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.

This is my write up of a training/supplement program I was on. The total program lasted 9 weeks and in that time I actually gained 20 lbs! I went from 174 to 194, now I have in the past weighed 188 and some of this was regained muscle, but on top of that I put on a fresh new 6 pounds.

Ok, some background on how I thought up this program, as you may already know, suggested programs for hardgainers are short and infrequent. I got to thinking that “what if you trained even shorter workouts and did them more often?” I was on a busy schedule and still wanted to train so I decided to try this to see how it worked.

I knew pre exhaust workouts were a very effective method, but in the past I had only done it here and there for one or another body part and I had never done it for every muscle group for weeks at a time. Below is the routine I used, most workouts lasted 5 minutes or less.

Workout 1 (Chest)

Dumbbell Fly

With no rest do Bench Press

Workout 2 (Back)

Dumbbell Pullover

With no rest do Row

Workout 3 (Shoulders)

Lateral Raise

With no rest do Press Behind Neck

Workout 4 (Legs)

Leg Curl

Leg Extension

With no rest do Barbell Squat

Workout 5 (Arms)

1 Rep Chin (Go very slow, 30 seconds up and 30 seconds down)

With no rest do Standing Barbell Curl

1 Rep Dip (Go very slow, 30 seconds down and 30 seconds up)

With no rest do Tricep Exertions

I did do a warm up of a lighter set of the compound exercise then I did just one hard work set as listed above. I tired to add weight to the exercises each and every workout and I stayed in the 6 to 9 rep range, except on the chin and dip, which is done for a painfully slow 1 rep.

The first 2 weeks I worked out Monday through Friday and took the weekends off, each muscle group was being hit once a week, but the soreness from the last workout was interfering with the next workout and I switched to training every other day. After 3 weeks I gained 11 pounds and then the gains seemed to slow down.

Starting week 4 I began taking an Andro Shock supplement and my gains started up again, I gained another 9 pounds over the next 6 weeks!

On diet I followed a zone type plan (40% Carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat) and I ate up to 7 to 8 times a day.

This program is very different then any you will see in the glossy muscle magazines but it sure does work, and if any one is feeling he can’t train because he “doesn’t have the time”, I’m sure you can squeeze in 5 mins every other day to make some great gains!

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.

Surely many people read into that statement and were under the impression that Warren’s name was about to be read. With Cutler having two Sandows to his name, many may have overlooked that defending champion Dexter Jackson was already on the side holding the third place check. So regardless of who won, technically he would have been the ‘new’ Mr. O.

Even though Cutler earned the win, Warren took a major step in his career towards adding his name to the list of Olympia champions. Coupled with his third place finish in March at the Arnold Classic, the Texan has become a major player in the open division and cannot be taken lightly or overlooked.

Since earning his pro card at the 2001 Nationals, Warren has had some success but never the kind where you would pick him as a possible winner of the two major shows, the Olympia and Arnold. That is until this year.

In  his previous Olympia tries, Warren finished eighth (2005) and 12th (2006). As for the Arnold, Warren appeared to be on his way by being named the runner-up in 2006 but took a few steps back with a seventh place finish the following year.

His shelf is not totally void of hardware, though. Warren won the 2005 Charlotte Pro and Europa Supershow, as well as the 2007 New York Pro. While those are proud accomplishments, being remembered as one of the greats of your sport requires at least one O or Arnold.

It was the opinion of many that Warren, 33, was in the best condition at this past Olympia and his size only was accentuated by it. No one came close to matching his legs and his upper body was in proportion with his wheels. His placing may have been considered a surprise by some but for those who have been watching Warren for a while knew that it was only a matter of time before he caught up with the competition.

One more step to go.

So Dena…how did you feel about taking 9^th place?

“I was shooting for a top ten placing, so I was thrilled with 9^th. It was just amazing to be standing on the stage I’ve watched from the crowd so many times. In my mind I am already a winner, I don’t need a panel of judges to confirm that. Being a winner is way deeper than being number one, if that makes sense.”

