIME INTHE 80’s WHEN ESPN USED TO BROADCAST THEOLYMPIA , I MEAN REALLY, I STILL HAVE THE ESPN 80’sOLYMPIA ON MY OLD VHS TAPES … NOW WITH THEFREAKS THAT STARTED IN THE END OF THE DORANYATES ERA , ESPN WON’T DARE TOUCH THISSHOW…....THE LAST 3 OLYMPIA SHOWS HAVE BEEN SLID-

ING DOWN A HUGE DOWNHILL SLOPE, MORE TOWARDSTHE BIZZARRE & CIRCUS SIDE FREAK SHOW THAN ABODYBUILDING EVENT……AGAIN THIS IS MY OPIN-ION!!!!….. PERSONALLY, I THINK THE JUDGES NEED TORE-VAMP THEIR CRITERIA START BY PLACING THE OVER-LY JUICED UP STRIATED WATER BALOONS LOWER ANDGET BACK TO WHAT BODYBUILDING IS ALL ABOUT >>>TINY WAISTS, BEAUTIFUL MUSCLE SYMETRY AND PRO-PORTIONATE MUSCLE SIZE… YES YES YES, I KNOW WHATYOUR THINKING, VALENTINO YOU ARE NO-ONE TO TALK ,YOU LOOKED FUCKING DISGUSTING WITH YOUR RETARDEDBODY…. AND YES, 100% YOUR RIGHT PINHEADS , BUTWHEN I COMPETED I HAD A MINI ARNOLD TYPE BUILD, IGRACED THE STAGE , I DIDN’T HAVE THAT BIG RETARD-ED ARM LOOK BACK THEN SO SIMMER DOWN !!…PLUS I

WAS 100% NATURAL BACK THEN!!...SO GETOVER THAT BIG ARM SHIT … I WAS OUT OFMY MIND AND RETARDED GETTING BIG LIKETHAT …I KNOW YOU THINK A HYPOCRYTE,BUT I LOOKED GREAT IN MY CONTEST

DAYS AND I NEVER LOST MY CLASS!!!!!…. BOTTOM LINE >> I WASN’TTHE ONE ON STAGE WITH HOME-

MADE CALVES, DELTS , BICEPSWIITH A BELLY & ASS CHEEKS THATARE BIGGER THAN MY FAT ITALIANAUNT MARIE’s BIG FAT ITALIAN

ASS…WOOFA…YO THAT’S A FUCKIN BIG ASS!!!!...AND HELL YES, I LOVE FREAKS , BUT

MY DEFINITION OF ”FREAK” IS DIFFER-ENT THAN YOURS!!... SOME ( NOT ALL )OF THESE BODIES TODAY ARN’TFREAKS, THEY ARE FUGLY >>> THAT’S

FUCKING-UGLY!!!!!...THE BLOATED 40 INCH RIPPEDGUTS THAT ARE BOTH FAT & RIPPED AT THE SAME TIMEARE AS GROSS AS MY ARMS USED TO BE IN THE LATE 90’s- 2001 WHEN I WAS OUT OF MY MIND!!!!… MOMO’S WITHGH GUTS AND GIANT RIPPED ASSES ARE NOT MY IDEAOF A FREAK, THEY ARE MY IDEA OF AN UGLYBODY….AS FOR COMPETIONS , BODYBUILDERS TODAYARE SO DHYDRATED & DRIED OUT THAT FOR THE LASTFEW DAYS BEFORE A SHOW THAT THEY CANT EVENLEAVE THEIR HOTEL ROOMS EXCEPT FOR THE COMPETI-



TORS MEETINGS…..YOU NEVERSAW LEE HANEY OR ARNOLD LAY-ING ON HIS HOTEL ROOM BED ALLDAMN DAY WITH HIS CONTESTGURU COMING INTO HIS HOTELROOM CHECKING HIM OUT EVERYFUCKING HUOR OR SO…THAT’S TOOMUCH IN MY OPINION…I GAG ATTHIS>>> SOME GUYS TODAY HAVESTRIATIONS ON THEIR FUCKINGVIENS , BUT YET AT THE SAMETIME THEY GOT FAT ROLLS ONTHEIR LOWER BACKS…HOW THEFUCK CAN A GUY BE BLOATED, FATLOOKING IN THE GUT AND RIPPEDAT THE SAME TIME…..IT IS NOT ONLY GROSS, BUT IT BOG-GLES MY MIND…ITS KINDA LIKE LOOKING AT A PREG-NANT WOMAN WITH ABS AND STRIATIONS ON HERBELLY, YET FAT JELLY-ROLLS ON HER LOWERBACK….…YO’, HERE IS THE FUNNY FACT: >> SOME OF YOUFUCKERS TALK YOUR BULLSHIT ABOUT ME SHOOTINGOIL BASED STEROIDS INTO MY ARMS ( NO, IT WAS NOTSYNTHOL, IT WAS OIL BASED JUICE, IM SICK OF THAT SHITTALK, GET OVER IT ), YET A LOT OF THESE PRO BODY-BUILDERS ARE SHOOTING SYNTHOL, ESICLINE , CAVER-JECT , IGF, PGF2 aka PROSTAGLANDIN AS WELL ASSTEROIDS INTO EACH BODYPART ….SO DON’T YOU DAREPOINT THE FINGER AT ME SAYING I’M BAD FOR BODY-BUILDING…FUCK YOU & FUCK OFF!!!!....YO’ IM IN THEMEDIA END OF SHIT, HELL I COULD GET FAT IF I WANT-ED BUT I’M NOT ON STAGE LOOKING REATARDED AND ITALK ABOUT MY SHIT, LOOKING UGLY & RETARDED!!!....THE BIG BODYBUILDERS TODAY HAVE OVER DONE THEDRUGS, THEY LOOKED DRUGGED UP, THEY ARE ON THEOLYMPIA STAGE DESTROYING THE OLYMPIAIMAGE….THATS WHY I THINK PICKING DEXTER THIS YEARWAS A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION!!!!..… ..YA KNOW,SINCE WHEN WAS THE ACCEPTABLE CRITERIA FOR MROLYMPIA TO HAVE A 40 INCH RIPPED WAIST WITH AGIANT ASS, I BET THESE GUYS ALL WEAR X-LARGE & XX-LARGE POSING TRUNKS ….FUCK ME, I WORE SMALL , ANDI BET SERGIO WHO HAD THE MASS OF TODAYS BODY-BUILDERS WORE SMALL TO MAYBE MEDIUM ATMOST…….THAT BIG ASS , THICK WAIST BULLSHIT ISDEFINITLY NOT ASTETIC LOOKING !!...….. HOW IS THAT POS-SIBLE, TO BE RIPPED & VEINY , YET AT THE SAME TIMEBLOATED WITH FAT ROLLS ON THEIR LOWER BACKS, BASI-CALLY TO BE HARD & FAT AT THE SAME TIME??? …..YO’,WHAT THE FUCK KINDA SHIT ARE THEY INJECTINGTODAY???……WHAT HAPPENED TO THE GOOD OLD DAYS OFD-BALLS ( YUM ) , TESTOSTERONE ( OH YUM ) , DECA (HATE DECA BUT,,,) , A-BOMBS ( ANADROL…NOW I GOT AWODDY…YUM YUM YUM..), WINSTROL , EQ ect ect ….SHEEETTODAY IT’S A DIFFERENT BALL GAME, MOST ( NOT ALL ) OFTHESE OLYMPIANS ARE TAKING “GOD KNOWS WHAT” …EVEN THE TANS LOOK REDICULOUS, THE WHITE GUYSLOOK LIKE THEY ARE DOING 1930’s BLACK-FACE RENDI-TIONS…….ITS OUTTA CONTROL…..WHERE IS THE BUILT BOD-IES THAT GUYS ENVIED AND GIRLS WANTED TO FUCK ??>>> THE ZANE’s, THE ARNOLD,s, THE HANEY’s AND EVENLEE LABRADDA WHO AT A 185 POUNDS ALMOST BEATLEE HANEY……YA WANNA TALK ABOUT A REAL FREAK,

HOW ABOUT WHERE IS THE NEW SERGIOOLIVA???.... I WILL TELL YA WHERE,HE DOESN’T EXSIST!!!!! …SERGIOOLIVA WAS THE ULTIMATE FREAK,EVEN ARNOLD SAID SERGIO HAD THEGREATEST GENTICS HE EVER SEEN,ARNOLD ALSO ONCE SAID “SERGIO HADA FLAWLESS BODY” ...,ITS NO SECRETTHAT SERGIO WAS THE ONLY BODY-BUILDER ARNOLD EVERFEARED!!!!….SHEEEET SERGIOOLIVA HAD AS MUCH MASS AS THESEBIG GUYS TODAY BUT SERGIO YET

HAD A TINY 28 -29 inch WAIST WITH AV-TAPER LIKE NO-ONE ELSE EVEN TODAY!!! …YO, MYMAN SERGIO GOT THAT KINDA MUSCLE WITH OLD SCHOOL-TRAINING & BASIC DRUGS LIKE D-BALLS, TEST & DECAect ect AND LOTS OF FOOD... THERE WAS NO IGF, NOINSULIN, NO GH, NO ESICLINE, NO SYNTHOL, NO CAVER-JECT NO PGF2 aka PROSTAGLANDIN , NO SUPER WHEYPROTEINS, NO CREATINES, NO WAXY MAZE–CARB LOAD-ING DRINKS, NO NITRIX OXIDE BULLSHIT, NO SUPERSUPPLEMENTS LIKE THERE ARE TODAY ALONG WITHOTHER OTHER BULLSHIT….BACK THEN IT WAS SOME MILK& EGG PROTEIN , SOY PROTEIN , LIVER PILLS , LECITHINAND MULTI VITAMINS…….WE LIVE IN A ERA TODAYWHERE A LOT OF GUYS DON’T EVEN TRAIN RIGHT ANYMORE..YO, WHEN I SEE THE WORKOUT VIDEOS ONMuscularDevelopment.com I FUCKING GAG AT HOW SOME (NOT ALL ) OF THESE OLYMPIANS TRAIN…NO WONDERTHEY SHOOT ALL KINDS OF SHIT EVERYWHERE & GETRIPPED , BLOATED WITH FAT ROLLS ALL AT THE SAMETIME!!!!... THATS ALSO WHY WHEN THEY “COME OFF”SHIT THEY LOOK LIKE PEE-WEE HERMAN…..I FEEL LIKE >>NO BODY TRAINS HARD ANYMORE…… YOU READ ALLTHAT BULLSHIT ABOUT “OVER TRAINING”, FUCK YOU,THERE IS NO SUCH THING!!!!….THERE IS ONLY “UNDERRECOOPERATION” AND ITS NOT THE SAME THING…..HEY,IN ARNOLD’s DAY GUYS TRAINED EACH BODYPART 3TIMES A WEEK WITH A MINIMUM OF 25 TO 35 SETS ABODYPART AND THEY GREW MUSCLE LIKE WEEDS….IMDISGUSTED WITH HOW GUYS TRAIN TODAY, EVEN SER-GIO USED TO TRAIN 35 SETS A BODYPART 2 TO 3 TIMES AWEEK AND THAT’S BACK IN THE 1960’s WHEN MOST OF YOUREADERS WERE NOT EVEN A SPERM CELL YET…AND ATONE TIME BEFORE SERGIO WAS A COP HE WORKED 16HOURS A DAY IN A STEEL MILL…..MEANWHILE MOST (NOT ALL, RELAX, THICKEN YOUR SKIN) OF THE BODY-BUILDERS TODAY DON’T EVEN WORK A REAL JOB!!!...YO,THAT PERSONAL TRAINING BULLSHIT NOT A REAL JOB,ITS ADULT BABY SITTING AND A LOT OF JUICE DEALERSCLAIM THAT “PERSONAL TRAINING “ IS THEIRINCOME…..OH YEAH BABE, SOME OF YOU PERSONAL TRAIN-ING PINHEADS THINK IM STUPID???….ITS LIKE WHENJOHN GOTTI CLAIMED HE WAS A PLUMBER , HE HAD TOCLAIM HIS INCOME FROM SOMEWHERE…… OOOPSWATCHOUT THE FEDS ARE READING THIS, THEY ARE ON TOYOU P.T.’s NOW!!!!….YO GET A FUCKING JOB!!!!... MOMO’S…..ENOUGH RANTING, GETTING BACK TO A REAL BODY-BUILDER SERGIO OLIVA, FACT: > SERGIO HAD 2008 TYPEMUSCLE MASS WITH LESS DRUGS, NO MODERN SUPPLE-MENTS AND NO BODYMASTER, CYBEX, ICARIAN



EQUIPMENTect ect ….ITS TRUE, SERGIO HAD JUST BASICWEIGHTS AND A FEW HOMEMADE MACHINES….YES PIN-HEADS, IN THSE DAYS BODYBUILDERS LIKE SERGIO &ARNOLD BUILT THEIR BODIES THROUGH PURE TRAINING,NOT INJECTING TOXIC WASTE , AND THEY WERE CERTAIN-LY NOT WORRYING ABOUT OVER-TRAINING ….LISTEN, I

LOVE FREAKS & ILOVE STEROIDS,BUT MY IDEA OF AFREAK IS SERGIO,ARNOLD, LEEHANEY & SERGENUBRET , .NOTSOME DUDE 5’9”TALL WEIGHING280lbs WITH ARIPPED STRIATED40 INCH WAIST,STRIATED GIANT

GLUTES AND FAT ROLLS ON HIS BACK…..THATS NOT AFREAK, THAT’S A FUGLY-MOMO AND A FUTURE PEE WEEHERMAN!!!!!!…… ONCE AGAIN, I KNOW I LOOKEDRETARDED BUT I NEVER CLIMED TO BE JOHNNY HAND-SOME OR MR OLYMPIA…..I ALWAYS ADMITED I LOOKEDUGLY, IM THE ONE WHO SAID I LOOK LIKE UNCLE FESTERON STEROIDS… .BRAD PITT IM NOT!!!!!......BUT MROLYMPIA WAS NOT WHAT I SAW TONIGHT, NOT THEMR.OLYMPIA & SPORT I FELL IN LOVE WITH 35 YEARSAGO ….“Keep in mind, you all have ONE advantage overme.....you can all Kiss My Ass and I Can’t !!!!!” .. Grow YourOwn Dope, Plant A Bodybuilder……. FUCK OFF

STORY TIME .“Last night I was having dinner withCharles Manson, and in the middle of dinner he turned to meand said >> “Is it hot in here, or am I Fuckin Crazy?”…. ANY-BODY WHO KNOWS JIMMY “THE IRON BULL” PELLECHIAFOR A LONG TIME KNOWS ABOUT HIS PAST SAMSON &DELILAH TYPE RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS EX-GIRLFRIENDRITA……YO THESE 2 WERE MADE FOR EACH OTHER…RITAWAS A HOT BLOODEDKINDA TALL LATINAWITH LONG BLACK GIRLHAIR (YUM ) , VERYGOOD LOOKING FACE ,SUPER LEAN MACHINE-HARD BODY, AND THEONLY GIRL WHO USED TOTRAIN WITH HER BOYJIMMY “THE BULL”PELLECHIA , BOTH LIFT-ING HEAVY WEIGHTSAND BOTH COMPETINGWITH EACHOTHER FORRELATIONSHIP DOMINANCE…. RITA LIVED BY SOMEWOMAN’S CREED, “ANYTHING YOU COULD DO, I COULD DOBETTER”..AND IN SOME CASES SHE COULD!!!!…… JIMMY“THE BULL” LOVED RITA’s FEISTINESS, BUT WHENTHEY WOULD BOTH GO OUT DRINKING THEY WOULDCOME HOME FIST FIGHTING EACHOTHER THEN FUCK-ING FOR THE REST OF THE NIGHT…..I TOLD YA ALL THIS

MANY TIMES BEFORE >> IT’S A LATINA -vs- HER WHITEBOY THING!!!!…. LATINA GIRLS GOT MAD FLAVOR, TRUSTME, I BEEN THERE DONE THAT MANY TIMES TOO….…JIMMYUSED TO DO BENCH PRESS SHOWS & EXPO’S AND RITA HISTRAINING PARTNER / GIRLFRIEND USED TO GO WITH HIMAND SPOT HIM FOR HIS CRAZY HEAVY LIFTS…… JIMMY“THE BULL” TOLD ME RITA WOULD KNEW JUST HOW TOMOTIVATE HIM WHEN HE WAS DOING HEAVY BENCHPRESS DEMINSTRATIONS…. SOMETIMES WHEN JIMMYWAS ABOUT TO GO SUPER HEAVY, LIKE 800 or 900 POUNDSON THE BENCH RITA WOULD LEAN OVER AND JUSTBEFORE JIMMY PUSHED THE WEIGHT OF THE BENCH-PRESS HOOKS SHE WOULD WHISPER INSPIRATION INJIMMY’S EAR…..WHEN I ASKED JIMMY WHAT SHE USEDTO SAY , THE BULL SNARLED “ SHE WOULD TELL METHAT SHE IS GETTING A HARD ON WATCHING ME PUSHHEAVY WEIGHTS AND WHEN WE GET HOME SHE WANTSME TO SUCK HER OFF”…..I GAGED AND ASKED JIMMY,“WHAT THE FUCK!!!!”…. JIMMY LAUGHED AND SAID“BRO I WOULD LOOK UP AND SHE WAS WEARING SPAN-DEX PANTS AND I COULD SEE THAT SHIT BULGING OUTLIKE FUCKIN WALNUT, IM TELLIN YA SHE HAD A HARDON, HER CLIT WAS 3 INCHES LONG & IT GOT HARD TOOFROM TAKING SO MUCH SHIT ( HE MEANS STEROIDS)….”BRO SHE USED TO CALL HER CLIT, HER COCK AND IMUNCHED ON HER WALNUT LIKE IT WAS A LITTLEWEENIE”… JIMMY “THE HORNY BULL” SAID AFTER SEE-ING THAT WALNUT IN RITA’S SPANDEX , HE PUSHED THEFUCKIN WEIGHT OFF THE BENCH HOOKS LIKE HE WASBENCH-PRESSING A GIANT Q-TIP ….MY MAN JIMMY“WALNUTS “ WAS A CRAZY HORNY BASTARD BACK THEN...JIMMY “THE HORNY BULL” THEN TOLD ME “ GREGG,WE WOULD GO HOME AND RITA WOULD LAY ON THE BEDLIKE A DUDE WHILE I WENT DOWN ON HER SUCKINHER GIANT WALNUT FOR HOURS AND BRO MY NEIGH-BORS COULD HEAR HER SCREAMING SO LOUD THAT ONETIME I HAD COPS BANGIN ON MY DOOR , THEY THOUGHTI WAS KILLING HER”….I WAS LAUGHING MY ASS OFF WHENJIMMY TOLD ME THIS, I SAID “NO WAY JIMMY”…..HE WASNOW SCREAMING ON THE PHONE, “BRO I GOTTA TELL YA AFUNNY STORY ABOUT THE TIME THE COPS CAME TO MYHOUSE”….JIMMY “ THE CRAZED BULL “ WAS NOW VERYHYPER ON THE PHONE AND I COULDN’T EVEN GET A WORDIN……HE THEN TOLD ME THAT RITA USED TO PISS HIM OFFBECAUSE SHE WOULD FIND THE BOTTLES OF ANADRIOLTHAT HE HAD HIDDEN FROM HER AND SHE STOLE THEM &TOOK ALL HIS ANDROL….” YO, THE BITCH WAS EATING 4ANDROL TABS A DAY, PLUS I WAS GIVING HER SHOTS OFSHIT ( STEROIDS ) , BUT BRO I WAS WONDERING HOW THEFUCK SHE WAS GETTING SO BIG AND STRONG AND HOWALL OF A SUDDEN SHE STARTED GROWING A DICK, BROIM NOT KIDDING HER CLIT WAS LIKE ONE OF THOSEMINI HOT DOGS” ( A PIG IN A BLANKET ) ”….”IM TELLIN YAGREGG, WE USED TO GET IN FIGHTS ALL THE TIME BECAUSESHE USED TO SNEAK INTO MY UNDERWEAR DRAW ANDSTEAL MY SHIT” ( HE MEANS RITA STOLE HIS STEROIDSYA PINHEADS ) …”BRO, I FUCKIN FLIPPED THE FUCKOUT, I WOULD REACH IN MY FUCKIN UDERWEAR DRAWTO GET MY SHIT AND IT WAS ALL GONE”… ”YO, GREGG,

VALENTINO IS CRAZYHE SCARES ME!!!!



