A few years ago, Billy O’Connor would have laughed in your face if you told him he would be spending his Saturday nights sober and in the gym instead of getting completely fucked up in a bar somewhere. The Brooklynite enjoyed the nightlife and took it to the extreme, as many a young man does. But he was smart enough to get off that train before it reached its last stop.

“For many years, I had a major drug and alcohol problem and was unable to control it,” a somber O’Connor, 32, admitted to us. Starting from when he was 21, he went on a tear by getting high and drunk and slowly left behind the subtle semblances of normalcy. Part of that was walking away from an early introduction to weight training, albeit the simplest form.

“It was your typical chest and biceps routine in my parent’s basement,” said O’Connor. He did this for approximately seven years but then, “fell off the map completely.”

Although he was able to perform his job as a wedding photographer during this dark period of his life, O’Connor knew that he needed to get clean if he was going to excel at not just work, but life in general.

Three years ago, a decision was made that classified as a life changer is not strong enough. A life saver is more appropriate. And O’Connor turned again to a familiar place as part of his recovery and sobriety.

“I’m not sure my life would be what it is today if I didn’t train like an animal,” admitted a smiling O’Connor. “I love every aspect of my new lifestyle and I’m looking forward to making more progress.”

Having someone by your side makes it a lot easier and O’Connor’s girlfriend Melissa Mason is also his workout partner and they are currently taking classes together to become certified personal trainers.

“In the future, I hope to start a business that allows me to utilize my passion for bodybuilding and fitness every day,” O’Connor said. ” I have a few ideas in the works right now and am excited to see them through.”

After beating the demons he did, no on is betting against O’Connor.

Billy O’Connor works for Photo Elite in Brooklyn, New York (www.photoelteinc.com) and also lies his trade on a freelance basis. Check out some of his work on his Facebook page.

‘This is Your Magazine’ is merely one of the reasons why MuscleSport Mag is far and wide better than any other publication out there. What other media outlet features the up and coming athlete, the same as if he or she was a professional in their industry? This is the place to get your face and story out there, and who knows what opportunities may arise from that type of exposure?

MONDAY

Biceps/Triceps- Some may argue against training both arm parts on the same day, but it will all make sense when you read the rest of the schedule. Performing 12 sets for each is sufficient and you can switch each week with which one you start with.

TUESDAY

Legs – Quads and hamstrings done the same day, starting with the quads, of course. Squats should be the first movement done and you should try to do at least 12-15 sets combined. This is also important because you are giving your arms a day off from lifting when they would be the secondary muscles worked during the rest of the body parts.

WEDNESDAY

Chest - Everyone does chest on Mondays, right? So why wait around the benches while the entire gym does the same? By mid-week, the flat and incline should be wide open. Hit this body part hard when you’re more than warmed up for the week instead of doing it after two rest days.

THURSDAY

Back – This goes right along with the switching on and off for the push/pull muscles. You will have nothing holding you back from blasting those lats, one of the larger muscles that need a good pounding and multiple sets, 12 being the least.

FRIDAY

Shoulders/Traps – Some like to do traps on back day, which you can do but the workout can stretch a bit long then. Deltoid moves should be done first, then traps. Heavier exercises such as front and behind presses need to be performed first, then you can hit the dumbbells for lateral raises, etc.

ABS – One of the most annoying muscles to respond to training should be hit nearly every day. Do one exercise for four sets at least four times a week and make sure to switch them around each time. Hanging leg raises and rope crunches do work if you do them properly.

FOREARMS – Should be done with arms, chest and shoulders. They are a small muscle group, so keep it to four sets per day and a variety of exercises.

CALVES – Hit them often to bring out the diamond shape in your calves. You can do them all five days with the same system as forearms as far as the amount of sets, etc. . Calves are perhaps the weakest body part even up to the pro level in bodybuilding, so they will not grow unless worked.

CARDIO – Three times per week is a good start. The days can be any you choose, but leg day should be avoided. It’s personal preference when to do it, but after the weights is our recommendation.

The program goes like this – pick a day when you can do nothing but train, eat and rest. You use just two exercises, one for triceps and one for biceps, and you do a set of each every hour for 12 hours. Use a weight lighter then your usual poundages, and do not work to failure. Eating some protein every hour, massaging the muscles after each workout and to resting all you can, were also recommended.

This program has worked for many and we could continue to use it exactly the same way to get a quick increase in arm size, but Peary gave us a hint of the full usefulness of this method. He stated “Most men use it on their arms since no one ever seems to have as large arms as he would like. However it will work on any muscle. We hope that some day when we have a greater understanding of muscle growth and the controlling factors, a similar method can be applied to men and women in a specialized session of perhaps a month and give them a physique that today takes years to acquire.” So we can see that Peary had a lot of hope for this method.

