Why would anyone want to workout without weights? Everyone knows that using weights and machines is the fastest most efficient way to gain size and strength. While this is true, there are many resons why someone would want to, or even be forced to train for a while without the benefit of using weights. Someone working long hours trying to support his family may not have the time to get to a commercial gym, and may not have the extra space or money to set up a good home gym.

Also, someone who has to travel quite often for business might prefer getting a good workout in his or her hotel room rather then wandering the streets of South America asking “Donde esta el gymo?”.

Let’s face it there are times (vacations, etc.) when all of us can’t easily get to a gym. There are also many trainees (beginners or athletes training for boxing, baseball or some other sport) who aren’t trying to get a lot of muscular bulk but want the type of strength, endurance and definition that calisthenic exercise offers. These exercises can also be preformed anytime, anywhere and you can do them over your entire life to keep fit.

The idea behind this course is – If for some reason you do workout without weights, what is the most efficient and result producing way to do it? You can use these exercises in many ways: To build muscle, to maintain muscle you already have, in combination with your weight training to add variety and a change of pace, as a warm-up or pump-up routine, to ease back into training after a layoff or injury, etc., etc.

Very early in my training carear I started thinking about how to make calisthenics more result producing. The original reason was to help out one of my best friends at the time, who also happened to be the person that inspired me to start training by seeing the great progress he was making. Let’s call him Joe, mostly because that was his name, I believe he prefers to be called Joseph these days but back then he was still good old Joe.

Anyway, one day Joe’s father forbid him to workout with weights anymore, he gave Joe some reasons for this decision but I think the real reason was that he didn’t like the idea that his 15 year old son was getting a little too big and strong to be easily controlled and he better do something about it before he gets any bigger. The funny part was that his father didn’t object to him doing push-ups or other freehand exercises, only weight training was forbidden, I’m sure he figured that at best Joe would be able to maintain the muscle he had but he wouldn’t get any bigger. Joe was very distraught by the situation, convinced that his muscles were doomed to waste away to nothing, but I was sure there was some way to make those exercise more intense and maybe he could even gain some size. I came up with some ideas and tried to tell Joe about them but he didn’t seem too interested, his attitude was like “Hey, I know more about training then this guy, I’m the one who got him started. And besides I don’t have time to listen to this I’m too busy feeling sorry for myself and performing satanic rituals to curse my dad-”.

Joe never used my ideas but I did many times over the years, whenever I used calisthenics, and always got good results. I got even more ideas, a few years back, after reading the famous “Dynamis-Tension Course” by Charles Atlas. I found an old comic book and decided to write to the address and see if the course was still available, much to my  delight it was and I ordered it. I ordered it mostly as a collectors piece and novelty item, like owning a part of American pop culture. Who could forget those great advertisements like, “The insult that made a man out of ‘Mac’.”, “Who else wants a He-Man body?” or “In just 7 days, I can make you a Man.”, I was also curious as to what was this Dynamic-Tension method exactly. I have always believed that – Only a fool thinks he knows everything and that a wise man never stops learning., so there wasa possibility that I could find some good information in this “old, outdated course”. I read the course and found it quite interesting, I was slightly disappointed to find out that Dynamic-Tension is really just  some calisthenics and some isometric exercises. And while I’m sure they would do a lot for 198 lb weaklings”, what can they do for someone who’s already fairly big and strong? This got me thinking again about the same thing, how can these exercises be made more intense. Since then I came up with a few more ideas and now it’s time to end the history lesson and share them with you.

THE TECHNIQUES

(1) The first technique is to just do the exercises in the traditional manner, I know you can do 60, 80 even 100 reps but that’s the idea, grind out as many reps as you can this will build up your endurance and give your muscles a change of pace. And while this most likely won’t give you any extra size right away, when you go back to weight training with heavy weights and lower reps you may be supprised that you are now gaining faster then before. A few years ago some top bodybuilders were talking about a technique they called “100′s”, they reduced the weight and did literally 100 reps on all their exercises, they claimed it brought about certain physiological changes that made the muscles more responsive to later heavier training. It’s worth a try, especially if you’re going to be doing calisthenics anyway.

(2) Another way to get more results from these exercises is, right after a set flex hard the muscles just worked, flex as hard as you can and hold for at least a count of 10. Arnold talked extensively about ”Posing as exercise” and the use of “Iso-Tension”(Iso means – Equal; the same, and Tension means – To tighten; stiffen; contract. So Iso-Tension is simply contacting the muscles and holding in the same place – no movement.) he said that it really gives the body a more chiseled look, reaches areas that training misses and will make muscular contractions while training more intense, and more isolated. All good reasons to try this technique.

