M F 7 R o B M 2013 Downmagaz.ws

7/28/2019 M F 7 R o B M 2013 Downmagaz.ws

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/m-f-7-r-o-b-m-2013-downmagazws 1/180

magazine

25trainnutr

i

MUSCLE

RULESOFBUILDING

7For beginnersand experts

Add strengthand size

Lose belly





MUSCLE

RULESOFBUILDING7

magazine

ByJoeWarner

ArtEditorRichardDavisDesign Ian Jackson, Jo Gurney

SubeditorJuliet Giles

PhotographyTom Miles, Duncan Nicholls

ModelKirk Miller@WAthletic

Equipmentsuppliedby escapefitness.com.

ThankstoFitness First (fitnessfirst.co.uk)

For more informationon Men’s Fitness magazine, go towww.mensfitness.co.uk

Tosubscribe to Men’s Fitness magazine,call 08448440081orgotowww.mensfitness.co.uk

©Copyright Dennis Publishing

Ltd. LicensedbyFelden2011

Publishing Director RichardDowney

Managing Director JamesBurnay

Digital Production Manager NickyBaker

Bookazine Manager DharmeshMistry

Operations Director RobinRyan

Managing Director of Advertising

JulianLloyd-Evans

Newstrade Director DavidBarker

Chief Operating Oicer BrettReynolds

Group Finance Director IanLeggett

Chief Executive Oicer JamesTye

Chairman Felix Dennis

The ‘MagBook’ brand is a trademark of Dennis Publishing Ltd,

30 Cleveland St, London W1T 4JD. Company registered in England.

All material © Dennis Publishing Ltd, licensed by Felden 2011,

and may not be reproduced in whole or part without the

consent of the publishers.

7 RULES OF BUILDING MUSCLE ISBN 1906372705

To license this product please contact Hannah Heagney on

+44 (0) 20 7907 6134 or email [email protected]

Advertising

Katie Wood [email protected]

Matt Wakeield [email protected]

While every care was taken during the production of this MagBook, the publishers cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the information

or any consequence arising from it. Dennis Publishing takes no responsibility for the companies advertising in this MagBook.

The paper used within this MagBook is produced from sustainable ibre, manufactured by mills with a valid chain of custody. Printed at PCP.

The health and itness information presented in this book is an educational resource and is not intended as a substitute for medical advice.

Consult your doctor or healthcare professional before performing any of the exercises described in this book or any other exercise programme,particularly if you are pregnant, or if you are elderly or have chronic or recurring medical conditions. Do not attempt any of the exercises while under

the inluence of alcohol or drugs. Discontinue any exercise that causes you pain or severe discomfort and consult a medical expert.

Neither the author of the information nor the producer nor distributors of such information make any warranty of any kind in regard to

the content of the information presented in this book.



+166%Instant Whey now incorporates Native Whey which is produced by

taking fresh skimmed milk and processing it at low temperature via

complex ultra and membrane filtration which captures virtually every

single highly valuable and biologically active protein fraction in its native

form. As a result, it contains up to 166% more bioavailable cystine

which is integral to the production of glutathione, the body’s master

antioxidant which plays a vital role in immune support and recovery

from intense exercise. It also provides up to 16% more leucine to aid

muscle repair and growth.

PERFORMANCE & HEALTH WITHIN

Please visit & join our Facebook

account at Reflex Nutrition Ltd



Not only does Instant Whey bring these additional benefits but it

still delivers 80% protein. It still has every batch protein tested.

It still contains probiotics and digestive enzymes to aid gut health and

digestion. It still contains peptide bonded glutamine to aid recovery after

exercise. It now comes with higher levels of whey protein hydrolysate

providing an even greater hit of muscle repairing amino acids and new

improved flavours.

80% PROTEIN

www.reflex-nutrition.co@ReflexNutrition

NATIVEWHEY I n c .

INSTANTWHEY



Men’s Fitness6

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC CONTENTS

GETTINGSTARTED

ForewordbyCharlesPoliquin

About thebook

Builda foundation

RULEONE

Knowyourbody

RULETWO

RULETHREE

Use compoundlifts

RULEFOUR

Varyyourexercises

RULEFIVE

Change thevariables 1

RULESIX

Varyyourworkouts 1

RULESEVEN

Eat tobuild muscle 1

RULETHREECompound lifts, suchassquats, shouldbe

the foundationof anymuscle-buildingplan

RULESEVENEatingthe rightfoodsat therighttime iscriticalto success

RULEFOURIsolation exercises,suchasthe bicepscurl,canaccelerate musclegain



www.wellman.co.uk

From Boots, Superdrug,

supermarkets, Holland & Barrett,

GNC, Lloydspharmacy,

pharmacies & health stores. Vitamin supplements may benefit those with nutritionally inadequate diets.

SportOriginal 50+ 70+ ProstateSkin Plus Omega 3-6-9 Fizz

Mark FosWorld Champion Sw

8xWorld Record H

6xWorld Cha

Wellman® is an advanced range of nutritional products, tailored to the specific requirementof men. It has helped top athletes likeWorld Champion Swimmer Mark Foster stay ahead

of the competition and racing or not, it could do the same for you.Wellman® – daily micronutrient support as used byprofessionals.

“Likemanyprofessional sportsmen,I relyonWellman® tabletsevery day,tohelpmaintain the health, vitality andstrong immunesystemthat I need.Wellman®HighPerformancedrink

providesmewith great tasting,revitalising refreshment too.”



Men’s Fitness8

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC FOREWORD

Thechancesare that you’vepickedup7RulesOfBuildingMusclefor oneof several reasons.Youmayhavenever set foot ina gymbefore

butwanttomakesomepositivechangestoyourphysique.Ormaybeyouhavetrainedwithweights for awhilebut havebeendisappointedbyyourprogress.Oryoumaybeanexperiencedgym-goerwho’s looking fornewwaystocontinuetoaddmuscularsize andstrength.The scenariosmaybedifferent, but theultimate aimisexactlythe same.Youwant toaddhard, leanmuscle toyour frametobe fitter, stronger andtolook betterwithyourshirtoff. Let’s faceit –whodoesn’t?Despitewhatyoumay think,buildingmuscle iseasy. That’s right. Thereisnomythormysteryaboutpacking hard, leanmuscle toyour frame. It

doesn’t require pills andfoul-tasting potions,nordoes it involve risking lifeand limbonallmannerofkit andequipment that looks as thoughitshouldreally belong inamedieval dungeon.All that’s required is that youtrainsmart, eatwellandthenrest toallowyourmuscles tobuildbackbigger andstronger. Butwhat typeofexercisesshouldyoubedoingandhowoften?Whyshouldyou shakeupyourtrainingtoensureyourmuscles grow?When is the right time toring thesechanges?Andwhatare thebest foods tofuelmuscle performance andrecovery?

Ifyouare lookingfor the answers totheseandmanymorequestionsaboutbuildingthebodyyou’vealwayswanted, thenyou’vecome to therightplace. Inyourhandsyou’re holdingthedefinitive guide tobuildingmuscle,withall the information,tips andadviceyouneedtobuildyourdreambodyeffectively andefficiently.Theonlyquestion I have is:whatare youwaiting for?

CHARLESPOLIQUIN

byCharlesPoliquin, theworld-renownedstrength

andconditioningcoach,whohastrained

Olympiansin12sports,worldrecordholders

intensportsandprofessionalathletes inthe

NBA,NFL,NHL,MLBandEnglishPremierLeague







Men

Here at

Men’s Fitness

magazineweget askeda lot of

questions,and

manyareonthe

subject ofhowbest

tobuildmuscle.With

somuch training

informationflying

around –eitherat the

gym, oronwebsites

andonline forums – andofferingoften

contradictory ideasonhow tomake

yourselfbigger, stronger andleaner, the

simple truthscanquicklybecomeover-

complicatedanddownright confusing.Which iswhy this bookhasseparated

thefacts fromthefictionandthe fads

toprovide youwithall theinformation

youneed –explainedin simplebut

highlyeffectiveterms– onhowyoucan

transformyourphysique intotheone

you’vealwayswanted.

SimplestepsIn thefirstchapterwehelp you identify

yourbody type.Onceyouknow this,

you canmakethemost ofyour strengths

–whileminimisingyourweaknesses

– tostart addingmuscle quickly andefficiently.We alsodetail themuscle

groups of thebody, explain how they

moveand thesciencebehindhowthey

grow, andweanswer themuscle-building

questionswe’refrequentlyasked.

Inchapter twowegiveyouthe tools to

assessyourcurrentlevelof fitness and

explainwhyyouneed tobuilda strong

foundationtomake injury-freeprogress.

We then revealexactly howyoucando

this, alongwith a clearguidetowarming

up, coolingdownandstretching– allof

whicharevital topreventinjuryand

primeyourmuscles forgrowth.Chapterthree focusesoncompound

exercises – those that involvemore than

onemuscle group–whichformthe basis

of all successfulmuscle-buildingtraining

programmes.With ourstep-by-stepguide

you’ll beable tomastertheseextremely

effectivemoves inno time.

ABOUTTHISBOOK

Tobuildstrong, leanmusclefasteryouneedtofollowjustsevensimplerules

JoeWarner, editor



Men’s Fitness12

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC ABOUT THIS BOOK

MixitupThe next chapter examines the

limitations of doing the same exercises

week in, week outand details themain

variations of the key compound moves

and whyyoushould dothemto keepyour muscles growing. We also look

at how you canidentify andfix any

muscular imbalances or weaknesses

that might be holding you back.

Chapter five takes a magnifying glass

to thekey components of an individual

workout – including exerciseselection,

sets, reps andtempo– andwhychanging

these regularly is crucial in the pursuit of

bigger muscle.

Chapter six then examines different

set strategies and long-term training

programmes to help you meet your

goals quickly and effectively.

Foodforthought

The finalchapter is a comprehensiveguide to thehugely important role

nutrition plays in building and

maintaining muscle. We give you the

basic rules you need to follow, some

easy-to-follow meal plans and handy

musclesnacks, along with an in-depth

investigation into supplements, such as

protein powder, creatine and fat-burners,

andtell you if you really need them.

So sitback andstart reading.That’s

the easybit.Then you can put your

newfound knowledgeinto action. We

won’t lie: this is the hardpart, and it

requires motivation, determination anddedication. But by clearly explaining

whatyouneed todo,when todo itand

why you needto doit, we hopeto make

your muscle-building journey not only

successful,but also enjoyable.

‘By clearly explaining what

youneedtodo,whentodoit

and why, we hope to make

your muscle-building journey

successful and enjoyable’







KNOWYOURBODY

RULEONE

16 Control your body shape

18 Endomorph

20 Mesomorph

22 Ectomorph

24 Knowyourmuscles

26Moveyour body

28 Howmusclesgrow

30 Weight training glossary

32 MuscleQ&A

O TE TEN



Men’s Fitness16



Men

Controlyour

bodyshapeWhetheryoupackonmuscleeasily, struggletoshift

yourgutorstay leandespitehours liftingweights,

smarttrainingwillmaximiseyourpotential

Before we begin it’s important thatyou establish which body shape

you have been gifted by your parents.Knowing this means you cantrain inthe most eicient way possible to reapmaximum changes in minimum time.

The idea that human body types aregenetically pre-set is nothing new. Platomentions it inTheRepublic , which waswritten around 380BC, and the 19th-century philosopher Friedrich Nietzschereferred to the idea inTheAntichrist

years before psychologist WilliamHerbert Sheldon popularised threebroad ‘categories’ of body in the 1940s.

But it’s since Sheldon’s conclusions

were published that it has become widelyrecognised that most people have a body

type that marks them outas either beingan endomorph (big with high levels

of body fat), a mesomorph (muscular) oran ectomorph (lean).

PowerstruggleOver the past decade, science hasdiscovered a lot more about howyour genetic makeup determineswhat your body shape will be – and,more importantly, what you can do toovercome your genetic shape. Read onto learn more about the three diferentbody shapes and discover the steps youcan take to control your natural shape –rather than let it control you – to get the

body you’ve always wanted, no matterwhat hand your genes have dealt you.

RULEONE KNOWYOURBODY

Areyouan

endomorph,

mesomorphor

ectomorph?

Turn over to

findout.



Men’s Fitness18

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC BODY SHAPES:ENDOMORPH

Shift yourspare tyre by ditching cardiofor weights and

watching what you eat

If you havetroubleshifting weight even

when watching your diet,the chances are you’reanendomorph, characterised byhaving a relatively high amountof storedfat, a widewaist and alarge bone structure. Great forpowerlifters, not so good whenyou’reheading to thebeach.

What’sgoingon?Evolutionarily speaking, you’re

a badass:when food wasscarce,natural selection probablyfavoured humans with fat-storing metabolisms.But nowsofas and milkshakes are readilyavailable, those same genes arescuppering you. In onestudywhere subjects were overfedfor1,000 calories a day overa 100-day period, weight gainvaried from 4.3kg to 13kg, anddemonstrated that people morepredisposed to storefat putonthree times as much weight as

others. Some experts suggest thatheredity factors might accountfor as muchas 70per centof your

body mass index (BMI), so don’t be too hard on yourself if the

weight isn’t coming off. You justneed to train smarter.

Whatyou’redoingwrongThere’s no point in spendinghours on a treadmill. If you’retrying to lose weight you needto ditch long,slow, steady-statecardiovascular work for moreinterval-based conditioning tostrip away fat. Sprints andbox

jumps are great, but if you’reheavy tothe point of beingworried about your joints, then

moves like thesled push areslower but just as effective. Anddon’t fall into thetrap of doinghundredsof sit-ups to shift yourgut. Theidea you canspot reducefatis a myth. To reveal that hidden

six-pack you need to lose weifrom everywhere.

WhatyoushouldbedoYou should be combining

hypertrophy, or muscle-buildwork, with conditioning tostripaway that unwanted bodfat. A four-day split could gosomething like: Monday, upp

body hypertrophy; Tuesday,lower-body conditioning suchas sprints; Thursday lower-

body hypertrophy; and a Frid‘repetition’ day on the upper bwhenyou’ll dolotsof reps atrelatively low weights.

Whattoeat

Unfortunately, you’ll haveto watchwhat you eat morestrictly thanpeople with othe

body shapes. The first thing tokeepan eye onis the amountcarbs you’reeating. Too many

byount

d aoren

.

u’re

arce,

wadilyareyd

rin others. S ome e xperts s uggest t hat ix-pack y ou n eed t o l ose w ei

Endomorph

ThelookRotund

Why?High tendency to store body fat

DoTrainwith intensity

Watchyour carb intake

Build yourshoulders

Don’tDo endless sit-ups

Jog for hours

Drink sports drinks

FITTIPEndomorphsneed

to forget sit-upsand

swaphours ofeasy

exercise forshort,

intense sessions in

thegym



Men

throughouttheday

will spike

your levels of

insulin, the fat-storing

hormone. Instead,

get your carbs from

vegetables, and

experiment with

your diet tosee

what else might be

holding you back.

And, of course, you

should steer well

clear of thebooze.

Whatelse?There’s some evidence that extra

weight around the midsection

indicates high levels of the stress

hormone cortisol and therefore low

capacity to handlestress, so try to

minimise its effects by getting plenty

of sleep and avoidovertraining. In

terms of supplements, you do need

to avoidsportsdrinks andother

high-energy drinks, which are full

ofcarbs in the formof sugar, and will

send your blood sugar through theroof, leading to fat storage. Protein

supplements that are low in carbs

are absolutelyfine.

MoneymovesIf you’rean endomorph, get used

tousing your bodyforthe most

effective shape-shifting workouts.

Bodyweight moves likethe press-up

or chin-up are great, as are moves

that force you to use good technique

suchas the hang clean.One trick

some coaches use when training

endomorphs is to focus on buildingup their upper bodies, especially

theshoulders andlats, to bring the

broader waist into proportion –

moves such as shoulder presses and

pull-ups shoulddo this job nicely.

Men

of

fat-storing

stead,

bs from

and

with

see

ight be

back.

rse, you

r well

booze.

?e evidence that extra

nd the midsection

gh levels of the stress

rtisol and therefore low

handlestress, so try to

s effects by getting plenty

avoid overtraining. In

plements, you do need

rts drinks andother

drinks, whichare full

heformof sugar, and will

lood sugar through theg to fat storage. Protein

ts thatare low in carbs

ly fine.

ovesendomorph, get used

r bodyforthe most

ape-shifting workouts.

t moves like the press-up

regreat, as are moves

u to use good technique

hang clean. Onetrick

es use when training

s is tofocus on buildinger bodies, especially

rsand lats, to bring the

ist into proportion –

ass ou erpresses an

ulddo this job nicely.



Men’s Fitness20

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC BODY SHAPES :MESOMORPH

You’re genetically gifted, buttraining smarter

can still result in even greater gains

If you are a mesomorphyou’ll

know it from theenvious looks

you get. That’s because mesomorphs

canlook fairly well built without even

setting foot ina gym.If this sounds like

you then you’vehit the genetic jackpot

– but you can still make the most ofyour

DNA with some tactical workout tricks.

What’sgoingon?If you expandin size when you so much

as look at a dumb-bell, chances are it’s

all to do with satellitecell-mediated

myonuclear addition – or, in non-scienceterms,the amountof cells surrounding

your muscle fibres andyour ability to

addmoreof them by training. One2008

study showed that out of 66 peopleput

on thesame weights programme the

top17 ‘responders’ experienced a 58 per

cent gain in muscle cross-sectional area,

whilethe bottom17 gainednothing at

all. If you’re a good ‘responder’ you’ve

got a great head start, butlosing fat and

training efficiently can work wonders.

moves. Alternatively, give inte

sprints a go. Theywillpump u

your metabolism for therest o

theday andreally strip away

WhattoeatAlthough the obvious caveat

apply – no fizzy drinksor cak

– the good newsis thatyour

body will respond pretty well

whatever healthy food you p

into it. Unlike endomorphs yo

caneat a moderate amountocarbs, andalways erron the s

of more when it comes to pro

Two gramsper kilo of bodyw

is the minimum you shouldb

aiming for, butmoreis fine.

aining smarter

gains

oves. Alternatively, give inte

m u

Mesomorph

ThelookWell-built

Why?High metabolism, responsive

muscle cells

DoTrain like an athlete

Time your workouts

Set personal bests

Don’tTake your body for granted

Neglect recovery sessions

Eat whatever you like

FITTIPMesomorphsind

buildingmuscle easy

butmust still stay

focusedtoachieve

theirfull potential

Whatyou’redoingwrongMesomorphs often don’t train

as hardas theycan, and the

workouts they do might lack

intensity. To counter this, try

performing timed workouts so

thatyouhave a target toaim at

as this will increaseyour focus,

intensity and effort levels.

WhatyoushouldbedoingMesomorphs shouldtrain

athletically to capitalise on theirgenetic gift, so do sprints, box

jumps and vertical jumps or other

explosive moves.You respond

well tolowreps – aroundthe

three-to-five range – and power



MenMen

WhatelsetothinkaboutFactor in recovery days. Explosive

athletic workouts minimise

your muscles’ exposure to the

eccentric – or lowering – part of

exercises, which helps stave off

muscle soreness. This means you

will be ableto dodo somelight

movements on your rest days to

get the blood flowing andkeep

you fresh for yournext workout.

MoneymovesTrypairing a strength movewith a

power movethat works the same

muscles. For example, superset

fivereps on the deadlift with five

on theclean.



Men’s Fitness22

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC BODY SHAPES: ECTOMORPH

It’s hard for you tobuildmuscle, but not impossible

provided youuse big lifts and good carbs

You’ve got thebuild of a

marathon runner – lean,

but short on muscle. And it can

be difficult to pack on size despite

hours in the gym.

What’sgoingon?Research shows that some

individuals have trouble

responding to strength training.

Further tests on thegroup

mentionedon page 20 showed

that the worst ‘responders’ saw

no change in their regulationof myogenin – a key gene

responsible for muscle growth –

whileothersubjects on the same

workout programme sawtheir

levels spike byas muchas 65 per

cent. Butdon’t be putoff by this.

Different people respond better to

different training regimes and by

tweaking the volume, intensity or

frequency of their workouts the

poor responders may well have

seen better results.

g s an goo car s

Ectomorph

ThelookLean and long

Why?Diiculty building muscle.

DoTrain with compound moves

Eat enough protein

Use isolation moves as ‘inishers’

Don’tOveremphasise isolation moves

Train too often

Do too much cardio

FITTIPCompoundlifts

as thedeadlift, s

formthe bas

every ectomo

trainingpla

Whatyou’redoingwrongFirst, ditch the treadmill: you’re

lean enough. Long, slow distance

work, is the worstthing you

cando. Second, don’t pack your

weights session with classic

isolation moves likethe biceps

curl. You need to build your

training programme around big,

compound movements like the

squat, deadlift and bench press.

These involve more muscles andgiveyou thehormonalboost that

helps build muscle. You canstill

use isolation moves, butthey

need to supplement your main

workout: around 80 percent of

your workoutshouldbe base

hitting your major muscle gro

WhatyoushouldbedoCompound movements, four

in the eight to 12 reprange. Bu

don’t have tolive in the gym t

on muscle– quite thecontrar

If you’reworking out four or f

days a week then you’re mak

things inefficient because you

be speeding up your metaboltoomuch andmaking it diffic

toput on size. Stick tothree

quality sessions perweekand

keep thetraining time, after a

warm-up, to 45 minutes or les



MenMen

WhattoeatGood news:you don’t havetosteer clear of carbs.In fact,you need them. That’s becauseyou wanta spike in your bloodsugar to driveprotein to yourmuscles. Stick to thecomplexkind, like brown rice, andsticktoa minimum 2g per kiloof

bodyweight rule for protein.Unlike mesomorphs, however,you shouldn’t exceed this

because too much protein,

like training, canspeed upyour metabolismand makeit harder to grow muscle.

Whatelse?Forectomorphsquality nutritionis almost asimportant assmart trainingin addingleanmuscle. Morethan any other

body type you

needto usesupplementsproperly. Have a carb/proteinshake before and duringyourworkout, and then have anotherone – ora goodmeal– afterwards.

MoneymovesThedeadlift is your best friend:peoplewith long arms shouldfind it relatively easy, and ituses the entire body so it’ll packon mass. Infuriatingly, thoughsquats willalso do wonders for

your physique, if you’rea tallectomorphyou might find themdifficult because your longerlimbs make it harder to get belowparallel in thesquat. If so, it’s finetouse the leg press.



Men’s Fitness24

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC KNOWYOURMUSCLES

There are over 600muscles

in the human body. These are

the major ones you’llbe targeting

during your workouts

Deltoids1 Medial deltoid (middle)2 Anterior deltoid (front)

Pectorals3 Pectoralis major4 Pectoralis minor (beneath

the pectoralis major)

Biceps5 Biceps brachii6 Brachialis7 Brachioradialis

Forearms8 Flexor carpi radialis

Abdominals9 Serratus anterior10 Rectus abdominis11 External obliques12 Internal obliques

(beneath external obliques)13 Transverse abdominis

(beneath internal obliques)

Quadriceps14 Vastus lateralis15 Rectus femoris16 Vastus intermedius

(beneath rectus femoris)17 Vastus medialis

1

5

10

14

3

11

15

7

4

12

16

8

9

13

17

2

6



Men

Traps1 Trapezius

Back2 Teres major3 Rhomboid

(beneathtrapezius)

Deltoids4 Rotator cu (beneath deltoids)

5 Posterior deltoid (back)

Lats6 Latissimus dorsi

Triceps7 Triceps brachii long head

8 Triceps brachii lateral head9 Triceps brachii medial head

Lowerback10 Erector spinae

Glutes11 Gluteus maximus

Hamstrings12 Biceps femoris

13 Semitendinosus14 Semimembranosus

Calves15 Gastrocnemius16 Soleus

3

5

13

14

1

15

86

11

16

7

4

12

9

2

10



Men’s Fitness26

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC MOVE YOUR BODY

Howyourmusclescontroleverymoveyoumake

Everytime you take a walk,burst into

a sprintor lift a barbell off the ground,

a huge numberof intricately connectedandco-ordinated muscle actions take place. It feels

so natural that you never even think about it,

but every single move you make is changing

your body’s position on oneof several planes

andaxes. Here’s what you need to know.

THE PLANES ANDAXIS OF HUMANMOVEMENT

Thethreeplanes

1 Sagittal planeThispassesfromfront to rear, dividing

the body into right andleft sections.

2 Frontal planeAlso known as thelateral plane,this

passes from left to right at right angles

to thesagittalplane, dividingthe body

into front andback sections.

3 Transverse planeAlso known as thehorizontal plane,

thisdivides thebody into upper and

lower sections.

Thethreeaxes

1 FrontalaxisThispassesthrough thebody from right

to left at right angles to thesagittalplan.

2 SagittalaxisAlso known as thetransverseaxis,this

passes horizontally from front to rear

at right angles to thefrontal plane.

3 Vertical axisAlso known as thelongitudinal axis, this

passes from head to feet at right anglesto

the sagittal plane.

Transvepl

Sagittal

planeFrontalplane

Longitudinal

axis

Sagittal

axis

Frontal

axis



Men

ConcentricDuringconcentric contractionsthemuscle shortens

whilegeneratingforce.In general, concentricmuscle

actions are responsible for the‘lifting’partofanexercise,

suchas thebicepsshortening asyou lift a dumb-bell to

shoulderheight during abicepscurl.

MUSCLEACTIONSAll movement begins with a muscle contraction, which pulls

on a jointtomove your skeleton. These muscle contractions canbe

categorised into one of three distinct types

EccentricDuringeccentric contractions– usuallythe ‘lowering’

part ofanexercise – themuscle lengthensand isaround

tenper centstronger than it isduringconcentric

contractions. It is theseheavyeccentric loads thatcause

themaximumamountof damage toyourmuscles.It’sforthisreasonyoushouldalways loweraweightslowly

andunder control:notonlydoes thisminimise therisk

of injuryit alsomakeseach repmoreeffective.