YOU KNOW HOW IT IS BRO, THE CRAZY BITCH HAD HEROWN SHIT ( HER OWN STEROIDS ) AND YET SHE WASUSING MINE AS WELL AS HERS”….. SIDE NOTE: KEEP INMIND JIMMY IS ALL WORKED UP RIGHT NOW AS HE ISTELLING ME THIS….HE HAS BEEN EATING DINNER INMY EAR WHILE TALKING TO ME ON THE PHONE, I CANTELL HE IS SO HYPER HE IS SPITTING WHEN HE ISGOING OFF AND EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE HE NEEDS TORELEASE ENERGY BY PLAYING THE PIANO FOR A FEWMINS,… LIKE ED NORTON FROM 1950’s TV SHOW > “THEHONEY MOONERS” … JIMMY PLAYS HIS VERSION OFSWANNEE RIVER ( A WARM UP ) TILL HE GOES OFF ONA “LIBERACE” TYPE MUSICAL PIANO TIRADE!!!!! ….OKNOW, HERES THE BEST PART OF THE STORY >>.. JIMMY“THE BULL” TOLD ME THAT THIS ONE TIME HE WAS AT AGYM AND HE WAS DOING A BENCH PRESS SEMINAR…..EVERYONE AT THE GYM SEMINAR WAS GATHERED AROUNDTHE BENCH-PRESS IN A CIRCLE AS THEY WATCHEDJIMMY “THE BULL” DO A FEW WARM UP SETS WITH ….JIMMY SAID RITA WAS PUTTING THE WEIGHTS ON THEBAR FOR HIM AS JIMMY WOULD PHSYC HIMSELF UP FORA SET…..AFTER A FEW WARM UP SETS JIMMY WAS NOWREADY TO PUSH SOME SERIOUS WEIGHT SO RITALOADED UP THE BAR WITH ABOUT 800 POUNDS ….KEEPIN MIND, WHEN JIMMY “THE BENCH-PRESSER”WENT THIS HEAVY HE HAD TO HAVE GUYS ON EACHSIDE OF THE BAR SPOTTING HIM…..JIMMY TOLD METHAT, HE LAID ON THE BENCH GOT HIS MIND INTOTHE SET AND PUSHED THE WEIGHT OFF THEHOOKS DOING A FEW REPS BEFORE PUTTING IT BACKON THE HOOKS…WHEN HE SAT UP , HE GAGGED , NOONE WAS AROUND WATCHING HIM, ONLY THEGUYS SPOTTING HIM AND MAYBE ONE OR TWOOTHER GUYS……HE THOUGHT TO HIMSELF “ WHATTHE FUCK HAPPENED , I JUST BENCHED 800lbsWHERE THE FUCK IS EVERYBODY” …HE THENLOOK OVER THE OTHER END OF THE GYM AND SAWTHE WHOLE CROWD OF 100 PEOPLE WERE NOW CIR-CLED AROUND ANOTHER BENCH WATCHING RITAREPPING OUT WITH 315 ON THE BENCH WITHEVERYONE CHEERING HER ON AND CLAPPING WHENSHE WAS DONE….. JIMMY “THE TOTALLY PISSED OFFBULL” WAS FUCKING IRATE , THIS IS HIS SEMINAR ANDHIS GIRL RITA TOTALLY HIJACKED THE CROWD……JIMMY SAID HE RAN OVER THERE SHOVED RITA ASIDE INA HEAT OF ANGER , THEN JIMMY “THE ANGRY BULL”RIPPED THE 315 OFF THE BENCH PRESS HOOKS ANDCURLED IT 10 TIMES… THE CROWD WENTCRAZY!!!!.......WHEN JIMMY “THE PISSED OFF BULL”PUT THE BAR BACK ON THE HOOKS, RITA QIUCKLY PUTTWO- 25 POUND PLATES ON EACH SIDE OF THE BARTHEN LAID ON THE BENCH AND PRESEED IT UP FOR ONEREP, ( THAT’S 365…) … JIMMY “THE RAGING BULL” WASFUMING, HE YOKED THE BAR OFF THE HOOKS AND MILI-TARY PRESSED IT FOR 10 REPS….. THE CROWD WENTCRAZY… JIMMY “ THE CAVEMAN “ THEN GRABED RITA ,THREW HER ON HIS SHOULDER AND CARRIED HER OUT OFTHE GYM INTO THE PARKING LOTT WHERE THEY HAD A

HUGE ARGUMENT… JIMMY WAS PISSED OFF BECAUSEPEOPLE CAME TO SEE HIM , IT WAS HIS SEMINAR ANDRITA ON A CRAZED TESTOSTERONE FUELED RUSH , WENTON A BENCH PRESSING RAMPAGE HERSELF AND STOLEJIMMY’S CROWD…YO, THAT’S WHY YOU NEVER LET YOURGIRL TAKE ANADROL OR ANDROGENS AND THAT’S WHYDON’T DATE OTHER BODYBUILDERS….JIMMY “THE HORNYBULL” TOLD ME THAT WHEN HE GOT HOME HE GAVE RITA“THE BLOW JOB” OF HER LIFE AND APPRENTLY THEANADROL HAD HER SO SEX CRAZED AND HORNY THATSHE WAS SCREAMIN SO LOUD THAT WHEN JIMMY WASMUNCHING & BITING ON RITA’S WALNUT , ALL OF ASUDDEN THE POLICE BURST INTO JIMMY’S HOUSECATCHING JIMMY “WALNUTS” & RITA “ THE SCREAM-ER” ON THE BED BARE-ASS-NAKED EATING WALLNUT-MUSH-POT-PIE! ….YES ITS TRUE THE NIEGHBORS HEARDRITA SCREAMING SO LOUD THAT THEY THOUGHT JIMMYFINALLY SNAPPED AND WAS NOW KILLING RITA, SO THEYCALLED THE COPS,…. WHEN THE COPS GOT THERE NO ONEANSWERED THE DOOR ( DUH….) AND THEY ( THE COPS )HEARD A WOMAN SCREAMING FOR HER LIFE, SO THEYBURST IN AND SAW JIMMY’s & RITA IN A SEX CRAZEDFRENZY …I GAGGED WHEN JIMMY TOLD ME THIS, SO I

ASKED JIMMY IF HE WASEMBARESED AT ALL AND HEREPLIED “FUCK NO BRO, I WAS

PISSED OFF BECAUSE I WASJUST ABOUT TO BUST A NUT

WHEN THE STORMED IN ANDMEANWHILE IM STANDINGTHERE WITH A HARD ON

SCREAMING AT THEM ( THECOPS ) WHILE RITA WAS STILL

ON THE BED MOANING”…JIMMYSTARTED LAUGHING AND SAID “ IDON’T THINK SHE EVEN KNEWTHE COPS WERE SHE WAS STILLLAYING THERE WITH HER EYES

CLOSED QUIVERRING ON THEBED”…..”YEAH BRO, FUCK THAT

SHIT, THEY ( THE COPS ) WEREEMBARRESSED NOT ME ”….” THEY APPOLIGISED AND ISAID YEAH GOOD, NOW GET THE FUCK OUT MY HOUSEAND I JUST TURNED AROUND AND I BANGED THE SHITOUTTA HER” ….YES THE ANADROL WAS FLOWING IN BOTHTHESE 2 WHACKOS…I MEAN DOESN’T JIMMY KNOW“Nobody will ever win the battle of the sexes, because there’sjust too much fraternizing with the enemy!!!”… ANYWAY,YA GOTTA LOVE JIMMY “THE BULL” , IF YOU HEARD HIMTELL THE STORY YOU WOULD LAUGH YOUR ASS OFF..OK IMDONE!!!… And out of the chaos, a voice spoke: “Smile and behappy, for it can always be worse”. ..So I smiled, and I washappy…. and it did get worse…. Support mental health or I’llkill you all >>> NEXT MONTH!!!!!

WWW.GREGGVALENTINO.NET…. MY MAILINGADDRESS IS >> GREGG VALENTINO 3663 LEE RD. # 415 ,JEFFERSON VALLEY NEW YORK 10535. TILL NEXTMONTH , FUCK OFF �


KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

By William LIewellyn AnabolicResearchUpdate

Warning: Opinions express ed in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of this magazine’s publisher or itseditorial staff. MD does not condone any form of illegal drug use for bodybuilding or for any recreational pur-pose. MD also does not condone abuse of legal drugs for any purpose.

nderground gear is everywhere these days. In fact,these drugs are so widely available, they havechanged the dynamic of illicit steroid trade itself. Up

until several years ago, most of the steroids traded wereeither legitimate drug products that reached the market dueto the efforts of gray market international traders andsmugglers, or were copies of said-legitimate products foist-ed onto consumers by counterfeiters. These products wereall very bulky, difficult to conceal and compared to otherillicit drugs, far less profitable to smuggle for the volumeand risk involved. Underground labs did exist decades ago,but they tended to be very small in number, and large inscale. The concept of the deep underground (homebrew

lab) gear was almost unheard of 10 years ago. The underground steroid business is thriving today,

and is truly a cottage industry. Many smart dealers arefinding there is much more money in producing theseproducts themselves, even if on a small scale, then deal-ing with bulk shipments. Depending on the drug, a kilo-gram of steroid material can cost several thousand dol-lars, but can produce 1,000 units or more of pills or vials,for a profit of many tens of thousands of dollars, perhapsmore. The powder can fit into a business-size envelopeand generate a dealer the type profit that would previous-ly require the selling of an entire van full of steroid boxes.Ultimately, these products will be made into the sametype of bulky dosage units, of course, but this assemblytakes place after the powder is well into the country, safelyaway from the eyes of U.S. Customs.

The process of running an underground lab may befairly basic. Buy powders, buy packaging equipment,mix, label and finally, sell. But is this a good model forthe end consumer? We need to remember that these aredrug products; many meant to be injected directly intothe body. An addiction to injectable narcotics oftenentails the user taking great risks with their health, oftenamplified by the use of “dirty” street drugs withunknown ingredients. With bulk steroid dealing now tak-ing on a “smuggled powder model” similar to cocaineand heroin, one wonders if the same potential issuesmay arise. To test this notion, we sent 14 undergroundinjectable steroid products into the lab. The productswere from labs ranging in size from the very small tovery large. The full test results will be in the next editionof ANABOLICS (9

thEdition, 2009). Presented below are

the results for perhaps the most important measure:heavy metal contamination.

This test specifically looked for the presence of toxicheavy metals such as lead, tin, mercury and arsenic. Theresults were not good, to say the least. More than 20percent of the products (one in five) contained heavy


HEAVYMETAL GEAR



AnabolicResearchUpdatemetal contamination. The metals tested here are all knownto pose specific threats to health when they accumulate inthe body. Those metals considered inert (such as iron andaluminum) were not included. Heavy metals are commonin chemical-manufacturing operations, but are normallyremoved through very careful product assembly andpurification steps. They were likely found here becausethe raw materials used to make some of these steroidswas simply made “cheaply,” without the expense neededto hit true drug-grade purity. This type of material couldbe considered “food grade.” Scary enough, it may fuelmuch of the underground market. Needless to say, theunderground model may very well be responsible forbringing some high-quality products to consumers, butalso some alarmingly low-quality ones.

Test Results: Heavy Metals Contamination

Sample Contamination Result

1. methandrostenolone NoneDetected (<0.002) PASS

2. testosterone enanthate NoneDetected (<0.002) PASS

3. testosterone enanthate NoneDetected (<0.002) PASS

4. testosterone propionate NoneDetected (<0.002) PASS

5. boldenone undecylenate MetalsFound (>0.002) FAIL

6. testosterone cypionate NoneDetected (<0.002) PASS

7. boldenone undecylenate MetalsFound (<0.002) FAIL

8. trenbolone hexahydro. NoneDetected (<0.002) PASS


10. methenolone enanthate MetalsFound (>0.002) FAIL


12. nandrolone decanoate NoneDetected (<0.002) PASS

13. methenolone enanthate NoneDetected (<0.002) PASS

14. trenbolone enanthate NoneDetected (<0.002) PASS

Failure Rate: 21%

Labs Examined:

Steroids and SurgeryThe steroid wisdom of the ages has usually been to

discontinue taking steroids before surgery. This is due totheir potential effects on blood clotting, specifically anability to slow the clotting process and potentiallyincrease the time necessary to heal a wound. But this oldview may be changing a little bit. Recent studies havebeen pointing to recovery benefits when an anabolicsteroid is given before surgery. For example, this lateststudy (Aging Male, 2008 Sep;11(3):123-7) examined theeffects of nandrolone phenylpropionate (Durabolin) inolder men undergoing prostate surgery (prostatectomy).The investigation looked at 54 men at a mean age of 70years. Each was given a 100mg injection of nandrolone,or a sesame oil placebo, prior to the operation. Theresults showed that nandrolone decanoate significantlyreduced post-operative urinary symptoms (difficulty uri-nating, sensation of full bladder), and also reduced painat the site of incision. The patients using nandrolonewere also generally more satisfied with their recoveryprocess than those who were administered a placebo. Itis still early for studies like this, but the results are verycompelling. Who knows? Perhaps one day a shot ofDeca-Durabolin will be prepared in the hospital as stan-dard practice before many surgical procedures.

Injection Practices (Report)Media stories about the potential horrors of steroid

abuse often include warnings of HIV and hepatitis infection,which are admittedly common among IV narcotic abusers.But steroid users don’t share needles…at least this is whatsteroid users will constantly say to such assertions. Studiesof this trait among the bodybuilding community, however,are surprisingly light. This month we do get to review apaper coming from National Alcohol and Drug ResearchCentre in Sydney, Australia, which used an extensive surveyto examine the injection practices of steroid abusers inAustralia (Drug Alcohol Review, 2008, 1-8). The study foundthat 5 percent of steroid users had admitted to sharing nee-dles with another person at least one time in the past. Ofcourse, any percentage is alarming. It was interesting tonote, however, that all of the 5 percent had used otherinjectable narcotics. In other words, none of the people whowere steroid users only had reported this extremely danger-ous practice. That is good news that rational heads tend toprevail in the steroid community. It wasn’t all perfect,though. Approximately 13 percent reported they had reusedtheir own needles (an unsanitary practice) and approximate-ly 30 percent had shared vials or bladders with other peo-ple. Australia does have giant 500mL bladders of testos-terone, but this really isn’t justification to share a vial withsomeone unless you can be absolutely sure new needlesare being used to draw every time. As always, be safe! �

Editor’s Note: Stay informed! William Llewellyn’s ANABOL-ICS 9th Edition (2009) will be shipping any day now. Reserve yourcopy of this monster steroid reference guide today by calling 888-828-8008. This month MD Readers receive 30% off the retail price! Youmust mention code ARU9 at the time of ordering to qualify.

Amplio LabsBritish DragonDiamond PharmaGeneric AnabolicsGeneric PharmaLizard Laboratories

Medical Inc.Microbiological LabsNordic SupplementsShark LaboratoriesSWE SupplementsTroy Labs


Betel Nuts andTestosterone

Arecoline is one of the majorcomponents of betel nuts, whichhave been consumed as chewinggum in Southeast Asia. In fact, somefolks chew these nuts because of themild stimulant effect. But there issomething even more intriguingabout arecoline, an active componentof betel nuts. And that is its effect ontestosterone. In this recent study, theeffects of arecoline on testosterone(T) secretion were studied in malerats that were injected with humanchorionic gonadotropin (hCG, 5 IU/kg)or arecoline (1 microg/kg) plus hCG.They discovered that one intravenousinjection of arecoline resulted in anincrease of the hCG-induced level ofplasma T. Also, administration ofarecoline in-vitro (i.e., in test tubeconditions) increased T production inLeydig cells (these are the T-produc-ing cells in the testicles). The stimula-tory effect of arecoline on T releasein-vitro was enhanced by hCG andforskolin! Thus, arecoline stimulatestestosterone production by actingdirectly on the testes.

1Maybe you

should go buy some betel nuts andchew on ‘em. This might be an addi-tional way to get a rise in T.

Dose-DependentIncreases

This was a testosterone dose-response study in young and oldermen who received long-acting GnRHagonist monthly (to turn off normal

production of testosterone), plus oneof five-weekly doses of testosteroneenanthate (25, 50, 125, 300, or 600mgintramuscularly) for 20 weeks. Bothhemoglobin and hematocrit increasedsignificantly in a linear, dose-depen-dent fashion in both young and oldermen in response to graded doses oftestosterone. But get this; the increas-

es in hemoglobin and hematocrit weresignificantly greater in older thanyoung men.

2From this, it may be bet-

ter for older men to be administeredtestosterone because of the improvedblood cell count. But in addition toEPO, we know why endurance cyclistslove their androgens.

TestosteroneOintment andPatches

Not to be confused with Vick’sVapoRub, this study looked at the

serum total testosterone (TT) and freetestosterone (FT) levels after applica-tion of a testosterone ointment(Glowmin, Daito Pharmaceutical Co.Ltd., Tokyo, Japan) and its clinical effi-cacy. Accordingly, Glowmin, is ashort-acting testosterone ointmenteliciting physiological elevation ofboth total and free testosterone!

3This

sounds better than rubbing KY Jelly. Ican see the commercials now.Glowmin. Rub it on now, and rub iton it later. And in a similar study, 60men were given transdermal testos-terone patches or placebo for 52weeks. Testosterone therapy, relativeto placebo, selectively lessened vis-ceral fat accumulation without changein total body fat mass and increasedtotal body fat-free mass or lean bodymass and total body and thigh skele-tal muscle mass.

4So here’s an exam-

ple where giving T can actually lessencardiovascular disease risk by a dropin visceral fat. And to top it off, youcan get lean body mass as well!

No SissiesAllowed

Guys with more testosterone arethe alpha-males, correct? In this inter-esting psycho/biological study, scien-tists suggested a link between socialanxiety and social dominance.Scientists thus tested the ideal sociallyanxious individuals (i.e., Woody Allen,Michael Moore, etc.) who wouldrespond to a social-dominance threatby exhibiting decrements in theirtestosterone levels. A drop in T is an

AnabolicEdgeBy Jose Antonio, PhD


TESTOSTERONE:THE TRUTH SHALL SET

THE WIMPS FREE

Scientists thus testedthe ideal socially anx-ious individuals (i.e.,Woody Allen, Michael

Moore, etc.) whowould respond to asocial-dominance

threat by exhibitingdecrements in theirtestosterone levels.



endocrinological change that typicallyreflects pronounced social submissionin humans and other animals. In thisstudy, participants were randomlyassigned to either win or lose a riggedface-to-face competition with a con-federate. Although no zero-order rela-tionship between social anxiety andlevel of testosterone was observed,testosterone levels showed a pro-nounced drop among socially anxiousmen who lost the competition. What abunch a wimps! No significantchanges were observed in non-anx-ious men or in women. According tothe investigators, “This research pro-vides novel insight into the nature andconsequences of social anxiety andalso illustrates the utility of integratingsocial psychological theory withendocrinological approaches to psy-chological science.”

5Or in other words,

don’t hang around those who areexhibiting high anxiety, because theyare high on the wimp scale.

In another psycho/biological study,men with more a masculine facialstructures show higher levels of circu-lating testosterone than men with lessmasculine faces. Thus, we have scien-tific proof that shows that a man’sfacial structure may afford importantinformation about the functioning ofhis endocrine system.

6Perhaps that

explains the differences in masculinitybetween Arnold, the Governor ofCalifornia, and Barney Frank.

High TE For Better Results

We of course know that highertestosterone levels confer social domi-nance, a more masculine face and bet-ter results on the bench press. So whythe negative spin that so permeatesthe mainstream press on testos-terone? One would think that testos-terone were like cyanide. Don’t touchthe stuff, ‘cause it’ll kill you! Of course,we know most journalists have the IQsomewhere between a betel nut andskunk. Despite the growing body ofevidence that testosterone, when usedproperly, can confer beneficial effects,the fix is in. The mainstream press, willnot in our lifetime, ever admit to such.Heck, who cares about the facts whenit gets in the way of your conclusions?Even older men who are administered

testosterone show improvements invarious parameters. In what might calla fairly long-term study (as far asandrogens go), monthly treatmentwith a gonadotropin-releasing hor-mone agonist plus 25, 50, 125, or300mg/week of intramuscular injec-tions of testosterone enanthate for 20weeks was analyzed. Did anything badhappen? I mean come on. Someonemust have died, right? Inquiring mindswant to know. Here’s what they found;there was a significant testosteronedose- and concentration-dependentincrease in skeletal muscle mass, aswell as maximal strength. Leg poweralso increased dose-dependently. Sowhat we have here is proof thattestosterone administration increasesstrength and muscle mass even inolder men.

7No deaths, no crazy side

effects. Go figure. The truth shall setyou free! �

References:1. Wang SW, Hwang GS, Chen TJ, Wang

PS. Effects of arecoline on testosteronerelease in rats. Am J Physiol EndocrinolMetab, Aug 2008;295(2):E497-504.

2. Coviello AD, Kaplan B, Lakshman KM,Chen T, Singh AB, Bhasin S. Effects of grad-ed doses of testosterone on erythropoiesisin healthy young and older men. J ClinEndocrinol Metab, Mar 2008;93(3):914-919.

3. Amano T, Imao T, Takemae K, et al.Profile of serum testosterone levels afterapplication of testosterone ointment(glowmin) and its clinical efficacy in late-onset hypogonadism patients. J Sex Med,Jul 2008;5(7):1727-1736.

4. Allan CA, Strauss BJ, Burger HG,Forbes EA, McLachlan RI. Testosterone ther-apy prevents gain in visceral adipose tissueand loss of skeletal muscle in nonobeseaging men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, Jan2008;93(1):139-146.

5. Maner JK, Miller SL, Schmidt NB,Eckel LA. Submitting to defeat: social anxi-ety, dominance threat, and decrements intestosterone. Psychol Sci, Aug2008;19(8):764-768.

6. Pound N, Penton-Voak IS, SurridgeAK. Testosterone responses to competitionin men are related to facial masculinity.Proc Biol Sci, Sep 16 2008.

7. Storer TW, Woodhouse L, Magliano L,et al. Changes in Muscle Mass, MuscleStrength, and Power but Not PhysicalFunction Are Related to Testosterone Dosein Healthy Older Men. J Am Geriatr Soc,Sep 15 2008.

AnabolicEdge


Warning: Opinions express ed in this column do not necessarily reflect theviews of this magazine’s publisher or its editorial staff. MD does not condoneany form of illegal drug use for bodybuilding or for any recreational purpose.MD also does not condone abuse of legal drugs for any purpose.

BODYBUILDING WITHOUT GENETICS

TheAnabolicFreak

TheAnabolicFreak By Dave Palumbo,

Editor-in-Chief,musculardevelopment.com


Dave, I read a while back thatthe FDA approved a form of IGF-1for use in this country. Did it evercome out? What’s the name of it?

Increlex (generically known asmecasermin (ME ka SER min) is aman-made form of insulin-likegrowth factor-1 (IGF-1) that’sapproved for use in this country. IGF-1 is important for the growth of

bones and muscles and is,therefore, predominantly

prescribed to treatgrowth failure in chil-dren whose bodies donot make enough IGF-1. It’s also used in chil-

dren with growthhormone (GH)gene deletionwho havedeveloped neu-tralizing anti-bodies to GH.I’m sure nowthat it’s avail-able in thiscountry, it willfind its way into

the various rejuve-nation clinics around

the country.

For the life of me, I justcan’t seem to get tan

enough onstage. I try tanningbeds, outdoor tanning and eventhose orange-colored tanning pillsbut nothing seems to work. A fewmonths back, you mentionedsomething called Melanotan.What’s the deal with it? Does itwork? What’s the differencebetween Melanotan I and II?

Melanotan I and Melanotan IIare both synthetic analogs of the natu-rally occurring peptide hormonealpha-melanocyte-stimulating hor-mone (alpha-MSH). Both compoundsinduce sunless skin tanning; however,Melanotan II has the additional effectof increasing libido in both sexes andhas been clinically demonstrated tohelp men overcome both organic andpsychogenic erectile dysfunction.

A pilot phase I clinical trial conduct-ed on three males by the College ofMedicine, Pharmacology Department,University of Arizona in Tucson,Arizona published in 1996 demonstrat-ed that, “Melanotan II has tanningactivity in humans given only 5 lowdoses every other day by subcuta-neous injection.” The side effectsreported were mild nausea and a“stretching and yawning complex”that correlated with spontaneouspenile erections.

Melanotan II comes as a dry,lyophilized, powder in 10, 20 and 50mgvials. I suggest adding 1mL of bacte-riostatic water to a 10mg bottle anddraw out 5 units (or .05mL) on aninsulin syringe. This equates to .5mg ofMelanotan II. From my experience, I’vediscovered that .5mg injected everyday for a period of 10 days will inducea significant sunless tanning effect. Thecoloration is the most natural-lookingtan I’ve ever seen. There’s no way oftelling that it was artificially induced.What’s even better is that Melanotan IItans every nook and cranny of yourbody, including the underarms, eyelidsand scalp. Once a base tan is estab-lished, .5mg weekly injections are allthat’s required to maintain the currentskin coloration. On days when injec-

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tions are administered, a significantlibido-boosting effect can be noted.Likewise, a certain sense of nauseaand appetite suppression occurs forabout 30-60 minutes following the.5mg injection. This nausea graduallywears off; however, some users noticean increased urgency to move theirbowels while on Melanotan II. Anotherside effect of note is the fact thatbeauty marks and small freckles canspontaneously develop while usingthis product. While most people don’tseem to mind them, they do appearto be permanent.