I believe I have a program that would be useful for advanced hardgainers who would like a quick increase in size all over their body. It would go something like this, you pick six exercises that cover the entire body, for example squats, bench press, over-head press, rows, calf raises and curls. For about 4 weeks you workout twice a week ,wed and sat, (this is to get used to these exercises and avoid extreme soreness when you begin specialization) do 2 work sets for each exercise, then on week five on Wednesday you do your regular workout but on Saturday you take the first exercise (squats) and do one set an hour for 12 hours, use about half of your usual poundage the idea as Peary said was “Working on the principle of flushing the muscles with blood and keeping them flushed all day long, the muscles will grow unbelievably for a short time.”, so we aren’t trying to push to maximum on these sets. Keep the Wednesday workouts the same as the first 4 weeks, and every Saturday take the next exercise in your program and hit it for 12 sets in 12 hours.

This program is still admittedly experimental, but all signs seem to show that it would bring about a big gain over the 10 weeks it takes to complete. The most important thing is that you don’t get overtrained, do only two workouts a week, and give the most days rest after the specialization day, hence the wed and sat schedule. The other thing is to do the hardest exercises like squats early in the cycle when you recovery ability is strongest and as the cycle progresses you work your way down, and at the end of the cycle you are doing the least taxing exercise like curls. The volume per exercise is high one day a week but the overall volume is kept at about 12 sets a workout, which is still not too bad for a hardgainer.

If you are a beginner, or intermediate stick to the basics like 20 rep squats, heavy deadlifts, presses, at al., you will grow plenty fast if you work hard, and eat and rest enough. But, if you are getting close to you potential and would like to get a quick burst of size, try this routine and see how it works for you. Tell me how it goes.

About The Author: Paul Becker is a natural (steroid free for life) bodybuilder and fitness consultant. For more information on Bodybuilding and Bodybuilding Supplements visit his website at http://www.trulyhuge.com

Part III Showtime

To hit the vacuum on stage, set your legs by lifting your knee to flex your inner psoas muscle. DO NOT LET GO OF THIS FLEX. Look down and bring your hands together making 2 fists.  These fists will flex your biceps automatically for you. Exhale all the air OUT of your lungs. Suck your diaphragm in and up into the back of your neck as your arms go overhead.

Jam your fists down as far as possible down your back, keeping your biceps to the sides of your head.  It will make you look thicker with less space showing next to your head. Push your fists into your back while they’re down there, and learn to use this push to pop your lats out.

Learn to flex your upper pecs by bringing your elbows slightly towards center.  It’s an impressive shot to see striated pecs , flexed biceps, and your psoas in this shot.

And most importantly SMILE AND MAKE IT LOOK LIKE IT DOESN’T HURT!

Known as the bodybuilding/golf pro, Michael Manavian works on improving peoples health and fitness as well as their golf game. He is the author of Atomic Golf, The Alternative to Swing Gurus, Pie-in-the-Sky Theories, Perfect Greens, and Everything Else That’s Failed and is available for fitness consultations as well as golf instruction.

Be sure to visit his website, www.atomic-golf.com.

So you’re Gym-strong!  Great, that’s a good start.

If you wish to pursue the sport of strongman, you better be deadlifting and squatting. Your core strength is crucial. You may have great power in your chest, biceps, calves or maybe you have balls of steel, but if you can’t grip it, you can’t lift it! Work your grip and increase the strength in your forearms. Core strength and grip strength together represent a powerful combination that can be applied to a variety of strongman disciplines.

Personally I do heavy hammer curls. First I pre-exhaust my biceps with alternating dumbbell curls until I can no longer curl with proper technique. Then I transition into hammer curls keeping the dumbbell tight to the body, curling to my mid chest. I start at 80 pounds and finish to my max at 190. Low reps say six reps to your max with sets of two to three.

Following this, apply classic wrist curls, standard and reverse. Light weights and reps of 10-12, total -  three sets.

Another important exercise is wrist rotation with dumbbell in hand (hammer position). Slide the weight to the top, away from the hand. Supporting your forearm on a bench, give the dumbbell enough space to rotate from side to side. You can even do this from front to back. The primary goal of this exercise is to stretch and rotate to the max. So go light and maintain good control.

Strongman disciplines’ where grip strength is crucial:

• Farmers hold / walk
• Car deadlift
• Tire flip
• Atlas stones
• Hercules hold

GET A GRIP and go far!!