IsometricDuring isometriccontractionsamusclegenerates

forcewithoutchanging length. Examples

includeyour entire abdominalregionduring

aplank,or themuscles ofthehandandwrist

whenyougripanobject. Althoughresearchby

NASA intopreventingmusclemassbreakdown

found isometriccontractionsaren’taseffective

for buildingandmaintainingmusclemass as

concentric andeccentric contractions, they

shouldstill formpartofyourworkout, especially

forabsandcorework.But, isometriccontractions

cancause a rapidrise inbloodpressure soshould

beavoided if youhaveaheart condition.



Men’s Fitness28

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC HOWMUSCLESGROW

Thesimplesciencebehindaddingmusclemass

Muscle growth is essentially

yourbodyresponding to

thestressofweight trainingbythinking, ‘thatwashard, I’d better

dosomethingabout itso it’s not as

difficultnexttime’.

Thisis becausewhenyouperform

weight-trainingexercises you

createmicroscopic tears inyour

muscles,andyour body’sresponse

to this ‘microtrauma’of themuscle

cells is toovercompensatebynot

just repairingthedamagedtissue

but addingmore. In thiswayyour

musclesbecomebigger andstronger

and sothe riskoffuturedamage is

minimised. Italsomeansyou shouldprogressivelyincreasetheweight

you lift, becauseyourmuscles

quicklyadapt todealwith thestress

towhichtheyhavebeenexposed.

It’s also thought that this damage

toyourmuscle fibres is thereason

for thesorenessandstiffness you

feel inyourmuscles in thedaysafter

a toughworkout,knownasdelayed

onsetmusclesoreness, orDOMS.

Andit’swhyyou shouldleaveat

least48hoursbetweensessions that

targetthesamemuscle group.

If you trainagainbefore yourmuscleshave beenrepairedand

rebuiltyouwon’t beasstrongand

you runthe risk of injuringyourself.

AnatomyofamuscleHere’swhatyourmuscles aremadeof

Muscles are constructedof bundles of fibrescontained inprotectivesheaths,called fascia,

whichare thenbundled together. Thebiggestbundleisthemuscle itself. Thenextbundles in line are thefascicles,whichcontain the long,single-celledmuscle fibres.Musclefibres arethensub-divided intomyofibrils,whicharedividedagain intobundlesofmyofilaments,madeupfromchains of sarcomeres.

1 EPIMYSIUMA layer of connectivetissue that encases theentire muscle.

2 ENDOMYSIUMA layer of connective tissuethat covers the muscleibres and also containscapillaries (tiny bloodvessels) and nerves.

3 PERIMYSIUMA layer of connective tissuethat bundles together

between ten to severahundreds of individuamuscle ibres into fasc

4 FASCICLEA bundle of individual

muscle ibres.

5 MYOFILAMENThe smallest ibre bun

in your muscles.

6 MUSCLEFIBRIndividual muscle ibrcome in two main typ



Men

type 1 or slow-twitch,

which are best suited

to endurance because

they are slow to fatigue;

and type 2 or fast-twitch,

which are suited to fast,

explosive movements

and quickly fatigue.

7 BLOODVESSELPart of the circulatory

system, blood vessels

come in three types:

arteries, which transport

oxygenated blood

away from the heart;

veins, which transport

deoxygenated blood and

back to the heart; and

capillaries, the smallest

blood vessels, which

enable the exchange

of nutrients and waste

products between the

blood and tissues.

8 TENDONStrong, connective

tissue that connects

muscles to bone.

1Thewarm-upAn increased heart ratepumps blood to yourmuscles, warming them

up and allowing them to extendfully. It also supplies musclefibres with oxygen.

2LoadingthemuscleAtthe start of the repyour muscles are under

load andstretched.As a result

your heart pumps more bloodinto the protective sheaths thatsurround the muscle fibres,supplying oxygen and nutrientsto these fibres.

3SparkingyournervoussystemWhen you wantto liftthe weight yourcentral

nervous system relays this factto thenerves contained in thesheaths protecting the musclefibres. This in turn tells the

musclefibres to contract,and solift theweight. If you’redoingtheexercise correctly, your musclesactivate in a particular sequence

and your central nervous systemadaptsto this. As you repeat theworkout over time, yournervesget more efficient,so you candomore reps or lift more weight.

4ChemicalreactionsAdenosinetriphosphate (ATP)

is the immediate energysource for muscle contraction.It is broken down within

thebody’s cells to releaseenergy. The cells’ creatine,phosphate and glycogenreserves are also convertedinto ATP. This process createslactic acid as a by-product.

5FeelingtheburnOnce glycogen storesin the cells havebeendepleted and lactic

acid has built up, themusclecan’t work efficiently, so youneed to rest.While you rest,

aerobic (oxygen-based) musclerespiration occurs, convertinglactic acid back into glycogen togiveyou energy for thenext set.

6Successful failureAs you reachfailure onyour last set, your fast-twitch muscle fibres

become completely fatigued.Microscopictears (‘microtears’)are created in the myofilaments,thesmallest fibre bundles inyour muscles.

7

RepairandgrowthThefirst way yourmuscles start to grow

is through the post-workout repair process.Your

body repairs the microtears by adding the amino acidsactin and myosin to themyofilaments, which also causesthemto growin size. The bodyis unable to grow additionalmuscle cells, however, so growthis limited by thenumber of cellsthat you have. Another effectof intense workouts is that yourmuscles adapt to storemoreglycogen,so that there will be

more energy on hand for thenext workout. This alsohas thehappy side effect of making themuscles increase in size slightly.

HowmusclesworkWhathappens toyourmuscleswhile youworkout andrest? Theseare the key

stages in theprocessofbreaking downandrebuildingmuscle fibres

12

3

4

68

5

7



Men’s Fitness30

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC WEIGHTLIFTING GLOSSARY

Here’swhat thosekeyweighttraining termsactuallymean

AnabolicA metabolicphase duringwhich

nutrientsfrom yourdiet, specifically

protein,aresynthesised byyour

body and turned into muscle tissue.

Atrophy

Muscle atrophy is thewastingawayof muscletissue leading toa

decreasein muscle mass,typically

dueto inactivity.

CatabolicTheoppositeto anabolic,this the

process bywhichtissueis broken

downandused asenergy.

ConcentricThe portion ofa liftwherethe

muscle shortens under tension –for example, theraising phase of

a bicepscurl.

DOMSDelayedOnset Muscle Soreness.

Thisis the dull, acheor painin a

muscle, accompaniedby soreness,

tenderness andstiffness that is

typicallyfelt24 to 72hoursafter

strenuousexercise. It is a symptom

ofmusculardamage caused by

eccentricmovements.

Dumb-bellOne ofthe bestknowntypes offree

weight, dumb-bells canbe used to

addextra resistance to almost every

exercise, typicallybyholding one

in eachhand.

EccentricThe portion ofa liftwhere the

muscle lengthensunder tensionforexample, the loweringphase

ofa bicepscurl.

EZ-barA typeofbarbell witha series of

kinks in themiddle designedto

putless pressure onthewrists,

forearms andelbows.

FailurePerforminga setofexercises un

you’reunable to completea sing

extrarep.

FormThetechniqueused when

performing an exercise.

FreeweightsAny type ofweight training

equipment usedto increasemu

size andstrength. Most commonexamples includedumb-bells,

barbells and kettlebells.

HypertrophyMuscle hypertrophy is the grow

inthe sizeof yourmuscleandis

Fixedbarbells

Dumb-bells

EZ-bar



Men

SupercompensationPeriod of adaptation following atough workout whenyour bodyrecovers and gets stronger. Correctlytimed training, recovery thentraining again willresult in increasesin musclesize andstrength.

SupersetTwo exercises performed back-to-

back with no rest in between.

VolumeVolume is theamount of sets andreps you do for an exercise, a musclegroup, or a workout. Increasingtraining volume is (generally)good for hypertrophy, but it’s alsoa common cause of overtraining.

or snatch. A full-length bar weighs20kg. Fixed barbells don’t spin, so

they’re better for moves using lighterweight.

OvertrainingWhen over exertion leads to injury,muscle strain or fatigue.

RepOnecomplete movement of a givenexercise. Abbreviation of repetition.

ResistancemachinesThese allow you to target specificmuscles in a pre-determined pathof movement. Favoured by novicesand bodybuilders, machines reducethe risk ofinjurybecauseof their setrange of motion, butthey don’t workyour small, vital stabilising muscles.

RestTheperiod of recovery time in

between sets and exercises.

SetA number of reps performedconsecutively without rest. Canvaryfrom one rep to more than 20,depending entirely on training goals.

SmithmachineA weight-training frame comprisinga barbell that slides up and down ona fixed plane of motion. You lowerthe barbell on toa series of hooks ontheframeto stop it moving, meaning

you can lift heavy weights withouta squatter. Normally used for squatsand bench presses.

SquatrackA frame used toholda weighted

barbell. Unlike a Smith machine, the

barbell isn’t connected to the frameso you can moveit through more

thanone plane of motionand haveto use more muscles to keep it stable.

SpotterSomeone who assists you with a lift,especially towards theend of a set,to ensure you cancomplete eachrep safely.

caused when the constituent cellsof muscletissueincreasein size

as a resultof a stimulus, suchasweight training.

IntensityTheintensity of any set you performis determined by the weight you’relifting and expressedas a percentageof your one-rep max.

KettlebellOriginating fromRussia, these cast-iron balls of different weights have

a handleon top so you can gripthem with one ortwo hands whileperforming different exercises.

RangeofmotionThefull extentor range of a muscle’smovement. Performing lifts throughyour muscles’ full range of motionisimportant in muscle growth.

One-repmaxThemaximum amountof weightyou canlift once with correctform.A good methodfor measuring yourabsolute strength.

OlympicbarbellTheOlympicbarbell is usedfor allmannerof lifts. They havethick‘sleeves’ for theweights to slot on to,whichmeans they can spin whenyou’redoing lifts such as theclean

Kettlebells

Squat rack



Men’s Fitness32

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC MUSCLEQ&A

No-nonsenseanswerstothefundamental fitnessquestions

Q I’ve failedtoadd

musclein thepast.

Whywill itworknow?

AIf your efforts have

been unsuccessful in

the past ithas nothing to

dowith your body being

fundamentallyresistant to

exerciseand everything

to dowith your approach.

In other words,you

haven’t hada focusedplan

so you’venot setrealistic,

achievable goals, andyou

haven’t beeneating the

rightfoods. Anyone can

make positive changes totheway they look,butnot

overnight. Going tothe

gym onceor twice a week

won’t giveyou a radical

transformation, especially

if you don’t workhardor

aren’teating well.

Q CanI turnmybody

fatintomuscle?

AFat andmuscle are

twototallydifferent

types of tissueso it’simpossibleforoneto turn

into theother. Muscleis

activetissuethat burns

calories,while fattissue

storesexcessenergy.

When you train hard

you burn away fat and

build muscle, givingan

appearancethatonehas

turned into theother, but

this isnot the case.

Q Howoftendo I needtoworkout?

ALess frequentlythan

you might think.

Andit’s certainly notthe

case that more is better.

That’s because it’s when

you’re recoveringthat

increasesto your muscle

size andstrength take

place. If you don’t takerecoversufficientlyyou

won’t see improvements.

It’s notjust your muscles

that need time to recover;

yournervoussystemis

workinghard to recruit

yourmuscles,something

it’s not used todoing, so it

alsoneedstimeto recover.

Q Howlongshould

eachworkoutlast?

A Theperfect workoutshould take less

than anhour tocomplete,

includingwarm-up, warm-

down andstretching.

Research suggests that

levels of thegrowth

hormonetestosterone

peak around 45 minutes

into a workoutand

thenquicklysubside

as levels of cortisol, the

stress hormonethat

breaksdownmuscle

tissueanddamagescells,rise.So keep workouts

shortandeffective.

Q Docrunchesbuild

a six-pack?

AYou canperform

hundredsof crunches

everyday andhave the

strongestabsin theworld

but if they’reunder a

layer of fat then you’renot

going tosee them. And if

you’retrying to burn fat,crunches are just about

theworst moveyou could

choose. In fact, you’d have

todoabout500,000 of

themto burn 1kg offat.

That’s aboutfour weeks

of solidcrunching.

Q Aremachinesbetter

thanfreeweights?

AResistancemachines

havetheirplacein a

gym: they’re a great way

for beginners to learn

movement patterns

without therisk of

injury, andtheyallow

experienced trainersto

isolate specificmuscles

to lift more weight. But

because the movement

pattern is restricted, they

won’t work thestabilising

muscles that are soimportant in staying

injury free. Usingfree

weightsmay requiremore

skill,butit will recruit

thosestabilisingmuscles

andbetter prepare your

body forother activities,

especially sports.

Q How

quickly

willI see

results?

AEven with

the helpof

thisbook,don’t

expect overnight

success.You need

to lift heavyweights

regularly to stimulatethe

muscle intogrowing,eat

a clean diet fullofhigh-

quality proteinandcarbs

andget plentyof sleep. It’s

a big commitment.

Q Aren’t squatsbadfor

myknees?

APerformed incorrectly,

any moveis

dangerous, butsquats

have a particularlybad

reputation.Buta correct

squat– in whichyour

feetareshoulder-wid

apart, andyourkneesstay in line with your

toes – places emphasi

onthequads, glutes

andhamstrings, and

noton any joints. This

can reduce therisk of

injury bystrengtheni

themuscles and

supportingtissues

around theknee joint

Q

Arelighterweigh

best for toning?

A‘Toning’is oneof t

mostpopular wo

in theexerciseworld.

isalso one ofthe mos

redundant. You can’t

‘tone’ a muscle, only b

itormaintain it,while

strippingawayfat to g

ita more promine

appearance.S

when peopl

they want

‘toneup’ th

actuallymthattheyw

toaddmus

lose fat,ora

of both.

Q Howeffectivear

bodyweightmov

AIf you’renew to

resistancetrainin

or returningfrom inju

bodyweight movesar

theperfectpreparatio

for heavier lifts.Theyalsobe usedeffective

aspart of supersetsor

bodyweight circuits, a

are far betterat buildi

strengthandstability

your jointsand coreth

resistancemachines.

FITTIPIt’s best tohave

a check upwitha GPbefore you begin training.







BUILDAFOUNDATION

36 Why build a strong foundation?

38 Bodyweight moves42 Core strength

46 Pre-workout warm-up

48 Post-workout stretches

50 Assess your tness

RULETWO

C T NTSC S



36 Men’s Fitness36



Men

Whydoyou

needastrongfoundation?Createasolidbasetomakeaddingmuscleeasy

Building muscle is like building ahouse. Lay the right foundations

and you can build a strong, stablestructure that will withstand whateveris thrown at it. But if construction beginswithout a solid base then you’ll end upwith a weak, unbalanced frame that isat risk of falling apart.

The good news is that getting asolid foundation for your muscle-building mission is easy.

This chapter explains how, throughperforming bodyweight exercises(those that rely on your own weightas resistance, such as press-ups), coreexercises (which target your abdominal

muscles, including your six-pack), andproper warming-up, cooling-down

and stretching, you can lay some solidfoundations that will make putting

on hard, lean muscle far easier.Why? Because bodyweight moves

target the small, but vitally importantstabilising muscles that make your joints stable, mobile and healthy, whilea strong core supports your torso andassists the transfer of power fromyour legs to upper body – crucialforthe successful completion of almostall standing exercises – especially theshoulder press, deadlift and squat –without injury. The more stable yourbody, the heavier you’ll be able to liftand the faster you’ll pack on muscle. So

if you want a body that’s more Taj Mahalthan Leaning Tower of Pisa, read on.

RULETWO BUILDAFOUNDATION

Tomaster the

most important

bodyweight

moves,

turnover.



SEVNR

OBULDNMUC

Men’s Fitness38

BODYWEIGHTMOVES

Masterbodyweight

movestobuildmuscl

preventinjuryand

generateexplosive

power

Ifyour aim is topackonmuscu

size andstrength, itcanbe temp

tohead straight for theweightsand

startdoingbenchpresses andsquats

ratherthanpress-ups, lungesandoth

bodyweight exercises. And that’sbeca

most peopleassume that theyare too

tobeeffective inbuildingmuscle.

Butbodyweightmovesaregreat fo buildinga strongandstable foundatio

muscleandthe fact thatyoucandoth

anywhereandat any timeis justone o

theirmanybenefits.Thesemoves can

reduceyourrisk of injury, they’rea pe

way towarmupandthey’ll improvey

ability togoheavierwhenyoudofina

hit theweights.

FIGHTINGFIT

Takepress-ups. They’regreatat target

thesmallmuscles of thedelicate shou

joint. Strengthenthese stabilisingmus

andyou’llbeable topushheavier andharder on thebenchpress.

Butdon’t just take ourword for it.

Manyathletes incombat sportsmake

bodyweightmovesakeycompomen

of theirtrainingprogrammes.

Any formof trainingdonebyboxer

andMMA fightersto primetheirmusc

for explosivespeedand strength isgo

enoughforus.For theseathletes,gett

a rippedbodyis justa bonus.



Men

TARGET

Chest

Triceps

Shoulders

TARGET

Chest

Shoulders

Triceps

TARGET

Chest

Shoulders

Triceps

Core

Theultimate

upper-body test,

press-ups requireyour

chest, shouldersand

tricepstoworkhard to

lower, thenlift, your torso

fromthefloor.

This twistonthe

classicmove

requiresupper-bodyco-

ordinationandastrong

core torotateupwards.

Havingtoclap

inbetweenpress-

upsmeansyouhaveto

pushupfromthefloor

quickly, turningit into

anexplosivemuscle-

buildingmove.

HOWTODOIT

Start with yourhands shoulder-

width apart andbody straight.

Lower yourselfuntil your elbowsreach 90˚, thenpress back up.

HOWTODOIT

Start in press-upposition and lowerchest to ground.

Press up powerfullyand at the top ofthe move lift onearm o the groundwhile twisting yourtorso until that armpoints to ceiling.

Lower back downbefore repeatingon the other side.

HOWTODOIT

Start in press-upposition and lowerchest to ground,keeping elbowsclose to your side.

Press back up

powerfully so thatyour hands leavethe loor. Quicklyclap them together.

Land back downand descend intothe next rep.

PRESSUP

TPRESSUP

CLAPPRESSUP



SEVNR

OBULDNMUC

Men’s Fitness40

TARGET

TricepsShoulders

TARGET

Quads

Hams

Glutes

TARGET

Quads

Hams

Glutes

Calves

Masteringthe

correctformof

a squatmeansyou’ll

makequickerprogress

whenaddingadditional

weightusinga barbell

ordumb-bells.

Jumpingturns

the squatintoa

powerful plyometric

movethatfiresup

yourfast-twitchmuscles

fibresandgetsyour

heart pumping.

Buildmassonthe

backofyourarms

withthis surprisingly

toughmove.

HOWTODOIT

Stand tall with feet

shoulder-width

apart and toespointing slightly

outwards.

Keeping your

core braced and

a natural arch in

your back, squat

down until your

thighs are parallel

to the loor before

pushing back up

through your heels.

HOWTODOIT


shoulder-width

apart.

Squat down, then

push back up

powerfully so your

feet leave the loor.

As you land

descend straight

back into a squatand repeat.

HOWTODOIT

Grip the edge of

a bench with

your back and

legs straight.

Slowly lower your

body straightdown, keeping

your elbows

pointing back

throughout, before

pressing back

up powerfully.

SQUAT

JUMPSQUAT

BENCHDIPS

BODYWEIGHTMOVES



Men

TARGET

Shoulders

Triceps

TARGET

Quads

Hamstrings

Glutes

TARGET

Adductors

(inner

thighs)

Anotherclassic

move that requires

power, balanceand

co-ordination.

Theoften-ignored

musclesofyour

inner thighsarevital

forturningmovements,

both in thegymandon

thesportspitch.

Thebestway

toworkyour

shoulderswithout

weights, thismovealso

requiresastrongcore

andgoodco-ordination.

HOWTODOIT


apart, chin up, core

braced and naturalarch in your back.

Take a step forward

and lower your

body by bending

both knees to 90°.

Ensure your front

knee doesn’t go

past your foot.

Push back o your

front foot to move

back to the start.

HOWTODOIT

Stand with feet

close together, with

core braced.

Take a big step to

one side, keeping a

natural arch in your

back and torso

upright. Bend the

other knee to lower

your body, keeping

that knee in linewith your foot.

HOWTODOIT

Start with your feet

on a bench and

hands shoulder-

width apart on

loor, so your body

forms an invertedV-shape.

Slowly lower

your body until

your face almost

touches the loor

before pushing

back up powerfully.

LUNGE

LATERALLUNGE

INVERTEDSHOULDERPRESS



SEVNR

OBULDNMUC

Men’s Fitness42

Buildasolid

midsection

andreap

therewards

Asolid coreism

than just about

havingan impressive

six-pack. In fact, havin

a stomachofsteeloffe

farmorebenefits toyo

muscle-buildingambi

than just looking good

That’s because a stron

stablecoremeans you

moreeffectively trans

powerbetweenyouru

andlowerbody – vital

lifting heavyweights –

well asprovidinga sol

base foralmostevery

upper-body lift,especi

thosethat involve liftin

aweightoverhead,suc

as theshoulderpresso

overheadsquat.

Here areeight kit-fre

moves thattargetyour

abdominals, obliquesallthe other importan

deep-lyingmuscles th

makeupyourcore.

CORESTRENGTH



Men

TARGETObliques

TARGET

Upperabs

TARGET

Lowerabs

The classic move

fortargeting your

upperabs – and still

one of thebest.

Place the emphasis

on thelower part of

your absby hitting them

from a different angle.

Hit yourabs from

the side to target

your obliques – the

muscles that frame

your six-pack.

HOWTODOIT

Lie on a mat with

your knees bent at

90° and your feetlat on loor. Place

your ingers by

yourtemples.

Contract your abs

to curl your chest

towards your

knees, keeping

your lower back on

mat. Squeeze your

abs at the top then

return to the start.

HOWTODOIT

Lie with your arms

by your sides with

knees bent at 90°

and feet lat.

Contract your abs

to lift your hips o

the mat, then curl

your knees towards

your chest, keeping

your knees at 90°.

Pause then slowlylower your legs

back to the start.

HOWTODOIT

Lie on your side

with one arm in

front of body and

the other bent so

your ingers touch

your temples.Crunch up

sideways and hold

for a second at the

top of the move

and then lower

slowly back to the

start.

CRUNCH

REVERSECRUNCH

OBLIQUECRUNCH



SEVNR

OBULDNMUC

Men’s Fitness44

CORESTRENGTH

TARGET

Abs

TARGET

Core

TARGET

Core

Obliques

Build astrong

linkbetweenyour

upperand lowerbody.

Holdyourbody

straight tobuild

apowerful coreand

improveyourposture.

Anadvanced

move that requires

flexibilityaswellasa

strongcore.

HOWTODOIT

Hold your body

in a straight line

from head to heelswith your elbows

beneath your

shoulders, feet

together and face

looking down.

Hold the position

for as long as you

can without letting

your hips sag.

HOWTODOIT

With your elbow

directly beneath

your shoulder,

hold your body in

a straight line from

head to feet.

Hold the position

for as long as you

can without letting

your hips sag,

then repeat on

the other side.

HOWTODOIT

Lie lat on your

back with your

arms behind your

head, and your feet

together.

Contract your abs

so your hands andfeet meet over your

stomach. Keep

your legs straight

and squeeze you

abs at top of move

then return to the

start.

PLANK

SIDEPLANK

JACKKNIFE



Men

TARGET

Lowerabs

Obliques

Keep thefocus

onyour lower

absandobliqueswiththisadvancedmove.

Dothemquickly –

but ina controlled

manner– toreallyworkyourcoremuscleshard.

HOWTODOIT

Lie lat on your

back with your

arms out to the

sides and your

legs straight up in

the air. Keep your

shoulders and

upper back on the

mat throughout.

Twist over to one

side, keeping your

legs straight. Go

as far as you can

to the side without

letting your feethit the loor.

Reverse back to

the start and twist

the other way.

Lie lat on your back. Crunchup and bring your right elbow

to meet your left knee. Repeat

on alternate sides.

BICYCLES

HOWTODOIT

LOWERBODYRUSSIANTWIST

TARGET

Abs

Obliques



SEVNR

OBULDNMUC

Men’s Fitness46

PREWORKOUTWARMUP

Warmupbeforeevery

workouttoprepareyo

bodyandprevent inju

Aproperwarm-up isvital befor

doinganyweight training.If tim

is short,don’t be tempted toskip the

warm-upandgo straight toyourwork

because coldmuscles cangeteasily

damaged.A fewminutes spentona

warm-upcanprevent days lostwhile

recovering frominjury.

Yourwarm-upshouldstartwith som

light cardiovascularexercise, suchas

running, rowing orcycling.Thiswillm

your heartbeat faster, pumpingoxyge

andnutrients toyourmuscles,andel

your body’s core temperature.Warm

musclesaremore elastic thancoldon

soyou canworkthem through awide

rangeofmotionwith fewer injuries.

After thecardioyou thenneed to ta

yourmusclesdirectlywithdynamic

stretches.Thesediffer fromstatic

stretches(see next page) in that you a

moving asyou stretch outthemuscle

trick is tostart verygently andthen sl

increasetherangeofmotionyouuse

witheachrepetition.Thisprepares yo

musclesandjointsfor theworkto comFinally, before youbeginanylifting

exercise, performthemovementswit

minimalweight to teachyourmuscle

how to respondwhenyoudotheexe

withheavierweights.

Whatevermethod

ofcardioyou

choose, keepthepace

gentleandconstant.Bytheendoften

minutesyou

shouldbe

sweatingand

puffingabit,but

notoutofbreath.

WARMINGUP

Cardio

10minutes



Men

COOLINGDOWNIt’s important after your inal set to cool down before beginning your post-workout stretches (see next page).Cooling down is the process of gradually reducing your heart rate from its elevated state during the mainpart of your session and also slowly bringing down your core body temperature. Spend ive to ten minutesperforming some very gentle cardio, gradually reducing the intensity every minute to transition your bodyback to its resting state.

DYNAMICSTRETCHES

LUNGEWITH

REVERSEFLYE

Step forward while

stretching your

arms to the sides.

Keep your body

upright.

Lunge lower with

each rep.