For the last eight weeks ofyour precontest cycle you typical-ly recommend Sustanon, tren-bolone acetate and Winstrol. Whydon’t you recommend propionate?Won’t Sustanon cause waterretention?

A big mistake that most competi-tive bodybuilders make is that theythink certain steroids should be avoid-ed in the precontest cycle. The truth isthat most competitors could take1,000mg per week of testosteroneenanthate and an aromatase inhibitorand look just as good on contest dayas when they use five different, exotic(much more expensive) anabolicsteroids. The reason for this is that adry, ripped-to-the-bone, physique ismore the result of diet, cardio andwater restriction than it is to anythingelse. All testosterone or testosterone-like (high androgen, high anabolic)drugs do essentially the same thing tothe muscles. It’s the foods we eat andthe amount of estrogen in the bloodthat dictates how much water weretain. Therefore, if you diet all the fatoff your body, block out most of theestrogen and suck out all the excesswater (with a diuretic), you have noreason to start playing with painfuldrugs like testosterone propionate.

On my last diet I used a BCAAsupplement during my cardio ses-sions to prevent muscle loss; whydon’t you recommend BCAAswhile dieting?

If you are using a superior qualitywhey protein isolate and gettingenough cumulative protein throughoutthe day, there’s no reason to add extraBCAAs (branched-chain amino acids).There are plenty of essential aminoacids and BCAAs in whey protein. In

fact, the largest BCAA pill is 2g(2,000mg), whereas 1 scoop (30g) ofwhey protein isolate can contain asmuch as 8-10g (8,000-10,000mg) ofBCAAs. I can guarantee that it’s a hellof a lot cheaper to use the highestgrade whey isolate on the marketrather than waste your money onBCAAs. If you remember, BCAAs werehuge during the ‘80s and ‘90s whenthere were no high-grade whey iso-lates. Once those came onto the scene,BCAA pills dropped out of sight.Recently, whey protein isolate priceshave skyrocketed and supplementcompanies realized that while theseisolates are great products, they turnvery little profit. Because of this fact,companies decided to start selling themuch higher profit BCAA pills again.Remember, trendy products that comeand go are usually never quite as goodas the marketing behind them.

Dave, some “experts” are sug-gesting that tamoxifen is a betteroption for post-cycle therapy (PCT)over the conventional Clomid andHCG. They are quoting some newstudies that came out. Do youthink that tamoxifen’s estrogenreceptor blockade is a better wayto go to restart of your HPT axis?

Let’s take another look at my rec-ommended post-cycle therapy (PCT).

(1) HCG (an LH/FSH mimickingagent) is taken (2,000IU injected everythree days) for a two-week period tostimulate the testicles to start produc-ing testosterone again.

(2) Clomid is started once the HCGis stopped. Clomid mimics the hypo-thalamic hormone, GnRH(gonadotropin-releasing hormone),thus stimulating the pituitary gland tostart producing LH and FSH. LH ulti-mately stimulates the testicles to pro-duce testosterone.

(3) Aromatase inhibitors are takenthroughout the PCT (whether you usea prescription aromatase inhibitor suchas Arimidex or you use my over-the-counter TESTOSTOLYZE product) toblock estrogen formation.

First off, HCG very specificallyincreases testosterone production fromthe testicles by mimicking the pituitaryhormones LH and FSH. However, westill need to re-stimulate the hypothala-mus and pituitary gland. When dis-cussing the hypothalamus, let’s not for-get that it merely responds to levels of

circulating estrogen. When estrogen ishigh, the hypothalamus stops produc-ing GnRH. When estrogen is low, itcranks out more GnRH. Since Clomidessentially mimics the hypothalamichormone, GnRH, it makes sense thatClomid will decrease pituitary sensitivi-ty to naturally released GnRH becausethere’s too much “signal” around.However, Clomid is still doing the jobof restarting the pituitary and stimulat-ing the release of LH/FSH (as is evidentby the fact that testosterone levelsincrease in response to Clomid).

These simple facts are the exactreason that I suggest taking Clomidwith an aromatase inhibitor duringthe PCT period. The reason thatplain old tamoxifen makes the pitu-itary more sensitive to naturally pro-duced hypothalamic GnRH is that itblocks estrogen receptors on thehypothalamus and thus removes thenegative feedback hormone (estro-gen) from inhibiting the gland.

However, I’ll bet my bank accountthat if the experimenters had intro-duced an aromatase inhibitor, theywould have noticed lower serumestrogen and higher pituitary sensi-tivity to GnRH, since estrogen wascompletely removed from the equa-tion. Once the testicles and pituitarygland are re-stimulated, we’re goodto go!

I know you are not a big fan oforals, but I’ve got a question foryou. You’ve said in the past thatyou’ve worked with powerliftersand strongmen. You have to admitthat orals would certainly be ofbenefit to them. Do you have ageneral protocol you’d use for astrength athlete?

Powerlifters or strongmen wouldcertainly benefit from the use oforals; however, I would limit oralusage to the last eight weeks beforea meet/competition. Putting the oralsaside, the most important compo-nent of an eight-week power cycle isthe inclusion of a long-acting testos-terone ester such as cypionate,enanthate or Sustanon becauselong-acting injectables ensure stableblood androgen levels. Remember,oral steroids are fast-acting com-pounds with peaks and valleys;therefore, make sure to run 1,000mgtestosterone per week throughoutthe entire eight-week period.




The oral steroids Dianabol and Anavar aregood strength-inducing drugs (with minimalwater retention) to begin the initial eight-week buildup to competition. They’ll helpbuild strength in a slow, steady, fashion.However, once the four-week-out mark isreached, switch over to the heavy-hittingandrogenic compounds such as Anadrol,Halotestin and Trenbolone acetate(injectable). These drugs will push strengthand aggression through the stratosphere,while keeping water retention at manageablelevels. Remember, even though testosteroneand Anadrol do convert to estrogen, thestrength and aggression tag team ofHalotestin and trenbolone acetate are non-aromatizing. Most importantly, once this cycle is complete and the competitionis over, make sure to cycle off the orals to ensure that your liver doesn’t wind up turning to Swiss cheese! For strength ath-letes, short cycles of orals can prove to be both effective and safe if a little bit of common sense is applied.

WEEK# DIANABOL ANAVAR(mg/day)

ANADROL(mg/day)

HALOTESTIN(mg/day)

TEST CYP(mg/week)

TREN(mg/EOD)

1 25 20 1,000

2 30 25 1,000

3 35 30 1,000

4 40 30 1,000

5 50 10 1,000 50

6 50 15 1,000 75

7 75 20 1,000 100

8 100 25 1,000 100

I’ve seen this ingredient called TTA in a few weight-loss supplements. It’s supposed to be an ATP uncou-pler similar to Usnic Acid and DNP. What’s the deal with it? How does it really work?

According to my research, TetradecylThioacetic Acid (TTA) is not an uncoupling agent like Usnic acid. It’s a hypolipidem-ic agent. This means that TTA takes fatty acids from the bloodstream and redirects them to the liver where hepatic (liver)cells burn up these fats in their mitochondria. Not only is this a good way to burn fat (it clears all the junk fatty acids out ofthe bloodstream), but it also increases insulin sensitivity at the same time. The more sensitive we are to insulin, the lessinsulin that gets released. Less insulin means less fat storage! Overall, it’s a very interesting compound that I’ve beenstudying for quite a while now. The research is still not conclusive; however it appears to be extremely promising. Give it atry and let us know how it works out!

Kirk DeFrancesco

Off-season: (280pounds) precontest: (238 pounds)

1991 NPC Teen Nationals, Fourth Place, Light-Heavyweight1999 NPC Pittsburgh, Light-Heavyweight and Overall 2000 NPC Jr. Nationals, First Place, Heavyweight2003 NPC Pennsylvania State, Heavyweight and Overall 2006 IFBB North American, First Place, Heavyweight2007 NPC USA, Fourth Place, Heavyweight 2008 NPC USA, Second Place, Super-Heavyweight2008 IFBB North America, First Place, Heavyweight

has been weight training for 22 years now.Growing up as a kid, Kirk was constantly picked on by his olderbrother because of his short stature. Eventually, he got sick of allthe ribbing he was receiving from his brother and friends, so hestarted lifting weights in his basement. Even though he made theWest Mifflin, High School ninth grade football team, he was told bythe coaches that he was “too small” for football. This enraged him.Now more than ever, Kirk was determined to get into the startinglineup the following year. He was so crazed that he started readingany material he could get his hands on that was related to weighttraining. Kirk remembers running around the neighborhood trying tocut as many lawns as he could just so he could buy all the newmuscle magazines each month. As predicted, by the very next foot-ball season, Kirk had grown 4 inches and gained 50 pounds. Hiscoaches wound up starting him as inside linebacker (on defense)

and fullback (on offense) and he went on to become the leadingrusher for his team. However, the bodybuilding bug was still insidehim. When Kirk was old enough to drive, he joined Gold’s Gym andhe started training with a group of powerlifters who lifted like ani-mals. His ultimate goal at the time was to look like Shawn Ray!

When I asked Kirk how he got into competing, he smiled andsaid, “Gary Udit [NPC national promoter] walked over to me at the

Anabolic Freak of the Month: Kirk DeFrancesco




From the desk of GreggValentino: OK HERE’S THE DEAL.....IHAD AN ARGUMENT WITH AFAMOUS DOCTOR FRIEND OF MINE(NOT COLKER, BUT THIS GUY IS AFRIEND OF HIS AND IS VERYFAMOUS LIKE HIM, TOO) ...ANYWAYTHIS DOCTOR SAYS THAT IF YOUSTAY ON LONG PERIODS OF SMALLDOSAGES OF TESTOSTERONE, YOURBODY WILL GET USED TO A HIGHER-THAN-NORMAL LEVEL OF TESTOS-TERONE, THEREFORE WHEN IT PRO-DUCES IT ON ITS OWN IT WILLPRODUCE A HIGHER-THAN-NOR-MAL LEVEL NATURALLY...I THINK HEIS NUTS, BUT HE SWEARS WHENTHE BODY COMES BACK, YOURNEW NATURAL LEVEL WILL BEHIGHER THAN IT WAS BEFORE YOUWENT ON SHIT. WHAT’S YOURTHOUGHTS? ANYONE ELSE HEARABOUT THIS BULLSHIT????

This doctor is right with regard tothe first four to six weeks that you gooff of a cycle. What happens during thistime period is that your body tries tosustain the higher levels of testosteronethat you were exposed to while on thecycle. In essence, it overproducestestosterone. I like to call this periodthe “honeymoon phase” and just like areal honeymoon, all great things musteventually change. And change it does!After about five or six weeks, your bodystarts to realize that this artificially ele-vated testosterone level is not normalafter all, and your testosterone levels

begin to fall. By eight weeks post-cycle,testosterone levels have usuallydropped even lower than they werebefore starting your cycle. This isknown as the dreaded “depressionphase.” The good news is that by 10weeks post-cycle, your body is nowdetoxified, your receptors clean andyou’re ready to start cycling once again.

Reminders: My Personal TrainingCertification Course, S.M.A.R.T., isnow available online atwww.smarttrainingonline.com. Becomea certified personal trainer from theconvenience of your own home. I per-sonally wrote the information-packed100-page manual and I guarantee it’sthe most comprehensive diet, supple-ment, and training manual available. Bypopular demand, a paper copy versionis now also available for $39.99.

Prison BodiesDylan Atkinson is finishing a four-

year and three-month sentence atMarquette Branch Prison in the MichiganDepartment of Corrections. His dream isto one day become a top-level body-builder when him finally released inMarch 2008. As you can see from thephoto (Dylan is on the left), his workoutpartners and he take the bodybuildinglifestyle very seriously. Although proteinis hard to come by at his prison (tuna ispretty much all they have), they find away to build their physiques, given whatthey have to work with. At 5’9”, 225

pounds, Dylan credits bodybuilding forsaving his life by giving him direction,discipline, and a desire to make himselfa better and more productive member ofsociety. He also looks forward to the daywhen he can become a regular memberof the MD forum community.

Dylan, stay focused and out of trou-ble for the next few months and welook forward to hearing from you onthe MD message boards in the verynear future!

Dave PalumboP.O. Box 1122Seaford, NY 11783

To purchase my book,Perfect Prison Physique,please send a $25money order to theabove address or orderonline atwww.davepalumbo.com

local Gold’s Gym and asked me if I wanted tocompete in some show the following week.”From that simple invitation, Kirk and his dadmet Gary and traveled up to his first contest,the NPC Upper Ohio Valley. Kirk weighed inat a shredded 179 pounds and he placed thirdin a very competitive teen division. He wasso hooked after that contest that he actuallyquit playing football in his senior year andstarted putting 100 percent effort into body-building training.

Ever since that day, Kirk’s long-term goalhas been to turn professional and have a suc-cessful career as a pro bodybuilder. Over theyears, Kirk has won many prestigious titlessuch as the 1999 NPC Mr. Pittsburgh, 2000NPC Jr. Nationals heavyweight class, and the2006 and 2008 IFBB North American heavy-weight and super-heavyweight class. Although he’s come withininches of turning pro, Kirk keeps a positive attitude and remains

focused on the goal at hand: winning hisIFBB pro card. But, perhaps more impor-tant than turning pro, Kirk explains, “Iwant to try and get more young peopleinvolved into the sport of bodybuilding. Iwant to encourage any athlete who has aninterest to give it a try. After all, these kidsare the future of our great sport!” Thisstatement alone sums up his unselfishdesire to help others and see the sport heloves prosper well into the future.Watchout for Kirk at the 2008 NPC Nationals inAtlanta, Georgia. As of this writing, he’senlisted my coaching advice to help himshow all the coaches and naysayers whosaid he was “too small” all those yearsago that if you put your heart, soul andmind into your dreams, anything is possi-

ble. On November 22, 2008, Kirk DeFrancesco will prove that he’sthe biggest and best amateur bodybuilder on the planet!


MuscleTechRESEARCH REPORT

By Team MuscleTech Research and Development

354 MD

BODYBUILDING Q&AQ: I’ve heard of the potent

effects bodybuildersget with increased levels oftestosterone and I want to try atest amplifier for myself. Theproblem is, a lot of supplementcompanies make testosterone-amplifying supplements withthe same old ingredients. Arethere any products out therewith new ingredients that areshown to get me the results Iwant?

– Test-ing the Waters, Nevada

A: Great question, Test-ingthe Waters. It’s true, there

are countless companies out therethat make testosterone-amplifyingsupplements, but it’s hard to findone that’s actually different andnovel. There’s a growing need forchange in this category and justrecently the renowned researchersat Team MuscleTech™ headquarterswere able to isolate a breakthrough,third-party clinical study on a newtestosterone-increasing complex!This complex is unlike anything elseavailable on the market and it’sactually been clinically shown toincrease testosterone to maximumphysiological levels in just 14 days!These are the highest levels oftestosterone within the normalrange for men – anything higherwould be considered supraphysio-logical. And what’s more, the clini-cal research also showed that thiscomplex decreased the level of theunwanted metabolite, dihy-drotestosterone (DHT) – a commonside effect of increased testosteronelevels! But it gets even more excit-ing because CryoTest is formulatedwith another key ingredient thatwas studied in a human clinical trialand was shown to jack up the num-

ber of androgen receptors in mus-cle cells after just 21 days! By com-bining the extensive researchbehind the key complex and ingre-dient, CryoTest is scientifically engi-neered to do what no other testos-terone supplement does – boostand drive anabolically active testos-terone directly into muscle cells!When you look at all the sciencebehind this innovative anabolictestosterone amplifier, it’s no won-der CryoTest has been getting somuch attention! I personally knowmany top IFBB pros who will beadding CryoTest to their supple-ment arsenal as they prepare forthe 2009 bodybuilding circuit. Ifyou’re ready for this experience, tryout CryoTest for yourself and feelthe raw power of testosterone!

Q: I’ve heard about thebenefits of testosterone

from bodybuilders, but I neverknow what to believe. Can yougive me some information onwhat it is and why so manybodybuilders talk about it?

– Bodybuilding Wannabe, Arizona

A: Bodybuilding Wannabe, it’sgood to hear that you’re

careful about researching the infor-mation you hear in the gym. I’vepersonally heard many bodybuilderstry to talk about testosterone. Butthe truth is, they often don’t knowmuch and what they’ve said was justpure B.S. Let me give you someinformation on why testosterone isso popular in the bodybuilding com-munity and how it works.

Testosterone is, without a doubt,a powerful musclebuilding hormone– that’s why it’s commonly talkedabout by bodybuilders everywhere.A raw form of testosterone was first

extracted in 1926 but it wasn’t until1935 that chemists in Amsterdamisolated the male sex hormone.They called it testosterone. This wasa very important time because thisresearch laid the foundation forwhat we now know about testos-terone and its chemical synthesisand mechanisms.

Testosterone is a steroid hor-mone, which is commonly associat-ed with building muscle. Mosttestosterone is bound by a glyco-protein, sex hormone-binding glob-ulin (SHBG), leaving only a smallportion of unbound or free testos-terone. This form of testosterone isextremely important because it’s theonly form of testosterone that’sanabolically active and able to bindto androgen receptors. When freetestosterone binds to androgenreceptors, this triggers musclebuild-ing through increased protein syn-thesis. One basic equation toremember is that the more muscleyou want to build, the more testos-terone will be helpful. But testos-terone can also be converted intothe unwanted metabolite, dihy-drotestosterone (DHT), which isassociated with negative sideeffects such as baldness andprostate enlargement. So wheneveryou’re thinking of increasing testos-terone, remember to take intoaccount that unwanted DHT canform from testosterone’s biotrans-formation. As long as you take thisinto account, testosterone’s potentmusclebuilding effects are amongthe most powerful of all the hor-mones in your body. By jacking itup, bodybuilders can build freakierphysiques than ever before! I hopethis information gives you a betteridea of what testosterone is andwhy it’s so powerful! �


AskTheDocINJURY & REHABILITATION

Why aren’t there any oral con-traceptives for men on the market?Will there be?

This is a great question! I was feel-ing a need to switch up my topics fromorthopaedics to other avenues of med-ical interest for our bodybuilding popu-lation.This question is probably ofinterest to both men and women.Women are saying, “Yeah, why isn’tthere one? It’s about time the man tookthe responsibility!” while the men aresaying, “Would it get rid of my zits likeYaz does for women?”

Why isn’t an oral male contraceptiveavailable? Well, it has to do with a num-ber of factors, but the greatest reasonis probably that stopping one egg frombeing released once a month is easierto stop than millions of sperm beingreleased potentially daily (unless youare married). Also, inhibition of thepituitary production of LH and FSH,which stimulate testosterone synthesisand spermatogenesis, results in loss ofsignaling that makes men masculine.Unless, of course, you use testosteroneto inhibit the production of LH andFSH, then you have plenty of signalingfor masculinity. Unfortunately, multiplestudies show that administration oftestosterone alone only results in a ~60percent reduction in sperm productionin most men.

The rationale of hormonal malecontraception is to suppress spermproduction by interrupting the action ofhormones involved in the hypothala-mus-pituitary-testis axis, includingGnRH, LH, FSH and testosterone. Assuch, clinical trials using testosterone incombination with progestins orgonadotropin-releasing hormone(GnRH) analogs are widely viewed asthe most promising approach to hor-monal male contraception.

Testosterone is a logical choice forhormonal contraception since it notonly inhibits LH, FSH and intra-testicu-lar testosterone levels via its negativefeedback mechanism, but also providesandrogens to maintain masculinity.Studies have shown that testosterone-only regimens have an overall high effi-cacy in an Asian population, but the

rate of sperm inhibition in a Caucasianpopulation was only two-thirds of thatobserved in Asians. Unfortunately, asmuch as some MD readers like toignore it, testosterone administration inyoung, healthy men has disadvan-tages.The disadvantages of usingtestosterone include inconvenientroutes of administration and unwantedeffects on the heart, prostate, hemato-logic system and lipid metabolism.Fortunately for women, progestins aresafer and more easily absorbed orally.

This is where SARMs (nonsteroidalselective androgen receptor modula-tors) come in to play.These are drugsunder investigation by manyresearchers for the treatment of osteo-porsis, cancer cachexia, age-related sar-copenia and male contraception.

Studies by Dr. Dalton at the OhioState University in conjunction withGTX inc. have shown efficacy in an ani-mal model of a SARM, S-23, in combi-nation with a progestin for male contra-ception. S-23 has high oralbioavailability and acts on the andro-gen receptor to maintain muscle mass,seminal vesicle weight, prostate func-tion and bone mineral metabolism. Inaddition, S-23 increased the lean massand decreased fat mass in a dose-dependant manner. By using a SARMin combination with the LH-inhibitingeffects of a progestin they may be onthe brink of developing an orally activemale contraceptive. Don’t get hopes uptoo fast though, as we start a new pres-idency and more regulation of drugdevelopment, these medications may

be many years away. Back to the vasec-tomy knife!

I read about Victor Martinez’spatellar tendon rupture and sawthe complete rupture he had. I amhaving pain in my knee and I thinkI may have what he had. Can youlook at my MRI?

I had an opportunity to look throughthis guy’s MRI. He has pain in the frontof his knee and is having a great deal ofdifficulty squatting. In fact, even lightleg extensions result in a significantamount of pain.This of course is differ-ent from Victor Martinez, who had asudden pop of his tendon after a lungeand was unable to even walk.The MRIshows severe tendinopathy and aninsertional rupture at the inferior pole ofthe patella of more than 2/3rds of thetendon. Meaning that this puppy is“gonna blow!” I suspect that if we hadan MRI of Victor’s knee from the daybefore his injury that it would’ve lookedmuch like this.The tendon is the blackthick structure below the kneecap.Thewhite signal is fluid between the tendonand the bone…it shouldn’t be there.

What should you do? I think thebest treatment plan for this high-gradepartial tear of a severely pathologicappearing tendon should be to fix itbefore it blows!This will prevent youfrom getting hurt when you try to squat405 again or just walk down the stairsat your house. When a tendon is tornmore than 50 percent it is best treatedby early repair and rehab than rehabalone. Rehab and immobilization mayhelp this feel better, but I suspect theinjury will recur and the tendon mayget worse.The repair procedure for thisis similar to the acute rupture andrehab is up to three to six months.Again, this is the result of neglectedpatellar tendonitis or Jumper’s knee. Ifyou start having pain in a major tendonlike this, take a break from training thatbody part, see a doc, and do somerehab.That is, this article isn’t anotherlame doc saying take time off, it’s a docsaying be smart and cross-train or workon other weak spots while you let thisheal!


By Victor Prisk, MD



AskTheDoc—Injury & rehabilitation

My doc says that I have an“OCD” in my ankle and I needsurgery. It causes a constant dullache. What can I do?

This is another entity that shouldn’tbe ignored. An OCD is an osteochon-dral defect or osteochondritis disse-cans lesion, which is damage to thearticular surface of a joint.They can bea result of trauma or be idiopathic (ofunknown origin).They often cause adull ache or may even result inmechanical symptoms because of jointincongruity. In the ankle, they can beseen after something as minor as agrade I ankle sprain.