A better variation of this is to flex the muscles you are working first, get them good and tired and then do the exercise, thus Pre-Fatiguing them. For example flex the chest or tricep muscles as hard as you can, then immediately do a set of push-ups. Feels different doesn’t it? It’s a lot harder and produces much better results.

(3) Another technique is to reduce the rest time between exercises, let’s say you start with 60 seconds after a while cut it down to 45 then 30, then 15, etc. How about no rest between sets, a whole cycle of calisthenics all done nonstop that makes it way more intense. Also try it this way – do one set, let’s say of chin-ups, go until the muscles are really tired or even to total failure wait only a few seconds and then do another set. How many reps did you do on your second set? Only 4 or 5 I bet, that’s about what you’d do if you were doing some heavy pull-downs. You should see some growth from this style. Make it even more intense by increasing the reps on the first set and by decreasing the rest time before the second set, this is using the Rest-Pause method without weights.

(4) Why not simply add some weight, just because it’s not metal disks doesn’t matter your body can’t tell the difference. Put some heavy books on your back and do push-ups, or even your 8 year old son, he likes to play horsy. Get your wife or girlfriend (but not both at the same time, that could be trouble) to sit on your shoulders while you do squats. Do donkey calf raises, get creative there’s always a way to add some more resistance.

(5) How about using only one limb at a time, like doing one legged squats, one arm chin-ups, one arm push-ups, etc.. It takes some balance but it definitely makes it harder and puts on more muscle.

(6) Slow-Motion training is becoming popular again, try taking a full 12 seconds for the positive phase and 6 seconds for the negative phase of each rep. Don’t lock out in the top position and don’t rest in the bottom position, change smothly from the positive to the negative. This is using Slow Continous Tension, how many chin-up can you do this way?

Not many I bet, it’s intense.

(7) This last technique is based on what I thought Dynamic-Tension was before I read the course, Dynamic means – Dealing with motion, and we know from before that Tension is simply contraction. Therefore true Dynamic-Tension would be flexing the muscles hard while also moving, martial artists use a form of this to increase punching power.

Let’s try to use this applyed to our freehand workout, do your push-ups nice and slow while flexing hard your pectorals, shoulders, triceps, biceps and even your lats and forearms. When doing chin-ups flex hard your lats, shoulders, biceps, triceps and even chest and forearms. Do deep knee bends and flex hard your quadriceps, hamstrings, gludes, hips and even calves. Keep the tension hard and steady, it will take some practice to do it all together, but the increadible pump and  muscle growth you will get from it will be well worth your while.

SOME SUGGESTED EXERCISES

Deep Knee bends – Builds thighs, gludes, hips and great for lung power and endurance. With your feet about shoulder width apart, grab on to the edge of a sink (or something that will give you support) and while looking up slowly bend your knees and lower until your butt is just about touching the floor. Slowly standup again using only your legs to lift you, keep your heals on the floor and do as many as you can. For vairation you can place your feet wider or closer together, or do them one leg at a time.

Calf Raises – Do them on steps, put your toes on the edge of a step and hold on to the hand rail for balance, lower your heals to get a good stretch, then raise up on your toes as high as you can, lower and repeat for as many as you can. For variation try them in the squated down position, one leg of a time or donkey style.

Chin-ups or Pull-ups – For building back, shoulders, and biceps. Grab a bar with an under hand         grip and hang down getting a good strecth in the lats, Pull up until your chest hits the bars, lower and repeat for as many. These can be easily be done in a park, school yard or on a doorway chinbar.

Also try with an overhand grip, with one arm at a time, or even on monkey bars using a parallel grip (palms facing each other).

Push-ups – For building chest, sholders and triceps. Lie face down on the floor hands about shoulder width apart keep your palms turned inward slightly, push-up until your arms are straight, lower and repeat for reps. To make it more difficult elevate your feet. Also, try different hand placements (closer together or farther apart). They can also be done between chairs, this was the favorite exercise of Charles Atlas. Another varition is Dips between parallel bars.

Handstand push-ups – Great for shoulders and arms. Get into a handstand next to a wall, put your toes against the wall for balance, lower yourself until the top of your head touches the ground, push back up and repeat for many reps. Try both close and wide hand Placements.