ALTERNATING

SPLITDEADLIFT

Step forward with

one foot and lean

forwards from the

hips.

Keep your back

straight.Lower your hands

down your shins a

bit further each time,

before pushing back

to the start.

Repeat with other leg.

LATERAL

LUNGEWITH

TWIST

Step to the side

with both feet

pointing forward.

Twist your torso

in the direction of

your leading foot.

Bend your knee

a bit further with

each rep.

SQUATTO

OVERHEAD

REACH

Stand with feet

shoulder-width

apart and back

straight.

Squat downand then reach

overhead as you

stand up.

Squat a bit lower

with each rep.

Afteryour cardio warm-up perform 10 reps of each of these moves



SEVNR

OBULDNMUC

Men’s Fitness48

POSTWORKOUTSTRETCHES

Stretchyourmusclesaftereachsessiontoimproveflexibility

Witha staticstretchyou

hold a relaxedmuscleunder

tension.This helps lengthen themuscle,whichwillhave contracted

afterweight training,andprovides

severalbenefits.First, itwill help

withflexibility, so you’ll be able

toworkyourmusclesacrossa

wider rangeofmotion, leading to

biggermusclegains. But stretching

alsohelps reduce injuriesasyour

muscles andtendonsare less likely

to tearwhentheyare relaxed.Stretching also improvesblood

flow toyourmuscles,helping to

flushouttoxins,meaningyou’ll be

readyforyour nextworkout sooner.

Andstretchingcan also aidposture,

because tensemusclescanpull

your spine,shoulders andhipsout

ofalignment, leading toa stoop

lookandlowerbackpain.

Yourmuscles need tobe fullywarmedupbeforeyouperform

staticstretches, sonever dothe

atthestartofaworkout. To avo

injury, don’tpull toohardwhen

youstretch,anddon’t

‘bounce’ themuscle

under tension.

CALVES

Push down on your rear heel.

HIPFLEXORS

Keep your body upright and push

your hips forward.

HAMSTRINGS

Lean forward at the hips with a

straight back.

ADDUCTORS

Press your knees apart gently with

your elbows.

QUADS

Pull on your ankle and push you

hips forward.

GLUTES

Gently pull on your knee.

STATICSTRETCHES

Holde

stretch f

to30sec



Men

CHEST

Interlock your ingers and raise your

hands behind you with straight arms.

ABS

Lift your shoulders high o

the loor.

TRICEPS

Point ingers of one arm down your

back and pull gently on that elbow.

UPPERBACK

Interlock your ingers and raise your

hands in front with straight arms.

LATS

Press your shoulder towards

the loor.

BICEPS

Press your arms back while twisting

your hands so your thumbs point

behind you.

LOWERBACK

Keep your shoulders

lat on the loor.

ASSESSYOURFITNESS

Now you know the mainbodyweight moves and how

to warm up and warm down,it’s time to test your current

itness and strength levels.

Turn over to begin.

TRAPS

Pull gently on your head.



SEVNR

OBULDNMUC

Men’s Fitness50

ASSESSYOURFITNESS

Takethese

tests, thenus

our tipsto

improve

yourscores

Doingthese sixt

isuseful for two

reasons.First, theywil

youa goodidea ofyou

current levelof fitness

they showyou inwhic

areasyouareweakera

needto improve.That

whyeach test hassom

simple ‘how to improv

tipsincluded.Second,

theywillgiveyoua set

concretenumbersaga

whichyoucanmeasu

yourprogress.Sowhe

you revisit these tests

amonthortwoyou’ll s

exactlyhowmuchfitte

andstronger youhave

become.



Men

Thehumblepress-

upisanexcellent

testof upper-body

strengthandendurance.

THETEST

Perform as many press-ups

as you can, following the

correct form set out on p39.

The test ends as soon as

you can no longer complete

a rep with correct form.

HOW TO

IMPROVE

Aim to do three or four sets

of max reps, with around

60 seconds’ rest between

sets. You can also vary

the tempo: come down

slowly and explode up,

for example, and work up

to clap press-ups or even

slapping your chest as your

hands come o the loor to

build explosive power.

Themaximum

weightyoucan

liftforonerep isthe

keyindicatorof lower bodystrength.Seep58

forhowtoperformthe

squatcorrectly.

THETEST

Warm up. Ideally, do the

test in a squat rack, not

on a Smith machine. Aim

for four attempts, with

three to ive minutes’

rest in between,

increasing the weight

between 2.5kg and 10kg

each time. Your scoreis the heaviest weight

you can lift with perfect

form divided by

your bodyweight.

HOW TO

IMPROVE

You need to learn to sit

back into the squat, keep

the weight distributed

over your heels and don’t

let your knees drift too

far forwards. It’s also

worth working on yourweak points – lower back,

glutes and hamstrings.

Try good mornings or

Romanian deadlifts.

PRESSUPS

ONEREPMAXSQUAT

RESULTSSCORE LEVEL

40+ Excellent3040 Very good2030 Good1020 AverageBelow 10 Poor

RESULTSSCORE LEVEL

1.52 Excellent

1.251.49 Very good

11.24 Good

0.750.99 Average

Under 0.75 Poor



SEVNR

OBULDNMUC

Men’s Fitness52

ASSESSYOURFITNESS

Thisisoneof

thebestways to

evaluate core strength.

THETEST

Keep your body in a

straight line from head to

heels with your elbows

beneath your shoulders,

feet together and face

down. Hold as long as

you can without letting

your hips sag.

HOW TO

IMPROVE

Practice makes perfect

for the plank, so hold

the position for as long

as you can. Rest for 30

seconds, then hold it

again. Repeat this three

or four times a week and

see your time soar.

PLANK

Your one-rep

max onthe

bench is a key indicator

of totalupper-bodystrength.See p60 for

how to perform the

move correctly.

THETEST

With an empty bar, lie on

the bench with feet on

loor. Lower the bar until

it touches your chest

then press back up. Do

ten reps as a warm-up.

Gradually increase the

weight, performing

one or two reps at each

weight, until you reachyour one-rep max.

Divide your heaviest lift

by your bodyweight for

your score.

HOW TO

IMPROVE

Strengthen your

shoulders and triceps

with overhead presses

and dips.

ONEREPMAXBENCHPRESS

RESULTSSCORE LEVEL

1.50+ Excellent1.251.49 Very good11.24 Good0.75-.099 AverageUnder 0.75 Poor

TIME LEVEL

2min+ Excellent

90119sec Very good

6089sec Good

4059sec Average

Less than 40sec Poor R E S U L T S

Topredict

yourone-rep

max, seethe

tableon p61



Men

YourVO2max

represents the

maximumcapacityof your bodyto transportanduse

oxygenin agiven time.

THE TEST

Without sophisticated kit,a basic way of estimatingyour VO2 max is the Cooper12-minute run. Set up atreadmill with a 1˚ gradientto mimic running on theroad. Warm up, then aim torun the farthest distanceyou can in 12 minutes.

After 12 minutes, use theequation VO2 = (metres run- 505)/45 to calculate yourVO2 max. So, if you ran 2.4kmyour score would be (2,400-505)/45 = 42.

HOWTO IMPROVE

Try doing continuous aerobic

training at a heart rate of7085 per cent of yourmaximum (MHR) for 30 to 60minutes, three to ive timesa week. To take your itnessup a level, you need to getup to 8090 per cent of MHRfor three minutes, with oneor two minutes recoverybetween intervals.

VO2MAX

RESULTSV02 MAX LEVEL

70 or over Excellent6069 Very good5059 Good4049 AverageUnder 40 Poor

It’s a good indicator

of theflexibilityofyourhamstringsand lower

back,withoutwhichyou’ll

probablypulla hamstring

sprintingorendupin pain

fromsquats.

THETEST

Warm up with some dynamic

stretching before you start.

Mark a straight line on the

loor as your baseline. Mark

another line perpendicular

to this as your measuring

line – this is where your ruleror tape measure goes. The

point where the two intersect

is 0cm. Put your feet on the

baseline, 2030cm apart.

Clasp your thumbs together

and slowly reach forwards,

keeping your ingers on the

measuring line as you leanforward. Measure how far

past the baseline you can

reach. If you can’t reach past

your feet, then you’ll have a

negative reading.

HOWTO IMPROVE

It’s extremely important to

warm up – any cardio that

increases the heart rate –

for at least ten minutes

beforehand and then stretch

your muscles. However, if

you’re stretching as part ofyour workout, always do it

afterwards. Research has

shown that doing static

stretches before strength

work can reduce

your strength levels.

SITANDREACH

FLEXIBILITYTEST DISTANCE LEVEL

15cm or more Excellent1014cm Very good

09cm Good-50cm AverageLess than -5cm Poor R

E S

U L T S





USECOMPOUNDLIFTS

56 Why use compound lifs?

58 Squat

60 Bench press

62 Deadlif

64 Pull-up

66 Lunge68 Shoulder press

70 Bent-over row

72 Triceps dip

74 Clean

76 Snatch

RULETHREE

CON EN



Men’s Fitness56



Men

What’s thebig

dealaboutcompoundlifts?Masterthekeycompoundmovesto

addmusclesizeandstrengthfast

Let’s not beat around the bush: every

single one your of workouts should bebased around compound lifts.

We’ll explain why in a minute, butirstlet’sclear up what exactly a compound lift is. Putsimply, a compound lift is an exercise wherethere is movement at two or more diferent

joints. A good example would be the squat(movement at the hip and knee joints) orthe shoulder press (movement at the shoulderand elbow joints).

The other type of lift is an isolation move,where movement is limited to one joint only.Examples include a biceps curl (movementat the elbow joint only) or leg extension

(movement at the knee joint only).

CompoundinterestSo why should compound lifts formthe foundation of any muscle-buildingprogramme? Quite simply, because theyinvolve movement at more than one joint theyrequire multiple muscle groups to act at thesame time. Compound lifts are more-bang-for-buck moves because the more musclesinvolved, the heavier the weight you can lift,

and the bigger the weight you lift the bigger the

growth-hormone response.This hormone response is crucial. It means

that not only will you put on more muscle inthe areas you’ve recently trained, but you’ll alsosee beneits all over your body. That’s becausethe hormones responsible for muscle growthalso burn fat, so you’ll get bigger and leaneracross the board.

MaximumfatigueThat’s why biceps curls aren’t actually the bestexercise for building big biceps. It’s far moreefective to perform compound exercises, suchas bent-over rows or chin-ups, to really fatigue

your biceps by exposing them to the maximumamount of weight they can manage.

That’s not to say isolation moves don’t havea part to play, they do. For instance, they can bedeployed towards the end of your workout tospeciically isolate a muscle to cause additionalfatigue (see page 102). But the basis of eachsession should be the major compound lifts.This chapter details the ten most importantmoves in your muscle-building arsenal andhow you can usethemto add muscle fast.

RULETHREE USECOMPOUNDLIFTS



SEVNR

OBULDNMUC

Men’s Fitness58

SQUAT

Masterthisclassicmovetopackonmusclenot justonyour

legs,butalsoonyourupperbody

Thekingof thelifts,the squattargets thequads,glutes, hamstrings, coreandback,makingit

oneof themost important exercises – ifnotthemost

important– inyourmuscle-buildingarsenal.Although

your legsare theobvious target, squatscreatean

overall anabolicenvironment thattriggerstherelease

ofextratestosteroneandgrowthhormone in the

bloodstream.This notonlybenefitsyour legmuscles

butwill also helpbuildyourupperbodyandburn fat.

Rest the bar against the back

of your shoulders – not on

your neck – and hold the

bar with an overhand grip

wider than shoulder width.

Your feet should be shoulder-

width apart with your toes

pointing slightly outwards.

Slowly lower yourself down –

keeping your chest and chin

up while maintaining a natural

arch in your back. Keep the

weight on your heels, your

body upright and don’t let your

knees roll inwards or forwards.

Bring your body down until

your thighs are at least parallel

to the loor. The deeper you

can squat, the better.

Drive back up through your

heels. At the top push forward

with your hips and squeeze

your glutes to ‘reset’ into the

start position and repeat.

Howtodoit

Quads

HamstringsGlutes

Core

Back

Target

a

b



Men

FITTIP

Don’t pointyour

toesoutwardstoomuch

because this increases

theloadon the knee joint,

whichputs you at

riskof injury.

FITTIP

Never holdyour

breathduring a heavylift. Instead thegeneralrule

isto breathe inas you lower

theweightandbreatheout

throughpursedlips

asyou lift theweight.



Men’s Fitness60

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC BENCHPRESS

Thisbig liftwilladdmuscularsizeandstrengththeyourchest,

shouldersandarms

Thebenchpresshasalwaysbeen animportantandpopularmovebecause it

is thebestexercise fordevelopingupper-body

muscular size,powerandstrength. Mainly working

thepectoral,orchest,muscles,this exercises also

recruitsthe muscles atthefront of theshoulders

andbackof thearms,making ita firm favourite for

thosewantinga big, strongtorso.Alwayswarmup

thoroughly first withsomepress-upsthensome

benchpresseswithan emptybar.

Lie on the bench with

your feet on the loor,

directly beneath

your knees.

Your head, upper back

and glutes should be

lat against the bench.

Brace your core and

maintain a natural arch

in your back.

Hold the bar with an

overhand grip that is

wider than shoulder-

width apart.

Slowly lower the bar

to your chest, taking

your elbows out to

90°, until the bar is

almost touching the

middle of your chest or

just over your nipples.

Drive your feet

hard into the loor

and press the bar back

to the start position.

Howtodoit

Chest

Shoulders

Triceps

Target

a

b



Men

EXAMPLE If you can lift 85kg for 5 reps,your predicted 1RM is 85 x 1.18 = 100kg

COEFFICIENTCOEFFICIENTTABLETABLE

REPS COEFFICIENT

2 1.07

3 1.12

4 1.155 1.18

6 1.21

7 1.24

8 1.27

9 1.30

10 1.33

PREDICTINGYOUR

ONEREPMAXIf you haven’t got a spotter, don’t want torisk a max lift, or have no idea what your

max should be, you can use the table

below to predict it. Just use a weight thatyou can do two to ten reps with for amax set, then multiply it by the value on

the right to get your predicted max.

FITTIP

A too-narrowgrip on the

barplaces greateremphasis

on thetriceps (backofyour

arms).A widergrip shiftsmorefocusonto yourchest,but this

positionmakes it harderto

achieve a full range

ofmotion.

FITTIP

Maintaincontrolof

theweight throughout the

movetokeep thefocus onyour

muscles. Bouncingthebarof

yourchest is notonlydangerous

butmeans you’re relying on

momentum, notmuscle.



Men’s Fitness62

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC DEADLIFT

This importantmoveallowsyoutoliftheavyandgrowserious

muscle–solongasyoudo it right.Here’show

Thedeadliftworkswonders onyour physique because somanyimportantmusclegroups

areinvolved in themove, specifically the legs, glutes

andback.Performedcorrectly, thislift isoneof the

best exercises fordevelopinga strongandsupportive

lowerback,andbecausesomanymuscles are

recruitedyou’ll beable to lift a lotof weight.Aswell

as themass-buildingbenefitsof thedeadlift, a strong

lowerbackandcorewill bebetterat stabilising your

upperbodyduringeveryothermoveyoudo, soyou’ll

be able to lift heavierduringotherexercises too.

Squat down and grip the

bar just outside your knees

with your core braced,

your shoulders retracted

and over the bar and your

back lat.

Use your legs to power the

initial lift, pushing down

through your heels.

Keep thebar close to

your body and, as itpasses your knees, push

your hips forward. Keep

your shoulders back

throughout the move.

QuadsHamstrings

Glutes

Back

Core

Howtodoit

Target

GETAGRIPDoyou findthatyour

grip is failingbefore

your legsandback

tocuteverydeadlift

setshort?Poorwriststrengthcanresult in

poorperformance inmany

big lifts, so try thebarbell

collargrip.Holda collar inonehand

andsqueeze it for two seconds before

releasing slowly. Do this tento

12 timesbeforeswappinghands.

a

b



Men

FITTIP

Keepyourcore

musclesbraced

throughout every single

repto keepyourupper-

bodystable andprevent

lower-backpain.

FITTIP

Startwith a light

barandmasterthe

correct deadlift form

beforegraduallyadding

moreweight asyou

becomestronger.



Men’s Fitness64

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC PULLUP

Raiseyourgamewiththisupper-bodymusclesculptor

Itmay technicallybea bodyweight

exercise, butthepull-up isoneof the

hardestmoves there is. That’sbecauseyou

haveto lift andcontrol yourentire body

weight againstgravity, so theloadonyour

muscles isveryhigh.This hasthehuge

advantageof buildinga strong,wideupper

back,whichhelps createtheV-shape torso

women love.Preventingyour legsfrom

swingingduringthis exercisealsomeans

that yourcoremuscles get a goodworkout.

Grasp the bar using

an overhand grip with

your hands wider than

shoulder-width apart.

The wider they are,

the harder the move

becomes.

Start from a dead

hang with your arms

fully extended.

Pull yourself up

by squeezing your

lats together.

Once your chin

is higher than your

hands, slowly lower

yourself back to the

start position.

Howtodoit

BackLats

Biceps

Core

Target

a b



Men

FITTIP

If you strugglewith

thismove, improveyour

strengthbyjumpingup to

thetopposition, then

loweringyourselfbackdown

very slowly. Jumpback to

thetop and repeat.

FITTIP

Althoughthey’resimilar

moves, theonediference

betweena pull-up anda chin-up

isthat for a pull-up you use an

overhandgrip, while for a chin-

upyou usean underhandgrip.

The lattermakes themoveeasierbecause theunderhand grip

uses thebicepsmore.



Men’s Fitness66

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC LUNGE

Buildstrong,powerfullegsandarockhardcorewiththistried

andtestedmusclebuilder

Whenbuildingstrong legsmostpeopleoverlooklunges in favourof squats, but lunging isoneof the

mostbasichumanmovement patterns.Lungeswork the

powerhouse lower-bodymuscles,suchas theglutes, quads,

hamstringsandcalves, butalso involve theadductors, hip

flexorsandmanyotherstabilisingmuscles – including

yourcore– thatneed tobe strongif you’regoingtomove

with speed,powerandco-ordination. Sonotonlyare they

great forbuildingmuscle, theyalsohavehugetransferable

benefit to almosteverysport.

Stand tall with a barbell resting on the

back of your shoulders. Point your

elbows behind you to retract your

shoulder blades and keep your back

upright and core braced throughout.

Take a big step forward but keep

your knee over your front foot and

not beyond it. Lower down until both

knees are bent at 90˚ before pushing

back o your front foot to return to

the start position.

Howtodoit

Glutes

Hamstrings

Quads

Calves

Core

Target

a b



Men

FITTIP

Tightness in themusclesof

your posteriorchain– upper back,

lower back, glutesand hamstrings –

can make lunging hardbecause

tightmuscles equalpoor lexibility

andthismoverequiresgood muscle

strengthand co-ordination.

Trystretching out these key

muscles andsee your

lungestrength soar.

FITTIP

Always warmup

thoroughly with

some bodyweight

lunges, thenslowly

increase the

weight.



Men’s Fitness68

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC SHOULDER PRESS

Developstrong andwideshoulderswith this

bulk-building upper-bodymove

Theshoulder press is a massivelyimportant lift for addingsize and

strength to your upper body. It mainly works

the front andmiddle deltoids – two of the

three major muscles that make up your

shoulders – butalso recruitsthose small,

but very important, stabilising muscles that

support the shoulder joint.Your triceps

become involved as you straightenyour

arms, whileyour coremust workhard

throughout to stabilise your torso. It’s a key

movefor creating wide shoulders andwill

help improve yourbench press.

With your feet shoulder-width

apart, position a bar on your

upper chest, gripping it with

hands just wider than shoulder-

width apart.

Keep your chest upright and

your core muscles braced.

Press the bar directly upwards

until your arms are fully

extended overhead.

During the lifting phase, keep

your core braced and don’t tilt

your hips forward.

Lower the bar back down to

your chest and repeat.

Shoulders

Triceps

How todo it

Target

a b



Men

FITTIP

Theshoulder is one

of themostcomplexjoints

inthe bodyandnotoneyou

want to injure. Always

thoroughly warmup the

muscles before attempting

any heavy lifts.

FITTIP

The irst rep willbe the

toughest because there’s

no bounce efectfrom the

elasticity of themuscles, but

don’t be putof. Useyourlegs

to help initiate theirstrep

andthe rest will

be a littleeasier.



Men’s Fitness70

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC BENTOVERROW

It’s a greatmove forbuilding a big upper back, but the techniqu

canbe tricky.Here’s how todoit right

Oftenoverlookedbymany, thebent-over row isavitalmovethatwill help forge a strongupper

back. If youspendmostof yourworkout timeon

yourchestandneglectyourback then this canlead

toamuscular imbalance that bringsyourshoulders

forward.Not only does this notlookgood, italso

increasesyour riskof injury.

That’swhy thebent-overrow is so important. It

works theoppositemuscle groupto thebenchpress,

specificallythepowerhousemusclesof theupper

back – traps, lats, rhomboidsandreardeltoids– and

thebiceps also assistthe lift,whileyourabsmust be

involved tokeepyour torsostraight andstable.

Grip the bar with an

overhand grip just

wider than shoulder-

width apart.

Stand with your

core braced, your

back straight and

your shoulder

blades retracted.

Bend your knees

slightly and lean

forward from the hips,

not the waist.

Pull the bar up to your

lower sternum, fully

retracting your shoulder

blades to allow the bar to

come up to your chest,

then lower the bar slowly

to the start.

How todo it

TargetUpper backBiceps

Core

Lats

a

b



Men

FITTIP

Ifyouwant toshiftthe

emphasisof thismove

onto yourbiceps

useanunderhand

grip on thebar.

FITTIP

If you’restrugglingwith the

weightdon’t shrugyour

shouldersandround your back

because thistakes theemphasis

away fromthe targetmuscles.

It’s farbetter to lowerthe

weight andmaintain

correct form.



Men’s Fitness72

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC TRICEPSDIP

Buildbigarmswith this surprisingly toughbodyweightmove

Whenwanting tobuild big armsitmaybe

temptingto favourbicepsmovesover thoseexercises that focuson thetriceps,but this isn’t the

rightapproach.That’sbecause the tricepsmakeup

abouttwo-thirdsofyourupper armmusculature,

soyoucan’t afford to ignore thismuscleif youwant

toadd size. Dipsare oneofthebestmoves totarget

all threepartsof thetricepsmuscle, aswell asbeing

great forworkingthe lower chest, shouldersand

yourcore,whichyoumust keep tight toprevent

yourlowerbodyswinging.

Grip parallel bars,

keeping your

body upright.

With your elbows

pointing straight

back, lower your

body as far down as

you can comfortably

go without stressing

your shoulders.

Keep your core

braced and don’tswing your legs

for momentum.

Push back up

strongly to return

to the start.

How todo it

Target

TricepsChest

Shoulders

a b



Men

FITTIP

Tightnessor poorlexibility

in theshoulder jointwill afect

yourabilityto dip, sodosome

mobilitywork. Rounded

shoulders – causedby doingtoomuch chestworkat theexpense

ofbackwork– can alsolimit your

dipdepth, sodon’t neglect your

upperbackmuscles.

FITTIP

Aswith thepull-up,

if you are struggling to

manageyourbodyweight

thenjumpto the top ofthemove before slowly

loweringyourselfdownto

buildupstrength.



Men’s Fitness74

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC CLEAN

This power-buildingmovebuilds strengthand

stability fromtop totoe

Thecleaninvolves almostall yourmajormuscle

groups, forcingthemtoworktogether soyoucan

efficientlymove thebar fromthefloor toshoulder-

heightas quickly aspossible. Thatmakes ita high-risk

moveso startwith a lightbarbell andmaster thecorrect

formbefore addingadditionalweight. Butbig risk

equalsbig rewards,andget this exerciseright and

you’ll andbuildexplosive power that hasa great

crossover tomany sports andeverydayactivities.

Stand with your shins touching the bar and

feet shoulder-width apart.

Squat down and hold the bar with an

overhand grip.

Keeping your core braced, your chest up and

a natural arch in your back, lift the bar o the

ground by driving up through your heels.

Once the bar reaches your hips, rise up

on tiptoes, shrug your shoulders powerfullyand pull the bar up higher, leading with

your elbows.

As the bar travels towards shoulder height,

squat back down under the bar and rotate

your elbows forward so you catch it on your

ingers and the front of your shoulders.

Reverse the move back to the start.

Howtodo it

Target

Whole body

a

c b



Men

FITTIP

Thecleanputs pressure

onyour lowerback, sobuild

lowerbackstrengthwith the

squatanddeadliftandyou’ll

rapidly improveyourprogress in this

importantmove.

FITTIP

Keepthebarascloseto

yourbodyas you can asyoupull it upwards. This is the

shortestandmosteicient

routeto getthebarhigh,

allowingyou toduck

under itandcatch iton

yourshoulders.



Men’s Fitness76

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC SNATCH

Funnyname, seriousmove: the snatch is ahighly

efectivewhole-bodymuscle-building li

ThisOlympic lift notonlybuildsmuscle butalsoflexibility andco-ordination. Targetingyour

entire posteriorchain– allthemuscles downtheback

ofyourbody, fromneck tocalves – thesnatchis more

commonlyassociatedwithpowerlifters thanregular

gym-goers.Butthatdoesn’tmeanyou shouldn’t use

it to improve your explosivepower, strength, speed

andcore stability. Besides,manysportsmimicits

movement pattern insome form– for example,liftinga

rugbyplayer in thelineout.Aswith allbig lifts,youneed

toensure you setupcorrectlyand focusyourmind

completelyon thelift toget it right.

Stand with feet hip-width apart with your

shins touching the bar.

Squat down, keeping a natural arch in your

back and your chest out, and grip the bar with

hands wider than shoulder-width apart.

Push down through your heels and straighten

your legs to lift the bar o the ground, keeping

it as close to your legs as possible.

As soon as it reaches your thighs, pull your

shoulders back and bring the bar up hard and

fast, ‘lipping’ the bar over and onto your ingers

while getting your body under the bar by

dropping into a squat position.