Sometimes this can be identified onX-ray, but it is best characterized on aCT scan or MRI. Smaller lesions can

often be treated with arthroscopicdebridement and microfracture.Thatis, drilling the base of the lesion toencourage it to bleed and then heal.Unfortunately, articular cartilagelesions don’t heal with normal “type II”cartilage, they heal with a weaker

“type I” fibrocartilage. This procedureoften requires six weeks of non-weightbearing on crutches and thensix to eight weeks of rehab beforereturning to sports. If this fails or thelesion is larger, a plug of cartilage canbe taken from the knee and placed inthe ankle.This replaces the damagedcartilage with the same type II cartilagefrom the knee. However, not all jointsare created equal with regards to carti-lage so this technique is not perfect.Again, this involves the same rehabprocess, except for bone healing fromthe approach.This surgery requires theankle to be intentionally broken toapproach the joint surface for expo-sure.That causes pain and risks thatthis bone may not heal as well.

The painful defectscan lead to significantosteoarthritis andshould not be ignored.Some people have min-imally painful and sta-ble lesions that can bewatched closely withrehab and joint nutri-tional supplements.Although no supple-ments have been

shown to help these lesions in themedical literature, chondroitin sulfateand glucosamine sulfate are potentialcandidates. If you have a stable lesion,try some proprioceptive exercises andstability training with a lace-up braceand your pain may improve.

What’s Up, Doc?As much as I enjoyed watch-ing my friends Jay and Philduke it out at the Mr.Olympia, it was dishearteningto lose a dear friend in SteveStone. His shows always ranso smoothly despite hundredsof competitors and plenty ofstress. More impressivethough, was his ability tomake it fun for the competi-tors AND the expeditors. Hewas a selfless man who careddeeply for the bodybuildingcommunity. We will miss youSteve Stone. God Bless. �

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Extreme MuscleEnhancement

By Carlon M. Colker, MD, FACN

BODYBUILDING’S MOST POWERFUL TECHNIQUES


Iwoke up this morning to learnthat bodybuilding had taken atragic hit. Steve Stone, affection-

ately known to many in our circle asthe “Stonecutter,” passed away in sud-den and shocking fashion. I wasinformed of the tragedy this morningwhen my old friend Bob Bonham,owner of Strong and Shapely Gym inEast Rutherford, New Jersey, alertedmy office. The news left me quiet andspeechless for quite awhile.

At only age 51, Steve suddenly andunexpectedly collapsed and died dur-ing the prejudging of the women’scompetition at the Olympia. Cause ofdeath was reported to be cardiopul-monary arrest due to, or as a result of,pulmonary embolism (a blood clot inthe lungs).

A former competitive regionalbodybuilder in years past, Steve wasbest known more recently as theNPC’s Vice Chairman, as well as astage expeditor during all major NPCbodybuilding competitions dating backto the early ‘90s. In fact, since 2004, hefulfilled the same role at the Mr.Olympia. Steve was a familiar fixtureof the bodybuilding community andsomeone whom competitors, writersand fans grew quite familiar with. In asport that sees its stars leave and fadeinto oblivion with shocking frequency,in sharp contrast, Steve had an amaz-ing passion and was a consistentmainstay who never left until his tragicend. He promoted the NPC EmpireState Classic held each year on StatenIsland, New York. Steve even had ashort foray into television. Many body-building fans will remember his role

back in the ‘90s when he hosted FoxSports cable bodybuilding program“MuscleSport USA.”

Steve and I competed in regionalbodybuilding shows at the amateurlevel around the same time. Though Iwas a bit younger, I will foreverremember Steve as being a positiverole model on and offstage for othercompetitors. Not only did he haverespectable physique development,but he had the class and personality tomatch. Whether backstage pumpingup or bumping into him out in theparking lot, Steve was always easy totalk to. I never remember him for evena millisecond as being arrogant ormean to anyone. Some people calledSteve a “regular guy,” but I’d have todisagree. In the sport of bodybuilding,he was anything but regular. The mer-curial sport of bodybuilding parody islittered with self-centered, cave man-literate, egotistical meatheads. Stevewas none of those things. He was self-less, astute, schooled and exudedclass. From my earliest days as a com-petitor, I always liked Steve’s cleanpresentation, intelligence andrestrained disposition. These weretraits that he carried forward well afterhis competitive days were over.

Though Steve and I lived in thesame area, I would seldom see him,except when we’d occasionally bumpinto one another at the diner wewould both frequent. He always had asmile and a kind word for me, and Ifor him. Other than those times, Iwouldn’t catch up with Steve until see-ing him backstage at the Olympia orArnold. I can never forget his smile.

Every time I saw him, or he saw me,he would be looking at me with thatsoft, million-dollar smile. In fact, I can’teven think of him without thinking ofthat big ear-to-ear grin. Steve was ahappy guy. He did what he loved andwe should all be so lucky. In a worldthat needs more smiles, he definitelydid his part.

In his role of coordinating theshows backstage, Steve was responsi-ble for keeping order and getting com-petitors to the proper place at the righttime. He did this with a dignity andclass that will be sorely missed. Forexample, he never treated the com-petitors like cattle. He was alwaysacutely aware that the competitorswere human beings, and vulnerable atthat. As such, he was always steppingoutside the stress of his role andreaching for feedback from the com-petitors, asking if anyone needed any-thing and if they were OK. It is a physi-cally and emotionally stressful timeonly fully understood by those whohave actually competed in the sport ofbodybuilding. Steve walked the walkand so he had an intimate understand-ing of the physical toll it was taking onthe athletes, as well as their emotionalfragility when drawn down by dietaryrestrictions and dehydration. But withthis understanding, Steve also had thehumanity and decency to reach out tothem. He was always there with a bot-tle of water or an encouraging word.He knew what it took to get onstage.He knew the sacrifice and the pain,and never lost this intimate under-standing of what these people weregoing through just to take center stage



for that moment in time. This brand of empathy, of never

losing sight of your humanity, is some-thing I’ve found that I’ve actually hadto re-teach to medical students, internsand resident physicians for manyyears. That’s because it’s human natureto let life, circumstance and time cal-lous you to the needs and sensitivitiesof others. Steve, to the end, never losthis humanity.

But Steve was proud, too. He’dalways strut around at the shows,shoulders back, with that big, barrelchest bursting from the seams of hisdress shirt. To his final days, he had agreat physique forged by decades ofiron pumping. He loved to train heavy.I mean…crazy heavy! Here was a guyin his 50s who seemed bent on outdo-ing himself each and every time he hitthe gym. He didn’t like to think muchabout the nuances of a motion andwhat it was doing or not doing for him.He liked heavy weights and a boatloadof sets. While his “if-a-little-is-good-a-lot-is-better” way of training was a fardeparture from my calculated body-building methodology and something Iopenly criticized, I always respected hisbrand of intensity. I kind of looked athim like my old friend, GreggValentino, who everyone knows I wasjoined at the hip with early in ourcareers. Together, we pressed the limitsof stupidity. For example, I recall wedid a 3-hour biceps routine and I was-n’t even sore the next day because Iwas so grossly overtrained! I gave upthat shit and got into a sensible train-ing when I did not see myself growingand just started getting injured. Gregg,on the other hand, persisted and spi-raled deep into the drug scene. Butchronically overtrained or not, that did-n’t make me love him any less. Thesame held true for Steve. I mean, howcould I fault him? Here was a guyaddicted to doing what he loved—what I loved.

So I understood Steve. Once thebodybuilding bug bites, pulling back isa tough thing. I remember Jay Cutlersaying to me a couple of years agothat it took him quite some time to dialback the amount of time he’d spend inthe gym and the total number of setshe’d do because he just loved to train.

If it were up to Jay, he’d spend all dayin the gym, because he loved it somuch. Jay has long been convincedthat had he not pulled back this crazybrand of training, he would never haveput on enough mass to win theOlympia against today’s competitors.Dexter Jackson wasn’t any different. Atlast year’s Arnold seminar, whenDexter Jackson and I took the stage,Arnold was stunned to hear that Dexdidn’t train for more than 1 hour at atime and not every day. But that wasthe truth. In fact, Dex never wouldhave put on enough mass to beat Jayand win this year’s Mr. Olympia had henot restrained his workouts. But Arnoldcould not relate because he came froman era when the passion for trainingknew no limits. In sharp contrast,Arnold could barely resist the gym. I’vespoken to the “Governator” as wellabout his passion for training on anumber of occasions. Arnold was bit-ten by the same bug and just loved tohit the gym for hours on end. Stevewas no different. He was a throwbackand, like Arnold, a training juggernautdinosaur from a bygone era.

To my knowledge, Steve never hadkids. Unfortunately, his wife, Andrea(an IFBB and NPC statistician), whom Idid not and do not know, perhaps willendure the worst pain of his passing. Idoubt anyone was closer to him thanhis wife. But I guess allwe can do now isremember Steve hon-orably and take com-fort in that he left thebonds of earth whiledoing exactly whathe loved best andnothing else.

I like to think thatSteve is in heavennow, waiting tousher us off thesurly stage of ourown lives, to greetus with a cool drink, a kindword…and that smile. ■

Dr. Colker’s book, Extreme MuscleEnhancement: Bodybuilding’s MostPowerful Techniques is available bycalling 1-800-310-1555 or ordering thebook online at www.prosource.net.

ExtremeMuscleEnhancement

362 MD


By Rick Collins, JD

Q: What would you say were the biggest stories ofthe year in the world of doping, bodybuilding orsteroids?

A:This year’s Beijing Olympics coincided with the 20-yearanniversary of the catalyst for America’s “War on Steroids:”Ben Johnson’s infamous record-breaking sprint and subse-quent stanozolol positive at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Among2008’s big doping stories was the revelation that “Vitamin V”(Viagra) wasn’t only effective for pumping up performance inthe bedroom, but on the field as well.The World Anti-DopingAgency currently has sildenafil on its watch list. Also, theagency sent the 4,770 urine and blood samples taken inBeijing to retest for traces of a new generation of blood-boosting drug (EPO CERA) after several positives among thefrozen samples of 2008 Tour de France cyclists. So far, onlythe 969 blood samples may be tested.

As for bodybuilding, we welcomed a new Mr. Olympia inDexter Jackson, suggesting the dawn of a new era in whichnext year’s crown may be up for grabs. Meanwhile, CraigTitus and Kelly Ryan entered guilty pleas and were sen-tenced (Titus got 21-to-55 years) for their respective roles inthe 2005 death of Melissa James, suggesting an end to thesad saga…until Titus filed a motion to withdraw his guiltyplea and proceed to trial unless he got the lesser sentence(minimum 17 years) he claims he was promised.

Steroids update? As “Operation Raw Deal” defendants aresentenced around the country, we’ve seen a wake of thelongest federal prison terms ever in gear cases (usually bol-stered with money laundering counts). George W. Bush’santi-steroid battle cry in the 2004 State of the Union Addressis being fulfilled.

But maybe we’re at a turning point in our national steroidobsession?This year’s documentary “Bigger, Stronger,Faster*” challenged viewers to rethink their views. Even onecampaigning politician expressed misgivings about theextent of time that Congress has invested into ferreting outpro sports juicers. Barack Obama, appearing on ESPN Radio,suggested that if elected he would steer a different coursethan his political opponent when asked: “How much govern-ment should be involved with sports and performance-


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enhancing drugs.” Obama said, “I gotta admit that seeing alot of congressional hearings around steroid use is notprobably the best use of congressional time.” As chairmanof the Senate Commerce, Science and TransportationCommittee, John McCain was a staunch anti-steroid cru-sader and a driving force behind high-profile baseballsteroid hearings. Again, we shall see.

A litany of reasons has been asserted to justify whyCongress should keep investigating steroids in sports.Some say that since the sports culture is a multi-billion dol-lar business with taxpayer-funded stadiums, doping iseffectively “interstate sports fraud.” But who’s the victim?“There’s never been any type of protest on the steps of theCapitol with signs saying, ‘Fight Doping Now.’ And therewon’t be,” says steroid expert and Penn State professoremeritus Charles Yesalis. “Fans don’t care; especially if youtalk to young people. It’s all entertainment to them. It’s likethe special effects that enhance a movie. The idea of treat-ing sports as the noble cause— if you’re talking to peopleunder 40, they’re looking at you like you’ve got antlers.”

Some say that the public health concerns, with potentialspill-over effects on insurance rates and taxes, justify con-tinued hearings on Capitol Hill. However, those without anaxe to grind or a dollar to make in the anti-doping crusadehave refuted the “Reefer Madness” portrayal of a deadlymass epidemic of non-medical steroid use. Films like“Bigger, Stronger, Faster*” have educated the public (and,hopefully, the confused Congressman depicted in themovie). What will 2009 bring? If the steroid hearings lit afire among Major League Baseball brass to toughen up thetesting policies, let’s cheer and move on. It’s not that keep-ing sports clean isn’t a worthy aspiration. It’s simply anissue of priorities. Until we get a handle on our sinkingeconomy and overseas military expenditures, let’s keepCongress totally focused on the issues that affect everyone of us every day.

Rick Collins, JD, CSCS [www.rickcollins.com] is the lawyer thatmembers of the bodybuilding community and nutritional supplementindustry turn to when they need legal help or representation. [© RickCollins, 2008. All rights reserved. For informational purposes only, notto be construed as legal or medical advice.]

2008: THE YEARIN REVIEW


VICTOR MARTINEZ

By Victor Martinez

THE TRUE VICTOR


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I recently moved to St. Paul, Minnesota from SaulPaulo, Brazil. I’m a little worried about training inthe winter, especially when it starts snowing and all.Do I need to do anything different when training incold weather?

Unless you live on a tropical island paradise, you haveto face the fact that you need to go about your business—even when it’s so cold outside you expect to see polarbears standing on the street corner. To a die-hard NewYorker, it’s just a part of life. Modern gyms are usually tem-perature controlled, so normally I don’t take any specialmeasures (I’ve spent most my life here). But if you’re newto iceberg weather, you’ll want to take precautions to avoidinjury. For instance, if I came from somewhere south of theequator, here are a few things I’d do. I’d stay away fromstring tanks and tight little spandex shorts (that stuff’sreserved exclusively for photo shoots, anyway). Normally Itrain in loose, baggy sweats. Then I’d spend a little extra onwarming up. In cold weather, it takes a little longer for thejoints to get lubricated and get the blood flowing throughthe muscles, so a few extra sets is a wise investmenttoward the future. But like I said, unless you’re banging insome medieval dungeon, the temperature should be com-fortable enough so that it doesn’t feel like a meat locker.

I’m glad to hear that you’re back in training forthe Arnold. It’s too bad you weren’t at the Olympia,because there’s no question that you would havewon. Has your leg training changed at all since theinjury?

Yes and no. Let me tackle the yes part first. I’ve includeda couple of exercises designed specifically to bring up theinjured leg and help strengthen it. Pre-injury, I used to do

step-ups only before a contest, but now I’m doing them inthe off-season as well. It’s great for stabilizing the knee. Ialso do single-leg presses and single-leg stationary lunges.And I’ve changed my form on leg extensions. My startingpoint is much higher. At the bottom, I don’t let my kneebend all the way back. In effect, it’s like doing the top half of21’s for biceps, only it’s on leg extensions.

Now for the no portion. Usually, after an injury, there’sthe possibility of a psychological block. The injury could be100 percent healed, but mentally, there’s always that littlenagging doubt in the back of your mind. That could affectyour training, as you’re now reluctant to push yourself forfear of re-injury. I’ve seen it before in athletes. They nevercome back all the way because they let fear dominate theirthoughts. To be honest, I had my own moment of doubt butI never let it take control. I pushed it out of my mind andfocused on getting better. That meant rehabbing the knee. Iknew that when I finished my rehab, my knee would be 100percent and I’d be back better than ever. There was no otheroption. I’ve been doing this all my life and I’m too close tomy goals to let anything stand in my way. So I’m still doingsquats, leg presses, hack squats, leg extensions and lunges.I never used bad form or did bouncy, jerky movements soit’s business as usual.


MR. OLYMPIA: GREATCONTEST— EVENGREATER RESULTS

Just goes to show that greatthings do happen. It went to theguy who deserved it. No politics ornothing. We’ll have to wait and seewhat it means for the future, but itsure looks promising. My personaltop six:

Dexter— Congratulations,Dexter! You are Mr. Olympia!

PhilToneyJayWolfMelvinSeeing Dex win it makes me

hungrier than ever. I’m focused 150

percent on the prize. Nothing’sgetting in my way. But first,there’s some business I need totake care of…

Arnold ClassicMe, Kai, Branch— we’re all off

the injured list and ready to rejointhe battle. What a lineup. And a lotof the guys in the Olympia will bedoing it, so get ready for some madaction. It’s gonna be one of thestrongest shows ever. And youwatch, MD’s gonna rock it!

Victor Martinez ClassicBodybuilding, figure, health and

fitness extravaganza. New York.June 2009. �

PSST…WANNA KNOW ASECRET?

Let me fill you in on one of body-building’s secrets of success: Youhave to stay regimented. You haveto train, eat and sleep at the sametime— every day. Now, in the realworld, that’s not always possible.There’s always something: work,family, school, etc. But every suc-cessful bodybuilder (and I’m nottalking just professional) has a setroutine they follow. You just can’tparty all night or fly by the seat ofyour pants and still do all thethings necessary to be a real body-builder. That was a lesson I learnedearly in my career. I used to hangout and socialize all the time, butsoon it became clear that it wasn’tpossible to juggle that and a body-building lifestyle. So I had to makea sacrifice. Hanging out and playingis fine, but at some point you haveto hunker down and become a seri-ous person. Do you really want toparty all your life and have nothingto show for it when you’re 30?

I was reminded of this duringmy recovery. For the past 10 years,I’ve always been preparing for ashow (or three or four shows). Inthe last few, my schedule has beenlocked down to the Arnold inspring and the Mr. Olympia in fall.That means I’m eating at the sametime, training at the same time,resting at the same time. Everyday. So when I had some extra freetime on my hands I almost didn’tknow what to do with it— almost. Iused the time to work on a coupleof business ventures and get mov-ing on some things that have beenin the works. Like…

Muscle Maker GrillIt’s gonna be in Edgewater, New

Jersey. It’s every bodybuilder’s wetdream: clean, tasty food. And we’llbe open late for night owls like me.Keep your eye out for the grandopening (which I’ll announce hereand on MD online).

Victory Wear & V-Shape(or V-Wear, haven’tdecided yet)

High-end athletic threads for thegym or the club and ladies lingerieand swimsuits for figure competition.



KAI GREENE

By Kai Greene

LIVING LARGEAnybody who’s ever com-

peted in a bodybuilding con-test dreams of turning pro;money, fame, big contracts, bigcars, big houses, even biggerbank accounts— who wouldn’twant that? No more living inpoverty, struggling to makeends meet and hoping to makeit big. Yeah, the good life…orso you’d think. Contrary topopular belief, life didn’t comeup roses the moment I wentpro. Outside of my immediate,small circle, no one even knew.A lot of that has to do with thetransition itself. If you get lotsof exposure as an amateur andwin your pro card at one of thebig shows (USA, Nationals),the odds are in your favor. Butif you get zero airplay and earnpro status at a natural showlike the Team Universe, wellyou’re probably still a long wayoff from landing that big con-tract. The big car, big houseand that even bigger bankaccount are somewhere inyour distant future— waitingfor you. So it’s up to you to goget it. Now I’m no sage, but Ihave learned a few lessonsthat might benefit those of youon your own journey tounleash your better champion.For instance, there are transi-tions to be made once you turnpro that no one ever tells yououtright. I mean, as far as Iknow, there aren’t any “SOYOU’RE A NEW IFBB PRO,HERE ARE SOME THINGSYOU SHOULD KNOW” classesfor enrollment. Here’s some ofwhat I discovered:

Practically speaking,money is a huge compo-nent of contest prepara-tion. It’s not like we can liveon rice and beans. We needgood food to build muscle

and good food is expensive.I’ve had to sacrifice othermaterial things (like my car,making rent) just to afford mygroceries. We’re talking somany pounds of fish, chicken(and that’s skinned, bonelesswhite meat), lean beef, eggs,potatoes and all the otherthings we need. You can’tbodybuild without good food,so be prepared to make somesacrifices (though I’m notsuggesting that you followmy example to the letter).

Every conversationbecomes an interview. Yourlevel of responsibility increas-es. You’re no longer able toattend shows as a fan. All ofa sudden you’re an authorityon the sport. If your mouthstarts saying things withoutpassing it by your brain first,you could end up in hotwater. Always think beforeyou speak because words arepowerful things.

Just like every amateurdreams of turning pro, everypro dreams of immortality; it’snot enough to make it to thebig time. You want to godown in history with the likesof Larry Scott, Sergio Oliva,Arnold, Lee Haney, Dorianand Ronnie— the greatestbodybuilders ever. But nowyou’re up against a handfulof guys with the samedream, a handful of guyswho were all good enough toclimb to the highest level ofthe sport. There’s only onething to do: take your train-ing, diet and mentality to thenext level. If you don’t thinkyou can take it higher, youwon’t. Believe that you havemore to give and you’ll beamazed at how much deeperyou can dig down.

The Predator


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Predator vs. SpidermanI got a lot of feedback concerning my Spiderman photo shoot in the November issue of MD. Here’s how it all

came to be. It was after the New York Pro and appropriately enough, we decided to use the great city of NewYork as a backdrop. Per [Bernal] and I hit all the classic landmarks in the city to get the best shots. These are allhotspots for tourists so there’s no shortage of street performers and other New York types expecting to make aneasy buck or two. So there we are shooting and Per goes up to this guy in a Spiderman costume (this is NewYork!). Before I know it, Spidy’s in my face, belting me with imaginary spider webs. We ended up choreographinga mock battle for the camera— which turned out to be a terrific experience. It was tough flexing each muscle onmy body while kicking Spiderman’s ass, but the shots came out real well. I’m very happy with that shoot. It wascreative, unique and loads of fun. Plus it gave me some great ideas for my next posing routine.

COOKING WITH KAIThe following is one of my favorite recipes. I’ll warn

you right off the bat that I am not a gourmet chef. I liveby the infinite wisdom of Shawn Ray: I’m a bodybuilder.I eat for nutrition, not taste. Proceed at your own risk.

Tilapia (I cook as much as I can at once)Fresh lemonFresh tomato

OreganoPepper

SaltFirst, spray nonstick frying pan or grill with PAM

Set flame to medium heatDust tilapia fillets with oregano and pepper

Grill that fish up ‘till it ain’t flopping anymoreTake off the flame and squeeze lemon and tomato

over fillets (yes, the tomato, too)Add plain white rice for a yummy, nutrient-filled

meal guaranteed to make your ass-busting work in thegym worthwhile.

(In the meantime, I’ll be waiting by the phone for Food Network to call)



DAWN OF A NEW DAYAfter Arnold’s reign of six consecutive Olympia wins, we were treated to a

special time in the sport. It was a climate of uncertainty, where any one of fouror five guys could lay claim to bodybuilding’s greatest title. In short, it wasexciting. You had three-time and one-time champions for the next few yearsuntil a guy named Lee Haney decided it was time to start a new dynasty. Now,with Dexter Jackson’s Olympia victory, I believe we are entering an era wherebodybuilding will be fun again.