Yours in Strength,

Robin Wright.  Founder / Director www.bceaa.org

Robin Wright, rwright@bceaa.org, Kamloops, BC Canada

Founder and Director of the British Columbia Extreme Athletics Association www.bceaa.org

Special thanks to my webmaster Diane Roberts: www.sbwebstudio.ca

Justin Cuzzetto: Reflex Nutrition, Kamloops, www.reflexnutrition.com

The City of Kamloops, BC, Canada Tournament Capital of Canada, www.kamloops.ca

and many more sponsors who have helped and are helping make the BCEAA strong in its continued success.

On this week’s episode of MuscleSport Radio, our special guest will be Boyer Coe, who is a former Mr. America, Mr. Universe and Mr. World. Coe won an incredible seven titles in the year 1981 alone and is known for the incredible peaks on his biceps.

Be sure to listen live on Tuesday, November 18 from 3 to 4 PM Eastern time on Blog Talk Radio, or hear it via archives on iTunes, MuscleSport Mag or Blog Talk Radio.

On November 25, we will be joined by 1983 Mr. Olympia Samir Bannout.

The Yankees declining Jason Giambi’s 2009 option came as no surprise, but the fact that he may end up back in Oakland can be viewed as a mild one. The slugging first baseman’s former guru with the Athletics and Yanks, Bob Alejo, has been brought back by the A’s as director of strength and conditioning. Can this spell the return of the former American League MVP?

Giambi’s relationship with Alejo goes back to 1993 and after he was banned from the Bronx Bombers’ clubhouse in 2005, Giambi could not have been thrilled. Rekindling that relationship has to have some value to Giambi, who paid Alejo $125,000 (including a 401(k) plan) to leave his position as Oakland’s strength and conditioning coach in 2002 to become his personal trainer.

Giambi had a different look and attitude when he was in Oakland, and was known for his long hair and goatee as much as his tattooed biceps. In New York, he conformed to the clean-cut style that the Yankees demand, but did grow a pretty nice sized mustache last summer.

Although many view his tenure in the Bronx as a failure, Giambi did hit at least 30 home runs and drive in over 80 runs in five of the seven seasons in which he played in 100 games or more. he turned 37 last season and hit .247 with 32 long balls and 96 RBI.

Currently at the ‘gateway’ position, the A’s have Daric Barton (.226, 9, 47) and Jack Hannahan (.218, 9, 47). That’s not a typo or misprint – both guys had the same power production. At DH, the A’s have Frank Thomas and Jack Cust, so if they do sign Giambi, it would be as a first baseman.

The monthly 500 Word Article Submission Contest on the Muscular Development website forums has already begun posting some of the entries, with the winner having his/her article published in the print magazine. Voting will begin shortly and go until November 12. Is this a shameless ploy to get some votes for my entry, “Over Time…” by MuscleSport Mag? You bet, it is! To get your by-line in MD should not be taken lightly, and I’m not doing so. If you have never been on the boards, then you’re doing yourself a disservice. MD is the top publication out there and their website is loaded with great material. The forums are legendary, especially the ‘No Bull’ section. Sign up, post and don’t forget to vote every month. (http://forums.musculardevelopment.com/forumdisplay.php?f=17)

Over Time…

Oh, there goes that damn alarm clock again. Let me just hit the ‘snooze’ button once or twice then I’ll drag myself out of bed. A quick something to eat and off to the gym. Then it’s another session that I can probably do in my sleep, and the way I feel today I may just be doing that. Have to wake myself up and by the time I finish my warm-ups, the blood has started pumping.

Now I’m beginning to remember why I have been doing this since high school. It’s been over 25 years since then and I’m still moving iron around as if I was getting paid overtime to do it.

And you know what, the reward from doing it all this time isn’t anything you can buy (well, maybe you can in some ways). While all those other lazy SOBs are shoving glazed donuts down their throats, I’m here playing those same songs over my iPod sweating bullets. Blasting my chest, blowing out my biceps, adding another two plates for the next set of squats.

Some days it gets real hard to throw up that amount of weight. Am I going to admit to myself that it’s time to slow it down some and just stop by the gym the old ‘three days a week?’ You know, the bare minimum that some do just so they can justify that expensive membership and second helping of dessert? Listen, if I ever become one of them, please take me out of my misery.

This isn’t just something we do to kill time. It’s a way of life, a commitment and not to be taken for granted. It makes you drop bad habits and go back to what you were taught as a kid – no sweets, eat right and get good rest. How many people can have grilled chicken three or more nights a week and not get tired of it? We do it because we are taking care of our biggest asset.

The workouts blend in from week to month to year. Sometimes it feels like an almost robotic type of ritual. But when you miss one you regret it all day long. That’s when you know that it has become second nature to you.

So let them say what they want and think that you’re crazy for doing what you do. Plain yogurt and fresh fruit do taste better than that bacon, egg and cheese sandwich. Water washes down a meal just as good as soda, and that extra hour sleep will fell good in the morning. Because that’s when it counts.

Time and time again.