Finish the movement by standing up out of

the squat with your legs fully straightened,

holding the bar directly above your head with

your arms extended.

How todo it

TargetWhole body

a

c

b

d



Men

FITTIP

Concentrationand form

arekeyto notonlyperforming

a successful lift, butalsomaking

sureyouavoid injury. Imagineyour

feet arenailed to the loor, keepyourhandswide,shoulderblades

pinched,chest pushed forward,

core braced,eyesstraightahead

andyou’reready.

FITTIP

Shoulder lexibility is

vital tocontrol theweight

asthebar risesup and over

yourhead and, because this

is a high-risk lift, startwith a

lightbarto perfect your form

beforeyoustartlifting

seriousweight.





VARYYOUREXERCISES

80 Whyvaryyourexercises?

82 Squat variations

84 Benchpressvariations

86 Deadlifvariations

88 Pull-upvariations

90 Lungevariations

92 Shoulderpressvariations

94 Bent-over rowvariations

96 Tricepsdipvariations

98 Cleanvariations

100 Snatchvariations

102 Whydoisolationmoves?

104 Biceps

106 Triceps

108 Chestand shoulders110 Legs

112 Fix yourweak spots

RULEFOUR



Men’s Fitness80



Men

Whyshould

Ivarymyexercises?Varietyisn’t justthespiceoflife: it’salsothe

onlywaytokeepyourmusclesgrowing

If you are new toweight lifting

putting onmuscle iseasyat irst.But after awhile youmaynoticethatyourgains begin to slowdownoreven

plateaucompletely.

That’s because your body very quicklyadapts to the new stresses ithas been

exposed to in thegym. Yourmusclesbecomemore eicientatperformingthe

moves you domost often,whichmeansthat theydon’t havetoworkashard to

dothe sameamountofwork. In short,performing the sameexactworkout

week in,weekout isn’t anefective

strategy tokeepbuildingmuscle.

Plus, doing thesame session is really,really boring. You’ll never addmuscle ifyou don’t go to the gymbecause your

boredwith doing thesameoldsession.

ShakethingsupLuckily, there’s a verysimple solution

to thisproblem. Ifyouwant tokeep

yourmuscles growing, youmustkeep

themguessing.Andthethatmeans

youneed to regularlyshakethingsupby introducingnewexercises thatwill ‘shock’ yourmuscles into growth

because they are unfamiliarwith these

newmoves or variations andthenewmechanicsthey involve.

FreshlookSometimesthis will mean introducingacompletely newmove that hits thesame

muscles. Atother times itwill simplymean tweakingamoveslightly, by say

changingyourhand position, theangle

of the bench,yourgripon the bar, or

standingup instead of sitting down.In this chapter you indanarray ofnew

exercises, all twistson theclassic ten

compound lifts of thepreviouschapter- plusa close lookat someof the key

isolationmoves - that you canintroduceinto your trainingprogrammetokeep

yourmind focusedandyourmuscles

workinghard.

RULEFOUR VARYYOUREXERCISES



Men’s Fitness82

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC SQUATVARIATIONS

These three twistsonthe classic squat can

lead tobig lower-body gains

WHYDOIT?Ifyou struggle to

maintaingood formwith abarbell,

performing squatswithdumb-bellscan

help you learntodothemove safely.

Stand tall with feet shoulder-width

apart, holding a dumb-bell in each

hand by your sides.

With you core braced and a natural

arch in your back, squat down until

your thighs are at least parallel to

the loor, keeping your knees in line

with your toes.

Push back up through your heels to

complete the move.

Howtodo it

DUMBBELLSQUAT

a

b



Men

ZERCHERSQUAT

Standing in front of a barbell, squat

down and pick up the bar using an

overhand grip. Your feet should be


Squat down until your thighs are at

least parallel to the loor, keepingyour knees in line with your toes.

Drive back up through your heels.

Howtodo it

Take a barbell in the crook of

your elbows, keeping your core

braced and a natural arch in

your back. Feet should be


Squat down until your thighs are at

least parallel to the loor, keeping

your knees in line with your toes.

Drive back up through your heels.

Howtodo it

HACKSQUAT

WHYDOIT?Holding thebar

behind yourbody forces youto

keepyour torsoupright tomanage theweight, andso improves yourability to

performnormal squats correctly.

WHYDOIT?Holding thebar in

thecrookof yourelbowstakes thestressoffyourback,whileforcingyour

coremuscles toworkhardtostabilise

your upperbody.

a

a

b

b



Men’s Fitness84

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC BENCHPRESSVARIATIONS

WHYDOIT?

Tilting thebench

upwardsplaces the

focusonyourupper

chest, aswell as the

frontofyourshoulders

andtriceps,while using

dumb-bellsallowsfora

greater rangeofmotion.

INCLINEDUMBBELLPRESS

Build a big, strong chestwith thesemove

that target thewholemusclegroup

FITTIP

Notlockingout your

elbowsat the top ofall

pressingmoves keeps the

emphasisonyourmuscles,

meaningtheyare

workingharder for

longer throughout

theset.

Lie on a bench set at a 3045°

angle holding a dumb-bell in each

hand at shoulder height.

Keep your feet lat on the loor

and back against the bench.Press the weight above your head

but don’t lock out your elbows.

Slowly lower the weight back

down to your chest.

How todo it

a

b



Men

WHYDOIT?Thismove isolates

yourchestmuscles – bytaking

your triceps out oftheequation– soall

theworkhas tobedonebyyourchest.

WHYDOIT?Thisvariation targets

thelowerpart ofyourchest.

INCLINEDUMBBELLFLYE

DECLINEBENCHPRESS

Lie on an incline bench holding a

dumb-bell in each hand directly

above your chest.

Ensure your head and shoulders

are supported on the bench and

your feet are lat on the loor.

Keeping a slight bend in your

elbows, slowly lower the weights

as far to the side as comfortable.

Squeeze your chest muscles to

reverse the movement.

Howtodo it

Set a bench on a 3045° decline.

If you gym doesn’t have a decline

bench then place a secure box or

Reebok Deck under one end.

Hold a bar using an overhand grip,

hands shoulder-width apart.

Slowly lower it down to your

chest, laring your elbows outto the side to keep the emphasis

on your chest.

Push back strongly to the start

position, but don’t lock out at

the top.

Howtodo it

a

a

b

b



Men’s Fitness86

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC DEADLIFT VARIATIONS

A strong back makes all other lifs easier. Here’s how to build on

GOOD MORNING

Stand tall with a light barbell

resting across the top of yourshoulders. Hold the bar just

outside your shoulders.

Brace your core, retract your

shoulder blades and maintain

a natural arch in your back

throughout the move.

Feet should be between hip- and

shoulder-width apart with a slight

bend in your knees.

Bend forward slowly from the hips,

not the waist, and lean forward as

far is your hamstrings allow, but notpast horizontal.

Return back to the start.

How to do it

WHYDOIT?This moveworks the

erector spinae along with hamstrings

andglutes. It’s a great move, butmaintain

perfect form throughout to prevent injury

andstart with a light bar.

a b



Men

WHYDOIT?By taking a wider

stance you recruit your glutes and

stretch your adductors.

WHYDOIT?Because the weight

is ononly one side, your abs haveto workhard to keep your torso upright

andstable. You are also goingto be

hitting your glutes, obliques andlats as

you workeach side of thebody. It will

improve your grip strength too.

SUMO DEADLIFT

BARBELL SUITCASE DEADLIFT

Stand behind the bar with your feet

wider than shoulder-width apart

and your toes pointing outwards.

Squat down and grip the bar with

your hands shoulder-width apart.

Keeping a natural arch in your

back, drive with your legs and push

your hips forward to lift the bar

until you are standing upright.

Reverse the movement to return

the bar to the loor.

Howtodo it

Place a barbell on your left side.

Crouch down into a deadlift

position and grab the middle of the

bar with your left hand.

Brace your core, keep a natural

arch in your back and drive with

your legs to deadlift the bar up

to thigh height while keeping it

parallel to the loor.

Howtodo it

a

a

b

b



Men’s Fitness88

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC PULLUP VARIATIONS

Master these classic backmoves fora

big, strong, andbalancedupper body

WHYDOIT?Using an underhand

grip shifts thefocusto your biceps,

making it easierwhile still taxingall the

major muscles of your upper back.

Grab the bar with an underhand

grip with your hands closer thanshoulder-width apart.

Start from a dead hang with your

arms fully extended.

Pull yourself up by squeezing your

lats together.

Once your chin is higher than your

hands pause briely, before slowly

lowering yourself back to the start.

How todo it

CHINUP

a

b



Men

WHYDOIT?Themachine

lets youeasilyadjust the

resistance, soyoucan lift lighter

orheavierthanyourbodyweight.

WHYDOIT?Althougha single-

jointmove, this exerciseworks alargenumber ofmuscles, specifically

lats, chest andtriceps.

LATPULLDOWN

DUMBBELLPULLOVER

Sit on the seat and take an overhand,

wide-grip on the bar.

Look forward, retract your shoulder

blades and keep your torso upright.

Pull the bar down in front of you until

it reaches your upper chest. Don’tlean back to aid the movement.

Squeeze your lats at the bottom

of the move and return the bar

slowly to the top.

Howtodo it

Lie on a bench with shoulders and

head supported, feet lat on loor.

Hold a single dumb-bell with both

hands over your chest and engage

your core.

Slowly lower the weight behind your

head, keeping a slight bend in your

elbows. Don’t arch your back.

Pull your arms back over your head

to the start.

Howtodo ita

a b

b



Men’s Fitness90

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC LUNGEVARIATIONS

Workyour legs, glutesand lowerbackwith these twistsonthe c

WHYDOIT?Thisis oneofthe

bestmovesforbuildingmuscle

mass onthebacksofyour legs.Perfect

formisvital toprotectyour lowerback

frominjury. Always lean forward, slowly,

fromyourhips andnot yourwaistand

control thebar slowlydownyour shins.

ROMANIANDEADLIFT How todo it

Hold a barbell with an

overhand grip just outside

your hips. Stand with feet

shoulder-width apart, shoulder

blades retracted, torso upright,

core braced and a natural arch

in your back.

Lean forward from the hip

and slowly lower bar down

your shins until you feel a

stretch in your hamstrings

Push your hips forward to

reverse move back to star

a

b



Men

WHYDOIT?Although ituses

onlyyourownbodyweight, this

toughmovehitsyourhamstringshard.

WHYDOIT?Ignoringyour

inner thighmuscles can lead tomuscular imbalancesandinjury but

ifyou strengthen themwith thismove

you’ll improve all in lower-bodylifts.

GYMBALLLEGCURL

DUMBBELLLATERALLUNGE

Lie with head, shoulders and upper

back on a gym mat with your feet

together on top of a gym ball. Your

body should form a straight line

from head to heels.

With your back straight, raise your

hips and use your heels to drag the

ball toward you.

Pause briely at the top of the

move before slowly returning

to the start.

How todo it

Stand tall with feet close together,

holding a dumb-bell in each hand.

Keeping your core braced and

head looking forward, take a big

step to the side with your right legand lower your body down so your

right knee is in line with your toes.

Push back o your right leg and

repeat the other side.

Howtodo it

a

a

b

b



Men’s Fitness92

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC SHOULDERPRESSVARIATIONS

WHYDOIT?Usingyour legs to

initiate themoveenables you to

lift moreweight andpreventpoor form

atthe start ofeach rep.

Stand tall with a barbell across your

upper chest. Hold the bar with an overhand

grip just wider than shoulder-width apart.

Keeping your core braced, bend your knees

slightly before standing back up while at the

same time pressing the bar directly overhead

by straightening your arms. Don’t lock out

your elbows.

Slowly return the bar back down to the start.

Howtodoit

PUSHPRESS

a b

Build broad shoulders to create

that V-shape torso



Men

WHYDOIT?This variation

combines a pressingaction with

a rotational one, hitting your deltoids

from several angles.

WHYDOIT?It works the rotator

cuff,the stabilising muscles of theshoulder joint,which will allowyou to

lift heavier on other shoulder moves.

ARNOLD PRESS

BARBELL CUBAN PRESS

Sit on an upright bench with

a dumb-bell in each hand with

palms facing you.

Keep your feet lat on the loor,

core braced, back against the

bench and head looking forward.

Press the weights up, rotating your

palms so that you inish with arms

extended and palms facing away.

Reverse the movement back down

to the start.

Howtodoit

Hold a light barbell with an

overhand grip at thigh height.

Raise the bar until it’s at

shoulder height.

Rotate your arms so that your

hands point up, keeping your

biceps horizontal.

Press the bar directly overhead

before reversing the movement

back to the start.

Howtodoit

a

a

c

b

b

d



Men’s Fitness94

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC BENTOVERROWVARIATIONS

Hit your back andbicepswith these tweaks onthe row

WHYDOIT?Focusing

ononearmata time

preventsyoufromrelyingtoo

muchonyour strongerarm

todomost ofthework. This

ensuresyouachievemore

balancedgains.

ONEARMROW Place your left knee and left

hand lat on a bench, with your

right leg out to the side. Hold

a dumb-bell in your right hand.

With a natural arch in your

back and core braced, lift the

weight up towards your side,

leading with your elbow.

Slowly return the weight

back to the start and

repeat both sides.

Howtodoita

b



Men

WHYDOIT?Hitting yourback

muscles while seated focusesyour efforts on thetarget muscle groups

andlets you lift heavier weights.

SEATED CABLE ROW

Set a Smith machine bar at about

chest height. Hold the bar using

an overhand grip, with hands just

wider than shoulder-width apart,

and with your feet on the loor.

Hang until your arms are fully

extended then, keeping your hipsin line with your torso, pull your

body up to the bar until you touch

it with your sternum.

Lower yourself slowly.

Howtodoit

Sit with a lat back and a slight

bend in your knees. Using a neutral

grip, take hold of a double-D handle

attached to the bottom pulley of a

cable machine.

Ensure that there is tension in thecable before you begin.

Pull the handle into your sternum,

keeping your torso still. Squeeze

your shoulder blades together and

return slowly to the start.

Howtodoit

INVERTED ROW

WHYDOIT?As well as working

your back muscles andbiceps,

this puts more emphasis on your core

andlats andhelps correct badposture.

a

a

b

b



Men’s Fitness96

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC TRICEPSDIPVARIATIONS

WHYDOIT?

Bringingyour

handscloser together

transfers thefocusof

thismoveawayfrom

the chest andonto the

triceps –makingit a great

moveforbuildingbig

upperarms.

CLOSEGRIP

BENCHPRESS

Buildbigandpowerful armswith these triceps-targetingmoves

Lie lat on a bench and hold a barbell

using an overhand grip, about a

ist-width apart, with arms fully

extended.

Keep your body lat on the bench,

and your feet lat on the loor.

Lower the bar slowly, keeping your

elbows close your sides.

Push up powerfully, but don’t lock

out your elbows.

Howtodoit



Men

WHYDOIT?Havingyourhands

close together shiftsthefocusawayfrom thechesttowards your

triceps,making this a great any-time and

any-placemove forupper-armmass.

DIAMONDPRESSUP

Start in a press-up position but

with your hands either side of

a medicine ball, rather than lat

on the loor.

Keeping your body in a straight

line from head to heels, lower yourchest down until it touches the ball

before powering back

up strongly.

Howtodoit

Start in a press-up position but

with your hands close together

so that opposite thumbs and

index ingers touch to form a

diamond shape.

Keeping your body in a straight

line from head to heels, lower your

chest down as far as you can, then

press back up strongly.

Howtodoit

MEDICINEBALLPRESSUP

WHYDOIT?Thispress-up

variationplaces greateremphasis

onthetriceps,whilethe instabilityof the

ball forces yourcoretowork overtime

tokeepyourbody rigid.

a

a

b

b



Men’s Fitness98

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC CLEAN VARIATIONS

Buildtotalbody strengthwith thesecomplementary cleanmov

WHYDOIT?

Resting thebar

on the front ofyour

shoulders targets your

quads while protecting

the lower back. With

the barin front, it’s also

impossible to lean

forward, so you get a

deeper range of motion.

FRONTSQUAT Rest the bar on the front of your

shoulders, gripping it with your

hands crossed in front of you,

your elbows pointing forward

and feet shoulder-width apart.

Maintain a natural arch in your

back and keep your core braced.

Squat down until your thighs are

at least parallel to the loor.

Push back up through your heels.

Howtodoit

a

b



Men

WHYDOIT?Thismovewill

increaseyour strengthandstabilityaswell as improveyourform

ontheclean.

KETTLEBELLCLEAN

Hold a barbell with an overhand

grip, feet shoulder width apart.

Rise onto your tiptoes, shrug your

shoulders and pull the bar up, leading

with your elbows.

Once the bar reaches your shoulders,squat under it and rotate your

elbows forward so you catch the

bar on your ingers and the front

of your shoulders.

Reverse back to the start position.

Howtodoit

Hold a kettlebell between your legs,

with back straight and chest up.

Bend your knees and push the

kettlebell back between your legs.

Stand up and drive your arm forward

while pushing your hips forwardsto propel the weight to above head

height then lip it over onto the front

of your shoulder.

Reverse back to the start.

Howtodoit

HANGCLEAN

WHYDOIT?Startingwith thebar

atmidthighheighthelpsyou

masterthemovesafely, butas your legs

aren’tso involved,you’ll have to lift lighter.

a

c

ca

b

b



Men’s Fitness100

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC SNATCH VARIATIONS

Improveyour strength, power

andco-ordinationwith these

supplementary snatchmoves

WHYDOIT?This move

works each side of thebody

independently and it also engages your

core throughout to keep your torso

upright. In addition it will help improve

your form for the snatch, enabling you

to lift heavier without therisk of injury.

KETTLEBELL SNATCH

Hold the kettlebell in one hand and swing it up by

snapping your hips forward. Keep your core engaged

and a natural arch in your back.

As the kettlebell passes waist height pull your shoulder

back, then punch your arm forward as it passes

shoulder height.

Catch the kettlebell on your forearm at full extension.

Howtodoit

a

b

c



Men

WHYDOIT?Thistoughtwist on

the classic squat is the final part ofthesnatch lift, andgetting betterat this

will benefit a host of other moves.

OVERHEAD SQUAT

Stand tall holding a barbell with an

overhand grip slightly narrower

than shoulder width.

Shrug the bar up towards your chin,

leading with your elbows pointingto the ceiling.

Slowly lower the bar back to

the start position.

Howtodo it

Hold a light barbell overhead using

a wide overhand grip.

Your feet should be shoulder-width

apart, your core braced, with a

natural arch in your back.

Squat down as far as you can

without allowing your back to arch

forward.

Drive back up through your heels to

complete the move.

Howtodo it

UPRIGHT ROW

WHYDOIT?Although this move

mainly works your trapsand

shoulders, getting a strong upperback

helps with the‘shrugging’part of the

main snatchlift, letting you generate the

power to lift thebar over your head.

a

a

b

b



Men’s Fitness102

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC



Men

SplendidisolationTargetspecificmuscleswithisolationmoves for

quickerandmore impressivegrowth

Compound lifts shouldcertainlyform thebackboneof your training

regime as they recruit themostmusclegroups.But thisdoesn’tmeanyou needtoconsignall isolationmoves to thescrapheapcompletely.

To remind you, isolationmoves arethose lifts that causemovement at only

onejoint, while compoundmoves aremulti-jointexercises thatworkmultiplemusclegroups (see page54 for themajorcompoundexercises).

Consequently, isolation liftswork lesswell at quickly addinga lot ofmusclemass across yourbody, but theyareideal whenyou want to target a speciicmuscle to tryand coaxextra growth.

Oneway these single-jointmovescanbeused successfully is as a ‘inisher’,that is anexerciseperformed at theend ofa workoutto really fatigue thetargetmuscles. Take for examplean

armsworkout (see page 136 for how toconstruct a workout)where themajorityof thesession is built aroundcompound

lifts, such as chin-ups,pull-ups,bent-overrowsandclose-gripbenchpresses.

After all of that you willbe tired,butyour bicepsandtricepsmaystill havea littleenergy left in them. So tobreakdown evenmoremuscleibres andencouragegreater muscle growth,you could inishthe sessionwith sets

of isolation lifts, such as EZ-bar bicepscurls and lying tricepsextensions. Unlikecompoundmoves, whereyour riskofinjury is higher if you’re tired, theseisolationmovescanbeperformedsafely.

ExtrapushPutting in that littleextraefort cancompletelyexhaust thosetargetmuscles, and so force yourbody togrowthemback bigger andstronger.

Over thenext few pageswe’llhighlightsome of thebest isolation exercisesfor eachofyourmajormusclegroups,

allowingyouto safelybutefectivelypushyour muscles harder to promotefastergains.What’s not to like?

ISOLATIONLIFTS



Men’s Fitness104 Men’s Fitness

BICEPS

Blitzyourbicepswiththis

classicisolationmove

WHYDOIT?Abicepscurl can

also beperformedwithabarbell

orwithadumb-bell ineachhand, but

usinganEZ-bar,whichhas a zigzagged

middle, allowsyou toturnyourhands

inwards slightly. This takes someof the

strainoffyourwrists andallowsthe

focus oftheweightto besolelyon your

biceps, forcingthemtoworkharder

throughout themove.

Stand with your shoulders back and

feet close together and hold an EZ-

bar using an underhand grip with

your hands just outside your hips.

Keeping your elbows tucked in to

your sides, curl the bar up towards

your chest, stopping just before

your forearms reach vertical.

Lower back slowly to the start.

Avoid rocking back and forth to

generate momentum, which takes

the emphasis away from the biceps.

Howtodoit

EZBARBICEPSCURL



Men

Workeacharmseparatelyforgrowth

WHYDOIT?Restingyourupper

armon apreacherbenchstops

you fromusingmomentumandforces

yourbicepstodoallthework. Training

eacharmindividuallyalsoprevents

yourdominantarmcarryingmore of

the load, resultinginbalancedgrowth.

Fullystraightenyourarmat thebottom

of themove,andsqueezeyourbicepsat

thetop,formaximummuscle gains.

Hold a dumb-bell in one hand and

rest that upper arm against the

preacher bench.

Curl the weight up until your

forearm is vertical.

Squeeze your biceps at the top of

the move before lowering slowly

back to the start.

Howtodoit

ONEARMPREACHERCURL



Men’s Fitness106

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC TRICEPS

Buildupper-armmassbyisolating

yourpowerful triceps

WHYDOIT?It isolates

yourtriceps, forcingthem

toworkhardthroughout the

move tocontroltheweight

downthen raise itbackup.

Startbyusinga lightweight

becauseyouneed tomanage

theweightsafely asyou lower it

towards yourhead.Otherwise

youmay findoutwhythis

move isalsoknownasthe

nose-breakeror skull-crusher.

Lie lat on a bench, holding an EZ-bar

above you with straight arms.

Slowly lower the bar towards the top ofyour head by bending your elbows, whic

should stay pointing directly to the ceilin

Without arching your back, slowly

return the bar to the start position by

straightening your arms.

HowtodoitLYINGTRICEPSEXTENSION



Men

Workyourtricepswiththiscablemove

WHYDOIT?Theadvantageof

usinga cablemachine is that there

is resistance throughout thewhole

move, forcingyour triceps towork

hard tomanage theweighton theway

upaswell ason theway down. Keep

yourelbowsclose toyour sidesso the

emphasisstaysonyourtriceps.

Stand tall at a cable machine with

a double rope handle or straight bar

handle attached at head height.

Keeping your elbows tucked in,

press the handle down without

leaning forward.

Squeeze your triceps at the bottom

of the move before slowly returning

back to the start.

Howtodoit

TRICEPSPRESSDOWN



Men’s Fitness108

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC CHESTANDSHOULDERS

Craftabigchestwiththis

powerfulmove

WHYDOIT?Truly isolating

yourchestmusclescanbe hard

becauseyourarmsandshoulders

nearly alwaysget inontheact. But

usingcables, ratherthandumb-bells,

as resistanceensures that thereis

constanttension throughout the

move,which forcesyour chest

towork hard throughout.

Stand in the middle of a cable

machine with your feet together

holding a D-handle attachment in

each hand, and with the cable set

above shoulder height.

Keeping a natural arch in your back,

your core braced and upper body

still, bring your hands down in an

arc to meet in front of your chest.

Pause briely and squeeze your chest

muscles before returning slowly, and

under full control of the weight, back

to the start position.

Howtodoit

CABLECROSSOVER



Men

WHYDOIT?Shrugshavea

limited rangeofmotion,whichmeans that youcanuse heavydumb-

bells tobuild big and strongtrapsthat

helpcreatedesirablewideshoulders.

SHRUG

Stand tall with your core braced

and your feet slightly apart. Hold a

light dumb-bell in each hand with

palms facing one another.

Keeping a slight bend in your

elbows, raise the weights out to

the sides to shoulder height using

your muscles and not momentum.

Pause at the top, then slowly lower.

Howtodoit

Stand tall holding a heavy

dumb-bell in each hand, keeping

your core braced and a natural

arch in your back.

Shrug your shoulders towards yourears, keeping your arms straight,

and the dumb-bells by your sides.

Hold for a second at the top

position before slowly lowering the

weight back down.

Howtodoit

LATERALRAISE

WHYDOIT?Thelateral raise is

effectiveat isolating thedeltoids,

thethree muscles that make up the

shoulders. However, because the

shoulder joint is themostdelicate in the

body, keeptheweights light andcontrol

themove fromstart to finish.



Men’s Fitness110

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC LEGS

Isolateyourquadswiththis

machinemove

WHYDOIT?Thebestway to isolate yourpowerful

quadmuscles is tousea leg extension machine, rather

thanfreeweights.Thismachineprovides stabilityforyour

upperbody andthe movement path is fixed,meaning allyour

energy canbe focused onworkingthequadsto themax.

Sit on the machine, following its instructions t

position yourself correctly and safely.

Ensure that your knees are aligned with thelever to reduce the risk of injury and that you

shins are against the padded bar.

Keeping your back against the seat and your

core braced, extend your knees to straighten

your legs and raise the bar up.

Return slowly to the start.