When a challenger can actually beat a defending champion who’s not at hisbest, it sends a positive statement to the rest of the sport. For years, fans knewwho was gonna win. It didn’t matter how much the magazines hyped theshow— you knew who was holding the big, fat winner’s check at the end of thenight. But that’s not the case anymore. Predictability has gone out the window.At this moment, there are six or seven guys who can win a show at any giventime. We all have a fighting chance. And it couldn’t have come at a better time.Fans are sitting on the edge of their seats. And why shouldn’t they? Excitementis back in the sport. And it all starts at the Arnold.

My prep is right on schedule for one of the most eagerly anticipated contestsin recent memory. It’s a huge opportunity. I’m up to 305 pounds and everythingis starting to click in the gym. People were surprised by the improvements Imade from 2007 to 2008, but I’m telling you with all honesty and humility, youain’t seen nothing yet. Expect to see me bigger and harder than I was last time.I’m working tirelessly behind the scenes to realize the better champion within.Come March, you’ll see just how much. �

KAI GREENE—The Predator

Mike ChristianPhil HeathBertil FoxShawn Ray—recall the picture of

him hitting a side triceps wearingUrkel glasses (he had his flattop)

Kevin Levrone

Eddie RobinsonAlbert BecklesThierry PastelSergio OlivaPhil HerndonMohamed Makkawy

GREATEST TRICEPS EVER


BRANCH WARREN—THE TEXAS TITAN

By Branch Warren

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I’m looking forward to seeing your return atthe Arnold. My biceps are really respondingthanks to your twice-a-week routine (less setsand weight, of course). But I have two problemsI hope you can help me with. First, my biceps arepretty flat. What should I focus on to make thempeak taller? Second, my left biceps is laggingbehind my right in mass and strength. And eventhough both have shitty peaks, the left one iseven worse. How can I fix both these problems?

When it comes to muscle shape, we’re more or lessstuck with what Mother Nature gave us. You can’t do awhole lot to change the insertion points of your mus-cles or their shape. In the case of arms, I have yet tosee any bodybuilder, past or present (and probablyfuture) with identical right and left biceps. One arm,usually the dominant one, almost always has a betterpeak or is just a little bit fuller. Look at Arnold. His left


biceps was relatively flat compared to his right. With myown biceps, my right one has a better peak, eventhough that’s the one I tore. Both arms are pretty equalin size, but if I had to nitpick, I’d put money on my rightone being slightly bigger and stronger. Now if yoursymmetry is really out of whack, then you need to con-centrate a little more on your weaker arm. I would do anextra set or two of dumbbell curls or dumbbell preachercurls for the weaker arm.

Concentration curls, dumbbell preacher curls, spidercurls and cable concentration curls are the best move-ments for heightening the biceps. On these movements,like the name implies, concentration is key. It’s notabout moving tons of weight. These aren’t massbuilders per se. Save that for barbell curls and alternatedumbbell curls. One exercise I love is the cable curl,done on the seated low pulley machine. You extend yourarms in front of you, almost as if you were doingreverse-grip pulley rows, and curl the bar to your fore-head. The peak contraction is insane. Another good oneis the standing cable curl, done in the cable crossoverstation. We’ve all seen this one by now. Basically, youmimic a standing double biceps pose.



GOING GLOBALBodybuilding is truly a global sport. It may not be

as big as it is here in the U.S., but it’s growing. Keepin mind that we’re the richest country in the world,with plenty of food and resources. Having done myfair share of globe-trotting, I can tell you that mostof the world isn’t that lucky. But even in poverty-stricken lands, they still find a way to do it. I’vebeen to Africa twice and people always want totake a picture or talk. I was surprised that it was sopopular. And we’re really booming out in the MiddleEast, too.

DO THE RIGHT THINGFor the first time ever, I totally agree with the

placings. They did the right thing. Dexter looked thebest that night and I’ve always believed that thebest man onstage should win— period. It doesn’tmatter if he finished dead last before. If he brings it,then he should be rewarded. Jay was off. His rightleg was noticeably smaller than his left and he was-n’t close to the Jay we’ve come to expect.

Will this change the sport? No. If Jay showed uplooking like he did in 2001 or 2006, he’d be a three-time Olympia. He’s got more conditioned musclethan anybody else and you just can’t mess withthat. For example, Dorian is one of my all-timefavorite bodybuilders. His physique wasn’t pretty,but he was the biggest, hardest guy out there. Andhe beat Flex, Kevin and Shawn, some of the great-est bodybuilders in history. Bodybuilding willalways be about the guy with the biggest, hardestphysique. That will never change.

RETURN OF THE BEASTThe triceps is coming along great. There’s no pain in the

elbow, so I expect to be all the way back by November. Rehabis pretty much done. I’mhitting them every day, inaddition to my normal tri-ceps workout on Thursday.They’re even getting sore,so I’m on the right track.Weights are nowhere nearnormal, but I’m making themost of it, bringing it upslow, squeezing, loweringit slow and squeezingagain. I’m only using 20pounds for kickbacks and30-40 pounds for one-armcable extensions and ropepushdowns (Damn! Trishis stronger than me). Thisis the lightest I’ve evertrained in my life (next tothe 5-pound curls I didwhen I tore the biceps),but I’ll get there soonenough. In fact, for chest Idid 100-pound dumbbellsand 275 on the incline. Icould have gone heavier,but I figure better safethan sorry.



BRANCH WARREN—THE TEXAS TITAN

SLOW & EASYBodybuilding’s a marathon, not a

sprint. So don’t try to be a rabbit.Remember in those old cartoons, theold, lumbering turtle got the lastlaugh? It didn’t matter what the rab-bit did, that damn turtle always wonin the end. He never quit. He keptmoving forward, no matter what. Dothe same. Be the turtle!

2009 ARNOLD— LOADEDThe Arnold will be even better

than the Olympia. It’s gonna be a bat-tle like no other. Look at the lineup:

MeVictorKaiToneyPhilMelvinAll of these guys have won a show.

Man, anything can happen. Rumorsays Jay may enter and maybe evenDexter. Personally, I feel Dexter shouldsit it out. I mean, he is Mr. Olympia.What’s the point of doing the Arnold?You have to win. If you don’t, it’s basi-cally like saying the Olympia crown isvacant and up for grabs. Rememberwhen Ronnie lost the GNC to Gunter?Losing while you’re Mr. Olympiadiminishes your aura. You have every-thing to lose and nothing to gain.

WWW.GASP.NUGasp Clothing is one of my

new sponsors. They providedthe clothing Per used in hisphoto shoots. If you like it offthe chain, you’ll wanna check itout!

GO COWBOYS!This is the best they’ve

played since the early ‘90s.Remember those glory dayswith Aikman, Emmitt Smith,James Washington, MichaelIrvin, Deion and all those guys?Now that was one helluva afootball team.

TRISH MAKES TOP 10 AT FITNESS OLYMPIA (NINTH PLACE!)

I’m so proud and happy!That was the goal going in and nowthat we’ve achieved it, there’s noplace to go but up. Can’t wait ‘till nextyear! �

CHECK OUT

FOR COMPLETE

CONTEST COVERAGE!musculardevelopment.com


LEE PRIEST

By Lee Priest

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Confirmed!


Biceps UpdateHere’s what’s up with my biceps as

October comes to an end. It still feelsweird, like something isn’t quiteattached up near the shoulder. Ohwait, that’s because it isn’t. I am slow-ly starting to use more weight on backand biceps training, but I am beingsuper careful. I don’t really worryabout how much weight I’m using atthe moment, as long as I can get adecent pump going. Going lighter andsqueezing the muscle seems to beworking just as well as when I went alot heavier and the reps were faster.Maybe I should come up with someneat name for a training system basedon what I’m doing now and try tomarket it as some brand-new break-through. It wouldn’t be the first timesomeone repackaged a method andtried to present it as groundbreaking.

FST-7 And The PriestPeople have been e-mailing me to

ask if I am training with HanyRambod’s FST-7 system, since theyknow I will be working with him on

my diet for the spring shows. To that Isay, I have been training that way forover 20 years! No disrespect to Hany,but combining heavy sets and a seriesof lighter pumping sets is something Ipicked up on instinctively on my owna long time ago. It’s great that hemade it more scientific, came up withguidelines, and gave it a fancy name,but I still think it’s very similar to whatI’ve been doing in the gym my entirebodybuilding career.

Touring Oz With The Big Bad Wolf

I just wrapped up a tour ofAustralia for my sponsor, BodyRipped. I went to Brisbane, the GoldCoast, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth.After being away from my homecountry so many years, I made up forlost time by seeing the whole fuck-ing place in two weeks! Dennis Wolfwas along for some of the appear-ances, and I finally got to really talkto the guy and get to know him a lit-tle bit. Thank God his English is a lotbetter these days. I was afraid it

would be like trying to talk to theIvan Drago character from “RockyIV.” I must break you!

Dennis is very down-to-earth andhumble. As a bodybuilder he looksreally good, but he needs to work onthose calves. I know that genetics dolimit some guys from ever havingmonster calves, but he still needs tobring them up more. I doubt it reallyhurt him at the Olympia becauseDexter has horrible calves, but Wolf’sphysique would just be that muchmore complete with bigger calves.And real ones, not synthol-filledmonstrosities, in case he reads thisand gets any bright ideas aboutgoing that route. I know the fansonline voted him “People’s Champ,”but he can’t claim that honor inAustralia. Here, they love the Priest!When we had lines of people waitingto meet and take pictures with us,my line was always way longer.Then again, I did have the “homecourt advantage,” didn’t I? Thetables would probably be turned ifwe were in Berlin or Munich.



Stupid Question Of TheMonth!

I am competing in a naturalcontest in the spring. They will bedoing urine tests on all class win-ners, so I need to know how topass the test. I know Deca staysin your system a long time, buthow far out should I stop testand tren? And pills are supposedto clear really fast, so can youwrite me up a little cycle of justorals for the last few weeks (Ican get D-Bol, winny tabs andAnavar). Any help would beappreciated; thanks!

I will tell you a foolproof way topass the urine test. Shit in the cupinstead! You dickhead. You fuckingnut; you said they will test thewinner. What makes you thinkyou’re going to win? If you haveto take steroids to competeagainst guys who don’t, youmust really have a shittyphysique. Taking steroids is apersonal choice. If you want totake them, there are plenty ofcontests that you can enterwhere there are no tests of anykind. My guess is that you proba-bly have done one or more ofthese and got your ass kicked allover the stage. So now you wantto cheat by entering a testedshow with an unfair advantageover the other guys. That’s justdespicable. With that in mind,here’s a cycle you could try:

20 prescription sleeping pills(Ambien, Lunesta;doesn’t matterwhich)5 cyanide pills10 nitroglycerine pills1 quart vodka

Take whatever you can get inyour stomach, and shove the restup your ass. You will fall into anice deep sleep, and when youwake up you can compete in the Mr.Natural Hell BodybuildingChampionships. Good luck trying tocome up with the piss for that testthough, because from what I under-stand, there’s no water to drink downthere and they keep the place heatedat a toasty 300 degrees. Hope thishelps. (Note: MD neither recommendsthis stack nor condones suicide, evenfor lowlife scum)

Bonus Stupid QuestionLee, my parents want me to

go to college to become anattorney. I have good grades andI am sure I could do it, but whatI really love is bodybuilding.People have told me that I couldbe really good. I won a teen con-test last year and even though Iwas the only one in my class,two of the judges said if I keepit up I could probably turn pro.So my dream is to become richand famous like you someday,hopefully by the time I amaround 21, like you did. Anyhelpful hints for a young guywho wants to make it big inbodybuilding?

The first thing you need to do isput down that crack pipe, Junior.Drugs are bad for anybody, but Ihate to see such a promising youngman cloud his fine mind with toxicchemicals. Winning a contest whenyou are the only one in it doesn’t tellyou a damn thing about how goodyou are. Just because a couple ofjudges said some encouragingthings doesn’t mean you should go

and turn your back on an educationand a real career.

First of all, you should go and doa bigger show where there will be atleast a few competitors and see ifyou win that. Really, you should beable to win the NPC Teen Nationalsor at least place very well in it ifyou’re that much better than theaverage kid out there aspiring to bea pro bodybuilder. And even then,there is still no guarantee you willturn pro. Do you know how manyTeenage National champions fromthe last 20 years have turned pro?Two! They were Branch Warren in1993 and Craig Richardson in 1994.Not a single one since then.

Just because someone is goodcompared to other youngguys doesn’t mean he willbe good compared to thebest in the world later on.Some guys just mature a lotfaster and have better genet-ics. Many also load up onsteroids from a very earlyage, like 16, so they are wayahead of their peers. Butonce they turn 20, they areup against older guys withfar more experience, oftenbetter genetics, and on allthe same drugs. Now theyare nothing special anymore.

But let’s just assume youare good enough to turn pro.What percentage of pros doyou really think are wealthy?Out of the over 200 menwalking around with procards, you can count thefinancially secure ones onyour fingers and probablystill have your thumbs leftover. Go to college, and goto law school if you find thatlegal stuff interesting. Thereis no reason you can’t still bea bodybuilder as a hobbywhile you make a great liv-

ing practicing law. And if you hap-pen to be so awesome that you turnpro and get signed to big-moneycontracts, you can always quit yourday job. Just don’t do it ass-back-ward and think that pro bodybuild-ing is your ticket to fame and for-tune. Too many of those guys outthere are selling drugs or leechingoff women to get by while theychase their dream.



Calling The O As I Saw It With You Guys!Shortly before the Mr. Olympia, Steve Blechman asked me to start a thread where I would comment on the show as I

watched the webcast here in Australia. Seeing that I am 15 hours ahead of Las Vegas time, it did make for an interestingschedule. When the 202 Showdown wrapped up, I found it funny when Larry Pepe asked Dave Henry how it felt to be thebest bodybuilder in the world under 202 pounds. I thought, hmm, is he really the best, or could the best be somewheremany thousands of miles away? When the Mr. Olympia judging and finals were happening on Friday and Saturdayevenings, it was early and late afternoon the next day for me. So luckily the timing worked out that I didn’t have to stayup all night or anything like that. And, I did enjoy the live commentary online as myself and other members of the MDboard offered our opinions and argued with each other.

LEE PRIEST—Confirmed!

Still Celibate! As of this writing in early October, I still

have not hooked up with any women herein Australia. Sorry to disappoint those wholive vicariously through my sexual adven-tures or whatever, but it’s just not high onmy “to do” list at the moment. I must begetting old!

King Kamali: Delusional Or Just A Master At Publicity?

Shari was at it again recently, crying abouthow he was robbed at the Atlantic City Proshow and then claiming he would have beentop 10 in the Mr. Olympia had he qualified. Ireally don’t think King believes all that shit.He talks smack for a reason, and that’s to geteverybody else talking about him and makingsure nobody forgets about him. And it worksevery time. The guy couldn’t qualify for theOlympia, but he’s the subject of more talkonline than most of the guys in the top five.

The 2009 Arnold—What A Show It Will Be!

We won’t know the actuallineup of the 2009 Arnold Classicuntil near the end of the year,but it’s definitely shaping up tobe a hell of a show. Victor iscoming back, and so are Kai andBranch. They will all have some-thing to prove after missing theOlympia. In Victor’s case, hemissed an entire year of compet-ing. Wolf and Heath will proba-bly be there, and I wouldn’t besurprised if Dexter does it too.Why not? Competing twice ayear doesn’t seem to hurt him,as we all saw. Ronnie mighteven come back, and it will be

my first IFBB show on U.S. soilin exactly three years if I end updoing it (up in the air at thispoint). I remember back in the‘90s when I used to always dothe Iron Man and the Arnold.The lineups were amazing.Usually the only top guy whowasn’t in the Arnold waswhomever was Mr. O at thetime. You had contenders likeKevin, Flex, Nasser, Paul,Ronnie, Chris Cormier and me.Many of the Arnold lineups fromthe ‘90s would crush the lineupsof today’s Mr. Olympia. It would-n’t surprise me one bit if the2009 Arnold Classic ends upbeing a better show than thispast Olympia was.

Will Dexter Repeat?Another burning question is whether or not Dexter can hold on to

the title for even one more year, or if he will be another one-hitOlympia wonder like Chris Dickerson or Samir Bannout (two guys Ibet a lot of younger readers have never even heard of). I really doubtDexter can hang on to the Mr. Olympia title. There are so many goodguys out there now. If he slips just a tiny bit, or even if he doesn’tand one of these guys makes solid improvements, it’s over for him. Ihave nothing against the guy at all and I hate to make it sound like Iwant him to lose next year. It’s just like I said earlier, though.Changing up the winners from year to year makes it a lot more inter-esting. Of course, I am sure I would not feel that way if I were Mr.Olympia! Then I’d be like, fuck it, may the reign of the Priest last1,000 years.



LEE PRIEST—Confirmed!

I Beat Mr.Olympia!

Back in 2002 when Iwon my first pro con-test in San Francisco, Ibeat Dexter. I alsobeat Ronnie a fewtimes early in both ourpro careers. But I don’tgloat over that. Itmakes no difference.When you are talkingabout the best body-builders in the world,it all comes down towho nailed the condi-tion on that particularday, and what the par-ticular panel of judgessitting up front happento like. People thinkit’s ridiculous when Isay that anybody canbe beaten by anybodyelse, but the history ofour sport shows this tobe true again andagain.

So You Want A Piece Of Me, Shawn?

Shawn Ray has been talkingabout possibly coming out of retire-ment to compete in the 202Showdown at next year’s Olympia.He’s been out since the 2001 O, andthe last time I faced him was at the2000 Mr. Olympia. It would be fan-tastic to share the stage with himand I know the battle between heand I would drum up a lot of hype forthe event. For those of you whodon’t know, we’ve gone back andforth at each other for years on themessage boards and at times it’sbeen pretty nasty. I’m not saying itwould be a two-man show, as thereare plenty of other good guys under202 also. But I am sure a lot of peo-ple would love to see the two griz-zled veterans and old adversaries,Lee and Shawn, face off again afterall these years to see who’s best. �

Got a question for Lee, preferably areally stupid one? E-mail it to him at [email protected] and youcould see it answered right here in MD!


TELLING IT LIKE IT ISBy Shawn Ray

ShawnRay

The year 2008 began as apromising one for a select fewregarding bodybuilding, but as

a nation, a country of people were leftwondering if they could put food ontheir table, pay their mortgages, retireon schedule and worse yet, send theirchildren off to war. Amazing how lifecan change year to year, while thesport of bodybuilding can give its fanssomething to cheer about!

Kicking off the season in downtownLos Angeles, California was the 18

th

annual Pro Iron Man Invitational andeventual winner from Denver,Colorado, Phil “The Denver Nugget”Heath. Phil has been on fire since turn-ing pro a scant two years ago by virtueof winning the 2005 NPC USAChampionships. Shortly thereafter, Philwent on to win the Shawn RayColorado Pro/AM, New York Pro andthis year added the Iron Man to hisresume of victories! More on Phil later.Next up, the 20

thAnnual Arnold Classic

in Columbus, Ohio where Dexter

“The Blade” Jackson would hold offthe competition to win his third ASCtitle and the $130,000 check presentedby MD publisher and sponsor, SteveBlechman! During the 20 years of thisevent, there have been only 11 men tohold this title. Dexter made sure headded this championship to his collec-tion with a resounding victory over PhilHeath and Kai Greene landing in sec-ond and third place, respectively. Acouple weeks later, a few of the com-petitors traveled to Melbourne,Australia where once again Dexterwould reign supreme by way of defeat-ing Melvin Anthony and Mohammad ElMoussawi while adding $10,000 to hisever-growing bank account!

The following week saw the ath-letes on a plane to New Zealand,where Dexter Jackson would onceagain repeat as champion, holding offMelvin Anthony and an improvingToney Freeman for an additional$10,000!The month of May would seethe reemergence of a leaner, yet more

muscular Kai Greene com-pete and win the New YorkPro in New York City andwalk off with the $15,000victory check over KevinEnglish in second andGerman, Ronny Rockel, inthird. The first-ever ShawnRay 202 pounds andunder New York Classicwould also be held on the

same night. New York resident KevinEnglish would fight back “Dangerous”David Henry in second and New Jerseynative, Jason Arntz, in third for thewin!

The Fourth of July would bring usto Houston, Texas for the first-annualHouston Pro where Nigerian-bornSilvio Samuel would seal the victory,beating a vastly improved CraigRichardson from New Jersey and 20-year Naval officer from Atlanta,Georgia— Big Leo Ingram.

The addition of the 202-and-underclass in Houston would crown rookiepro Ray Arde with the $3,000 victoryover Tricky Jackson in second and Jeff“Box” Long in third.The hot summermonth of August would take the IFBBto Tampa, Florida for the pro body-building Weekly Tampa ProChampionships, promoted by TimGardner. Out of the shadows of DexterJackson this past spring would emergethe “X-Man,” Toney Freeman for victorywhile a streamlined, noticeably lighterDennis James landed in the runner-upslot just ahead of the Giant Killer DavidHenry in third place. Tampa would alsoplay host to the 202-and-under class aswell, where Tucson, Arizona native,David Henry, fought off a rookie pro forthe win, but the rookie served notice ofthings to come in the form of James“Flex” Lewis from Wales. JaroslavHorvath flew in from the CzechRepublic to qualify for the Olympia


Dexter Jackson winning the 2008 ASC


392 MD

Showdown at the Expo Mr. Olympiaweekend by finishing in third place.

Dallas, Texas would play host tothe 10

th-annual Europa Pro, where a

rematch was brewing in the form ofToney Freeman and Dennis James. Intheir last clash, a disappointed DJvowed revenge! It turns out DJ willhave to wait until the Olympia inSeptember to exact any type ofrevenge he may have had in mind, asthe “X-Man” brought his “A” game topull off the unanimous win! Dennisagain would take home the cold runner-up check and trophy while rookie profrom Canada, Foud Abiad, took homethird place and qualified for his first-ever Mr. Olympia appearance.

The IFBB would travel north toAtlantic City, New Jersey inSeptember for the MuscularDevelopment Atlantic City Pro, whereMelvin Anthony, who one year agoplaced a disappointing fourth, but nowfound himself in the winner’s circle anda new title to add to his previous NewYork Pro championship! Second-placefinalist was last year’s champion,Johnnie Jackson, with Darrem Charlestaking third place and qualifying for theMr. Olympia. On this same evening the

Masters Championships were held and40-year-old Darrem Charles would holdback noticeably “off” 42-year-old ToneyFreeman in second and monstrous JoelStubbs from Barbados in third.