Crunches – For firming abdominals and reducing stomach. Lie on your back with your legs bent and your heals close to your butt, put your chin on your chest and your hands behind your head. Raise your head up crunching your abs hard (you should only go about 1/3 of the way as compared to traditional sit-ups) lower and repeat for lots of reps.

Hyper -Extentions – For strengthening your lower back. Place a chair near a bed, while lying face down with your hips on the chair and your lower legs shoved between the mattress and boxspring, put your hands behind your head and bend forward at the waist as far as you can, raise back up until your back is straight and repeat for reps.

Grip Excercise – To build forearms and hand strength. Use a store bought pocket hand gripper, or a hard rubber ball that fits in your hand, squeeze as hard as you can, relax and repeat for many reps. Also try just the thumb and one finger at a time, exercise each finger this way.

FINAL WORDS

Always use proper form while exercising, remember – it’s safety first. It is also recomended to stretch before and after your workout. Give these ideas a try, and never again have bully’s kick sand in your face.

Good Training!

Paul Becker

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

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.

In the last article we talked about work and how to calculate your workload for each workout, the first part of the formula for power is the same (Force X Distance), now we add the factor of time.

Now, for the purposes of muscle building we don’t mean increasing lifting speed, this just allows momentum to do the work and not the muscles. All exercises should be preformed slowly and deliberately.

As you will see when we talk about power, we are talking about training intensity. Let’s look how we can increase our workout power (intensity):

1) Use a full range of motion, for example let’s say your full range of motion on the bench press is 2 1/2 feet, that means1 rep (up and down) is 5 feet. And let’s say each rep takes 6 seconds (2 up and 4 down), if you use 250 lbs for 8 reps the power would be – 250 lbs X 40 ft -:- 48 sec = 208.3 ft-lbs/sec.

Now let’s say you cut 3 inches off the range of motion by not bringing the bar all the way down to your chest, this takes 1/2 foot off of each rep. So, if all other factors are the same, the above set now looks like this – 250lbs X 36 ft -:- 48 sec = 187.5 ft-lb/sec. With less range of motion power goes down.

2) Increase the weight you lift, for example, on our full motion bench press (250 lbs X 40 ft -:- 48 sec = 208.3 ft-lbs/sec) if next workout 5 lbs is added , it then looks like this – 255 lbs X 40 ft -:- 48 sec = 212.5 ft-lbs/sec. Lifting more weight increases Power.

3) Decrease time between sets, for example, 3 sets of bench using 250 lbs for 8 reps has the workload of – 250 lbs X 40 ft = 10, 000 ft-lbs. If these 3 sets are done in 10 mins (600 sec) the power is – 10,000 ft-lbs -:- 600 sec = 16.7 ft-lbs/sec.

If by decreasing rest time those same 3 sets are done in 6 mins (360 sec) then the power is – 10, 000 ft-lbs -:- 360 sec = 27.8 ft-lbs/sec.

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.

When we workout we use a certain amount of muscular force to lift a weight across a certain distance, the work done is measured in Foot/Pounds. If we kept track of the work we do each workout it will tell us much about our progress and also how we should proceed with our training. You can measure the work done each workout in the following way:

1. Take an empty bar and do the full range motion for each exercise you are currently doing in your workout, have your training partner measure the distance (e.g., how far is it from the bar being on your chest to it being at full extension for the bench press, how far is it from the bar being on the ground to when you are standing up with it on the deadlift, etc.) and write down all these measurements. When there is an exercise that the movement is in an arc, like curls, you will have to find a way to measure the distance of the arc, you might want to take some chalk and do the motion against a wall and then measure the arc of the line you drew, or some other bright idea on measuring the distance of an exercise that travels in an arc.

2. Now the next time you workout you can figure the amount of work done (called workload), just take the reps done on your first set and times it by the distance (this would be twice the distance of the distance you measured, since one rep is both down and up), for example, if one rep down and up on the squat is 7 feet and you did 10 reps that would be 70 feet. Now take the weight lifted and times it by the distance, for example if you squatted 265 lbs: 265 lbs X 70 ft = 18,550 ft/lbs.

3. Take every set of the workout and used the same formula (F X D) and you will know the workload for each set add the workloads of all the sets and you will have the total workload of that one training session.

Now when you keep track of your workload each workout in this way you can see that as you get stronger your workload increases, you will also see that you can monitor how much workload you can handle each week before overtraining sets in. Just watch yourself for signs of overtraining and see where you workload is at.

You can increase or decrease your workload as you feel is necessary, and you can see that not all sets are created equal – a set of curls is much less work then a set of squats or deadlifts. You can also vary the workload from workout to workout, may alternating heavier with lighter sessions.