HowtodoitSEATEDLEGEXTENSION



Men

Trainingthecalvescan

behardusing freeweights becauseyouneed togoreally

heavy to fatiguethesemuscles

thatareusedtohardwork –

they’reresponsible forevery

stepyoutake eachday. Instead

useamachine to fully isolateyour calveswithout the injury

risk that comeswithusinga

veryheavybarbell orsetof

dumb-bells.

SEATEDCALFRAISE

Position yourself safely on a leg curl

machine, following its instructions,

with the top bar sitting comfortably

below your knees and the bottom onelat against the bottom your calves.

Slowly contract your hamstrings to

bring the padded bar against your

calves towards you.

Return slowly to the start position.

Howtodoit

Sit on a seated calf raise machine, following its instructions to

position yourself correctly and safely.

Place the top of your toes on the platform. There should be a

slight bend in your knees in this start position.

Push your toes away to raise the weight.

Pause briely before returning back to the start, ensuring

you go through the full range of motion to really work this

hard-to-grow muscle.

Howtodo it

SEATEDHAMSTRINGCURL

WHYDOIT?Thesame

principlesapplyhere: the

machineprovides thestabilityand

fixedmovement patternsoyoucan

work your hamstringsto total fatigue.



Men’s Fitness112

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC FIXYOURWEAKSPOTS

Proud of your prominent biceps and big chest?They might be

impressive, but if youdon’t work allyour muscles you’llend up

with an unbalanced body. Here’s how to make all-over gains

Thismuscle doesn’tneedto bebig but

itdoesneed tobe strong,soyouneglect itat your

peril.Aweakrotatorcuff can leadto injuryandputyououtofactionformonths.Butif youimprove your shoulderstabilitybyworkingthiscritical shoulderstabiliseryou’llward

off injuryand increaseyourpower outputinlifts, such as theshoulderpress, andinsports

suchasvolleyball,tennis andbaseball.Include a setof internal

rotationexercisesbeforeevery trainingor sportssessionto bothwarmupandstrengthen therotatorcuff.

MISSINGMUSCLEROTATORCUFF

Askany gym-goerif theytraintheir legs andthey’ll

probablyanswer ‘Ofcourse!’withanoffended look.Askthemhowmuchof that timeis spent on

theircalves,however, andthelookismorelikely tobe one ofembarrassment. Thecalves aretheengineof thebody,workingtirelessly nomatterwhatyou’redoing.Becauseof this they areclassedas anendurancemuscleandbuilding these takesa two-

prongedattack. Aimfor somestraight-leg calf raisesfor thecalf,andabent-kneeversion tohitthesoleus,whichis thedeep-lyingcalfmusclethatconnectsyour

kneeto your foot. Goheavy –thesemusclesneedstimulating.

MISSINGMUSCLECALVES

KEYMOVESeatedcalfraise(seepage111)

WHEN?Dothisat the endofyourleg sessionandaim for three setsoat least 12 reps.

Guaranteed tohelpwithyour

grip, strong forearmscanalsohelp theoverall

developmentofyourarms andassistwithmanyheavycompoundlifts, such aspull-upsanddeadlifts. So ifyouwanttobuildbigger biceps,tricepsandshouldersyourgripstrength is incredibly

important.Withoutastronggripnotonlywyouseverely limityouability to lift heavy, bu

you’ll also increaseyoriskof injury toyourshoulders.

MISSINGMUSCLEFOREARMS

KEYMOVE

Collar grip (seepage62)

WHEN?

Dothis afteryourheavysessionswhenyourgrip is already fatiguedtoworktheforearmmusclesevenharder.

KEYMOVE

Barbell Cubanpress (see page93)

WHEN?

Dothis at thestartof yourshoulderworkoutwith a lightweight to thoroughlywarmupthisdelicatemuscle group.

11 22

33



Men

11

22

33



Men’s Fitness114

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC FIXYOURWEAKSPOTS

Thismuscle– the

backpart of yourshoulders – iskey toachievingwide, strongand impressiveupper bodybecausebig reardeltoidsgivewidthandmassto yourupper back. You also need totrain these,alongwith

therotators, to impro

shoulderstability.Benchesandotherpressingexercisesoftenplacetoomuchemphasison thefrondeltoidso ignoringthe rear partof thismusclegroup cancauimbalanceand injury

MISSINGMUSCLEREARDELTOID

Underdevelopedhamstrings leave

your legsweakandproneto injurybutregularhamstring exercisesandstretcheswillmakethesemuscles strongandflexible,whichin turnwillprevent youpulling them

whenyou’reperformingintenseexercisesuchas sprinting. Asyourhamstringsarethemuscles thathelppropelyouforward,building biggerhamstringswillalsohelp to increaseyourrunning speed .

MISSINGMUSCLEHAMSTRINGS

Your trapezius

muscles,or traps–eithersideofyour spine belowyourneck – areresponsible forneckandshoulder strength,andworkingthemcangiveyouan impressivelywidephysique. They’reactivatedbythe shruggingmotionandmoveyourscapulae (shoulder blades)up,downand back.Exercisesthatmimic

a shrugwillstrengthen

youruppertraps,whileyour lower trapswork inconjunctionwithyourlats toperformpull-upsand latpull-downs. Trapsare importantto assistindevelopingothermuscles,suchas latsand reardeltoids. Includeeitherdumb-bellor barbellshrugsin yourbackorshoulderworkouts todevelopthesemuscles.

MISSINGMUSCLETRAPEZIUS

KEYMOVE

Dumb-bellshrugs(seepage109)

WHEN?

Atthe endofyoursessionperformthree sets ofeightto 12 repswith aheavyweight totarget thispowerfulmuscle.

KEYMOVE

Bent-over lateralraise

HOWTODOIT

Standwith your feet shoulder-width apartandadumb-bell ineachhand. Bend forward fromthehips,with theweightsatarm’s length, palms faceachother, thenraise theweightsuntil they’rein linewith yourshoulders.Slowly lower to thestart.Do threesets often to12 reps atthe endofshoulderworkout.

KEYMOVE

Seatedleg curl (Seepage 111)

WHEN?

Aimfor threesets ofeight repsafter lunges toisolateyourhamstrings. Andafter hittingyourlegswith squatsanddeadlifts,finishoff your legroutinewith three sets ofseatedleg curls,withten to12 reps ineachset.

MISSINGMUSCLEGLUTES

Buildingyourgluteshas farmore

thancosmeticbenefits.Whenworkingproperly,yourglutesare themostpowerfulgroupofmusclesin thebody. They’re socrucialtomovementthat othermusclegroupsareequippedto assist in

oreventakeoversomof their rolesif they’renot uptothe job.Thissubstitutionof movemoften leads tolossofmusclemass,pain anultimatelyinjury, so itvital to trainthem.Dosobyincludingsquatlunges andstep-ups.

KEYMOVE

One-legglute raise

HOWTODOIT

Lie onyour backwitharms byyour side. Keepoleg straightandbendthe other so its footis flat ofloor. Pushdownonthis foottoraiseyourgluteKeepyourcorebraced.Hold, then lower to thestart.Dothreesetsof ten to12 reps for each leg.

44 55

66 77



Men

44

55

66

77





CHANGETHE

118 Whychangethevariables?

120 Setsand reps

122 Periodisation

126 Frequency

128 Failure

130 Tempo

132 Rest

134 Burn fat fast

RULEFIVE

VARIABLES



Men’s Fitness118



Men

Whydoyouneedto

changethevariablesofyourworkout?Theelementsthatmakeupaworkoutandwhy

youshouldmix themuptoseeyourmusclesgrow

Now you knowthe maincompound

and isolationexercises andhow toperformthem correctly, it’s time toputyour newfoundknowledge into actionandactually start building some muscle.

There are manytypes ofworkoutyoucan do, and we’ll takea closer lookatsome of themost efective options inchapter six. First, let’s takea lookat thekey components of everyworkoutandwhy you needtokeepchanging them.

ThebasicsA workout ismadeup ofa numberofdiferent elements orvariables:

Exercise selectionThe lifts youperformin anygivenworkout.Reps The numberof timesyou performa move without stopping for rest.Sets The numberof timesyou performa certainnumberof reps.Weight Theamountof resistanceyoulift for each rep ofeachset.

Tempo The speedatwhich you

performeach rep.Rest The amountof time you restbetweensetsandbetweenexercises.

MakeachangeThemost obvious variable betweenworkouts is exerciseselection. This andtheweight youlift arethemost importantvariables tokeepchanging for continuedmusclegrowth. But tweaking all thekeyvariables can alsohavea big impacton yourmuscle-buildingprogress.

This chapter explainseverythingyou needtoknowfromthe basics –

how to select the correct sets and repsrange – tohow periodisation (seepage122) can helpyoutoadd20per centtoany liftin as littleas nineweeks. Italso covers everything in between,such as how often you should train,how fast you should lift and how longyoushould rest betweenexercises.

RULEFIVE CHANGETHEVARIABLES



Men’s Fitness120

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC SETS AND REPS

Ifyoudon’tknowhowmanysetsandrepsyoushouldbeperform

you’llneverbuildmuscle.Hereare thebasicsofeveryworkout

REPS

An abbreviation of repetition, one rep i

the completion of a given exercise from

start to inish. To build muscle you need

to perform between eight and 12 reps

per set.

SETS

A set is a given number of reps performconsecutively without rest. Three to

four sets of eight to 12 reps is the most

eective way to increase muscle mass.

Ataglance

Repsandsets

Setsand reps are thebread and butter of your workout. As soon

as you lift a weight, even if it’s only on

you’vecompleted a rep – anda set.Bu

doing one lift onits own is not the bes

way to build muscle.

Instead you needto lift a weight a

certain number of times, rest for a giv

amountof time, then repeat this proc

a certain numberof times.

Themost effective setsand reps

range for building muscleis three to fo

sets ofeight to 12reps ofa given move

That’s because this approach subjectsyour muscles to enoughresistance an

time under tension to ignitethe musc

building response.

To workout which weight you shou

be lifting you need to know your one

rep max, or the maximum amountof

weight you can lift for a singlerepetiti

of any move.

Knowing this is important because

percentages of this number determin

theweight you should be lifting for ea

rep,depending on your trainingaim.

Here’s what you need to know.



Men

DIFFERENTTYPES

OFREPSIn addition tonormalreps,try thesevariations tokeepyourmusclesguessing – andgrowing

FORCEDREPS

Once your muscles fail and canno longer perform a single extrarep, a training partner or spottercan step in to help you force outa few extra ones to break downeven more muscle tissue. They

do this by helping you get pastthe ‘sticking point’ of a givenexercise – for example the irsthalf of a biceps curl – before youtake over to inish the rep’s fullrange of motion.

NEGATIVEREPS

Your muscles are stronger inthe eccentric, or lowering,phase of a lift than in theconcentric, or raising, stage.Negative reps take advantage

of this strength by using a muchheavier weight and starting atthe ‘top’ position of a move andthen lowering it as slowly aspossible, ideally in more thanfour seconds. So, you might

jump to the top of the pull-upposition then slowly lower backto the start, or have a spotterhelp you lift a barbell to the top ofa biceps curl then lower it slowly.

PARTIALREPS

These reps only involvemovement through a certain partof an exercise’s normal full rangeof motion. This is typically theeasiest part of each rep whereheavier weights can be used.

15REPSTRAININGAIM Increase

inyourmuscle strength

andpower.

WEIGHT85100percent

ofone-repmax.

WHY?Low-rep setsof

heavyweightsbuild

strengthandpower

because they recruitandfatigueyourfast-twitch

muscle fibres. They’re

responsible foryour

muscles’ explosiveness

andthisapproach

makes themgrowback

bigger. This reprange

also improves the

communicationpathway

betweenyourbrainand

themuscle,helping it to

react andcontract faster

andwithmore force.

67REPSTRAININGAIMOptimal

compromise between

an increase inmuscle

strengthandsize.

WEIGHT7883percent

ofone-repmax.

WHY?Sets in this rep

rangewill stillworkyour

fast-twitchmuscle fibres

and improve thebrain-

muscle connection, but

performing extra repswillalso fatigueyourmuscles

morethoroughly, resulting

in improvements in

strengthandsize.

Picking theright rep rangePerformingtheappropriatenumberofrepspersetattherightweightiscriticaltoachievingyourgoals

812REPSTRAININGAIM Increase

inyourmusclemassand

improvedstrength.

WEIGHT7077percent

ofone-repmax.

WHY?Themosteffective

way tobuildmuscle

mass is for eachset to

last between40and70seconds.Sets ofeight to

12 repsare theperfect rep

rangefor this becausethe

weight isheavyenough

to fatigue themuscles

thoroughly butstill

manageable foryou to

maintain correct formfor

thedesired length of time.

13+REPSTRAININGAIM Increase

inyourmuscle strength-endurancewithsome

muscle-massgains.WEIGHT6069percent

ofone-repmax.

WHY?Usinglighter

weightscombinedwitha

higher reprange recruits,

works and fatiguesyour

slow-twitchfibres. Sets in

this rep rangeimprove the

ability of these fibres to

dealwith lacticacid and

theotherwasteproducts

thataccumulateduringexercise. Youwillstill see

somemuscle-massgains,

however, especiallyif you

are new toweight training.

Rep ranges and weight percentages taken from German BodyCompProgramby Charles Poliquin (charlespoliquin.com)



Men’s Fitness122

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC PERIODISATION

Many fitness experts trip overthemselves in their attempts to

bring you the latest, cutting-edge fitnessthinking. However, sometimes the bestadvice has been around forsome time.About 2,000years, in fact.

Varyingthe intensityof training overa series of cycles toavoida plateau – aprocess known as ‘periodisation’ – becamepopular in the20th century, butit wastheancient Greeks who first realised the

benefits. Legend has it that the strongman

Miloof Croton used a baby bull as histraining tool of choice. As thecalf grew, sotoo did the weightMilohad tolift.

His fellow ancient GreekGalen ofPergamum (AD129-c216), a writer,philosopher and physician to gladiators,also advocated planned training variation,

believing that using various forms ofexercises would maximise performance.

RepetitivestrainPeriodisation may be wellestablished butthat doesn’t mean it’s common knowledgein most weights room.It’sprobably true

tosay that one of the most commonmistakes made in the pursuit of newmuscle is liftingthe same weight anddoing thesame thing week in, week out.

JARGON BUSTERPeriodisationStructuring training into progressively

more challenging phases to improve

strength and gain muscle.

Increasing theweighteachweek isa

sure-fire recipeforsuccess



Men



Men’s Fitness124

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC PERIODISATION

Go down this routeand keep doing

the samething at everyworkout session

and, eventually you’ll stop improving.

Butif you follow Milo’s example and

keepincreasing the load you’re lifting

eventually you’ll gain strength.This phenomenon, known as general

adaptation syndrome, is something

periodisation seeks to exploit and sports

scientists have explored.

A recent studyat Texas A&M

University took 92 weight-trained

males divided them into four groups.

The first group liftedsetsof 79per cent

of their one-rep max,group two lifted

83 percent and group three started at

79 per cent, but rose graduallyto 92per

cent. Group four played badminton.

After 16 weeks themembers of

group three,the only group that usedperiodisation, were strongerin both

the bench press andsquat thanany

of theother three groups.

RealworldbeneftsUseperiodisationtoadd20per cent toanyexercise innineweeks

Thischart shows theprogressionyou couldmakeusing periodisation over nineweeks

if you are currentlylifting60kgfor the benchpress– but it’s the structureof theprogression,ratherthan theexercise, that’skey. If youlift more or lessthan 60kg,

adjust thestartingweightbutfollowthe samelevelofprogression,makingsure

youdon’taddmorethanabout 2.5per cent eachweek.

WorkoutWorkoutWorkout

Workoutke

6 0 k g

4 0 k g

6 0 k g

4 1 . 5 k g

4 3 k g

6 4 . 5 k g

4 4 . 5 k g

6 4 . 5 k g

6 6 k g

4 6 k g

6 6 k g

6 7 . 5 k g

4 7 . 5 k g

6 7 . 5 k g

6 9 k g

4 9 k g

6 9 k g

7 1 . 5 k g

5 1 . 5 k g

7 1 . 5 k g

REST RWEEK 1 WEEK 2 WEEK 3 WEEK 4 WEEK 5 WEEK 6 WEEK 7 WEEK 8 WEEK 9 W

6 1 . 5 k g

6 1 . 5 k g

6 3 k g

6 3 k g



Men

The scientific, and indeed mythical,

evidence seems to support using

periodisation, but you’restill left with the

question of how, specifically, you should

apply it to your workouts. Takinga random

approach just won’t work.Instead, decide what you want to achieve

anduse the training variables at your

disposal to meet that goal.

If your goal is strength then use thecorrect

reps and sets toachieve it. This might be

four sets of fivereps, so you progress on one

variable, such as how much weight you lift.

Aim to increase upper-body lifts by up to

2.5 percent each week andlower-body lifts

by up to five per cent.

A key part of periodisation is keeping a

training log to track your progress because if

you don’t record what you do, you haveno

way of knowing whether you’reincreasingthestress you’replacing on your body or

whether you’re improving.

Rest rightAnother important aspect of periodisation

is making sure you take rest or recovery

weeks. It may seem like a wasteof valuable

workout time butwithout rest you won’t

makethe samegains.You can use the

same workouts forfour to six weeks,

improving week on week, butafter that

you may find you’re not ableto push on

so it’s a great idea to takea week off or

a week of activerecoveryby doing halfthevolume you would usually do.

A block of training that involves several

weeks of improvement followed by a planned

recovery is alsoknown as a mesocycle, and

this canlast anywhere between two and12

weeks. When you return from your recovery

week you should be refreshed and ready to

enter a new mesocycle and make a new

set of improvements.

You can introduce a secondcycle

within yourmesocycle, called a microcycle,

and this smaller cycle may last onlya few

days. For example, you might liftheavy

on Monday, reduce the weight onWednesday then go back to liftingheavy

on Friday. You would then follow that

pattern for a few weeks before changing

your exercises.

Structure your periodisation

programme according to your goal.

If you want strength and hypertrophy,

keep your sets and reps the same

but increase the weight.

Don’t increase the load you lift each

week by more than 2.5 per cent for

upper-body moves and ive per cent for

lower-body exercises.

Include a rest week at the end of

each cycle of weekly load increases.

Cycles can last between two and 12

weeks, but four to six is likely to give

you the best results.

You can vary the load you lift withina short amount of time. This is known

as a microcycle and increases your

chances of adding size and strength.

AtaglancePeriodisation

RememberthecalfSo, if you use realistic load increasesand

well-timed rest weeks you can keep getting

bigger and stronger, right? Not quite. Luckily,

for oldMilo his cow eventually stopped

growing. That’s becauseat some stage the

progressionhas to stop.You can’t keep adding

2.5kg to your lifts every week indefinitely.

There’s only so much your body can do. And

progression isn’t linear. You’ll experience a

steep improvement curveto start with and

that will slow to incremental changes.It’s

importantto realise that thelonger you traintheharder it is to make progress.

It may become increasingly challenging

to get bigger and stronger once you’ve

been training for years, even if you do

use periodisation. But without using

periodisation, it’s virtually impossible.

‘Use thesameworkoutsfor four

tosixweeks,butafter thatyou

needtotakeaweeko’



Men’s Fitness126

FREQUENCY

What’s therightnumberofweeklytrainingsessions forthebest

results?Andhowmuchrestdoyoureallyneedbetweenthem?

What many people don’t realise

is that your muscles don’t grow

whileyou’re in the gym. Of course, they

appear bigger when you’re lifting, but

that’s only because they are filledwith

blood that creates that ‘pumped’ look. But

while you need weights-based training

sessions to make muscles bigger and

stronger, it’s in thetime between your

sessions that they actually grow.

This is because whiletraining breaks

down thefibres that make up your

muscles, it’s during thetime awayfrom

thegym that these damaged cells arerepaired. It’s this recovery process that

adds size andstrength. This means that

planning your rest is as important as

planning your weights sessions, because

recovery allows the body to replenish

energy stores and repair damaged muscle

tissues. So if you are following your

trainingregime to theletter butaren’t

seeingthe gains you’d expect, you may

be either resting for too long between

sessions or notresting enough. Taking

long a breakbetweensessions can red

stimulus momentum, whereas taking

littletime to recover canlimityour mu

gains while simultaneously increasin

your risk of injury andmental boredo

You’ll know when you have had

sufficient rest because you’ll feel fresh

strongand raring to go. That’s because

your body has ‘super-compensated’

from thetraining so you are stronger.

this point you canpush yourselfhard

than you didbefore when lifting, andt

positive adaptive process repeats itseyou keep getting bigger and stronger.

EasydoesitA rest day doesn’t just mean a day aw

fromthe gym – though it’s vital thatit

does mean exactly that, otherwise yo

potentialgains will be curtailed– it als

needs to be restful. It’s no good if your

‘recovery’ day involves a highly stress

14-hour day in the office. Remember,

en’s Fitness

u expect, you may

be either resting for too long between

. no goo if your

‘recovery’ day involves a highly stress

14-hour day in the office. Remember,



Men

rest is whenthe magic happens so findsome time to relax properly andlet yourmuscles grow.

Thatsaid, if fat loss is your primarytraining aim then it’s worth stayingactive, even on your rest days, byperforming some cardioworkto keepchipping away at your fatstores.

OwngoalsSo what’s theperfect amountof timeneededto recover from a sessionso thatyou are in prime condition when you next

hit the gym? Again, everything dependson what goals you’veset yourself.

If you aretrainingfor power then you’llneed to leaveup to three days betweensessions, because power training involveslow-rep, high-weight, multi-joint moves,whichare very taxing on both the musclesandyour central nervous system, so you’llneed quality recovery time.

If you want to increase strength, youshould aim to train each musclegroup

our central nervous system, so you’llneed quality recovery time.

If you want to increase strength, youshould aim to train each musclegroup

twice a week,whichmeans you shouldleavebetween 24 and 48 hours betweensessions that target thesame muscles. If youare following a split programme, rather thandoing total-body sessions (see page140),it’s fineto doupper bodyone day and legs

the next, but you still needto factor in somegood-quality rest each week. Thesame rulesapply for building musclesize.

For muscular endurance, which useslighter weights for a high numberof reps,youdon’t need as much rest because thistypeof training doesn’t do so much fibre damageto the muscleas the others, andso can beperformedmore frequently. That said, stillleaveat least 24 hours between sessions, andtake one or two rest daysa week.

Rest is as important as training in your

muscle-building goals because it is

during the time between sessions that

your muscles are repaired and made

bigger and stronger.

Too little rest means your muscles

won’t have fully recovered, so you may

struggle to lift the same weights for the

same sets and reps as before.

Too much rest between workouts meansyou are won’t be pushing your muscles

at the required intensity or giving them

suicient stimulus to grow.

AtaglanceTrainingfrequency

‘Afterlifting,youwillgrow

backstronger ifyoueat

andrestwell’



Men’s Fitness128

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC FAILURE

Whenitcomestobuildingbigandstrongmuscles,

failure isthekeytosuccess

Jobinterviews,your driving

test,gettinga girl’s number.

Failurein anyof these scenarios

is upsetting, frustratingandoften

downrightembarrassing.

But thereis oneplacewhere

failureshould beyour ultimate

objective: theweightsroom. That’s becauseworking yourmuscles so

hard that they fail tocomplete that

final,excruciatingrep,is oneof the

mosteffectivetrainingmethods if

youwant toget stronger, leanerand

bigger. If that’s yourmuscle-building

ambition, then failureis theonly

wayyoucansucceed.

In simpleterms, trainingto

failureis definedasperformingan

exerciseuntilyou can’tdoanother

repwith correctform. Sowhy is this

trainingprotocol sogoodatbuilding

muscular sizeandstrength?Whenyou lift aweight to failure

youareoverloadingyourmuscles

with a level of stress theyhaven’t

experiencedbefore.Thisshocks

yourbody into thinking it is

incapableof doingwhat is required

ofit so itgrowsyourmuscles back

stronger. Ifyoudon’t take your sets

tofailureandjustdo three setsof

eight comfortable reps instead, then

yourmuscles think that theyare

already strongenough toperformthe taskaskedof them. Theneedto

growbackstrongerisn’t sourgent.

OperationoverloadWhenyoupushyourmuscles

to theabsolute limityourbrain

freaks outand getsyourcentral

nervoussystem tocall onasmany

musclefibresas itcanto start

helping outwiththelift.Training

to failureresults inmoremuscle

fibredamage,calledmicrotrauma,

becauseyou’llrecruiteverytypeof

muscle fibreyouhaveavailable.Thishas twosignificant benefits.

First, themoremuscle fibres you

can recruit andthendamageduring

training,themore fibres growback

biggerandstronger. Second,yo

are creating amoreefficientlin

of communicationbetweenyo

brainandyourmuscles,which

means that they canreact faste

andcontractwithmore strengt

thenexttimethey are calledup

what’s knownasmusclememoTrainingto failurealsoplaces

highest demandsonthemuscl

andthecentral nervoussystem

whichwillhavea bigger impac

muscularhypertrophy. Threes

ofeightwitha sub-maximal loa

– lifting less thanyoureight-rep

max – doesnot have the same

impactonmusculardevelopm

oronyour neuromuscular, or

brain-to-muscle, co-ordination.

Theotheradvantageof traini

to failureis that you’relikelyto

spendless time lifting.For strengthyouwillprobabl

only reach failureon your final

set, becauseyou’ll beaimingfor

one- to three-repmaxandyouw



Men

Training to failure is a strategy in which you’re unable to lift

the weight with correct form on the inal rep of your set.

This form of overload training shocks your muscles into growing

back bigger or stronger.

Because it is so taxing on your muscles and central nervous

system, you need adequate rest between sessions to allow a

full recovery.

Failure to do so will quickly result in overtraining, muscle soreness

and even size and strength losses.

AtaglanceFailure

thereforeneedtodoa goodnumberoflighterwarm-upsets.

But ifyou are lifting for size, you needtoreachfailurebetweentheeighthand 12threpof eachset and onlyaimfor aroundtwo sets ofa moveper musclegroup,restingbetween90seconds andfourminutes between them.Any more thanthis is tootaxingonyourbody.

Whether you’reliftingfor strengthorsize, youdoneedto limitnumberof setsperworkoutotherwiseyou runa realdangerof burn-out.