Las Vegas, Nevada would bringeveryone together for the “Grand-daddy” of them all! The 43

rd-annual Joe

Weider Mr. Olympia contest, whereonly 11 different men have held the titleand two-time defending champion JayCutler would LOSE his crown and the$155,000 check to Dexter “The Blade”Jackson on September 27

th, 2008! For

the fifth time in his pro career, JayCutler would play bridesmaid by wayof finishing as the first runner-up towalk away with a cool $90,000 check tohelp ease the taste of defeat. Thirdplace would find “The Denver Nugget”Phil Heath in his Olympia debut, repli-cating a feat that few have done in theirfirst Olympia by taking home thebronze medallion. Fourth placebelonged to the “Big Bad Wolf,” DennisWolf of Germany, who was noticeablyflat and in need of more muscle maturi-ty and back thickness; no doubt thefuture could belong to this kid! Fifthplace went to 42-year-old ToneyFreeman, whom many felt could havebeaten Wolf for fourth and arguablyPhil Heath for third, depending on whoyou talked to.

While Dexter Jackson accomplishedsomething that the great Flex Wheeler,Kevin Levrone nor I could in our com-petitive years in the Olympia, heremained remarkably consistent in hisrun for the Olympia title! This maymark a change in the direction oursport is headed with the likes of lastyear’s Olympia runner-up VictorMartinez and New York Pro championKai Greene throwing their hats into thering in ‘09! In summation of this year’sMr. Olympia I’d say I agreed with thejudges on most of their placements,however, my personal placementswould have looked like this:

Winner: Phil HeathSecond: Dexter JacksonThird: Dennis WolfFourth: Toney FreemanFifth: Jay CutlerSixth: Silvio Samuel

Between Dexter and Phil, you could

toss a coin, but for me it came down topersonal preference. While Dexter hadhis usual crisp, tight condition, I thinkhe was better at the Arnold Classic.Phil, on the other hand, was muchimproved from the Arnold Classic andtherefore stood out to me a tad morewith what appeared to be additionalsize and better condition! Regardless,the contest is now history and DexterJackson sits on the throne, awaiting allcomers for 2009, which I believe will bethe most anticipated Olympia contestsince 1998 in New York City, whereRonnie Coleman swept past eight otherperennial Olympia contenders to winthe first of his eight Sandow trophies!

Looking Back at 2008

Bodybuilder of the Year: DexterJackson, winner of the Arnold Classic,Australian Pro, New Zealand Pro, Mr.Olympia Contest and the Romanian Pro.

Rookies of the Year: Tie… FouadAbiad and Leo Ingram, both qualifiedat the Europa and Houston pro shows,respectively, and as first-year pros com-peted in their first Olympia contest!

Most Contest Prize MoneyWinner: Dexter Jackson: ASC $130,000;Australian $10,000; New Zealand$10,000; Olympia $155,000; RomanianPro $10,000;Total: $315,000. Plus,MuscleTech matches prize money win-nings at the Australian, NZ andRomanian; $10,000 each show and anadditional $50,000 for the Mr. O victory!Grand Total: $395,000! Not a badyear competing if your name is Dexter!

Comeback Athlete of the Year:Toney Freeman

Mr. Consistency: SilvioSamuel…Placed top six of every con-test in 2008 and won the Houston ProChampionships while duplicating hisseventh-place finish in the Mr. Olympia.

“Never Say Never” Award:Darrem Charles, 40-year-old winner ofthe Masters Atlantic City Pro, as well asthe winner of nine pro shows in nineyears!

Surprise of 2008: David Henry,second in the 202-and-under New YorkPro; winner of the 202-and-underTampa Pro; and winner of the first-everOlympia Showdown Contest.

Best Poser Award: MelvinAnthony

Shawn Ray—Telling It Like It Is


Melvin Anthony, 1stPlace Atlantic City Pro


Shawn Ray—Telling It Like It Is

Best New Event ofthe Year:

TEAM MD All-Star Seminar,loaded with talent and a wealth ofinformation post Mr. OlympiaSunday at Gold’s Gym East (Sameplace next year, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.)

Best Feud of the Year: GustavoBadell vs. Silvio Samuel at theOlympia press conference.

Verdict of the Year: GUILTY!Craig Titus and Kelly Ryan; O.J.Simpson. In the case of all three,justice has been served!

Best Addition Award: 202-and-under class…This is arguably oneof the more competitive additions toour sport. 2009 looks to be evenmore promising with the return ofKevin English, James “Flex” Lewis,Lee Priest, Richard Jones and others.

Babies of the Year: Flex andMadeline Wheeler’sbaby girl, Faith;Shawn and KristieRay’s baby girl,Bella Blu.Losses of theYear: RIP, BenWeider, age 85.Ben was one-half ofthe foundingfathers of modernbodybuildingalong with hisbrother Joe.Canadian-bornand raised, Benwas the retiredIFBB president, husband, father ofthree sons and many other distin-guished things, but we all knew andloved him for formulating theInternational Federation ofBodybuilding! His departure will cer-tainly be missed for many years inour industry. RIP, Steve Stone, age51. Former NPC Vice Chairman, com-petitor, NPC/IFBB expeditor, hus-band, friend and great guy. Passedaway working Olympia EXPOWeekend doing what he loved most,serving and helping others; he willsurely be missed by all who knewhim. RIP Wag Bennett. Charles

“Wag” Bennett, bodybuilder andtrainer, was born on March 29, 1930.He died of cancer on September 17,2008, age 78. He was the one whopretty much discovered Arnoldbefore Joe Weider brought him toAmerica. Joe Pearson, age 39. Joewon the NPC USA lightweight title inJuly and passed away while trainingon his treadmill.The coroner’s pre-liminary report stated that threearteries were clogged with plaqueand caused blockages to his heart.Rest in peace, my friend; you were agreat champion! Amanda JoEarhart-Savell, age 30. IFBB pro fig-ure champion was gunned down in adomestic dispute by a formerboyfriend. A beautiful women and agreat athlete who will be misseddearly by all who knew her.Delusional Bodybuilder Award:For the eighth-consecutive year,Shari Kamali. No one knows where

to start but let’s end itright here: “Let itgo, bro!”Best Cover Shotof the Year: KaiGreene in MD!Biggest “NonEvent” of the Year:Lee Priest ComebackContest!

And so with that,2008 comes to a closeon the IFBB pro circuit,setting the stage formany more surprisesand head-to-head clash-es beginning the second

week of January at the Pro Iron ManInvitational in Pasadena, California.Enjoy the holidays, my friends, as ofthis reading we will all be anticipat-ing the coronation of our newPresident here in the United Statescome the New Year. My personalchoice for “change” is BarackObama, but whichever candidatewins the election may God continueto bless you and yours as well asAmerica!

Stay hungry,Shawn �



By Branden Ray

RoadtotheUSAsBRANDEN RAY

So I just experienced my very firstOlympia weekend, and what a week-end it was. I want to first pay homageto a wonderful man, Steve Stone. Mylast interaction with Steve was actual-ly at the USAs in Vegas and it was anexample of how kind he was. Well, Iwas rushing to pack a few of myessentials to head off to prejudging,running late as usual. Kristy asked meone last time if I had everything and I

said yes, even though I knew some-thing was wrong. We rushed out tothe UNLV campus and I arrived righton time for the athlete’s meeting,however, I didn’t have my competi-tor’s badge. This is the very badgethat you’re told to guard with yourlife, because you will not be grantedaccess without it. Guess what? I wasnot granted access. The woman at thedoor turned me away. I showed her

my driver’s license, my competitornumber; I mean I damned near emp-tied my wallet.

Olympia Freak-OutNow I’m freaking out and I think

it’s the end of the world. I was able toborrow a female competitor’s badge(thank you, Holly Geersen!), but thatwasn’t going to get me far becauseshe needed it back. Now they’re reallygiving me a hard time at the door. Mycortisol level is shooting through theroof and out of nowhere, Steve Stoneshows up, puts his hands on theshoulder of the guard, and says, “It’sOK. Let him in. If he does anythingbad I’ll take care of him.” He thenwinked at me, put his arm around myshoulder and walked with me into themeeting, telling me to calm down andenjoy the experience. Steve will bemissed!

Now, to the placing at the O. I hadit as following: Dex, Heath, Freeman,Wolf and Jay. I was pumped whenthey announced Dex as Mr. O.; Dex islike a big brother to me and he toldme at the USAs that if he lost the O, itwould be my fault because I had himrunning all over Vegas right when hisdiet was starting. Whew, I’m happythat I don’t have to carry that guilt.Dexter’s back is extremely underrated.When you see him in the back relaxedor rear lat spread, his wings are damnnear as wide as Toney Freeman’s,who is over a half a foot taller.Speaking of Toney, if you were inattendance, you would have wit-nessed the loudest boos when hisplacing was announced. Toney wasabsolutely impressive and displayedthat impressive physique the best. Hisposing routine rocked, especiallybecause the posing matched thewords in the song. Whenever thesong would go, “Pull your hair!” hewould hit a rear pose grabbing theback of his head, but like Tommy from“Martin.” Toney, “You ain’t got nothair!” That’s my man, though, and Ijust couldn’t fathom the tallest guyonstage having the smallestwaist…..a true genetic freak!


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I was very impressed with thewomen, as well. The figure girls alllooked amazing. I must be honestthough, I have no clue how tojudge them. The female body-builders looked incredible as welland probably had the best-condi-tioned athlete onstage for thewhole Olympia weekend, Iris Kyle.I also want to congratulate myfriend, Lisa Aukland, who is a trueexample of class and elegance. Shelooked shredded when shestopped by my booth. I also sawSherry Smith after the O and could-n’t believe how paper-thin her skinwas. Cathy LeFrancois was asbeautiful as ever and I enjoyed agreat conversation with my big sis,Dayana Cadeau. To all of you guyshating on female bodybuilding,don’t get mad at them becausethey can teach us a thing or twoabout training and dieting. Supportthe women.

The TrainingNow to the nitty-gritty. FST-7 is

kicking my black ass! When youspeak of brilliance and passion for thesport, you have to mention HanyRambod. After the seminar, Hanyadjusted the way that I trained my

back, right in Gold’s Flamingo inVegas. He had me really arch myback on underhand lat pulldownswith my hands about 6 inches apart.His focus is to really pull my lowerlats out. It felt like somebody took atorch to my lower lats! I had to pullthe bar all the way down to my lower

pecs. I used to stop higher up forfear of incorporating my biceps,but that’s a sign that the weight istoo heavy and you only stimulatethe lower lats. We then didpullovers with the rope, once againwith a serious arch in my back.Just those two exercises made mylats feel like I was training themfor 24 hours straight.

He’s very honest with hisassessment and I like that. Give itto me raw, that’s the only way thatI can make improvements. Itreminds me of a house beingrebuilt. You assess it, gut it outand rebuild it on its same founda-tion. I want to make the most ofmy genetics and he’s doing that.He also motivates me by remind-ing me that the guys I’ll be com-peting against want to beat mereally bad. I think about that in thegym when I want to quit on thefifth set of my last 7 for FST and I

push for my last 2 sets. I read theboards about this light-heavy andthat guy and this…no worries. Hany,I’ll hold it down for you and take onall challengers. You guys have fun atthe Nationals. I definitely respect allof you but only one will win. The restof you who don’t, I’ll be waiting.

Great ExperienceI worked the VPX booth with my fellow team members and good friends Antoine (Big AV) Valliant and Mike (Chi-town

Shredder) Liberatore. It was great meeting many of you who read MD. I really appreciate you guys taking the time to readmy column that I write (as there are some who for some reason believe that we all have ghostwriters). One of my otherhighlights was being a part of the MD All-Star Seminar. I got the text from Shawn and jumped through the roof. It was atext that was meant for Branch and was accidentally sent to me because my name is right after his in Shawn’s phone. Ireceived a text from Shawn about a guest appearance overseas. I ran around in a circle like a fool and called my bestfriend to tell him! Then Shawn hit me back and said, “My bad, lil’ bro; that was for Branch. No worries, your time willcome.”

Nevertheless it was an honor to be a part of the panelwith guys I admire. You can tell from the video thatMuscular Development is not a team, but a family. TheBoss has incredible vision and is always there for his ath-letes. He really wants you to succeed and always checks upon you. We have many conversations about politics and theeconomy. In order to achieve what he has you have to bewell rounded, and he along with Palumbo are two veryintelligent guys whom I give the utmost respect to. Nowthat I also have the honor of really getting to know ShawnRay, his legend transcends far beyond and above the pos-ing routines to baby-making music (sorry, bro). He is so pas-sionate about promoting the sport in a positive light and isso professional. When asked if he should come back, Ialways ask people why? He offers so much to the sportnow and has already accomplished so much. Not to men-tion having a wonderful family. Every time we talk, he’sholding his daughter. Because of that, I look forward to lifewhen the curtains on the stage close.


DENNIS WOLF— THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE

By Dennis Wolf

TheBig Bad WOLFP

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The Top Five At The Mr. Olympia The Way ISaw It:

DexterMe or PhilMe or PhilToneySilvio or MelvinYes, this means Jay would not have been in my top five. Sorry, justbeing honest!

Jay, Maybe It’s Time To Go. . .I have heard that Jay plans on competing next year

at the Mr. Olympia to try and get his title back. I reallyhope he reconsiders and retires. I know he’s still only

35, but he has been competing for 15 years with12 years of those as a pro. Jay had a great

career. He won the two biggest titles in thesport multiple times (two Olympias; three

Arnold Classics). But now I think his body isgiving out on him and he will never again

have a real chance to win the Mr. Olympiaagain. Jay will do whatever he wants to,

but in my opinion he should retire beforehe does any worse.

Dexter As Mr. O, A Real Shock!As good as Dexter Jackson is, I really never

thought he would win the Mr. Olympia. And as muchas I respect The Blade, I don’t think he’ll remain Mr.

Olympia. If I had looked the way I was supposed to thisyear instead of losing 15 pounds at the very end of my prep, I

would have beaten him. And next year I feel the battle for thetitle is going to come down to me and Victor. If Heath gets bet-ter, I don’t think Dexter will be able to beat him, either. Thatgives him fourth place at best.


Proper Expo Attire: Whatever You LikeI saw on the MD No Bull Forum that Lee Priest was

making fun of guys who wear very tight and revealingshirts to walk around the expo, and also the womenwho like to dress in very sexy outfits thatshow their bodies off. I guess it reallybothers him and maybe he wants peopleto be more modest, or maybe he thinksonly a guy who is built like a pro canshow his muscles in public. I say every-one should dress in whatever way theywant to. Maybe those guys and girls arevery proud because they work very hard inthe gym. And if they want to show it off, sowhat? I don’t get mad at those guys justbecause they are proud of a 17-inch arm and mine is 21.And how can you get mad at a very beautiful woman witha sexy body who likes to flaunt it?



First Things I Consumed After The Mr.Olympia Was Over:

• About a gallon of Gatorade and water (I was verydehydrated and my body soaked it all up)

• Sushi• Chinese food• Cake• Ice cream

No Grand Prix Shows For MeOnce again, I am passing on the Grand Prix shows.

This year, they are holding them in the Czech Republic,Slovakia (kind of scared to go there after seeing those“Hostel” movies) and the Netherlands. I hear they aregoing to have one in Germany next year, so that I woulddefinitely do. It just makes more sense for me to makeappearances after the Olympia rather than doing smallercontests where the money is a lot less.

The Stupidest Thing I Ever Did To GetHuge:

When I was starting out, I saw the movie “Rocky” andSylvester Stallone ate raw eggs before going out to train withthat very inspirational music. So I ate raw eggs, too! They didn’tmake me feel too energetic, though. More like nauseated. I think Idid throw up a few times just trying to get those slimy things down.

I Wish I Had A Dollar (Or A Euro) For EveryTime Someone Asked Me:

“Do you work out?” (Sometimes I say I have just started; does itlook like I have made any good muscles yet?)

“How much can you lift?” (Not much, I only look strong but reallyyou are probably stronger than me.)



Holidays Coming Up (At The Time OfThis Writing, Anyway!)

We don’t have Thanksgiving here in Germany, but wehave Christmas. In fact, we’ve had it for hundreds of yearsbefore the USA did! My main plans for the holidays includespending some time with my family and seeing my par-ents. I will eat a lot of real good, tasty food and not feel atwinge of guilt. Christmas is really the only time of year Ieat all the “bad” foods that bodybuilders avoid. Luckily, Ido have the type of metabolism where I can eat that stufffor a couple weeks straight and hardly gain any fat.

On Tour And On Break From HeavyTraining

Right after the Olympia, I headed off to tour Australiafor some appearances. I did a little bit of training while Iwas there, but nothing major. For the rest of the year I willnot be doing any heavy training at all. My body and mymind need a break after the rigors of my last heavy off-sea-son and preparing for the Mr. Olympia. It all starts upagain in January, so I need to be fresh and ready to workeven harder than I did this last year.

Return Of The Rühler?Rumors coming out of my country, Germany, hint that

my former fellow Nutrex athlete Markus Ruhl may be com-ing out of retirement already for next spring. I don’t knowif this is such a good idea for him. The last time he compet-ed, at the 2007 Mr. Olympia, that very weird tear in themiddle of his chest was very distracting. Also, he just was-n’t ever able to get that shredded look from the back that

you need to have these days if you want to place well. Ihave much respect for Markus and consider him one of thebest pros to ever come out of Europe, but I would hate tosee him come back and do poorly against the newer guys.I can tell you this, though. My own retirement, God will-ing, is still far away. But once I decide to retire, that’s it. Iwill move on to other things and you won’t see me com-peting anymore. You know when it’s time to leave some-thing behind for good, or at least you should. Markus wasa great pro and we would all like to remember him thatway.

A Stacked Arnold Classic Coming Up!It looks now like the next Arnold Classic might actually

have a better lineup than this recent Mr. Olympia. Victor isreturning and you know he wants to win his secondArnold after a whole year away from the stage. Kai andBranch both missed the Olympia, so they will be hungrytoo. Aside from Jay and myself, everyone else in the topsix from the O will probably be there: me, Phil Heath,Toney Freeman, Melvin Anthony and maybe even Dexter.He doesn’t seem to mind competing throughout the year,though I wonder if he will still feel that way now that he isMr. Olympia. The last time a reigning Mr. Olympia also didthe Arnold was when Ronnie won it in 2001, and that hurthim for the Olympia that fall. But maybe this is only some-thing that affects the heavier guys and Dexter would beOK. Speaking of Ronnie, there have been rumors that hecould come back at the 2009 Arnold, too. If all of theseguys show up, it will make for a very interesting show andthe toughest Arnold in many years.

Dennis Wolf— The People’s Choice

I was really impressed by how much you brought up yourlower lats from 2007 to 2008. I have somewhat “high” latsmyself and would love to know what I can do to create the illu-sion of lats that insert lower. Do you have any tips or workoutroutines I can try?

Thanks a lot; I did work very hard on my back and it’s nice to seethat people take note of my efforts. Here’s a workout that should helpyou thicken up your lower lats:

Reverse-Grip Cable Pulldowns (favorite of Dorian’s) 4 x 10-12Reverse-Grip Cable Rows With Lat Bar 4 x 10-12Deadlifts 4 x 10-12One-Arm Dumbbell Rows 4 x 10-12Barbell Rows 4 x 10-12

That was the routine I used as I prepared for the Mr. Olympia. I findthat using a reverse grip really targets the lats down lower than a stan-dard overhand grip. You will also get better results by pulling to a lowerpoint than you normally do. On the pulldowns, I like to lean back a bitand pull the bar right under my pecs. With the seated rows, I pull thebar right under my bellybutton. Get a good stretch and a solid contrac-tion of the lats on every rep. Remember, if you can’t feel them working,they probably aren’t. Train as heavy as you can, but never hesitate tocut the weight if you can’t feel the lats working. Good luck! �

Got a question for Dennis? E-mail it to him at [email protected]

and you could see it answered right here in MD!

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ERIK FANKHOUSER—NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPION

What is your diet like in the off-season and what is your off-season training split like?

I have tried it all in the past when it comes to off-seasoneating. I remember after my first show, I made the rookiemistake of eating all I could get my hands on. I was eatingpizza, ice cream, weight gainers...this approach only did onething: gain too much fat. After my second show, I took a dif-ferent approach. I tried to eat as clean as I could and indoing this, my off-season was more like a contest diet and Idid not get the shock value of changing my diet up to a con-test diet. Doing this made my contest diet even harder,because I felt like I had been dieting for a long time already.So after my third show I found the right way to do my off-season. The way I do my off-season diet now is a little bit ofboth worlds. I pretty much eat whatever I want, but in limits.I drink three shakes per day, two shakes being weight-gainshakes and one being just a whey shake with oats. For myother three meals, I eat solid food, but I don’t have anythingwritten down. I just make sure I eat 10-16 ounces of meat or8-12 whole eggs, and with my first two solid meals, I makesure I get carbs with them. Typical day looks like this:

Meal 1: 10 whole eggs and 1 cup oats,Meal 2: Real Gains weight-gainer shake; 1 cup oatsMeal 3: 12 ounces beef; one large sweet potatoMeal 4: Real Gains weight-gainer shake; 1 cup oats

Meal 5: 12 ounces ground turkey Meal 6: Whey shake; 1 cup oats

I will do this diet five days a week, because I work fivedays a week. On my days off, I give myself two cheat mealsper day to eat whatever I want. I usually do my breakfastmeal and my dinner and cheat meals, because I like to get upearly and make pancakes for the family. Also for dinner onone of the days, I like to eat out with the family. The key to ahappy life is balance and a family who eats together staystogether. My off-season training split is very simple. I do twodays on, one day off rotation. The way I break my body partsup is different. I am focusing on my chest and back, so I trainthem more often. Here is how the cookie crumbles...

I just keep rotating it in the direction so after a dayoff, I either have chest or back, then I alternate arms,shoulders and legs in the mix for the second day in arow. I really like doing this split. Try it and tell me whatyou think.

By Erik Fankhouser

Erik “The House”Fankhouser

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Day 1: chestDay 2: arms/absDay 3: offDay 4: backDay 5: shouldersDay 6: off

Day 7: chestDay 8: legsDay 9: offDay 10: back Day 11: arms/absDay 12: off


I can only do strength training at the gym threetimes a week; what is the best split for me to do andwhat are the best exercises to do to maximize mytime in the gym?

Bro, three times a week, hitting the iron is tough, but itcan be done. You need to make these workouts count sinceyou don’t get as many as you should. Each and every repshould be done to the fullest. Here is the split I would rec-ommend:

Day 1: chest, shoulders and tri’sDay 2: back, bi’sDay 3: legs, absIf you are going to do a workout like this one, I would

try to do the split spread out. Like Monday, Wednesdayand Friday as the days you train. One of the reasons forthis is if you do them three days straight, then you willhave too many days off in a row. If I could give you oneexercise for each muscle group to maximize your time atthe gym, I would tell you stick to the core exercises.Bench, deadlifts, squats, skull-crushers and straight-barcurls are your best bets.

House, you made some awesome gains to yourweak points this past year. What did you do differ-ently, and what do you think the best leg-trainingexercise is for the outer sweep?