Keeping track of your workload will give you a much insight and the ability to predict things in your training, experiment with it and you will learn much more about how useful it is. In the part 5 I’ll expand a bit on this formula.

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

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When working with machines friction can become a problem, you have the situation of weight on the machine plus friction making it feel much heavier than the weight stack says it is. This can wreck your progression, let’s say you’re going along on lat pulldowns, last workout you made over 10 reps, you add 5 lbs and start to pull and nothing happens, a big yank gets the weight moving and you have to use excessive momentum to keep it moving, all this cheating still only gets you 4 reps. You wonder “what’s wrong?”, friction that’s what.

Each time you use a machine, you should inspect in for any loose nuts and bolts, frayed cables, stuck pulleys or any broken plates on the weight stack. Any of these can cause you problems with friction. Also you should regularly keep machines oiled and otherwise well maintained.

There is another kind of friction I’d like to talk about, and that is the friction within your own body, yes, of course your body has it’s own friction, and this gives us 3 levels of strength:

1) Positive strength – contracting your muscles to lift or pull a weight, during this phase you are working against your own bodies friction.

2) Holding strength – contracting your muscles to Keep a weight in one position, you are aided by your bodies friction here and can thus hold 20% more then you can lift.

3) Negative strength – lengthening your muscles to lower a weight, you are also aided in phase by friction and it has been found that most trainees can lower 40% more then they can lift.

This would mean that if your max on the bench press was 200lbs, that you could hold 240lbs and lower 280 lbs. Research done by Nautilus in the 1970′s showed that any increase in positive or negative strength would result in an increase in the other, of course, skill is also a factor.

Now all this is very interesting. But, can it help us to build larger and stronger muscles? Yes, it can, let’s take a look at some of the techniques that can come from this.

If your lowering strength is 40% more then your lifting strength, but you use the same weight for both then you will not be really be taxing your negative strength. We must find a way to make the negative harder, there are many ways to do this. One way is to do some of your exercises on Life Circuit machines they automatically make the negative 40% heavier then the positive, while these machines are good I feel they can be improved on due to a perceived lack of resistance during the change from positive to negative and then back again. Another way would be for your training partner to grab the bar and push down what he approximates to be 40% of what your lifting, have him do this on each negative of the set. And for safety have him have a good hold on the bar while doing this and make sure he’s ready to stop pushing and Start pulling, in case you for some reason lose control of the weight. You can also try it this way, (use only a universal type machine for this, because you couldn’t balance a barbell for this technique.) take a weight that’s about 50% of what you usually use lift it with both arms and then lower it with your right arm only, lift it again with both arms and now lower it with your left arm only, continue to alternate the lowering arm till you make you target reps or until you can no longer lift the weight with both arms.

Other techniques would involve training the holding and lowering phases totally separate from the lifting phase. When doing this you would need at least two very strong training partners to lift the weight for you while you try to hold it in place as long as you can (a good position would be the sticking point for that particular lift), or you have them lift in up and then you lower it slowly and under control and they lift it again and then you lower it again, repeat for you target reps or till you can keep the bar moving slowly and controlled. Again for safety your training partners should keep their hands on the bar and be ready to take the weight if you should lose control. You would also want to work gradually up to the really heavy poundages.

These techniques will raise the intensity of you workouts and can lead to overtraining if used too often, but if used properly can help you reach new levels of size and strength.

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

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

But then again Amber Elizabeth Simerly is not just anyone.

“I received my first weight set when I was 12 years old and have been hooked ever since,” the 32-year-old mother of one said. “I powerlifted through high school and began bodybuilding in my 20′s. Six weeks out from my first show I dropped out and it drove me nuts for the past 10 years that I didn’t get up on that stage and finish what I started.”

What transpired since then was a whirlwind of negativity in Simerly’s life. “My mother was diagnosed with cancer for the third time, there were several deaths in my family and I was in a bad relationship,” she recalled. “I went through a divorce and had to face life as a single parent.”

Simerly met a woman in her gym, Natlia Zapata, that had competed in the past and won her class in fitness. After a short period of time, Simerly felt that the time was right to make her comeback. She had her sights set on the Elite Muscle Classic in Greensboro, North Carolina just a few short weeks ago.

“Even though I didn’t place, it didn’t discourage me one bit,” Simerly said confidently. “Natalia and I are going back for more in April at Johnny Stewart’s and North Carolina State.”