Becauseof theeffort involved in

lifting to failure stick tonomore thanthreesessions a week,evenly spaced outwith between48and72hoursbetweenworkouts.This is how long it’ll take youtorecover sufficientlyenough topush alittle hardernexttime.

FailureandfatigueIfyou don’t leaveadequatetimebetweensessions then you are asking for trouble because putting suchstrainon yourcentralnervoussystemisn’t somethingyoucandoregularly. Instead of getting biggerand strongeryou’llend up fatigued,

with a weakenedimmune system andalltheothernastyside effects ofovertraining.

Itwillalso make you weakerbecauseexcessivemicrotrauma ofmuscle fibresis thought tobe counterproductiveandmight inhibit growthbyblunting theanabolic (muscle-building) responseyou normallyget after a hard andsuccessfulweightssession.

A final consideration is that ifyou trytotrain to failure too often you start tolose technique: as soonas correctformgoesoutthe window you are openingthedoor toan increased chance of injury,

especiallywhen youare lifting heavy.Sohow doyouknow whatweightyou

shouldyou be lifting for each exercise?Ifyou are training for strength then youwantto lift fewer thansixreps per set,

whichwouldequateto startingwith around80to90 per centof yourone-repmax for thatmove. Whereas, if you want bigger muscles,workwitha loadthat isbetween 60and 80per centof yourone-rep maxandaimfor betweeneight and 12 repsper set.

If you are unsure how much weightyou shouldbe usewhen you start yourprogramme of liftingto failure, it’s best tostart lightandtake a few sessions toestablishyour failure point inyour target rep range.Remember fewer than sixrepsperset will build strength,eight to 12 will build size.

Ifyou want to trythis protocolthere’s onefinal consideration:you haveto reachtruefailure.You’ll knowwhen youhave becauseit’ll feel like you’vebeenrunoverandthereis justnothing left inyour tank. Ifyou arenew totrainingthenit’s a good ideatohavesomeone more experiencedtospot foryou,

especiallyduring more complicated lifts, toensure youcancomplete eachset safely.

‘Whenyouliftaweight tofailure

youareoverloadingyourmuscles

witha levelofstresstheyhaven’t

experiencedbefore’



Men’s Fitness130

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC TEMPO

The most often neglected training variable –

tempo – is one you can’t afford to ignore if

you want toadd serious muscle

ecte tra ning varia e –

canta or to igno

rious muscle

‘For strength and

conditioning

coaches, tempo

isanothertool–

just like sets, repsand weights’

It’s temptingwhenyou

first start liftingweights to

tryandpower throughyourset,

bangingout the repsas fastas

youcan so thatyoucanget your

workout doneand dusted fast.

Whilethis approachcan

be beneficial if youarean

experienced lifterwanting to

build explosivepower– fast

reps trainyourmuscles to

contract quickly, resultingin

maximumpoweroutput– but

if youwant tobuildbiggermuscles, thenyou’regoing

toneedto spend sometime

thinkingabout tempo.



Men

TempotrapTempo is thespeed at whichyou

liftand lower the weight duringeachrep. Thelonger you take over each rep

theharder your muscles must work tomanageand control the load. This is

commonly known as ‘time undertension’(TUT).The longer the

TUT, the greater the damageto your muscle fibres, which

yourbody subsequently mustrepair resulting in bigger and

strongermuscles.Tempo is another tool, just like sets,

reps, weight and even exercise selection,that can be tampered with to maximisemuscle gains,but most menignore tempo

because they don’t recognise or appreciate

its importance. You can elicit completelydifferent physiological adaptations bycompleting thesame sets, reps and weight

but by varying the tempo.So whatis the right TUT whentryingto

addmuscular size?Research shows that toachieveoptimal massyour muscles needtobe under tension for between 40 and 70seconds perset, whichmeans thefastesttempo you should aim for is a two-secondup, two-seconddown approachfor sets oftenreps. As you becomemoreexperiencedyou can eitherstick to this tempo and upthe weight, orchangethe tempo toa two-

second up, four-second down approach.

BigreturnsTo reap thebenefits of bigger muscles youmay need to leaveyour ego at thedoor.It’s very tempting to go for theheaviestweights, butit’s often more thanyou cancomfortably manageso you are forced to

bang out each rep as fast as possible. Thisresults in you using momentum to lift it,rather thanplacing all the workload onthetarget musclegroup,whichis themostefficient way to make them grow.

Theanswer? Drop the weight. That’s

theonly way to ensure you are hittingthecorrecttempoon everyrep of yourset. Although it is importantto liftheavyto build muscle, it’s betterto go a littlelighter but extendthe length of time under

tension. This willhave a farmorebeneficialeffect than going a bit heavier but onlyforareally short periodof time.

InjuryfreePerforming each rep in a slow andcontrolled fashion has the additional

benefit of preventing injury. Fast andexplosive reps shift thestress from themuscles to the connective tissues, suchas ligamentsand tendons, and this is howinjuries often occur in inexperienced lifterswho don’t know correct form. Resistancetraining should be focusedon highintensity, perfect form and maximum timeunder tension becausethis will guaranteemuscle growth while minimising yourexposure to injury.

KeepitsimpleFinally, if you’reunsure of how fast orslowly you should be lifting each rep,don’t worry. Just ask yourself what yourulitmate training goals are. If you want totrain for speed, lift quickly; for maximalstrength then liftheavy; for maximal sizelift less heavy but more slowly; and forimproved endurance capacity then liftlighter for longer. It’s that easy.

Tempo is the speed at which

you perform a rep.

The slower the tempo, the longer

your muscles are exposed to the

stress of managing the weight.

The duration of a rep is called the

‘time under tension’ (TUT).

The more damage you can do to your

muscles during a session, the bigger

and stronger they will grow back.

Performing each rep very quickly canhelp build explosive power, but only if

you maintain perfect form throughout.

AtaglanceTempo



Men’s Fitness132

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC REST

Getting yourrest periods right will help you

achieve your fitness aims sooner

When itcomes tobuildingmuscle

theformulafor success is simple.

Youselectaweight, lift ita certain

numberof times,put itdown,rest,then

lift again.The‘liftingweights’part is

crucial ofcourse,butthe periodof time

that you restbetweensets canalsohave

adramatic impacton theeffectiveness

ofyour trainingsession. In fact, rest isa

trainingvariable as importantas sets,

reps,weightandtempo inensuring you

hityour fitness target.

That’s because theamountof rest betweensets can influence theefficiency,

safetyandultimateeffectivenessof any

givenstrength-trainingprogramme.Why?

Becausewhenyou lift weights,youdoso

topush yourmusclesoutof their comfort

zonebecause it’s thisstress that makes

them stronger. But thereis only somuch

worktheycan dobefore their energy

storesbecomedepleted,hamperingtheir

ability toperformadditional repswith

goodform.Byrestingfora predetermined

periodyougiveyourbody time to

resupply themusclecellswith fuel

so they cando more lifting.

‘How long you rest

between sets can have a

dramatic impact on your

training session’

wi e p you

ner



Men

PowerplaySohow long shouldyoube resting betweensets? It dependsentirely

onyour objectives.Whentraining

forpower, youneed to liftmoderate

toheavyweightsatspeed,which

taxesyourcentralnervoussystem.

Thisneuromuscular fatigueclogs

up thepathwaysbetweenourbrain

andmuscles, sowithout sufficient

restyouareunable tosendthe

signal that firesup themusclesas

quicklyas youneedtoget the bar

moving onthenext set.

Power training isusually done

with complex lifts, such as thesnatchand thecleanandjerk,

andyoudon’twant toattempt

potentially dangerous lifts likes

theseunlesseverything is firing.

Youneedat least threeminutes

betweensets, if not fouror five.

SizingitupHypertrophyor increasing sizeis all

aboutworkingthemuscles sohard

they start tobreakdown,which

stimulates yourbody to repair

themso they get bigger. Because

youneed toworkyourmuscles for between40and 70secondsper

setto stimulategrowth, this

increasedtimeunder tension

createsa build-upof lacticacid

in themuscles,which ispainful.

Therefore, restbetween60and90

secondsbetweeneachset,which

shouldbe enoughtimeformostof

the lacticacidto beremovedsoyou

canhitthemuscles hardagain.

GivemestrengthIfyour aim is tobuild strength, you

needtoliftasheavy asyou can foraround sixreps.If you can’t stickto

thistarget – either you can’t reach

sixor you reach ittooeasily – you’re

using thewrongweight. Butwhile

you’refinding therightweight,youalsoneedto focus onrest.

When trainingfor gains in

strengthyouneed to rest for about

the same timeaswhenlifting for

powerbecausethevolumeand

intensityis such that itcausesboth

muscular andneuromuscular

fatigue.Studieshave suggestedyou

canmaybeget awaywithas littleas

oneminute’s restbetweensets, but

three to fiveminutes isboth safer

andmore effective.

GoingthedistanceIfyouwant yourmuscles tobe able

tohandlea loadfor a longerperiod

of time, you should trainwitha light

weight for high repsandwith little

timeto recover. This trains your

muscles todealwith lacticacid

build-upmoreefficientlyso you

cankeepgoingfor longer, sokeep

restperiods asbriefaspossible,

ideallyunder60seconds.

Rest between sets and

exercises lets your muscles

replenish their energy stores.

Not resting for long enough

means your muscles won’t be

as capable of performing the

set with good form.

Resting for too long can

result in you not testing your

muscles enough to force them

to grow back bigger

and stronger.

AtaglanceRest

b

f

t

t

r

p

t

b

t

t

b

i

i

t

I

t



Men’s Fitness134

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC BURNFAT FAST

Torchcalorieswithweightsandget thebodyyou’vealwayswante

What’s thebest way toshift that

sparetyrearound your waist? Landslowcardiosessions or cutting fa

fromyour diet? Theanswer is neither

best approachis lifting weights.

Theidea that long butslowcardio

sessions – theso-called ‘fat-burning zo

– are the bestwayto loseweight issim

not true. Low-intensity exercise does

into fat stores for fuel, but itdoesn’tbu

many calories.Traininghard andfast

burns calories far moreefficiently.

What’s moreif you perform a lot of

cardiothen your body canstartbreak

downmuscletissueto burnas fuel. So

goodnews is that your fat-losstraininsessions canbea lot shorter. Thebad

is thattheyalsoneed tobe a lot harde

be based aroundlifting weights.

OxygendebtLiftingweightsis more effective atbu

fat thana long, slowrunbecause of th

damage itcausesto your muscles.A

hardweightssessioncreatesan oxyge

debt in your muscles that must be

replenished.This is called excess pos

exercise oxygenconsumption,or EPO

andis accompanied byan increased

consumption of energy. Duringthisrecoveryprocess, fat stores arebroke

downandfree fattyacids are released

thebloodwhere they are used as fuel

When you lift weights you create sm

tears in your muscles fibres andthese

must be repaired.Themoremuscular

damage you create thegreater theext

of repair needed, whichcomesat a hi

metaboliccost, so you burn more calo

A steady runwill result inhigherener

consumption foraround 30 minutes a

thesession, butwith weights theeffec

last up to48hoursafterwards, resultin

a far, fargreaterexpenditure of calorieAn additional, longer-termbenefit i

that weight trainingwill increaseyou

muscle mass.Muscle is active tissuet

‘Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx’



Men

Weights are more eective than slow cardio at blitzing fat

because your body continues to burn calories long after you’ve

inished training.

High-intensity interval training is also a good way to burn

calories, especially if you are new to lifting weights.

Keep your rest periods between sets to about 45 seconds for the

most eective fat-burning session.

AtaglanceBurningfat

burns calories, which means that if you

gain muscle, even at rest your metabolicrate is elevatedand your body will be

burning more calories. This creates avirtuous cycle where the more muscleyou put on, the more fat yourbodyburns.

Getintense

Ready to ditch cardioforever? Not so fast.Lifting weights may burn more caloriesthan slow, steady-state cardio, but high-intensityinterval training (HIIT) – a form ofshort, but intense cardio exercise designedtoincrease fitness and burn fat – also hasa role toplay in helping you slim down,

especiallyif you’re new to weight training.Themoreexperienced you are, the

more thoroughly you can fatigue yourmuscles, but if you can’t tax your musclesto theextent neededto mobilise fatstoresas fuel, then you need to supplement yourweight training with some HIIT sessions.Typically, these would involve a warm-up followed by several minutes of all-outeffort in cardio exercise – sprinting, cyclingor swimming – interspersed with periodsof recovery before a cool down.

So what makes intervals theonly formof cardiogood for torching fat? HIIT also

creates an oxygen debt in your musclesthat stokes up your metabolism so youcontinue burning calories long afteryou’vefinished training, just as you wouldif you’d been lifting weights.

When it comes to weight training itself,thebest strategy for burning fat is to liftto failure with very short rests betweensets becausethis creates themaximummuscledamage. If you can dothreesets oftenreps with easethen you aren’t creatingan oxygen debt and so won’t burn excesscalories.Instead do supersets (see page148) that work different musclegroups so

you canworkout harder.In short, tolosefat you needto lift until

your muscles literally can’t do onemorerep before resting for 45 seconds and

doing another set.Because the rest is so brief, you will have to start dropping theweight you liftafter each set,but don’tworry about lifting lighter dumb-bells. Itmay bea blowto your ego in the short-term butyou’ll get results in thelong-term.

Movesomemetal

Compound moves should formthe backbone of your fat-loss session, sostick to squats,lunges, rows,benchandoverhead presses, and pull-ups andchin-ups to tax themaximum amountofmusclein theminimum amountof time.

Most compound moves require freeweights, such as barbells and dumb-bells,

but you shouldn’t turn your back onresistance machines.

If your goal is tolookbetternaked thenmachines may be thebetteroption, ifyou are new to lifting. Machines take thestability outof each move, allowing you to

push harder for greater muscular damage.As you becomemoreadvanced start thesession with free weights before maxingout on themachines to tax your muscles.

‘Theideathatlongbutslowcardiosessionsare thebestway

toloseweight issimplynot true’





VARYYOURWORKOUTS

138 Whyvaryyourworkouts?

140 Split training

142 Totalbody training

144 Circuit training

146 Straight sets

148 Supersets

152 Trisets andgiantsets

154 Pyramidsetsanddropsets

RULESIX



Men’s Fitness138



Men

Whyvaryyour

workouts?Achange isasgoodasarest –andas important

–whenitcomestobuildinghardmuscle

Workingout is all about

change. Of course, thewholepoint is to change

yourbody, but the bestway

toachieve this is to regularlychange yourworkouts.That’s not to say that the

basic three sets ofeight to 12

reps approachdoesn’twork: itdoes. But in the sameway that

you need to regularly changeyourmoves, asdiscussedin

rule four, you alsoneedto

performdiferentworkout

methods to keep challengingyourmuscles innew and

efectiveways.

In this chapterweput someof themostcommonandpopularworkoutapproaches

andsetstrategies under the

microscope and, inaneasy-to-followguide, showyouwhat

changes you canmake toyourtrainingprogrammeto ensure

yourmuscles keepgrowing.

RULESIX VARYYOURWORKOUTS

Turnoverfor a

completeguideto

thebestworkout

methodsandset

strategiesto add

muscle fast.



Men’s Fitness140

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC SPLITTRAINING

Working different body parts on different days can reapbig reward

ADVANTAGES

Great way to add muscle mass.

Requires just three workouts a wee

Lets you to focus on hard-to-grow

muscle groups.

DISADVANTAGES

Requires a structured, progressive

training programme to be eective

Using heavy weights means you m

need a spotter.

Little transfer value to sports becau

the body doesn’t work as a unit.

At a glanceSplit training

Split – orbodypart – training

involvesworkingspecificmusc

groups inonesession andthen focusonanother groupofmuscles in thene

workout. Thisapproachallowsyouto

exhaustcertainmusclesoneday, befo

giving themseveral days to recoverb

trainingthemagain, duringwhichtim

youcantrain othermusclegroups.

Eachmuscle group is typicallywor

twice aweek,witharound48 to72ho

betweenthese sessions toallowsuffic

time for recovery.

Split trainingisamoreadvanced

approachbecause itallowsyou to lift

heavyweightsona regularbasis,mak

itoneof thebest approachesfor addinmusclemassquicklyandefficiently.

Whenusing thisstrategyyoumust

increasetheweightsyou are lifting to

ensuremuscle growth.Andwhilemis

theodd sessionisn’ta problem, ifyou

stick to thebody-part routineyoucan

upresting for toolong betweentrainin

thesamemusclegroups,whichwill st

your progress. Liftingheavycanalsor

inmoremuscle soreness,so adequate

recoverytimeis essential forsuccess



Men

SPLIT TRAINING SAMPLEWORKOUT

DAY ONE CHEST AND BACK

1Benchpressp60

2Inclinedumb-bell flyep85

3 Inclinedumb-bellpressp84

4Pull-up p64

5One-armrowp94

6Dumb-bellpulloverp89

BENCH PRESS PULLUP

DAY TWO LEGS

1Squat p58

2Lungep66

3Seatedhamstringcurlp111

4Romaniandeadliftp90

5Dumb-belllateral lungep91

6Seatedcalfraisep111

SQUAT

DAY SIX REPEAT DAY ONE

DAY FIVE REST

DAY THREE REST

DAY FOUR ARMS AND SHOULDERS

1Shoulderpressp68

2Shrugp109

3Chin-upp88

4EZ-barbicepscurlp104

5Tricepsdipp72

6Lyingtricepsextensionp106

SHOULDERPRESS

LUNGE

TRICEPS DIP



Men’s Fitness142

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC TOTAL BODY TRAINING

Workingyourwholebodyeverysessionaddsmuscleandtorches

A totalbodyroutine involves traineverymajormuscle groupeach ti

you hit the gym.So you’d performonebody-partspec

movefora certain numberofsetsand re beforemovingon to another body part.

Alternatively, youcould supersetantagonistic muscle groups (seepage14for an even fasterand more taxing work

This approachpromotes muscle gainandburns fat byusing compoundlifts,whichboost thereleaseof testosteroneothergrowth hormones,butit’s alsogrefor workingyou heart andlungsas youmove quickly betweenexercises thattadifferentmuscles andso keep your bod

guessing what toexpectnext.However, it is vital that nomuscle

groups areneglectedduring this approaespecially those moves that you don’t liFailureto workthewhole body to thesaextent canincreaseyour odds of injurydevelopingmuscular imbalances.

ADVANTAGESIntensiveapproach that buildsmuscle

and burns fat.

A session based aroundcompound lif

boosts the release of testosteroneand

growth hormones.

Sessions canbe performed quickly to

minimise time spent training.

Can provide a good aerobic workout.

DISADVANTAGES

Working the whole bodymakes itdiicult to fatigue everymusclegroup

Hard to targetminormusclegroups.

Every session can start to feel the sam

sappingmotivation.

Ataglance

Total-bodytraining



Men

TOTALBODYSAMPLEWORKOUT

1 DECLINEBENCH PRESS P85

(CHEST AND TRICEPS)

4 GOOD MORNING P86

(LOWER BACK)

2BENTOVERROW P70

(BACK AND BICEPS)

5 PUSH PRESS P92

(SHOULDERS)

3 SQUAT P58

(LEGS)

6 CRUNCH P43

(ABS)



Men’s Fitness144

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC CIRCUITTRAINING

Ifyou’restrugglingtofindtime tosqueezeyoursessions intoan

alreadybusyschedule, thencircuit trainingcouldbetheanswer

Ifyouhavea membershipwith big gymchain thenyou’veprob

seencircuit trainingclasses advertise

Circuit trainingisa popular typeof se

because it allows youtoworkyourwh

body ina short spaceof time.

Andthat’s becausecircuit trainingi

a varietyofdifferentmoves orstation

anywherebetweensixand12 exercis

– thatareperformedback-to-backwit

rest.Onceallof thestationshavebeen

completedyou then rest for up tothre

minutesbeforerepeating thecircuita

typicallycompleting three or four full

circuits ina singlesession.Thequickpaceandconstantswitch

betweenexercises andequipmentsh

yourbody andtacklesallyourmajor

muscle groups,meaningyoucan get

aneffectivefull-bodyworkout inas

littleas 45minutes.

LiftinglighterTheintensivenature of this sessionm

that youwon’t be lifting heavyweight

somestationsmayonlybe bodyweig

moves – socircuitsare bettersuited fo

buildingmuscular endurance, burnin

andgivingyouadecentaerobicworkthan for addingseriousmusclemass.

Many gymchains runcircuit classe

instudios, butyoucancreateyourow

circuitusingresistancemachines, free

weightsorbodyweightmoves,ora

combinationof all three.

ADVANTAGESWorks the whole body in a short amount of time

Provides a good aerobic workout, builds muscularendurance and burns fat.

Can be done any place, any time, using only

bodyweight exercises

Great transfer value to sports performance.

DISADVANTAGESNot ideal for building muscle mass because of

the light weights involved.

Canrequire a lot of equipment and working in w

other people if performed in a gym.

Need to be motivated to work consistently witho

stopping for rest.

AtaglanceCircuit training



Men

CIRCUITTRAININGWORKOUT

1DUMBBELLSQUATP82 2DUMBBELL

LATERALLUNGEP91

5DUMBBELL

PULLOVERP89

3CHINUPP88

6DUMBBELLINCLINE

BENCHPRESSP84

8MEDICINEBALL

PRESSUPP97

7SHRUGP109

4TRICEPSDIPP72



Men’s Fitness146

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC STRAIGHTSETS

Thebasic–andoftenthebest –waytoadd leanmuscle

Straightsets requireyoutoperf

oneexercisefora certainnumb

repetitions– usually eight to12 – follow bya short rest, then repeating.This is

mostbasicapproach toweightliftinga

itcanveryoftenbethemost effective

especially if you’renew toweight train

STRAIGHTSETS

What?Performinga certain numberofrepso

sameexercise, thenrestingandrepea

Suchas?Inanarmsandshoulders session

you’ddothreesetsof tenrepsoftheshoulderpress, thenmoveon

andrepeatonanotherexercise.

WhyshouldIdothem?Theaim is toworkthe targetmuscle g

to failure. In this case youwouldselec

weight youcan lift tentimesfor thefir

two sets, so thatby theendofthe third

of repetitionsyourmuscles are so fati

youmaystruggle tocompleteall ther

Straightsetsarealso great for preparin

muscle group,andits stabilisingmusc

formoreadvancedworkouts.

FITTIP

Getting into the right frame ofmind can make a big diference

to the efectiveness of yourworkouts. On your way to the

gym, remind yourself of why youstarted the plan, and imagine how

good you’ll feel when you reach

your goals. If you’re having anof-day, and don’t feel like training

go anyway, get changed and doa light warm-up. The surge of

feel-good hormones may makeyou change your mind, but don’t

get discouraged if you do miss asession. Simply pick up where you

left of at the next workout.



Men

STRAIGHTSETSSAMPLEWORKOUT

1SHOULDERPRESSP68 2SHRUGP109 3CHINUPP88

5LYINGTRICEPS

EXTENSIONP106

4ONEARMROWP94 6TRICEPSDIPP72



Men’s Fitness148

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC SUPERSETS

Pairingexercises isa fastandeffectivewaytoaddmuscle

FITTIP

To ensure that muscle-growth is even across youbody, aim to make your workouts as balanced as

possible. This means that you should do as manylower-body moves as upper-body moves; for

every pushing motion you perform you shouldperform a pulling one; and you need to give the

same amount of attention to opposing musclegroups, such as biceps and triceps. Also, if one

side of your body is stronger than the other, wor

your weaker side harder to help it catch up.

Supersets are twodifferent exercises

done back to back withoutrest. So, what exactlymakes supersets so super?For one thing supersetsare a great way to shakeup an existing trainingregime as theincreasedworkload will shock yourmuscles into growingand, because they allow

you to work harderina farshorter periodof

time, they improve yomuscles’ ability to woharder with less rest.

Thereare a numbeof different supersetworkouts you can do.Herearesome of the mpopular and effectiveset strategies for addiserious muscle fast.

What?A superset of two exercises thatworks opposing muscles groups,affording each group additionalrecovery time between sets.

Suchas?A set of dumb-bell bench presses(chest and triceps) followedimmediately by a set of one-armrows (back and biceps). Repeatthis superset three times.

WhyshouldIdothem?Focusing on different musclegroups provides a more balancedworkout in less time and lets youto lift heavier weights in each set,promoting greater muscle gain.

ANTAGONISTICSUPERSETS

INCLINEDUMBBELLBENCHPRESSP84 ONEARMROWP94



Men

What?A superset of two exercises thatwork a muscle group in theupper

body then one in the lower bodywithout rest in between.

Suchas?A set of lunges (lower body)then

bent-over rows (upper body).

WhyshouldIdothem?Alternating between working musclesin opposite ends of your body forces

your heart to workreally hard topump blood into thetarget muscles.This makes the workout moreintensive andmeans you will buildmuscleand burn fat at the same time.

What?

These are like straight sets, butyou use therest periodbetweenthem to work on a hard-to-growmuscle group that requires additionaltraining, such as your calves or core.

Suchas?After a set of goodmornings, useyour rest period doing seatedcalfraisesto target a muscle groupsthat requires serious effort togrow bigger.

WhyshouldIdothem?

Smaller muscle groups requiregreater stimulation for growth, andusing staggered sets means you canwork them even on days when nottraining them exclusively.

STAGGERED SUPERSETS

GOOD MORNING P86

SEATED

CALF RAISE P110

PERIPHERAL HEART ACTION (PHA) SUPERSETS

LUNGE P66 BENTOVER ROW P70



Men’s Fitness150

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC SUPERSETS

What?

Twoexercises performedbacktoback that target thesame

musclegroup.The firstmoveis

an isolationexercise, thesecond

is a compoundlift.

Suchas?Legextensionsfollowedby

front squats.

WhyshouldIdothem?Fatiguing themusclewith

an isolationexercise before

exhausting itwith a compound

moveis ahighly effectivewaytobreakdownthemost amount

ofmuscle tissue. However,

performing aheavycompound

liftwhen tiredputsyouata

higherriskof injury, soalways

usea spotter.