One of the biggest things I did was I tried to feel themuscle work instead of just throwing weight around. It isgreat to lift heavy shit, but it is better to get a great pumpfor lifting heavy shit. I focused on slowing my reps downand doing more movements by feel, not by a set number ofreps or even sets. If I got into a workout and I was feelingan exercise, I might just keep doing that exercise instead ofjust stopping because I reached my 4 sets. I also startedduring my contest prep doing a method of training where Iworked myself up to 1 working set to failure. I might do 3sets of 10, adding weight to each set, then the last set justgo to failure and even throw in some forced reps or cheatreps while working on the negative. I feel that one of thebiggest things I changed on my chest training was focusingon pushing the weight back up with the chest, not the arms.It took me awhile to get it, but I just thought of my chestmuscles as big rubber bands that stretched out on the neg-ative and pulled together on the positive. Thinking like thismade me feel it in my chest more than ever before. Now tothe leg part of the question. The best damn exercise for theouter sweep is close-stance leg press or close-stance Smithsquats, hands down. When I do the Smith squats with myfeet touching, my sweeps burn, bro. You can also hit differ-ent parts of the quad by changing the foot position on theleg extension.




Eric Fankhouser—North American Champion

House BuildersThis is one of my favorite, quick back workouts. Sometimes if I am in a jam and

need to get a fast one in, I do something like this. I call this workout the 3 of 10x10back workout from hell. I set a bar up in a power rack and do three different exer-cises straight for 10 sets of 10 reps. When I do back, I do the exercises in thisorder. I do bent-over rows for 10 reps, then deadlifts with the same bar for 10 reps,then 10 chins in the rack, then straight back to rows, deads and chins for 10 sets.That is 300 reps without a break; talk about a pump and the feeling of wanting topuke all at once…it doesn’t get any better than that, bro. You can do this with anybody part, but be warned, you might not make it all the way through.

Training Journal Happy New Year! I wish everybody new muscle growth and striations from

head-to-toe during this New Year. January is game-on, bro. I can smell the JanTana in the air as the start of the season is coming up soon. I am taking this sea-son off from competing, but I am taking it more serious than ever. I am going topack on some more quality size in the areas I am lacking. I made some good stepslast year, but this year, I am going to start to jump. They say you got to crawlbefore you walk, well I am done crawling and am on my feet, so I am go to step inthe right direction. I still am very new to bodybuilding and learn different thingseach year.

This year, I learned to grow. I got some of the best people in my corner whoare going to help me this off-season, so all I got to say is let’s get it started. I tooka few weeks off from training so when I hit the gym this month, I am going to belike a bat out of hell again. It has been very cool the last few days and when itgets cold I want to eat more; my body must want to grow again. I will be hittingup a ton of shows this year. I’ve got a schedule on my website of all the differentplaces I will be and all the guest spots I will be doing. If you see me, make sureyou say hello. I always like to put a name to a face. The Landlord, Andy B and Ihave already started to think of more ideas for our show this year in September.We got some good things lined up. I will let ya know the details as they get set instone. If I could give you some advice for this New Year, I would have to tell youdon’t ever go to bed mad at your wife or children; try to make things better beforethe day is over. Because we only have a limited time so be as happy as you can,because before you know it, it could all be gone. �

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410 MD


By Evan Centopani

NATIONAL HERODo the pros really get skin rolling and fascia relief

done on a regular basis or is that just for show? Itseems kind of sketchy. What’s your opinion?

I’ve gone for skin rolling and fascial relief and I can tellyou unequivocally that it works. It hurts like hell at the begin-ning, because you can feel it being pulled off the muscle—which is the whole point, as it’s adhered— so be prepared forsome pain. But once it’s freed up, the pain diminishes. I feelit’s beneficial to letting the muscle volumize with blood. I didit a lot for legs last year and I believe it contributed signifi-cantly to their improvement. The pumps I got were insane.For that particular type of massage, I recommend doing itpreworkout so you can take advantage of the pump.


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TALL SIDEBeing on the tall side, I’ve been fortunate that I’m not lanky. I’m not exactly a mass monster like Quincy Taylor or

Paul Dillett, but I’ve never had problems putting on size. I think my genetics will allow me to hold 270-275 poundswith the same clean lines and small waist. Usually, taller guys have a hard time with their legs but over the past cou-ple of years, I’ve been able to bring them up. One day they might even be a strong point. Would I prefer to be a short-er bodybuilder? Hmmm…it seems to me that most of the trophies are patterned after taller guys and I’ve always saidthat the goal is to look like the trophy. If you could be a tall bodybuilder and fill out your extremities, you’d prettymuch be unbeatable. But that’s not to say that I don’t like the shorter bodybuilders— I have nothing but respect foranybody that can take their bodies to the extreme. In fact, some of my favorites are on the short side.

A DOOR OPENSThe Olympia was great. This was the most

interesting show I’ve ever seen. During the topfive awards, I was literally on the edge of myseat the whole time. As a fan, and even moreas a competitor, it was interesting to see howthey were judged. I believe we were witnessto the end of an era. The door has beenopened for all competitors. It’s no longer justabout mass. They clearly rewarded the mostcomplete package and that’s the best thingthat could have happened for this sport.

EVAN CENTOPANI



2009 ARNOLD…SHAPING UP TO BE THE BEST EVER

The Arnold will be off the hook! It’sgonna be better than this year’s Olympia.Most of the same guys are gonna be in itplus Victor, Branch and Kai— who had tosit out the O due to injuries. Victor, Dexter,Dennis, Phil, Kai, Branch, Toney? Are youkidding me? I’d pay to see that battle!

Dexter JacksonAt this time, it’s unclear if Dexter will

defend. The majority opinion is probablythat he should sit it out, but I could seehim doing it. If he took the year off, itwould be to come in bigger but will thatreally help him? Plus, with Phil makingimprovements by leaps and bounds, maybethe Arnold will favor Dexter, since it does-n’t give Phil that much time after theOlympia.

Victor MartinezIf Victor is 100 percent, I don’t see any

reason why he can’t win it. He’s a freak! Itwon’t be a walk in the park, that’s for sure.He’s beaten Dexter the last two meetingsby virtue of being a bigger version of Dex. Ibelieve he’ll beat Phil with his superiorstructure. To me, Victor is a combination ofthe best of both Dexter and Phil.

Phil HeathWhat a monster! So full and round, from

head-to-toe— and the conditioning! He hasa very dramatic look onstage. He grabsyour attention immediately. He keeps get-ting better and better. It’s scary!

Kai GreeneBased on last year’s showings, and the

little bit I know of him, he will be betterthan before. He won’t show up with thesame physique you saw last year. He willbe better and that’s a scary thought for thecompetition. He’ll be right up there.

Branch WarrenBranch has a totally different physique

from Victor, Dexter, Phil and Kai. He’s inyour face and there’s nothing you can doabout it. It’ll be interesting to see wherethe judges place him in this lineup.

Toney FreemanHe’s got size, shape— and when he’s

on, conditioning. He could shake it up.

And if Jay does it…Holy Shit! It’s gonnabe crazy. I already know where I’ll be inMarch.

EASY THERE, JAREDA couple of months back, I said that in the off-season, I like being as fat

and happy as the next guy. But I also said that it’s not a 007 license to eat.Don’t go up too heavy because you’ll need to lose a great deal of fat,which means dieting earlier and slower to come in shape. Plus you run therisk of loose skin if you come down too fast. So if you start looking like a“before” candidate for those Jared Subway commercials, it might be timeto pull in the reins there.

BEST SHORT BODYBUILDERSDanny Padilla-One of my all-time faves.Franco Columbu-A legend!Lee Labrada-Perfection!Shawn Ray-Awesome career and legacy.Lee Priest-Born to be a bodybuilder. I’ve seen pics of him as a teen and

it’s obvious that this guy was put on this earth to do one thing. Flex Lewis-Very impressive. So young and already holding his own

against veterans. He will be incredible—the next Lee Priest.

www.nebula-fitness.comI’m always on the lookout for new pieces

of equipment for the gym. Nebula makesthis awesome piece that hits the hams justright (1520 glute/ham reverse hyper— yeah,it looks like a medieval torture device thatbelongs in a dungeon). I used one out in Jerseyand loved it to death. It gets my hams right upwhere it ties in with the glutes. It’s nasty! I justhad to get it for my gym, so I talked to the guysat Nebula and they gave me a great deal (andon a 45-degree hyperextension apparatus).They make unbelievable equipment. Scope it out!



MONTANARI BROTHERSThe Montanari brothers (owners of the

gym) are awesome! When I told them I want-ed to bring in those new pieces of equipment,they said no problem; they’d make the space. They evenoffered to pay, but they’ve done so much I just couldn’t accept. Theseguys never charged me for membership from day one. They go to myshows and help me in every way imaginable. I even have my own key.Thanks for the support and friendship.

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Evan Centopani—National Hero

414 MD


ThePROCreatorBy Hany Rambod

The biggest contest of the year isnow over. The dust has settled andnow everyone is analyzing the

show and beginning to speculateabout next year’s Mr. Olympia. Before Iget into how I saw this year’s Mr. O, Ihave to give credit to promoter RobinChang. For the past few years, therehave been numerous complaints abouthow the weekend was run. Concernsranged from the host hotel, to theshuttle buses, to how the actual eventwas structured. This year, Robin andhis crew had their system down patand everything ran like a well-oiledmachine. There were plenty of luxurybuses and they all ran on time.Banners and ads for the event were allover town as well as inside the Orleanshotel and casino, the auditorium andthe expo center. In short, it was a first-class production all around.

This year’s Mr. Olympia was highlyanticipated for many reasons. First ofall, it was the first time in 15 years thatRonnie Coleman was not competing.There was a weird sense among mostthat something was missing, since weare all so used to seeing Ronnie there.It was a lot like watching the “TonightShow” right after Johnny Carsonretired. But Ronnie had dominated theMr. Olympia for nearly a decade. Hisabsence offered more possibilities interms of who could win. Second onmost people’s minds was the questionof whether Jay Cutler would be able tohold on to the title for another year.After the big controversy last year inwhich many felt Victor Martinez should

have been declared the rightful win-ner, the stage was set for another pos-sible upset. With Victor out due to hisknee injury earlier in the year, thatchallenge would have to come fromsomeone else.

Another popular topic all year longwas the long-awaited Mr. Olympiadebut of Phil Heath, who had qualifiedfor the big show in both 2006 and2007, but had decided to wait until hefelt he was truly ready to stand next tothe very best in the world on equalfooting. Another man surrounded byhype and publicity was Dennis Wolf,who had made a huge impression lastyear. Debates raged as to who was thebetter new guy, Dennis or Phil, andmany couldn’t wait to see which onewould edge out the other. And ofcourse, we had Dexter Jackson, hot offhis third Arnold Classic win earlier thisyear, being talked about as Jay’sbiggest threat. With both men havingentirely different types of physiques, itwas going to be very interesting to seewhat would happen when they finallysquared off. When it was all said anddone, this was the top 10.

10. Gustavo BadellThis was the lowest Gustavo has

placed since his Olympia debut in2002, and a long way down from thetop three he was in at the 2004 and2005 Mr. Olympias. He needs to bringhis legs back up to their former sizeand fullness, while regaining the crispcondition that made him a breakoutstar just a few years ago. If he can bal-

ance that condition with the much-needed lower body mass, Gustavo canbe right back up in the top six again. Asfar as why Gustavo’s legs have beensmaller over the past couple seasons, Ican’t say. I have spoken with him a fewtimes and he has never mentioned anytype of injury. There could be any num-ber of reasons. But at the end of theday, none of them matter. Badell needsto bring his legs back up to where theywere, and show the elite level of condi-tioning he once had if he wants tomake his way back up the ranks.

9. Mohammad ElMoussawi

Congratulations to Mohammad formaking the top 10 at his first Mr.Olympia, which is a phenomenalachievement. I don’t think he lookedquite as good here as he did earlierthis season at the Iron Man where hequalified, but he was close. WithMohammad’s type of physique, hiscondition needs to be spot-on if hewants to compare favorably with thebigger guys. He is neither the biggestnor the widest guy in the lineup, so heneeds to play to his strengths: symme-try and condition. Mohammad doesn’thave any real weak points to speak of.He simply needs more of everythingand he needs to stay full. When histype of physique comes in flat, itappears to be one-dimensional andeasily gets lost among the bigger com-petitors. Look for El Moussawi to addsome substantial size and continue hissteady rise to the top echelon.


Mr. OlympiaThe 2008



TheProCreator8. Dennis James

First of all, props to Dennis fortotally revamping and streamlining hisphysique to better suit the newer judg-ing standards. When raw bulk wasbeing rewarded a few years ago, theMenace was competing at nearly 260pounds at only 5’8”. This year, he wasaround the 240-pound mark and hismidsection was much smaller. Thoughhis proportions are much improved, Istill feel Dennis could come in crisper.The biggest issue with Dennis seemsto be that he comes out initially look-ing full and hard, and gradually fadesright in front of your eyes. I’m not sureif this is just a matter of not filling outenough, but it was a real problem atthe Europa. When he came out,Dennis looked like the clear-cut win-ner. But as the prejudging wore on, heflattened out and Toney Freeman over-took him for the win. Again, kudos toDennis for making the changes he hasso far to his physique. He’s one of thenicest guys in the sport and he stillhas a couple good years left in him tomake his true mark.

7. Silvio SamuelThe Matador was one of the best-

conditioned men in the show. Theissue with him seems to be more of alack of deep muscle separation. Still,he deserves credit for being able toachieve the type of condition he didwithout losing size. It’s obvious whenlooking at Silvio to see that he trainshard and heavy. Others in the sportoften rely on other factors, but Silvio isold school and believes in trainingharder than the guy you want to beat.He slipped down a couple places fromlast year, but this was a tougher lineup.And truthfully, Silvio could have beena couple places higher than seventh.

6. Melvin AnthonyMelvin looked very good, but the

game is changing and he needs tochange with it. In previous years, hewas one of the few men up there withfantastic shape and symmetry amongmass monsters like Ronnie, Jay andRuhl. Now you have others in the topfive like Dexter and Phil who also havethat incredible shape and symmetry.What they also have, particularly whenthey turn around, are cross-striated

glutes and hamstrings. That area hasalways been Melvin’s Achilles’ heeland unfortunately for him that type ofextreme conditioning is becomingmore common. Melvin does possesssome of the very best shape and sym-metry of anyone out there today, but itmakes it hard for him to be competi-tive when he turns around and lacksdetail that the other guys have. Ofcourse, my boy ‘Ice Cube’ broughtdown the house as always with a stel-lar posing routine. A lot of peopledon’t know that I worked with Melvina few years ago when he was comingup the pro ranks.

I called him “Ice Cube” because hehad the same rebellious attitude andpuffy cheeks as the rapper turnedactor. So, congratulations to theMarvelous One for rocking the housewith the best routine of the night byfar. But I want to take this chance tochallenge Melvin to step it up a notchand bring something new and differ-ent to the Arnold Classic with his nextposing routine. I know he can do it. I’llbe in the first couple rows to cheerhim on when he does.

5. Toney FreemanToney’s conditioning has been off

and on over the past year, but the X-Man definitely finished this season offon a high note with his best showingever. I still thought he was a little flat,but it’s just one of those things. Italked to his nutritionist, DavePalumbo, and apparently Toney isextremely carb-sensitive. But he stilllooked fantastic and you have to giveit up to the guy for being 42 years oldand at the top of his game. It wasunfortunate that he had a bad hiccupat last year’s Olympia when he barelymade the top 15, but he more thanredeemed himself this time around.This was the best I have ever seen theX-Man. All in all, I was very impressedwith Toney and I’m glad he got hiscondition issues straightened out.

4. Dennis WolfWe all saw pictures of the Big Bad

Wolf a few weeks out from the showand were expecting a little more out ofhim than what we got. Before lastyear’s Mr. Olympia I said several timesthat he was a dark horse who could

very well be a formidable contender. Istill feel Dennis has enormous poten-tial. This year it struck me that he actu-ally reminds me of another German,Gunter Schlierkamp. Wolf has bettershape, but they share a similar struc-ture and stature. Both men are tallerand wider than the majority of toppros. And lest you think I am puttingWolf down by comparing him toGunter, keep in mind that Gunter wasone of only two men to ever beatRonnie Coleman during his reign asMr. Olympia. Dennis is most likeGunter in that if he isn’t 100 percenton, he’s just not as impressive. Heneeds that perfect combination of full-ness and dryness to truly be a threat.

Dennis was lacking in fullness thistime, and it took away that “wow fac-tor” his physique has when he’s fullerand the muscles really pop with eachpose. This was the first time Dennisever worked with Chad Nicholls and itusually does take time to figure outhow an individual will respond to dif-ferent variables in training and nutri-tion. I have no doubt that Dennis andChad will resolve the issues thatcaused him to be flat and will moveforward. I still feel Dennis has all thepotential in the world and can be oneof the best in the world over the nextfew years. If Dennis nails that combi-nation of fullness and condition theway he needs to, he will be much bet-ter than Gunter ever was. An Olympiawin or two could certainly be in hisfuture.

It needs to be said that striking thisbalance is more difficult with youngerphysiques. When a competitor hasthat “old man muscle” like Dexterdoes, all he needs to do is worry aboutcondition. The muscle sticks becauseit’s been seasoned so long, and flatten-ing out is far less likely to happen. Thiscould easily be the subject of a wholeother article. But without fullness,Dennis Wolf lacks muscle separation,so he needs to get that back next time.Regardless, congratulations to Dennisfor being fourth in the world. With acouple tweaks and modifications, theMr. Olympia title could be his.

3. Phil HeathSaying this while being as unbiased

as possible considering I am his coach,



TheProCreatorI don’t think anybody would have com-plained if The Gift had placed higher.Many people felt he should have beensecond to Dexter, and there was even acontingent that thought he should havewon the Mr. Olympia. Still, Heathplaced third at his Mr. Olympia debutbehind only Dexter Jackson and thereigning champion, Jay Cutler. Thisshow was a high point in Phil’s career,and he was very emotional backstagefollowing both the judging and thefinals. The Gift had a lot of fans outthere cheering for him, and he wasthrilled to be there for them. If youwere at the show, you saw how enthu-siastic he was to be on the Olympiastage at last. He had come full-circlefrom being “discovered” by his friendJay Cutler just three years ago as anamateur competing locally in Coloradoto nearly beating his good friend for theOlympia title. It was literally a dreamcome true for Phil, and as a true fan ofthe sport, he savored every moment hewas up there. Most people have noinkling of the trials and tribulations Philfaced getting ready for this show. Histravel schedule had him back and forthto Europe several times, and he eventu-ally got very sick after a trip to New Yorkto meet with a sponsor. It was a verystressful prep, to say the least. Allthings considered, the end result wasbeyond our expectations. He nailed itfor his first Mr. Olympia, and did agreat job of living up to the tremendoushype and expectations surroundinghim, which was no easy task.

2. Jay CutlerObviously, Jay was not at his best

on Friday night. He told me he wasaround 260 pounds, and his conditionwas a bit off. The more he posed, themore clear it became that nothing was“popping” the way it should have. If Ihad to guess, something might begoing wrong with his prep in the lastcouple weeks. I saw him several timesover the past year in his off-seasonwhen he actually looked better than hedid here onstage. His body is some-how deteriorating over the last coupleweeks, for whatever reason. I know it’stough for a physique athlete when hedoesn’t have a second set of eyes tokeep him on track and dial him in. Onthe second night, Jay came in much

tighter and was down to 248. His con-dition was much better, but that onlymade the discrepancy in size betweenhis left and right legs more obvious.Jay needs to come back much bigger.He needs to focus on looking like JayCutler, and not like Dexter or Phil. Bothmen compete in the range of 230-235pounds, with smaller joints and bettershape and symmetry. By trying to playtheir game and suck down to such alight bodyweight, Cutler loses hisadvantage of overwhelming size thatmade him Mr. Olympia in the firstplace. Some thought Jay should havebeen closer to fourth or fifth place, but Iwon’t comment on that. The show isover, and Jay was the runner-up. Heknows he needs to make dramaticchanges if he wants his title back nextyear. If his body is worn or tired out asmany speculate, he may be better offtaking 2009 completely off. Personally, Ithink Jay will be fine in a year as longas he goes back to the drawing board.Hopefully he will figure out what heneeds to do to regain his best form.But whether he does or not, Jay Cutleris still a two-time Mr. Olympia.

1. Dexter JacksonCongratulations to The Blade for

winning the Mr. Olympia title. A lot ofpeople were very surprised to seesomeone other than a “big guy” win.But the way I saw it, it was more likeJay lost than Dexter won. It was veryreminiscent of how Ronnie lost to Jayin 2006. Ronnie wasn’t at his best, soby default, Jay became the champion.It’s actually disappointing to see howmany times Mr. Olympia hasn’t been athis best in recent years at this event.As for Jay, he hasn’t been at hisabsolute best since he nearly beatRonnie back in 2001. I don’t feel Dexterwas as good here as he had beenwhen he won the Arnold Classic earlierthis year. His condition was about 10-20 percent off of that, especially in theglutes and hams. Jackson did come inwith more size, but wasn’t as impres-sive overall. I’m not taking anythingaway from Dexter, and this is just mypersonal opinion. I’m happy for Dexterthat he won, but the victory was some-what anticlimactic. He wasn’t at hisbest, and Jay definitely was nowherenear his best. Dexter will be back next

year to defend his title. I have all therespect in the world for Dexter and Iknow there were many times he didn’tget the placing many felt he deserved.So again, congratulations to him forachieving his career goal of becomingMr. Olympia.

Next Year…TheStage Is Set For ATrue Battle!

I am sure Victor Martinez was kick-ing himself for getting hurt and miss-ing this Olympia, as there’s a strongchance he could have that Sandowtrophy on his mantle right now. Butwe need to see how that injured legof his is holding up before we makeany predictions. We’ll get a sneakpreview of what he has in store forDexter at the Arnold Classic. Withhim, Dexter and Phil, it will be veryinteresting to see three of the mostaesthetic physiques today battling itout. Another big question mark is KaiGreene, who many felt was set tomake a strong impression at theOlympia before he was sidelined witha hernia. He should also be compet-ing at the Arnold, so we’ll also get anidea of what he could be bringing toLas Vegas. As of now, Phil Heath has-n’t decided whether or not he will bedoing the Arnold. We may decide hewould be better off taking that timeoff to grow and improve so that thepackage he brings to the 2009 Mr.Olympia could very well be the onethat wins the show. As I write this inmid-October, Heath is still making hisappearances following the Mr.Olympia and we haven’t had achance to talk it all over yet.Whatever happens, the 2008 Mr. O isnow in the history books and 2009 isalready gearing up to be an awe-some competition. �

Note: My website is now up and running.Visit www.hanyrambod.com or www.fst-7.comfor previous articles, news, an interactiveforum, video clips, and member profiles andblogs. You’ll also find updates on my currentclients and who is preparing for upcoming con-tests. Free registration gives you full access toall of it. Got a question for Hany you would liketo see answered here? E-mail him [email protected]. Due to the high vol-ume of e-mail he receives and limited editorialspace, only selected questions will beanswered and used.