Because she has experienced such difficult times, Simerly uses her training as an outlet and something positive to focus on. “When I go in there I take every bit of passion, craziness and stress out on those machines,” she said. “I believe that you can literally think yourself hard. I love being able to say, ‘I want my glutes to come up.’

“Think of some crazy workout to do, do it two or three times and physically see and feel the results,” she added. “I believe, bottom line, is that it is all about intensity. In all aspects of life. You get what you put into it.”

And Simerly has put an awful lot into ‘it’ lately.

http://www.myspace.com/amberelizabeth77
http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/AmberMagliocca/
http://community.worldphysique.com/profile/AmberElizabe…
http://www.muscle-ink.com/profile/AmberElizabethSimerly

Photos courtesy of Tyson Arts

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Day 5 –Legs

I always think that the mark of a bodybuilder is how he can train his legs. You have to have a certain kind of mental strength to develop good legs. In my time I have done my fair share of hard leg work and I looked forward to what Robby had in store for me. Meeting Robby and Arden at the gym- Arden wanted to run through some back stretches for me after my work with Dean yesterday. Just prior to that, we had another interview outside covering the last four days work.

As we started the workout with some ab work, Robby showed me a great exercise I had never done before or even seen. It was very effective and I could feel it in the whole length of my abs. After 4 sets of this they were toasted and we moved on to.

Legs

We started out with Leg Extensions and combined these with Leg Curls. Robby was- as always- a stickler for style. He also explained his visualisation techniques. Reps were performed in a machine like style, picture perfect. We did one set each of 15 reps and moved to Leg Press with 4 plates a side for 15 reps each. Robby had me perform these nice and deep, slow and controlled with constant tension. We then went back to Leg Extensions and Leg Curls with a little more weight and around 12 reps each. Back to the Leg Press with 6 plates a side for 12 reps and then added another 2 plates taking it up to 8 plates a side for 10 reps. These were very tough to do right and a lot more painful.

It was then back to the extensions and Leg Curls, these were the hardest sets with a hard contraction at the completion of each rep. Robby made sure I got the reps and in picture perfect style, as always. It’s amazing how hard you will work, when one of the world’s best bodybuilders and legends is encouraging you to do one more rep.

Calves were next up with 4 sets of Seated Calve Raises with the magic Robby difference. He demanded a deep, deep stretch and a high, high contraction squeezing like mad. It had been a few years since I had used a Seated Calve Machine and it bit really deep. I knew I would be in pain in the morning.

I really enjoyed this workout and I had absorbed once again, a world of information and felt it also. After such work Robby said we needed to eat, so off we went to The Firehouse for some Buffalo, rice and veg. Hard work and good food, a large part of Robby’s master plan.

Day 5

We planned to do interviews today for the DVD so after a visit to another fresh market whereupon Robby and Arden introduced me to Wheatgrass. This they have once a week- shot like- like in an alcoholic shot- but this being way better for you. The green liquid looked like swamp water and I didn’t relish the taste of it, or much- like the look of it. Robby had two and Arden one- so I was in a corner- yep down it went- actually it was ok and tasted like sugar snap peas. Apparently very good as an antioxidant and has many other properties.

We headed down to the beach near my hotel for an interview, regarding all we had done over the past few days. I must say we covered tons here. Robby talked about the old days, his training now and then, his philosophies, his goals and also mine. We had a real good chat and a laugh. Robby was in great form and he always, always impresses me.

After saying goodbye for that day, I set off into Santa Monica via the bus system that was an adventure in itself. I wanted to do a little shopping before heading home in a couple of days. I had some money of Heather’s burning a hole in my pocket and I wanted some new clothes for myself. I was the typical guy, in one shop I bought it all and was out and done. Bing- bang- bosh- I don’t mess about with shopping.

When I got back to my room I headed out for some food at the Marina Café just down from my hotel. Yep it’s work is this, hope you feel sorry for me. I ordered egg whites, avocado and veg in a whole meal wrap- it was awesome. You have to try this, I eat it while reading and looking out over the Marina.

In between bites I read and have read Robby’s biography over the last couple of days and find it to be an inspiring, eye opening read. It was very in depth and deep, with a ton of motivation, I am sure Robby and Arden are on with a great seller here as it is very well written and has taken a year or so to produce. I was honored to be one of the few to read it before it goes to print. The sun shone down on the countless yachts bobbing up and down in the gentle breeze. The water clipped at the side’s harbor – yep this is the life.

Then I burnt my lip with some egg white.

‘Pleasure pain thing’.