Thesesupersetsaremore

advancedworkoutmethods

thoseontheprevious pages,butdolet thatputyouoff. Performed corr

each canbe ahighly effectiveway

addleanmusclemass fast,becaus

theintensenatureof these superse

recruitsthemaximumamountof

muscle fibres,while alsokeepingy

heart-rate high soyourbodymust

into its fat stores.

Forrapidmusclegainstrytheseadvancedsupersetmethods

PREEXHAUSTIONSUPERSETS

SEATEDLEGEXTENSIONP110 FRONTSQUATP98



Men

What?Twoexercisesperformed backtoback

that target thesamemusclegroup.The

firstmoveis ancompoundmove, the

secondan isolationexercise.

Such as?ChinsupfollowedbyEZ-bar

bicepscurls.

Why should I dothem?Performing thecompoundmove

firstwhenyouare freshmeansyou

can fatigueyourmuscles,plus thesupportingones,beforereallyblitzing

thetargetmusclewithanisolation

move. This isa saferstrategythan

pre-exhaustionbut justaseffective

forbuildingmuscle.

What?

Aversionof anantagonisticsupersetwhereyouperformtwoopposing

exercisesbacktoback, exceptyou

performtensetsaltogether.

Such as?Aset oftenbench presses thenten

pull-ups.Rest. Repeattentimes.

Why should I usethem?Thisapproach,made popular

byworld-renownedstrengthcoach

and Men’s Fitness magazine’smuscle

expertCharlesPoliquin, is designed

topackon themaximumamount ofleanmuscle in theshortestamount

of time.Theweightusedforeach

exercise remainsthesameforevery

set, and shouldbe around60 per

centofyourone-repmax.

GERMAN VOLUME TRAINING

BENCHPRESSP60 PULLUPP64

POSTEXHAUSTION SUPERSET

CHINUPP88 EZBARBICEPSCURLP104



Men’s Fitness152

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC TRISETS

Performingthree,orevenfour,moves that target thesame

musclegroupinsuccessionwill result inimpressivegains

What?Trisetsinvolvedoingthreedifferent

exercises thattargetthesamemuscle

group in successionwithout rest.

Suchas?Tenchin-ups,ten seatedcable rowsand

tenone-armpreachercurlswould bea

biceps-hittingtriset. After the final set

you’d rest beforerepeating.

WhyshouldIdothem?Trisetsaregreat forrecruiting additionalmusclefibres tohelp carryoutthe

workloadbecause themuscle fibresyou

normallyrely onbecome increasingly

fatiguedas thesetprogresses.This

makes trisets goodfor buildingmuscular

endurance,whenusinga lightweight,

andmuscularsizeand strengthwhen

usingheavierweights.

FITTIP

Most gyms provide water, but a

sensible move is to take a bottlewith you so you can sip from it

every few minutes to keep yourwater levels topped up. If you wait

until you’re thirsty before drinking,the chances are you’re already

dehydrated and your performancewill sufer as a result.

TRISETSSAMPLEWORKOUTTRISETS

SEATEDCABLEROWP95

ONEARMPREACHERCURLP105

CHINUPP88



Men

What?Agiant set involves four different

exercises thattargetthesamemuscle

group in successionwithout rest.

Suchas?Tricepsdips, close-grip bench

press, lying tricepsextension,

medicineballpress-ups.

WhyshouldIdothem?This isan intense setstrategybecause

thetotaltimeyour targetmusclewill

beworking is significantlylongerthan

withanyother typeof set.Assuch, you

mayneed to lower theweightsas theset

advances – andyourmusclesbecome

increasingly fatigued– toenableyouto

performthedesirednumberof reps.Thisadvanced approachis great forshocking

themuscles into growthbyreally taxing

everytypeofmusclefibre,butyou’ll need

longer to recoverafter giant setworkouts

compared tootherapproaches.

GIANTSETS

FITTIP

There are a fewrules ofgym

etiquette that you should follow

if you don’t want tobe ostracisedby your fellowmembers…

Never hog amachine or

a piece of equipment.

Wipe your sweat of any

equipmentafter you’ve used it.

Replacedumb-bells and

weight plateson their racksafter you’ve used them.

Don’t trail water from the

showers into thechanging rooms.

Anddon’t ogle thegirlfriend

of the guy in the cornerwho’sbench pressing200kg.

GIANTSETSSAMPLEWORKOUTGIANTSETS

MEDICINEBALL

PRESSUPP97

CLOSEGRIP

BENCHPRESSP96

LYINGTRICEPS

EXTENSIONP106

TRICEPSDIPP72



Men’s Fitness154

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC PYRAMIDSETS

Watchmusclesgrowfastbyincreasingtheweight,whilelowering

thereps,orworkingpast failureanddroppingtheweight

What?Aseries ofsetsofthe sameexercises in

whichyou increasetheweightafter each

setbutreducethenumberof reps.

Suchas?To take thedeadliftasanexample: 15 reps

of60kg, ten reps of70kg, eight repsof

80kg, four tosix repsof90kg. Youcan then

workback downagain.

WhyshouldIdothem?For largermuscle groupspyramidsetsare a greatwayto addmassand strength

becauseyourmusclesmustworkharder

as thesetsprogress,whichkeeps them

guessing andputs themoutof thecomfort

zone, resultinginbiggergains.

FITTIP

Proper form is critical in

pyramid sets to avoid injury,especially as the weight

increases. Make sure you arecomfortable with each phase

of a move and how they

come together for each repbefore attempting heavy lifts.

PYRAMIDSETS

W E I G H T

REPS

SET1

SET2

SET3

SET4

PYRAMIDSETSCHART

At the end of each set increase the weight butreduce the number of reps

DEADLIFT



Men

What?Aseriesofsetsofthe sameexerciseinwhichyoustart

withaheavyweight andlift that until fatigued, then reduce

theweight anddoa new set tofatigue, pausingto rest

betweensets.

Suchas?Startinga inclinedumb-bell flyeswith20kgdumb-bells,

working to failure, then immediatelygrabbingthe15kg

weightsandcontinuinglikethisuntilyou can’tdoa single

rep,evenwitha really lightdumb-bell.

WhyshouldIdothem?Toworkthe targetmuscle tocompletefatigueand

damageasmanymusclefibresaspossible so that

they growbackbigger. Keeptheweight dropssmall

betweensets andyour final set shouldbewitha

weight about20percentof thestartweight.These

sets really taxthemuscles,so leavea good fewdays

betweensessions toallowforsufficientrecovery.

FITTIP

One of the keys to making progress isto record your progress. If you don’t

know what you lifted last session andfor how many sets and reps, you won’t

know what to aim for next time, or

know whether you are making regularimprovements. A written record is

evidence of your progress and helpsyou to stick to your training programme.

DROPSETS

SETS

W E I G H T

DROPSETSCHART

At the end of each set, lower the weight and

continue lifting until you reach failure again.Then lower the weight and continue.

S E

T 4 S

E T 3 S

E T 2 S

E T 1

DROPSETS

INCLINEDUMBBELLFLYEP85





EATTOBUILDMUSCLE

RULESEVEN

158 Eat fora betterbody

160 Thenew rules of food

166 Musclemealplan

168 Muscle snacks

170 Supplements

NTENTSO



Men’s Fitness158

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC EATFORABETTERBODY

Goodnutritionishalf thebattletogainingmuscle, sofollowthese

basicrulesandstartseeingarealchangetoyourbody

1WatchyourcaloriesIfyou eatfewercalorieseachdaythanyouburnoffthroughactivityyou’ll lose

weight; eatmore, andyou’ll gainweight.Of course,whetheryou

gain thatweight as fat ormusclewilldependon thekind of foodsyoueatand thetrainingyoudo.

2Getthe balancerightNearlyall yourcaloriescome

fromacombinationof thethreemainmacronutrients:carbohydrates,proteinand fats.Carbohydratesarevitalto

providethemuscle glycogen thatfuelsyourworkouts andshould

makeupabout 5060percentofyour total calorie intake.Protein isneededto grow

new tissue inyour bodyand istherefore of interest to anyone

buildingmuscle.Theoptimumintakeof proteinformuscle-gainers isbetween 1.5g and 2gofproteinperkiloof bodyweight, but, dependingonyourbody type(seepage16), itdoesn’thurt to take

ina bitmoreto ensurethat youarehitting yourdaily proteintargets.Fat is a nutrientthatmany

people try toavoidaltogether, butitcanhelpyou absorbvitamins,improveathletic performanceandprotect jointsand tendonsagainst injury. However, fat isa very energy-densenutrient,containingninecaloriespergramcomparedtoaround fourcaloriesforcarbsandprotein,soyouonlyneed about5060gof fat a day.

3EattherightstuffThesimplest rulewhendecidingwhat toeatis: keep itnatural.

Processedfoods – biscuits, cakes,

readymeals, fizzydrinks, cris– tendto behighon calories but lowonessential nutrientsso they’re poor at fuellingworkouts andrebuildingmus but goodatmaking youfat.

Carbohydratesprovide theenergyyouneed to trainhard but theycan also be responsibforalteringyourblood-sugarlevelsandmakingyou storefaso thesimplest rule to follow itomake themajorityof your

carbsunrefined, unprocessedlowon theglycaemic indexandhigh in fibre. This includevegetables,wholegrain breadwholewheatpasta,oatsand beans,whichreleaseenergyslowly, ensuringyou’llalwayshave enough storedglycogeninyourmuscles for aworkoutProtein-richfoodsinclude

leanmeat, fish, eggs anddairyproduce. Lower-qualityprotecanalsobe found innuts,seeds andbeans.Aim toeat

awidevarietyofprotein-richfoods toget the full rangeofmuscle-buildingaminoacids.Fatsaren’t allbad. Theones

avoidare trans fats,whichmeskippingcakes, biscuits andmargarineand cutting backoredmeatsandcheese. Thefatyouneedaremonounsaturatandpolyunsaturates, foundinoliveoil, nuts, seedsandoily fish. These includeomega3 andomega6 fattyacids,which

have beenproventoaidstrength andaerobic trainingandprotect the body frominjuries.



Men

4Eatattheright timesWhen you’re training

hard you want to eatabout an hour or two before your

workouts and again immediatelyafterwards. Your snacks should

include both carbs and proteinto help restore glycogen levels

in your muscles andrepair

muscle tissue. A post-workoutsnack might be a bagel with

salmon and cream cheese,ora tuna and pasta salad.

For the rest of theday, eat smallmeals at regularintervals of two

orthreehours, with the aim ofhaving some protein with every

meal. This way you keep yourglycogen levels topped up and

prevent your bodyfrom breaking

down andusingthe proteinsthatyouneed for muscle building.

5Takeonfluids– butnotbooze

When you workout yousweat a lot, andyou need

to need to replace that fluid with

water. Thetrickis to ensure that

you hydrate yourself beforeyouget thirsty, not

afterwards.

Dehydration will impact on yourperformance in the gymand can

affectthe way your body stores

fat andrepairsmuscle owingtopoor organ function. Take a water

bottle with you to the gym andsipfromit everyfew minutes.

Overthe courseof a day you

shouldaim to take in abouttwoto threelitres of waterin total.

Alcohol, on theother hand,

you can do without.It can

havea catabolic effect on yourmuscles, meaning it prevents

them from developing properly.If you are serious about

gaining muscle mass, keeppubsessions to a minimum.

6

Supplementsareuseful,butdon’trelyonthem

Sports supplements,such as protein powders andenergy drinks, shouldn’t be

seen as an alternativeto agood diet. Eating healthily

is more important than glugging

down shakes, but they do have

one advantage: convenience.It canbe tough to consume

allthe calories you need every

day through food alone, andit’s

much easierto take a proteinshake tothe gym than towhip up

a chicken salad, so supplementscanbe useful for anyone serious

about gaining muscle and losingfat. Also, peoplewhodo a lot of

exercise can need extra vitaminsC and E, so a supplementof these

canbe handy if you struggleto get enoughin your diet.

If you do use supplements, besureto pick a reputable brandandfollowthe guidelines on the

packaging. Seepage 170 for ourcomplete guide to supplements.

‘Processedfoods

likebiscuits,cakes

andreadymealsare

pooratrebuilding

musclebutgood

atmakingyoufat’



Men’s Fitness160

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC THE NEW RULES OF FOOD

Eatingproperlyshouldn’t takeadiploma,sowe’vesimplified

everythingyouneedtoknowintosevensimple rules

What you eatis every bit as important to your

fitness as whatyou doin thegym, but every week differentfaddiets and scare stories hitthe news, making it impossibleto work outwhich bits of adviceto follow. It’s easy to justify badchoices – after all,scientistsand nutritionists are constantly

changing their minds, right?Wrong. Those in the knowagree on what you should beputtingin yourmouth – andwhat’s more, it’s much simplerthan you’d expect. Here, we’vedistilled that collective wisdominto seven rules.Write themdown ona postcard, stick itonyour fridge– and tuckin.

RULEONEGREENISGOOD

We’re starting with this becauseit coulddefinehow you think about therest of yodiet: there’s no such thing as toomuch veespecially if you’re talking about vegetabgrown above ground. Regardless of whaelse you’reeating, your plate should beabout half-fullof them.

TheFoodStandards Agency (FSA) hasintroduced the ‘eatwell plate’ to replace ttraditional food pyramid as the governm

endorsed illustration of what to eat. Thissuggests that roughly a thirdof your dietshould come from fruit andveg. But it alssuggests that another thirdshouldbe maup of bread, rice and other starchyfoods

This is not the way to a hard, lean body because the fundamental problem withstarchy carbohydrates is that they causesuddenand prolonged rises in blood sugwhichcan provoke a slew of biochemicaimbalances that predispose you to weighgain, type 2 diabetes andother diseases.

Besides, there’s nothing in them thatyou can’t get elsewhere. If you’re going

to eat carbohydrate,make sure it’s morenutritious carbohydrate with slower sugrelease, which is almost every vegetableapartfrom the potato. It’s also a bit of anoversimplification to put fruit and vegetatogether, as the FSA platedoes. Yes, they’

both good for you, but they’re radicallydifferent nutritionally. If you’regetting yofivea day from fruit alone, then your bloosugar levels willbe going crazy throughotheday from thehigh fructose content.

If you wantto get lean toshow off youthen remember: you’d haveto eathalf a kof asparagusto ingestthe same number

carbs as in a singlewholemeal pitta brea

BITESIZEDSUMMARYMake vegetables thefoundation of youralong with two pieces of fruit a day. Varythemas muchas you can.



Men

RULETWOEATPROTEINWITH

EVERYTHING

Sooneror later, you’ll runintosomeone at thegym,officeorall-you-can-eatbuffetwhoraisesaneyebrowat theamount ofproteinyou’reeating. Somemayeventellyouthat itcan be bad foryourhealth.

Thetruth is theonlystudiesthathave ever suggestedthat proteincancausekidneyproblemswere doneon peoplewhohadpre-existingkidney

problems. Thestudies showingthat it’s harmful toanyoneelsesimply don’t exist.

Protein isoneof themostimportantcomponentsof thedietandwhenyoueata high-proteindiet,you’regenerallyless hungry, eatless andloseweight asa result.

Sowhat’s therightamount?Estimatesvary fromoneto fourgramsperkilo ofbodyweight,perday, butmostnutritionistsagree ontwograms as the

minimum.As for howmuchyou candigestat onesitting,a 2009 studyfromCanada’sMcMasterUniversityfound thatincreasingproteinintakepermealonlyincreasedproteinsynthesis (raised theamount the bodycoulduse) up toadoseofroughly20g– thoughthestudyfocused specifically oneggproteins. Sticktoa two-to-oneratioofvegetables toproteinineverymeal,bysight.

BITESIZEDSUMMARYIt’s virtually impossibletoeattoomuchprotein,althoughyou couldeasilybe notgettingenough.Make sure youmakeit apart ofeverymeal.



Men’s Fitness162

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC

RULETHREEDON’TFEARFAT

Although most of us know that

eating some fat is essential to a

healthy diet, it’s alltoo easy to make

a mental connection between eating

fat and gettingfat, so you end up

simply skipping it.Troubleis, that

usually means eating something

that’s worse for you.Onepossibleissue the FSA has

with fat is that it’s more calorific,

per gram, than carbohydrate or

protein, but if you’re worried about

your weight one ofthe keys is toeat

foods that aregenuinely satisfying

because you’ll eat less of them,

whichyou’ll often do with fat. You

also want to avoidspikes in insulin,

whichis what you’regoingto get if

you’reeating carbs instead.

There’s also theissue of whether

it’s OK to eat saturated fat – typically

demonisedas a cause of high

cholesterol.Thinking is shifting

towards the positive. Some recent

studies havefailed to find anylink between saturatedfats and

heart disease.

Hydrogenated and trans fats are

a different story, with the research

sounding alarm bells, butwhen you

look at naturally occurring fats

suchas the ones in red meat,

avocado andnuts,there seems

be no cause for concern.

After all, humans have evolve

to eat saturated fats,so it seems

strange that it’s only in thepast 5

years that have they become b

for us. Whereas grains, a relative

recent addition to our diets in

evolutionary terms,may notbe

easily processed by our bodies.

BITESIZEDSUMMARY

Avoided partially hydrogenated

– especially trans fats. Don’t wor

toomuch about therest.

THE NEW RULES OF FOOD



Men

RULEFOURSTARTASYOUMEAN

TOGOON

You always eat breakfast,of course, becauseyou know it’s themostimportant meal of theday and that skipping itslows yourmetabolismtoa crawl. But are youstill getting it wrong? Youwill be if you listen totheFSA’s recommendationthat you ‘baseyour

breakfast on bread or

breakfast cereals’, and‘wash it down with somefruit juice’.

Eating a high-carb breakfast will give youlow blood sugar by midmorning, making youmore likely to snack onmore high-carb foods,which creates a viciouscircle of snacking.

So instead of startingyour day on toast orcereal, have something

low-carb that’s morenutritionally sustainablesuch as oats with berriesandnuts or scrambledeggs with smoked salmon.

Alternatively, just see offwhatever’s in the kitchen

because last night’sleftovers are oneof the

best (and cheapest) thingsyou caneat, assumingyou’reeating right in thefirst place.

BITESIZEDSUMMARY

Think of breakfast likeany other meal: youneed a blend of protein,fats and fruit or veg.



Men’s Fitness164

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC

RULEFIVEALLCALORIESARENOTEQUAL

Calories: the government wantrestaurants to include them onmenus and women frantically athem up in theTesco Express saisle, butshouldwe really awarthem so much importance whecomes to fat loss?

No, because calories are not agood indication of what a food ilike andthe effectit’s going to hon your metabolic rate.Wouldreally say that a coupleof poaceggs are ‘thesame’ as a can of C

just because they contain a sim

number of calories?Of course nAlso, counting calories make

ittoo easy tojustifybad dietarydecisions. Ever hearda friendsthat they caneat what they wa

because they’ll burn it off at thegym? They couldn’t be more wIn fact, themoreactive you are,

better your nutrition needs to bFar more important than calo

content is your food’s glycaemiload (GL), whichindicates howmuchof a blood sugar spike it’lgiveyou – yet no one’s asking fo

manufacturers to list glycaemicload on their packaging.

But, if you’ve stuck with us sofarthat shouldn’t be a problem.Steering clearof starchy foodand sugar means you’re alreadavoidingfoods with high GL.

You canalso slow theabsorprate of high-GL foods,and so heprevent blood-sugar wobbles, beating them with more protein-heavy foods like chicken or tun

BITESIZEDSUMMARY

Think quality, not quantity. Eatinutritious food is far, farbetter tsticking rigidly to a 2,000-calorday limit especially if those calocome fromready meals, pizzas

beer and crisps.

THE NEW RULES OF FOOD



Men

RULESIXFREERANGEISKEY

Just in case that bulk-valuecrate of cage-raised eggs is

starting to look tempting, letus point outthat organicandfree-range meat and fishis betterfor you.

Free range chickens, forexample, havea more varied

diet andthey get a lotmoreexercisethan their battery

cousins.And this allows thedevelopment of more muscle,

whichtendsto contain more zinc, vitamins B, A and K,

amino acids, iron, selenium and phosphorus.

Also, farm-raised salmonhavebeen found to contain

up to eight times thelevel of carcinogens as wild fish,

thanks to their cramped conditions and poor-quality feed,

whilegrass-fed beef tends to havemuch higherlevels of

conjugatedlinoleicacid and omega 3s thanthe kind fed

on grain.Think of it this way and free-range feels less like

a frivolous luxury. In fact it’s so nutritionally dissimilar to

cage-reared it’s basically a different food.

BITESIZEDSUMMARY

Eat free-range chickens, grass-fed beef and wild-caught

salmonwhenyou can. If you don’t know where it’s from,

chances are theanswer’s notgoingto be good.

RULESEVENEATREALFOOD

Followthis rule, and you’ll endup following all the

other rules almostby default.As a simpleruleof thumb eat onlyfood that grows

outof the ground or once had a face. Or alternatively,

simply think like your hunter-gatherer ancestors or at

least back to a pre-industrialised world . When you’re

looking at something on theshelf, ask yourself if it

would haveexisted 5,000 yearsago.If theanswer’s no,

it probably isn’t something that you should be eating.

Youmay findit easier tostick tothe outer aisles

of thesupermarket, whichis where all thefresh

produce is usually kept for ease of transportation, and

away from the interior where everything’s canned,

processed or packed full of preservatives. Avoid

things containing preservatives that you can’t spell

or ingredientsyou wouldn’t keep in thekitchen. Eatthings that will rot eventually, so that you know they’re

fresh.And try to enjoy it.

BITESIZEDSUMMARY

Eat food, notproducts pretending to be food.



Men’s Fitness166

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC MUSCLEMEALPLAN

Eat likeacavemantoaddpowerandpreventweightgain

Formillions of

yearshumanshadnorefinedsugarsorprocessedfoods. Soalthoughsuchmoderngrubmay be tasty andconvenient,your bodyhasn’t evolved todealwith itvery well – and itusually encourages fatstorage. This meal plan,createdbynutritionistChristineBailey(advancenutrition.co.uk)andbased onthe Paleo

Diet for Athletes, replacesprocessedsugary foodsandcarbswith freshfruit, nuts, seedsandanimalproteins– thestaple StoneAge foods.Ithasplentyof healthyunsaturatedfatsand branched-chainaminoacids,which as well asaidingfat loss willhelpmuscledevelopmentandanabolic function.If you’restillpeckishin

the day graba handful ofnuts ordrink a low-carb,high-protein shake.

Breakfast150gsautéedprawnswith6 slicedmushroomsand½chopped redpepper.150g freshpineappleslices.

SnackSmokedsalmonslices.Carrot andcelery sticks.

LunchChickenand avocadosalad. 1 apple.30galmonds.

Snack

1 hard-boiledegg.2oatcakes.

Dinner300mlhome-madevegetablesoup.Pan-friedvenisonwithcherry sauce.

Snack2 satsumas.

M O N DAY T U E S DAY W E D N E S DAY

42 prehistoric meals to keep the flab at bay

BreakfastBowl ofblueberriesand raspberries.2 poached eggswithasparagusand4grilledmushrooms.

SnackHandfulof seeds. 1 ap

Lunch300mlhome-madevegetablesoup.Coldvenisonsteakservedwith a bagofmixedsalad leaves,½redpepper,2tbspblacolives,slicedcucumbceleryand1 tomato.Slicesofmelon.

Snack2 slices ofham.Carrotsticks.

DinnerChickenand cashewnutstir-fry. Slicedfreshpineapple.

Snack1 banana. Handful ofmacadamianuts.

Breakfast1 grapefruit.2-eggomelettewith½anavocado, spinachand2 choppedtomatoes.

Snack1 banana.

Lunch150ggrilledcodilletwith lemonjuiceandfreshlygroundblackpepper.Green saladwith lemonjuiceand1tsp olive oil, 50gsugarsnappeas, cucumberslices,½ a redpepper

and2tbspblackolives.Bowl ofblueberriesanddicedmelon.

Snack3 cold leanbeef slices.Carrotsticks.

DinnerGingerbakedturkey.100g freshraspberrieswith2tbsp lakedalmonds.

Snack30gmacadamia nuts.

Handfulof raisins.

DAILY TOTAL1,840calories,163gcarbs, 130gprotein, 79g fat

DAILY TOTAL1,713 calories,147g carbs,156gprotein, 60gfat

DAILY TOTAL1,956 calories,179gcarbs, 130gprotein,87gfat



Men

DAILY TOTAL1,827calories,172g carbs,133gprotein,72gfat

DAILY TOTAL1,746calories,159gcarbs,140gprotein,66gfat

DAILY TOTAL AILY TOTAL746calories

T H U R S DAY F R I DAY SAT U R DAY S U N DAY

BreakfastSlicesof melonwithbrazil nuts. 3 slicesoflean roastbeefwith2baked tomatoes.

Snack1 apple.Handfulofraisinsand almonds.

Lunch300mlhome-madevegetable soup.Grilledporkilletwithspinachsalad (handful ofbabyspinachleaves,mixedlettuceleaves,½ redonion,½ redpepper, choppedfresh cucumberslices,celery). 1 satsuma.

Snack1 hard-boiledegg.Carrotsticks.

DinnerBakedbutternutsquashandturkeycasserole.

Snack2oatcakes. Smokedsalmonslices.

BreakfastBowlofblueberriesandraspberries.1 cold salmon illetwithpan-friedtomatoesandmushrooms.

Snack4oatcakeswith ham.

LunchGrilledturkeybreastwith 1 baked sweetpotato,saladleaves,cucumber,sugarsnappeas,½ a redpepper,2tbspblack olivesand½a redonion.Slicesof freshpineapple.

Snack100gcookedprawns.Celery andcarrot sticks.

DinnerFrittatawith2 eggs, 3newpotatoes,spinachleaves, 1 redpepper.Steamedbroccoli andcarrotsandsalad.

Snack1 banana.Handfulofmacadamianuts.

BreakfastBowl ofcherries.2 scrambledeggswith5 asparagus spears.

Snack2 slicesof ham, slicedcucumberandcelery.

LunchLeftover squashandturkeycasserole.Largemixedsalad.

SnackHandfulof raisinsandalmonds.1 pear.