CHAD NICHOLLS

TheContestGURU

Dennis Wolf obviously is anincredibly gifted athlete and isgenetically and potentially one

of the best athletes I have everseen, primarily due to the overallheight and structure he has beenblessed with. In my opinion, oncewe fill Dennis out, he will be able towin and keep the Olympia title aslong as he wants; I just feel he isthat good. There are very few ath-letes as tall as Dennis who possessnot only the genetics, but the pro-portions, muscle bellies and smallbone and joint structure that Dennishas. Because of this, his potential isunlimited, but the expectationseveryone has for him because theyknow just how great Dennis can beare even greater.

There are very few athletes I feelyou can actually say are legendaryin the sport or leave such an impacton people as being “one of thegreatest”…Ronnie Coleman andFlex Wheeler, to name a few.However, I really feel Dennis Wolfwill end up in this group. Is Dennisgoing to be the biggest athlete of alltime? No, and is he structurally thevery best to ever step foot onstage?Maybe not the best, but one ofthem. What Dennis possesses is thegift of being able to reach the top ofeach category; he has the possibilityto be one of the best-conditioned,best-structured, most symmetricaland most completely-muscled ath-letes— and when he puts all theseattributes together at once, it willput him in the history books as oneof the greatest of all time.

In terms of comments I heard


DENNIS WOLFMY Post-Olympia Critique

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during and immediately after theshow, I was surprised and disap-pointed in people. Instead of look-ing at the improvements we madefrom last year to this year (overallfantastic conditioning, detail andseparation, while adding a fewmore pounds, but still maintaininghis small waistline), some were dis-appointed in the fact that he didn’tshow up onstage with 30 morepounds. For Dennis the name of thegame is going to be gradual gains…not just throwing on weight for thesake of saying he’s BIG. Anyone cando that, but very few with his heightand structure can properly fill outand present themselves in the wayDennis can. In actuality, I havenever seen people have higherexpectations for an athlete than Ihave seen them have for DennisWolf. Though he looked incredibleonstage this year, everyone waslooking for him to be the arrival ofthe end-all, be-all most ultimatebodybuilder of all time. And while,yes, he does have that potential, forhim to reach it during a single off-season is a completely unrealisticexpectation. This seems like themain thing that will be loomingover his head throughout his careeruntil he hits it.

Another situation Dennis isencountering is the fact that he hasthe potential to not only be the best,but to be the actual “cartoon charac-ter”…his build and physique havesuch cartoonish features that inorder to actually fill out hisphysique to fit that actual superhu-man picture, it is going to take a bitof time to achieve the look everyoneis expecting from him.

Back to the 2008 Olympia and hisperformance: was I satisfied withDennis’ performance and overallpackage? I guess I can answer bothyes and no to this question. In actu-ality, I should say, “Yes, I was happywith the package that Dennis dis-played, but no, I wasn’t satisfied 100percent.” No matter how good anyof my athletes look, I always knowwe can bring something better tothe stage the next time. So in reali-ty, I can say that I was happy withwhat we brought to the stage

because I had an image in my mindof Dennis’ physique and where Ithought we could bring it for thispoint in his career and for this par-ticular show and that is what weaccomplished. As well, only workingwith him since March of 2008 andthe Olympia being our first showtogether, I felt we accomplishedquite a bit in a short period of timeand I learned a lot about hisphysique. There is still more for usto work on and improve upon.

We enhanced his conditioning byabout 25 pecent in comparison to2007 and when you look at that inconjunction with the amount of sizehe maintained while bettering hisconditioning (he was maybe 5

pounds heavier than last year), it ishard for many to actually notice thegreat amount of improvement hemade until they take a photo from2007 and compare it to the 2008photos— then the improvementsare more than apparent and this iswhere many people’s expectationswere let down. I think peopleexpected Dennis to not only be in25 percent better conditioning, butthey expected him to be 25 poundsbigger in addition to that condition-ing. That would have been an unbe-lievable accomplishment had thatbeen the end result and he woulddefinitely be Mr. Olympia if this hadbeen the case. It’s a “catch 22” situ-ation; at that point in time, it wasnot possible to achieve both theconditioning and increase in sizeand fullness, so for this year, I wasextremely happy with the increasein conditioning while adding a

touch more size. Now that we havean entire year that includes a fulloff-season together to make moreimprovements, such an increase insize and fullness is a more feasiblegoal, while still improving uponDennis’ overall conditioning andintricate detail. One way I explainedthis to people is that if Denniswould have had this year’s condi-tioning in 2007, he would have alsobeen about 20 pounds lighter toachieve that type of conditioning(2007) and when you think of it inthose terms, his improvements atthe 2008 Mr. Olympia were sizable.

In 2009 (and after another year ofsolid training and dieting together)you will see some major differ-ences. I now know his body andhow it works, so I already have his2009 Olympia game plan in mythoughts. I had a lot of questionsgoing into the 2008 Olympia as tohow Dennis would respond andwhat would or wouldn’t work forhim and now that we have oneshow under our belt, I have theanswers I was looking for so we canrepeat what worked, eliminate whatdidn’t work and change what needsto be changed in order to make ourimpact.

As Dennis’ nutritionist, one ofmy jobs is to learn the questionsthat need to be answered in termsof his contest prep. The first showthat a nutritionist and athlete worktogether is always a learning experi-ence and I can tell you during thislearning experience, I found theanswers to all the questions I waslooking for and with this in mind for2009, I’ll be able to put thoseanswers to good use.

Remember, Dennis is not only agifted athlete, but a young athlete;he’s got a lot of good years aheadof him and plenty of time to getwhere he needs to be. We aren’tmaking excuses, but we are justbeing realistic in what we canachieve on a seasonal basis interms of gains and improvementsand if it takes a bit of time to getthere, then so be it. One thing I canpromise is that when Dennis doesfill out and reaches his peak…hewill be Mr. Olympia! �

CHAD NICHOLLS—THE CONTEST GURU

Though he lookedincredible onstagethis year, everyone

was looking for himto be the arrival ofthe end-all, be-all

most ultimate body-builder of all time.


CHARLES GLASS

2008 Mr. Olympia: The Right Man Won!From where I was sitting, dead center in the second row,

Dexter Jackson was the solid choice for first place. Afterthat, I didn’t completely agree with how the placings turnedout. Here’s what my top five would have looked like:

DexterPhilWolf or Toney (so close youcould have flipped a coin)JayMelvin or Silvio

Heath— The Man To WatchWhen Dexter and Phil

Heath were compared inthe quarter-turns, Dexter’soverall shape and struc-ture was superior. Butwhen the two posed, Ithought Phil killed Dexterfrom the back and on sev-eral body parts. If Philimproves again next year,I doubt Dexter will be ableto hold him off. Heathneeds to work on beingable to hold his conditionnow that they seem to besettled into this two-dayformat for the show, too. Ithink he was too worriedabout being as full as pos-sible and lost sharpnessfrom Friday to Saturday.

Next Year’s Victor?The question on everyone’s mind once Dexter won was

would he be able to defend his title successfully next yearagainst Victor? When Victor is at his best, it would be verytough for Dexter to beat him. Victor has a wonderful struc-ture and shape, with the same small joints as Dexter, butwith more height and overall mass. As long as Martinezkeeps his waistline tight, it’s going to be an uphill battle forDexter next year.

Trainer of ChampionsTrainerof Champions

THE BODYBUILDING

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Charles Glass—Trainer of Champs

The Rest Of The Top MenI am sure Jay Cutler will be back next year trying to get his

title back, but I don’t know if he can pull it off again. His rightarm and leg are smaller than the left. It’s been this way for acouple years now and shows no signs of getting any better. Hislower back was soft and had folds of loose skin. And Jay’s waistlooked wider and thicker than ever, with the obliques hangingover his trunks. Jay works very hard and is a true gentleman,but I have to wonder if his body is simply starting to show thestrain of all the years of training and competing.

Dennis Wolf’s condition was there, but he appeared small-er and lacked the “wow factor” he had in 2007. Whateverwent wrong, he’s still a young guy and has time to get it right.

Toney Freeman was very impressive with his conditioningand his excellent presentation. The man poses very well. Theonly issue with Toney is that even at 6’2” and 280 poundsshredded, he still needs more mass. Next to Wolf, he lookedmuch smaller.

I have known Melvin forever, since he was just a kid hang-ing around the pros at Gold’s Gym dreaming of being one

someday himself. Not only is he a master at the posing routine,but he’s one of the best of all time at his mandatory poses andtransitions. He never hits any pose straight on— always a littletwist to accentuate his strengths and hide any weaknesses.My only critique was that he was not as sharp as he couldhave been, and not nearly as sharp as he had been a coupleweeks before when he won the Atlantic City show.

My client Silvio had made phenomenal improvements. Asfar as condition, he was probably the best in the show.Everything was crisp and clear, and he was the only one whoactually looked better on Saturday. If he had known how toshow off his physique better, I think he would have been ashigh as second or third place. That might sound crazy, but hearme out. The way he put his elbows so far forward when hittinghis back shots made him look narrow. He hits his side chest allwrong. In his side poses, Silvio sticks his leg out and appearseven shorter than he already is. I was practically tearing myhair out watching him up there and seeing how he was blow-ing it with his amateur posing and presentation skills. The

funny thing is, both FlexWheeler and Shawn Ray hadoffered to help work with himon his posing. Instead, Silviochose to work with BobCicherillo. Chick is a heck of anice guy and a decent body-builder, but he was neverknown as a master poser. I amdefinitely going to make sureSilvio improves on this for nextseason. It’s insane to have aphysique that’s so phenomenaland not display it properly.

Dennis James is well onhis way to being in the top fiveagain. Playing the size gameruined his physique for a fewyears, but now he has seen theerror of his ways and trimmeddown to a much more stream-lined, aesthetic look.

Mohammad El Moussawi(not shown) made a veryrespectable Olympia debut inninth place. His conditioningwas among the best onstage,and his arms are pretty amaz-ing. A little more separation inthe quads, and some moremass in the back and chestand I can see him moving up.

Finally, rounding out thetop 10 we have former top-three man Gustavo Badell.Why his legs have come downso much in size I have no idea,but until he brings them backto what they were I’m afraidhe might just keep moving



Charles Glass—Trainer of Champsdown the ranks. He also needs to bring his chest up a little.Gustavo has a huge ribcage and his waist is on the wider side,so more beef in the chest will help improve his taper.

I am 17 years old and I was told that I should train ona powerlifting type of routine at least until I can benchpress 300 pounds and squat and deadlift 400 pounds. Atthat point, it’s supposed to be OK to move on towardmore of a bodybuilding routine. My goals are to win abodybuilding contest before I am 20. I have been trainingfor a year now doing mainly 1-3 reps on those three exer-cises, and I’m still not very close to hitting those num-bers. I worry that I won’t even get to start training like abodybuilder while I’m still a teenager. Should I stick withwhat I’m doing?

I like the three powerlifts and do think they are a great wayfor beginners to build a solid foundation. Between just thosethree compound movements, you hit all the major musclegroups. At the same time, I don’t think you need to stick withthem until you reach some random numbers decreed to you bythis person you talked to. What if you were just really bad on oneof those lifts, and it took you four or five years to reach that num-ber? Would that mean you were doomed to wait it out andcouldn’t incorporate any other exercises? That’s totally ridiculous.Not only do I think you can begin mixing in other movements, Ialso feel you should increase the number of repetitions. Very lowreps will help you build strength, because they work the centralnervous system hard, but they don’t stimulate much musclegrowth. For that, you need to keep the muscle under tensionlonger, and that means your reps need to come up to 8-12.

You can go heavier at time, but anything lower than 5-6 repsis just not going to be very effective at helping you gain musclemass. Keep the powerlifts, but you should also add in someother great basics like chin-ups, barbell rows, military presses,weighted dips, incline dumbbell presses, barbell curls, skull-crushers and lying leg curls. Don’t do all these on one day!Separate your workouts so that maybe you could do chest, backand shoulders one day, take a day off, then do arms and legs,and have another day off. You are still too young and at too lowof an experience level to get any more isolated than that. Butyou are ready to expand your training repertoire beyond justthree exercises.

All of the supplement and nutrition articles that Iread have plans that revolve around people who trainin the late afternoon or early evening. I get up at 3:15in the morning to train before work. I think I readsomewhere that you get up super early, too. I would-n’t have the energy to train after work and commut-ing (2 hours each way). That plus the fact that I go tothe gym to train, not for a social hour, and nothingpisses me off more than people hanging around amachine or bench that I need and people are using itbut not really using it, if you know what I mean.There is no way I can get a solid meal in before Itrain. I do need some sleep, plus I think it would justbe a big waste of food. What would you recommend?

You say that there is no way to get a solid meal in beforeyou train. Why is that, exactly? I wake up at 2 in the morn-

ing, and I have my egg whites and oatmeal. It takes meabout 45 minutes to drive from where I live to Gold’s inVenice where I meet my first client and train with him at 4.You probably live a lot closer to your gym than I do, but Idon’t see why you can’t go to bed a little earlier and wakeup a little earlier. Is there some reason you have to stay upuntil a certain time, or is that just the schedule you chooseto follow? These are all things to consider. One way you cansave time is by cooking your food before you go to bed sothat all you have to do when you wake up is microwave itand eat. If you want to train pretty soon after waking up, youcould make “protein pancakes” like I do sometimes. You mixprotein powder into whole-wheat pancake mix so that theyare complete meals. If you have even less time, a whey pro-tein shake and an apple would give you the amino acids andglycogen you needed for energy to train. There are a lot ofways to make this work if you just try being a bit more cre-ative and stop with that stubborn mindset that says, “I haveto get up at this time and there is no way I can eat before Igo to the gym.” Instead of dwelling on problems and usingthem as excuses, look for solutions!

I’m just writing because I can’t seem to get myabs to show. I have tried EVERYTHING. Ketogenicdiet, circuit training, carb cycling, HIT cardio, low-intensity cardio. Nothing seems to work. I certainlykeep my waist trim, I’m only a 31 and a half-inchwaist at 6’1”, 193 pounds. My stomach is flat and therest of my body looks pretty good. But no full six-pack! I don’t know what I’m doing wrong or if maybethere’s something genetically wrong with me.PLEASE help me out.

Assuming your body fat is low, which it sounds like itis, I think it’s safe to say your problem is a lack of actualdevelopment in the abdominals. Ironically, almost every-one else has the opposite situation— adequate develop-ment of the muscles that can’t be seen due to an obscur-ing layer of body fat. You did not mention anything aboutwhat you do for abs, or if you even train them at all. WhatI would suggest is to work them three times a week. Iwould do 3 sets of 15-20 reps of hanging leg raises. If youaren’t strong enough to do them with straight legs, goahead and bend your knees.

It’s important to get the feet or knees up as high as pos-sible, and to keep the movement slow and controlledrather than a spastic kicking motion. After those I woulddo 3 sets of machine crunches with a weight that limitsyou to failing somewhere between 15-20 reps. Get a fullrange of motion and be sure that your arms aren’t pullingand doing the work that your abs need. Finally, I would hitthose abs with 3 sets of kneeling cable crunches with arope attachment. Shoot for 15-20 reps again, being certainyou get a stretch and a contraction on each rep. Don’t betempted to train abs every day, because they are a mus-cle and do need time to recover and grow. Within a fewweeks, you should definitely start seeing a difference,and within a year, I bet you will finally see those niceclear blocks on your midsection that you have beenmissing all this time. �


By Angela T. Frizalonehotshoppe Information for products

discussed in Hot Shoppecomes directly from the companies represented anddoes not imply endorsementby Muscular Development.

ALCiS Cream…Say NOto Pain!

As you continue down the path toward better health andfitness, you likely experience some aches and pains

along the way. ALCiS Daily Relief Cream is a patented topicalpain reliever that combats that soreness without the greasy feel,harsh smells or tingling skin. ALCiSdelivers benefits quickly and straightto the source of the pain throughpatented liposome delivery technolo-gy. It also helps rehydrate the skinthroughout the relief process withantioxidants and infused botanicals.ALCiS is healthy, responsible painrelief. ALCiS can be used for thetemporary relief of minor aches andpains associated with exercise, arthri-tis, strains, sprains and much more.

DARK RAGE: TAP INTOYOUR POWER

T he new preworkout formula is dangerously powerful!!!Dark Rage introduces a totally new EPO technology and

an exclusive psychotropic stimulator for the most insane mus-cle pumps and intense workouts ever experienced. Dark Rageutilizes a patent-pending, dual action EPO-NO technology. EPOis a powerful hormone that actually allows you to make moreblood by increasing red blood cell production and blood vol-ume. Dark Rage stimulates the production of EPO in conjunc-

tion with NO boosters. This dual action forcesthe large volume of blood to be pushedthrough the wider vasodilated veins,

causing a much greater pump than con-ventional NO boosters. Dark Rage con-tains a power exclusive psychotropicco-factor, beta-methoxyphenylethy-lamine, which stimulate the release ofadrenaline and greatly increases mentalfocus and euphoria, to put you “in thezone.” For more information on DarkRage, call MHP directly at 888-783-8844

or visit getmhp.com.

EP2— TORABOLIC!

TORABOLIC is a highly purified unique molecule extracted from Fenugreek (Trigonella Foenun greacum) seeds.TORABOLIC isa proprietary patent-pending molecule of INDUSBIOTECH. A study was performed to evaluate the effects of TORABOLIC sup-

plementation on strength and body composition. It concluded that 500 mg of TORABOLIC supplementation had a significantimpact on both upper and lower body strength and body composition in comparison to placebo in a double-blind controlled trial.These changes were obtained with no clinical side effects. We conclude that in addition to a structured resistance training pro-gram, TORABOLIC can significantly increase strength and muscle mass!


Trap The Volume … LockIn The Gains™

With BSN’SNewVolumaize™

BSN has done it once again,this time cracking the “genet-

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VPX Muscle Power

With 40 grams of the highest quality hypertrophy-pro-ducing proteins, VPX has done it again with Muscle

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SuperCissus RX by USP Labs

USP Labs has revolutionized the joint pain industry with theirnew, breakout product SuperCissus RX. This product is unlike

any joint product ever created. It does not contain any Glucosamineor Chondroitin. Rather, it contains an exclusive extract of the

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eliminate your joint pain once andfor all! Here’s what SuperCissusRX can do for you…No more jointpain! Safely and effectivelyrebuilds tendons and liga-ments…the only natural herb inthe world shown to do so!Scientifically proven more power-ful anti-catabolic properties thanDeca and D-Bol! Preserve musclemass better than any natural sub-stance! Keeps body in positivenitrogen balance 24/7! Significantlylowers cortisol by at least 31%!Powerful pain reliever, without

damaging effects that ibuprofenbrings! It is 100% safe and effective and has been

used for centuries in India. So powerful it’s patent pending! Formore information and exactly how to get your hands on your ownsupply of SuperCissus RX so you can train heavy and hard, checkout www.USPLabsDirect.com.

Best-Tasting MuscleBuilding Milk Protein

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By John Romanolastword

2008 fuck’n sucked. I feel like thelone survivor of plane crash, and notby much. The economy is killingme…my townhouse is worth far lessthan I paid for it; two investmentproperties are in foreclosure; stocksare way down; and my son thinks Ihave a bush growing out back thatflowers $100s. My ex-wife is finallygone. Except for the tens of thou-sands it cost to get rid of her, that’sgood for me, but she abandoned ourson, leaving me a single dad. It’sworth the strain but inspiration is at apremium…no time to do anythingwith it. My workload is heavier thanit’s ever been and I’m being pulled inmore directions than I have limbs. Theonly reason I go to the gym anymoreis to thrash out my frustration. And ifyou’ve seen me lately you know I’vebeen pretty frustrated.

It was hard enough to get throughthe suicide this year of Shelley Beattie.But on top of that, we also got to dealwith the murder/suicide of AmandaSavell, who was killed by that dirtbag,Dave Jacobs, and another one fromDr. Bruce Nadler and his wife. A slewof others also bit the dust, including,but not limited to: Eric Fromm, SteveStone, Pinnacle founder Mel Rich andof course, Ben Weider. There were ill-ness and injuries that sidelined sever-al top pros this year and put a distinctasterisk next to this year’s Olympia:we knew Ronnie Coleman would bemissing for the first time in over adecade, but also out were BranchWarren, Kai Greene and of course,Victor Martinez— the guy who wouldhave won.

Yesterday I was watching the news

and saw the Dow tumble another fewhundred points.You need sonar tofind anything left in my 401K. Myattorney called and said that the for-bearance plan he tried to work outwith the lender on my investmentproperty was turned down, but his billwas due…and my son came homefrom guitar lessons complainingabout the fact that he “needs” aGibson Les Paul. Grrrrrrr…since eat-ing out was out of the question, Iwent to the grocery store.

Everything I picked up was moreexpensive than last week. “I wish I stilllived in Mexico,” I grumbled. Up anddown the aisles, I was complainingunder my breath, putting items downthat I just couldn’t fathom spendingthat kind of money on. Six bucks forthat little bag of almonds? Are youfucking kidding me? It was that, on topof the lawyer, on top of the property Iwould probably lose, on top of my401K, on top of my kid who needs a$4,000 guitar, on top of my impendingdeadlines…FUUUUUCK!!! I felt likegoing home, drinking a bottle of tequi-la, and making out with a Glock.

Then in the freezer aisle I came upbehind a rather large woman. My dourattitude immediately had me bring tomind several insulting comments that Iwould of course keep to myself. As Ipassed her, I caught a glimpse of herface. She had obviously survivedsome sort of horrific accident. Herears, the end of her nose and most ofher lips were burned off and the restof her face looked like it was spackledon with a putty knife and it was melt-ing. Through two mangled things thatused to be eyelids I could see her eyes

and remarkably they sparkled, tellingme she was happy and full of life!Instantly those remarks I had conjuredup a second ago turned to admiration.How could anyone walk around look-ing happy with a face like that?

Walking out of the store with myfour bags of $140 worth of groceries, Ithought: “You better count your bless-ings, motherfucker. It ain’t all that bad.”

Victor, Branch and Kai will be allhealed up and in the Arnold 18 weeksfrom today. Those I know who died arestill dead, but most of them lived agood life and every one of them isfondly remembered. Dexter did win anOlympia after starting life as a ban-tamweight, and Toney Freeman had anamazing year. Most of all, my son andI are healthy, our faces are intact andnothing is holding us back.There iseven a new woman in our lives nowwho is bringing us nothing but loveand joy and hope of a great tomorrow.My 401K will go back up by the time Ineed it, and if the bank wants that stu-pid condo back they can have it. Aslong as I’m in one piece, I have noth-ing to complain about.

This morning I wrapped my handsaround the chalk-caked knurl of anOlympic bar and pulled and excruciat-ing set of deadlifts off the floor. Isquatted down in front of the barwhen I was done an watched a drop ofsweat hit the bar that dripped off mynose. I looked up and into the mirror.The guy looking back wasn’t thrashingout his frustrations anymore. He wasthrowing down again an that’s the bestfeeling in the world. No matter whathappens, 2009 is going to be a verygood year! �


HAPPY NEW YEAR…NO MATTER WHAT!


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