Yes, I totally get that! After all, just getting yourself into the condition you displayed on stage and making all the improvements to your physique that were so immediately visible makes you a winner. Out of your fellow athletes, who impressed you the most?

“I was thrilled with Debi Laszewski (who placed second). Her condition was off the hook. Her placing proves to the ‘shorter’ competitors that it’s not about your size. Debi and I usually run close together…so I have hopes of a top 5 placing here in the next couple of years.”

Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?

“I can’t think of anything I could have done differently….everything went my way. I did lose track of my music during my routine (lol!). I guess it happens to everyone once, but I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen to me again.”

So what about your preparation for the NY Pro show, what do you plan to do?

“I can’t really make many large changes in the seven weeks I have between shows. My goal is to tighten up my glute/ham area. I’m training my legs 4 days a week. I’m not killing them though, but they feel it the next day. I do the incline treadmill for 30 mins and the rest of my cardio I try to do on the hand bike, so I don’t burn up the size of my legs.

“A typical day of leg training would be 2 sets of walking lunges, 2 sets of box jumps, 3 sets of stiff leg deadlifts. My abs are insanely thick, so I am going to let them rest a bit. They get a workout when I am posing.”

How about your diet and supplements? (Dena is sponsored by SPECIES NUTRITION)

“Same old (Dave) Palumbo diet. Of course I need to tighten up a bit more so I am sure Dave is about to kill me with an extreme diet! I am also using Lipolyze, Somalyze, Isolyze, Fiberlyze and Omegalyze from Species Nutrition in terms of supplements.”

Turning our attention to the ‘big picture’ as far as female bodybuilding is concerned, how do you feel about the current lack of shows for the pro women?

“Well at least the Tampa show is back on, so that’s one good thing. I just tell all the women to compete as much as you can right now and enjoy it. In my opinion mainstream is going to bring us down shortly and all we’ll have are our old pictures and magazine articles…so save all of those too…lol!”

Well, I hope you are wrong about that one Dena…and I know here at Musclesportmag we are going to be working hard to give the women more coverage.

Getting back to the NY Pro though, how do you see yourself placing and where do you take it from there?

“I hope to get a top 3 placing and go to Vegas in September. It will be a tough line up, but I think I will have made enough improvements in the short time I have to carry me through. Regardless of what happens, I plan on enjoying my summer months!”

With the NY Pro just days away from us, I would like to predict that Dena gets that top three placing. So I guess the only thing left for me to say is “See you in Vegas Dena!”

Leigh Penman began her writing career in 1980 when she started her own weekly music column in a Scottish newspaper. From there she went on to writing for all the major music publications in the UK at that time, including ‘Record Mirror’, ‘Sounds’, ‘New Musical Express’ and ‘Number One’. Her work included interview such celebrities as Madonna, Cher, Tina Turner and David Bowie.

The late 80’s saw her moving into writing for nutrition companies and eventually bodybuilding magazines. She rapidly gained a reputation as being one of the top female writers on the bodybuilding scene and was a contributing editor on ‘Muscle & Co’, ‘Bodybuilding Monthly’, ‘Strength Athlete’, ‘Health & Fitness’ and ‘Fit Body’. She was also a major contributor to the Arnold endorsed magazine ‘Bodypower’ –where she went on to establish the position of ‘Show business Editor’. In addition to this she held the position of Ladies Editor for ‘Physiques International’

In between all this she has written for Personal Development magazines and organizations –including Tony Robbins UK division. Has collaborated on book projects with Leslie Kenton –the original Raw Food and female empowerment guru – and written for computer magazines…..and now she is with Natural Bodybuilding and Fitness magazine, Bodybuilding.com, RX muscle.com, Species Nutrition and of course musclesportmag.com!

She is a certified personal trainer, hypnotherapist and has been working out since the age of 15.