Dinner300mlhome-madevegetable soup. Bakedsalmonillet withlemon juice(cookanextra salmon illetforSaturday) servedwith60gsteamedcarrots,60gsugarsnap peas,60ggreenbeansand1 bakedsweetpotato.

Snack

1 banana.Handfulof cashewnuts.

Breakfast100gcookedprawns

withgreenbeans.1 choppedappleand2tbspseeds.

Snack2 slicesof hamand2 tomatoes.

LunchLemoncrabsaladSlicesofmelon.

Snack2 oatcakes. Smokedsalmonslices.

DinnerPork stir fry. 1 satsuma.

Snack2 oatcakes. Handfulofalmondsandraisins

DAILY TOTAL1,841 calories,201gcarbs, 138gprotein, 60g fat

DAILY TOTAL1,816calories,185gcarbs,120gprotein, 71gfat



Men’s Fitness168

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC

Althoughleanmeatandfishare greatsources

ofproteinthere areplentyofvegetarianoptions.

This saladiseasy tomakeandprovidesyourbodywith

a gooddoseofproteinto helpyoubuildmuscle and

recover fasterafter ahardworkout.

Eat this fitness-boostingsnackanhourorso

beforeyourworkout. Its qualitycarbswill giv

you theenergytoget througha toughsession,whi

theproteinandcreatinewill helpyoubuildmuscl

Two-beanmuscle salad

Beefforbulk

at you

w ll need200ggreenbeans420g canredkidneybeans,drainedandrinsed2 hard-boiledeggs,quartered3 spring onions,chopped

What youwill get

KidneybeansA virtuallyfat-free

sourceofhigh-quality,

muscle-buildingprotein.Kidney beans are also richin ibre, which keeps you

feeling full for longer and is

crucial for digestive health.

reen eansOneportionof green

beans provides 25 per cent

ofyourdailyvitaminKrequirement, which helps to

build strong bones. They’re

lso a great source of both

magnes um an po ass um,

hich work together to help

lower blood pressure.

EggsEggscontain allthe

crucial aminoacids thatyourmusclesneed tobuildandrepair themselves.

hey’re also packed with

testosterone-boosting zinc,

hich is crucial to help you

build muscle and burn fat.

Spring onionsThequercetin andvitamin C foundin springonionswork insynergy tokillharmful bacteria and boost

our mmune sys em, w e

their high levels of chromium

can help to keep blood sugar

levels in check.

What youwill need

2 slices of sourdough bread

2 thickslicesofbeef2 thin slices ofcheddar

Handful of spinach

1tspofhorseradish

What youwill get

CheeseAn excellent source

ofcasein,whichis a high-

qualitymuscle-building

protein. The vitamin D in the

beef also helps your body to

absorb bone-strengthening

calcium from the cheese.

Sourdough breadSourdough is low on

theglycaemic index (GI), so

releasesitsenergy slowly.

It’s insulin release is even

lower than that caused b

wholemeal bread.

BeefBeefcontainshigh

levelsof slow-digestingprotein– essential for

muscle growth – and

creatine, which increases

muscle size by drawing

water into your muscle c

SpinachThesegreen leaves

fullof iron, which suppliworkingmuscleswithoxygen. It also contains

betacarotene, an antioxid

that will soothe post-train

stifness and pains.

HorseradishHorseradishcontai

highlevelsofpotassiumwhichhelpsyourmusclandnerves to functionproperly and lowers you

risk of high blood pressu

Youdon’tneedmeat for aprotein-packedpost-workout snack

Fuelyour trainingwith this tasty,meatysandwich

MUSCLESNACKS



Men

Snack on this bagel before trainingand thecarbs

will helpto keep your glycogen levels topped up,

ensuring your body uses them for fuel, rather than your

protein stores. It will also help to energise your workouts.

Chickenand cheese wraps are a fast-food

restaurant staple, but use your ownfresh

ingredients and theyturn intosuperb muscle-

building snacks. Blending quality carbs, protein

and fats with a variety of essential vitamins, this

grilled chicken wrapwill help you to pack on

bulk and recover faster after a testing workout.

Energy bagel Recovery wrap

Whatyouwill need

1wholemealbagel

2 thick slicesof turkey1 hard-boiledegg, sliced1 sliced tomatoHandfulof spinach

Whatyouwillget

Wholemeal bagelA wholemealbagelis

packedwithhigh-qualitycarbs fora sustainedenergyboost. It also helpscontribute towards your daily

requirement of dietary ibre.

TurkeyTurkey isa leanand

low-calorieway topackonmuscle, thanks to itsgenerous protein content.

It is also rich in selenium,which strengthens the

immune system and wards

o the free-radical damage

caused by exercise.

Egg

Eggs containall theessential aminoacids thatyourmusclesneed tobuildandrepairthemselves.They are also packed with

testosterone-boosting zinc,

which helps you to build

muscle and burn fat.

TomatoVitaminCmakesa hey

contribution toyouraminoacidmetabolism,which

helps the body to form new

muscle. Tomatoes contain

betacarotene and lycopene,

which reduce inlammationand muscle soreness.

SpinachSpinach is full ofiron,

whichsupplies workingmuscleswithoxygen. Its high

vitamin K content will also

strengthen your bones.

Whatyou

will need

1wholemeal tortillawrap

80ggrilledchicken

breast, shredded

20gcheddarcheese, grated

30gcabbage, shredded

Whatyouwillget

Grilled

chickenbreastAswellasprovidingalargedose of leanproteinvital formuscle growthand recovery, chicken

also contains plenty of

vitamin B3, which will help

to prevent fat storage.

Wholemeal

tortilla wrapAwholemealtortillawrap is

packed full ofcarbs tohelp

replenishyourmuscles,

and it’s also full of energy-

boosting B vitamins.

CheddarcheeseThisdairy product

isa great source of

casein,a high-quality

muscle-protectingprotein.

It also contains high levels of

bone-strengthening calcium.

CabbageCabbageis high in

immunesystem-boosting

vitaminC as well as plenty

of dietary ibre, which your

body needs to maintain a

healthy digestive system.

This snack will fuel your trainingand help you build serious muscle

Building post-workout muscle hasnever been easier or tastier



Men’s Fitness170

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC SUPPLEMENTS

Supplementspromiseeverything fromtorchingyourlove-handle

tosculptingyourpecs–butdotheywork?Andwhichonesdoyou

reallyneed?Ourcomprehensiveguideexplainsallyouneedtokn

Whether youregularlypack a proteinshake

inyourgym bag orjustchugthe occasionalisotonic sportsdrink,chances areyou’ve usedsupplements atonetime oranother. Trouble is, thewholeprocesscanget a bitconfusing– with everysupplierclaimingthat itsbrandis betterfiltered,or more efficient,or willpackonmoremuscle – tothe point

where you feel like you needa degree in chemistry just tounderstandwhatyou’reputtingintoyour body.

Don’t worry – helpis athand.Thescience may bebaffling, but we’ve put togetherthedefinitive guidethat detailsall thelatest developments insupplement science: whatyouneed, whenyou need it,whyyou needit, and what– if any– are thepotentialpitfalls.

It’s possible you’ll find

somethingthat willsend yourtraining gains through theroof–oryoumight just learn a bit moreaboutthestuffyou’realreadyusing.Eitherway, next time youput ina hard day atthegym,you’ll knowthatyou’regettingthenutritionalbackupyou need.

PROTEIN

Whatis it?

Protein is part of thestructureofeverycellandtissueinyour body, andmakes up anaverage of20percentofyour bodyweight. It’sneededto formnew tissue aswellas bodyenzymes and hormones.

Whatdoes itdo?

Protein is brokendown forfuelduringexercise, so you needa concentrated sourceof it tosupplement your usual intake.Proteinsupplements shouldideallyalso contain highlevelsofessential aminoacids,whicharereadilydigested, absorbedandretainedbythebodyformuscle repair.

Whoshouldtake it?

Allathletes need tocompensatefor increasedbreakdown of

proteinduring training.Strengthathletes needextra to providethestimulus formuscle growth.

HowmuchshouldI take?

TheFood Standards Authorityrecommends a daily intakeof55gofproteinfor adults, but most dieticians agree thatthis isn’t enoughfor anyonewhois trainingregularly.The InternationalOlympicCommittee recommendsaround 1.21.4gof proteinper

kilo ofbodyweighta day forenduranceathletes or 1.41.7gperkilo for power athletes.

Herearethebasics

Ifyou’relean – haveless thanten per centbody fat – thentry

to have a post-workoutshake with 0.6gofproteinand 1.2gofcarbs per kilooflean body weight (LBM).Soan80kgman would needroughly43.2g ofproteinand98.4g ofcarbs.

If you’reabove tenper cen body fat then the formula isthe same asabove,but withtheaminoacidsL-glycine anL-glutamine in placeof thec

That said, ifyou are a seriathlete thenyoucan’t reallyget toomuchprotein. Somereport bigbenefits when ea

upwards of3g perkilogrameach day, andyou won’t getfatbecause any excess your body doesn’tneed getsflushedout whenyou pee.Theonlyexception to thisisif you havea pre-existingkidney disease. If you don’tthen eatup in theknowledgthatyour hardwork inthegymis getting therequirednutritionalsupport.

WhenshouldItakeit?Themost importantthing istomakesure youget someprotein early in thepost-exerciserecoveryphase, idimmediatelyafterexercisewhenyourmuscles need it

‘Overeatingpro

willnotmakeyo

and itwon’thur

youunlessyou

kidneydisease’



Men

PROTEIN101What’s goingintoyourshake

CASEIN

Casein, which makes up 80per cent of the protein contentof milk, is made up of largerprotein molecules, which aredigested more slowly thanwhey, providing a slow, steadyrelease of amino acids into thebloodstream. This slow releaseis what many experts argue

makes it the best protein touse before going to sleep atnight or for breakfast.

WHEYWhey, which is derived frommilk, is digested and absorbedrelatively quickly, makingit useful for post-exerciserecovery. It also has a higher

concentration of essentialamino acids than whole milk,which may help minimisemuscle protein breakdown

immediately after exercise.

WHICHISBEST

AFTERAWORKOUT?

Why not have both? Whatmany people forget is that

you can mix your whey withcasein (milk) and get both.After a workout, if you mix a25g scoop of protein powder

into a 250ml serving of milkthen you’ve got a big chunk offast-acting whey right whenyou need it, with the all theadded beneits of 16g oflong-acting casein.



Men’s Fitness172

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC

Anysideeffects?Itusedtobe thought thatexproteincould placeexcessson theliverorkidneys,butthas never beendemonstratonhealthy people, only thoalreadysuffering fromkidnfailure.A high protein intakepotentiallycause dehydrati– somake sure you’redrinkplentyof water – but other tthat itwon’tdoyouanyharm

CREATINE

Whatisit?Creatineis a compound thamade naturally in thebody,can alsobefound inmeatanfishor taken inhigherdosesa supplement. It’s availableoown,butyou’ll alsosometimseeit inmeal replacementshakes andothersuppleme

Whatdoes itdo?

It’s like a back-upgeneratoryourbody. Normally, energyyourbody is produced, storandused viaa chemical caladenosine triphosphate(ATButat timesyourbody can’tkeepupwith energy demanso itneedsanother source ophosphates, which is wherecreatinecomes in.Creatinehelpspromotethe manufacofproteinandreduces its breakdown after exercise.

Whoshouldtakeit?People who trainwith weighdosports that involve repeahigh-intensitymovements,such as sprints, jumpsorthrows,are likely toseebenBodybuilders oftenuse it,as

SUPPLEMENTS



Men

increasesmusclehypertrophy bydrawingwater intomusclecells. But there’s little evidence,toshow that a supplement is beneficial to enduranceathletes.

HowmuchshouldI take?Theaveragemantakes in 1gofcreatinea day fromfoodandproducesanother 1gfromaminoacids,resulting increatinestores thatareabout

40percentbelowhismaximumcapacity. Thebestway to fillupis withdoses ofaround3gaday.Anymorethan5g andyou’ll justexcrete it.

WhenshouldItakeit?Avoiddrinking creatinebeforeaworkoutas it’s hygroscopic,whichbasicallymeans itactslike a sponge,drawingwaterintoyour gastrointestinaltract and bloodstreamfromsurroundingtissues ormuscles.That’swhat

cangiveyoua bloated feelingorsometimesmuscle cramps.Theideal time to take creatine isimmediatelyafteryourworkout.

Anysideeffects?Themain side effectis weightgain.This is partly theresultof increasedmuscle tissuebutalsopartly because of theextrawaterin yourmusclecells, soit’s not alwaysideal touse itifyou’recompeting ina sport thatusesweightcategories, suchas

boxing.Therearealso some,admittedly, anecdotal reportsofgastrointestinal discomfort,dehydration,muscle injury andkidneydamage,butthere isnoclinicalevidenceto supportthese statements.

AMINOACIDS

Whatarethey?BCAA(branched-chainaminoacids) supplements containvaline, leucineand isoleucine.

Theseare ‘essential’ aminoacids because theyneed to bepresentinyour diet – asopposed to ‘non-essential’aminoacids,whichyour bodycanproduceitself.Together, theycancompriseuptoone-thirdof muscle protein.

ANABOLISM‘Anabolic’ processes build up organs

and tissues, using smaller molecules

to create larger ones. Anabolic steroids,

for instance, increase protein synthesis

in cells – although you’ll see a lot of

supplements that promise similar

results without the side efects.

CATABOLISMThis is basically the breaking down

of large molecules into smaller ones

to produce energy. Products such as

glutamine and antioxidants are said to

reduce the rate of catabolism, meaning

that you’ll recover from exercise faster.

HYDROPHILICSubstances labelled hydrophilic dissolve

easily in water or blood. Normal creatine,

for instance, is lipophilic, although you

need to dilute it a lot.

LIPOPHILICLipophilic substances pass through cell

membranes easily, meaning they’re

absorbed quickly. Some expensive brands

of creatine are more lipophilic than plain

monohydrate, which they claim makes

them more efective.

LOADINGSome lifters refer to a ‘loading’ phase of

supplement use, in which they’ll take largeamounts of them to build up stores in their

body. This isn’t always possible, however –

if you take too much creatine or protein at

once, for instance, your body just excretes

it. Stick with the dose on the packet.

IONEXCHANGEThis basically means your protein

has been separated via electrical

charge, which is slightly cheaper than

microiltration. It means you’ll lose some

amino acids, but it also ilters out a lot of

fat and lactose.

MICROFILTRATION

‘Cross low microiltered’ protein usesa very ine membrane to iltre proteins,

leaving helpful amino acids intact, iltering

out fat and leaving immune-boosting

components untouched. On the downside,

this tends to be a bit more expensive than

ion-exchange-iltered protein.

GLOSSARYDon’t let yourself bedazzledbythefancywordsonthelabel.Here’swhat they reallymean

Whatdotheydo?The theoryis that theycanhelpprevent thebreakdownofmuscletissue duringintenseexercise. Theyalsoact toincrease thereleaseof

humangrowthhormone.

Whoshouldtakethem?Anyonewhoweight trains, but opt for capsule formratherthantablet or liquid. There’slittle evidence thatBCAAs



Men’s Fitness174

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC

will improve performancef

enduranceathletes, andun

you’retrainingseriouslyha

youcanprobably get enoug

BCAAs froma recoverydrin

HowmuchshouldItakThescience suggests that

anythingless than 20capsu

perworkout isawasteof tim

Manyprofessionalrugby an

footballclubshave seenhu

improvementsin performausing about40capsofBCAA

everyworkout.

WhenshouldItakethTheyworkbest if takenbefo

duringandpost-workout.

Studies have shown that

taking BCAAsupplements

takenbeforeresistance train

reducedelayedonsetmusc

soreness,while taking them

duringand afterexerciseca

reducemusclebreakdown.

Anysideeffects?BCAAsarefairly safe, sincey

normallyfind them inprote

inyourdiet anyway. Toomu

mightreduce theabsorption

otheramino acids.

ANTIOXIDANTS

Whatarethey?Antioxidant supplements

containdifferingamountso

nutrientsandplant extracts

includingbetacarotene,vitaminsC andE, zinc,copp

andmagnesium.Aswell as

havinga beneficialeffect

onyour general health,

antioxidants canalsohelpy

recover fromsports training

Can’tmydietfulfilallmynutritionalneeds?Yes,if you reallywatchwhat

youeat.But sometimesyou’ll

ind that getting theoptimum

amountof certain substancesforyourtrainingmeans eatinga

lot.Gettingall thecreatinemany

trainers recommendwouldmean

eatinga mountainof beef.Use

supplements to ill thegaps in

yourdiet, butdon’t rely onthem

tocounteract badeating habits.

DoIneedtotakesupplementson thedaysI’mnot training?Short answer: yes. Youget

strongerasyourecoverfrom

exercise,so makingsureyou’re

gettingenoughnutrientsonyour

restdays is essential.

ShouldIbewakingupinthemiddleofthenighttotakesupplements?Almostdeinitelynot. Youmight

have heard aboutbodybuilders

getting upat 3am toneck a

quickshake, butas soon as

you’reawakeformorethan

three secondsyoudisrupt the

production ofmelatonin, which

isoneof themost important

hormones inbuildingmuscle.

You’rebetter ofhavingsome

niceslow-digesting protein, such

as rawnuts,cottagecheeseoracasein shake, beforebed.

Aretheysafe?Since sportssupplements are

technically classiiedas food,

they aren’t subject to thesame

strictmanufacturing, safety

testingor labellingas licensed

medicinesso there’sno guarantee

that they’ll live up to their

claims. TheEU is consideringtheintroductionof stricter guidelines

butit’scurrently up to individual

manufacturersto maintainthe

quality of theirproducts.Lookfor

supplements thatare ISO17025

certiied,whichmeans they’ve

beensubjectedto rigorouschecks

during their production.

CanIfailadrugstestfromtakingsupplements?If you’re a serious enough

sportsmanto betested, then

you need tobecareful. A survey

froman InternationalOlympic

Committee-accredited laboratoryinCologne looked for steroids in

634supplements andfound that

15per cent of them contained

substances thatwould cause a

failed drugtest, althoughnone

contained steroids. If you’re

concerned, consult a registered

nutritionist or dieticianbefore

takingsupplements.

IfItaketherightcombinationof things,canI getrippedwithoutworkingout?Sadly, no.Anyonewhotellsyou

that amagic formula cangiveyoumassivebiceps andsculptedabs

is ibbing.Eatright, trainhard,

andchoosewell-researched and

tested supplement products,and

you’ll seethe results youwant.

WHATSUPP?Yoursupplementqueriesanswered

SUPPLEMENTS



Men

What dothey do?

Very intense exercise canincrease your body’s generationof moleculesknown as free

radicals, which can harm

cell membranes, disrupt DNAandincrease your risk of

age-related diseases and cancer.Some evidencesuggests that

antioxidant supplements willprotect against thesediseases,

though other studies suggestsupplements areless effective

than getting antioxidants aspart of your diet. Andthere’s not

much evidence they’ll actuallyhelp your sports performance.

Whoshould takethem?The jury isout but ithas been

suggested that, because of theenvironment and average stress

levels, everyone should be on

some type of antioxidant. Theywork best if rotated, so alternate between green tea for ten days

before switching to grapeseed

extract, forexample.

How muchshould I take?The EU recommended daily

amount for vitamin C is 60mgand10mg for vitamin E, but

some scientistsbelieve theselevels aretoo low. Crucially,

however, it’s important toremember that supplements are

no substitute for proper nutritionso aimto eat at least fiveportionsof fruit and vegetablesdaily.

Including as many differentcoloured fruits and vegetables

as possible ensures you get thewidest variety of antioxidants.

When should I take them?Thisdepends on the supplement

you’re taking and the effectyou’re looking for. Vitamin C is

the antioxidant best taken after

a workout because it blockscortisol, the stress hormone.

A 2008 study suggested thatantioxidants aremost beneficial

when taken with meals – rats fedred wine alongside meat ended

up with fewer free radicalsintheir digestive tracts than their

non-drinkingsiblings– but theevidenceisn’t conclusive.

Any side effects?There areside effects related

to excessiveconsumptionof certain vitaminsfound in

antioxidant supplements –

massive amounts of carotenecan turn your skin temporarilyorange, for example. Also, the

antioxidant minerals zinc,

magnesiumand copper – can be toxic in largedoses. If you

stick to the recommendeddosage, though, you’ll be fine.

FAT BURNERS

What arethey?Also known as thermogenics,these are blends of herbs and

stimulants that slightly increaseyour body temperature, whichcanhelp you burn more calories

during exercise. Ephedrine, asynthetic version of the Chinese

herb ephedra, used to be a keyingredient in these, but it’s now

‘Antioxidant

supplementscan

protectagainst

age-relateddiseasesand

cancer’



Men’s Fitness176

SEVNR

OBULDNMUC SUPPLEMENTS

onlyavailableonprescripti

in theUKdue toitsharmfu

effectsandaddictivequalit

Whatdotheydo?Somesimplyburncalories

asheat.Others also claim

tostimulate thereleaseof

adrenaline, increaseyour

metabolicrateoractas app

suppressants.Theevidence

for themworkingis limited

however, anda high-protein

dietwithregularexerciseis

likelytoproducebetterwe

loss results in thelong term

WhoshouldtakethemFat burners raisecortisol– ahormone that in somecase

acutallyincreaseabdomin

fat, especially if you’realrea

leadinga fairlystressful life

extremecasestheycan cau

theadrenalsystemtogetw

out. Ifyouthinkyouneedth

consultyourGPfirst.

HowmuchshouldI taFollow the instructions on t

bottle, but be carefulwith

long-termuse.

WhenshouldI takethMost containcaffeineand s

willprobablymakeyoujitt

whichmeans thatthemorn

probablybest time for thes

supplements.Never take fa

burnersafter2pmbecause

affect sleeppatterns, andal

followinstructions on theb

Anysideeffects?Takingveryhighdosesof

ephedrinecanhave seriou

effects, includingpalpitatioanxiety, insomnia, vomiting

anddizziness.Whileherba

alternativesaregenerally sa

youmayget side effectswi

highdoses – somecanraise

bloodpressureor evencau

heartdisturbances.



Men

THEBESTOFTHERESTWhatelse isonthe shelf ofyour local healthfood shop?

CLAConjugated linoleic acid is an

unsaturatedfattyacidnormallyfound

in full-fatmilk, meat andcheese.

It’s usuallymarketedas a fat-loss

supplement thatworks byreleasing fat

fromfatcells or blockingnew fatfrom

getting in.Experts believe it’s betterat

the latter and recentevidencesuggests

that CLAworks mostly byinhibiting

fat-cell illing,meaning it prevents fat

cells fromgetting larger, whichis notthe

same ascausing loss ofexistingbody

fat. CLAmay therefore turn outto be

moreusefulfor preventingfat gain than

for causing loss of fatyou already have.

Mostresearchers recommend2g-5gaday, divided into three doses.

ENERGYGELSThese comein small squeezable sachets

andare designedto providean easyway

of consuming carbohydratesduring

intense endurance exercise lasting

longerthanan hour. Studies have shown

that theydelay fatigueand increase

endurance,but theyaren’tdesignedto

doaway withthe needto carrywater–

you’ll still need todrinkaround 350ml

withevery25g ofgel oryou’ll beat

increased riskof dehydration.

HMBBeta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate

(HMB) ismadein the bodyfrom BCAAs

andis thought tobe involved incellular

repair. Studies suggest that it may

increasestrengthand musclemassand

reducemuscle damage after resistance

exercise,althoughthishasn’t been

foundin allstudies. Youcanalso ind

it in grapefruit.

GLUTAMINEGlutamineis a non-essential amino

acid that thebodysynthesises. It is

needed for cell growth andas fuel for

theimmunesystem.Duringperiodsof

heavytrainingor stress, levelsof it in

thebodyfall. There’s clinicalevidence

thatglutaminesupplementscan

decrease your riskof infectionduring

theseperiods, but less evidencethat it’ll

actually improveyour performance.

MRPSMealreplacementproductsare

designedto providea good-quality

mealwithout thehassle of cooking.A

good onewill contain 3040gof protein,

somegood carbohydratesourcessuch

as maltodextrin,andvitamins and

minerals. It’s still betterto eat fresh

food if you’ve gotthe time, though.

NITRICOXIDETheactive ingredient in this is L-arginine,

a non-essential aminoacid made in the

body. Nitricoxideis a gas involved inincreasing blood lowto themuscles,

deliveringmore nutrients andoxygento

themand theoreticallycausing a better

pump,musclegrowthandrecovery. But,

clinical trials haven’tyetmanagedto

provethat thesesupplementswork.

TAURINEThis is a non-essential aminoacid

produced naturally in thebody. You’ll

recognise it fromRed Bull cans, but it’s

also found in meat, ish, eggsandmilk,

aswell as manycreatineand protein

products.These regularly claimthat

it’ll give you extraenergy, butthat’s

debatable. One reviewsurveyed nine

yearsof researchon theNationalLibrary

of Medicine’sdatabaseandconcluded

that theenergy-enhancingefectsof

mostgenericenergydrinks weremainly

down to thecafeine. Theyconcluded

that the‘lesserknowningredientsof

energy drinks— including taurine —

needed further study.’

TESTOSTERONEBOOSTERS

These aimto increasetestosterone

levels in thebody, producing similar

muscle-buildingefects to anabolic

steroidswithout the sideefects.There’s

plenty of anecdotalevidenceto suggest

that they work,but very littlein theway

of provenclinical trials.

ZMAZincmonomethionineaspartate

combineszinc,magnesium, vitamin B6andaspartate in a formula that claims

to boost testosterone. If you’retraining

really intenselyyoumight beneit from

theextra zinc andmagnesium, butdon’t

exceed maximumdoses, especially if

you’reusing othersupplements.







MUSCLE

RULESOFBUILDING7

KNOWYOURBODY

Identify yourbody shape to

putonmuscle efficiently

BUILDASTRONG

FOUNDATION

Moves thatbuild a solid base

forrapid, injury-free progress

MASTERBIGLIFTS

Date post:	03-Apr-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	wilmer-casas
View:	228 times
Download:	0 times

M F 7 R o B M 2013 Downmagaz.ws

Documents