The plan tomorrow is for me to train. I haven’t planned to train with Robby again now, but I thought I would head down to Gold’s for a quick workout and a study up on what’s out there in equipment. So that’s what I will do in the morning and then I’ll meet with Robby and Arden in the afternoon.

Ian Duckett- www.bodyindesign.co.uk

www.RobbyRobinson.net

Ian Duckett is the UK’s most formidable and sort after personal trainer and was training clients before Personal Training was in Vogue. He is a natural for life athlete and has been at the forefront of natural bodybuilding for 20 years, winning such titles as ‘Mr Natural Britain’ twice and the European title. He has also placed 4th in the World Championships on two occasions and recently won the World title, also the Pro Am – He is a reputed Powerlifter, winning 6 titles and placing 2nd in the British finals.

His passion for his work is immeasurable, this shows in the client base he has. He has been helping clients achieve the goals that they only dreamed of and has been tirelessly doing this for more than 20 years. Title winners and corporate professionals, as well as clients wanting to be the best they can be, fill Ian’s day. Ian has trained with the best and studies his standard of work constantly. ‘You should never stop learning’ is one of Ian’s mottos.

He often travels to the USA to improve and refine his art. Working recently with the great Robby Robinson–this again moved Ian forward. He is also a great believer in the power of the mind, knowing that this area is the key to unlocking potential from a client. He knows what buttons to press and how to bring out the best in the client. Ian is and has over the years been a leader in training principles and nutrition ideas, he is copied many times but never duplicated.

He is a sort after Guest Poser and seminar speaker, conducting seminars in gyms up and down the country and also in supplement outlets. Ian owned and ran one of the most successful gyms in the UK. Future Bodies Gym was a 10,000 sq ft home to many champions and successful clients alike. Future Bodies was sold in 2002, since then Ian has concentrated on his BodyInDesign Personal Training business, phone consultations business and maintaining his website and product sales. Ian is very goal orientated and has achieved each of the goals he set out to do, such as – Writing 4 books – Producing training DVD’s – Producing a subscription only magazine – A supplement company – Designing and producing training t-shirts – Producing motivational art work.

It is safe to say that Ian gets the most out of each day and he has that rare combination these days of knowledge and experience. Professional Background . Director of bodyindesign Ltd . Personal Trainer . Author . Illustrator . Contributing writer to other websites and magazines Significant Accomplishments . 1989 – Mr Natural Britain . 1995 – Mr Natural Britain . 1999 – Mr Natural Europe . 2005 – 2nd in the Natural Pro Am . 2005 – 4th in the Natural World Championships . 2006 – 2nd in the BAWLA Powerlifting British Championships. 2007 Pro Am winner–Guest Star at the NPA British–2007 World Championships winner. . Winner of more than 25 other regional bodybuilding titles Ian has had more Area and British title winners as clients than anybody else and has been doing this for at least 20 years.

Ian’s area of experience is in the training of figure girls, he has had winners and top placings in this class, both in British and International competitions, for many years. Ian has been a featured writer in Hardgainer magazine and has been featured in many books and publications over the years. Ian has published four books that were sold in major book stores and supplement companies in the UK. They still sell now on the internet through his website to all corners of the globe.

Ian has also produced two training video DVD’s that have achieved the same results as the books. TV Appearances . Calendar . Sky TV . Look North . Radio Leeds . BBC tv inside eye. Featured Articles . Hardgainer magazine . Featured model in Stuart McRobert’s ‘Build muscle, lose fat’ book in 2006 . Health and Strength magazine . Musclemag International- feature writer for 4 years . Bodypower . Bodybuilding Monthly . The Beef magazine . Yorkshire Post . Cyberpump.com . MrUniverse.com . Allsports . Maximuscle . Numerous other health and fitness publications over the last 20-25 years. Individual Athletes . Jenny Garside – 4 time Britain winner and 2nd in the World Championship ladies figure class 2005–Winner BNBF British 2007 –NPA British 2007 –Worlds 2007. . Claire Cotter – British Finals winner and 3rd in the World Championships 2006–2nd–NPA British 2007. . Karen Wriggles – Mike Williams Classic winner . Michelle Clift – UK winner and 3rd twice at the British Finals. . Debbie Scholefield – Yorkshire winner–3rd NPA British 2007. . Julie Ainsworth – Multi title winner . Lynn Beman – Title winner . Annie Davis – Yorkshire winner and British finalist . Frances Walton – Title winner . Andrew Barber – British Under 21 winner . Rob Gorry – Title winner . Ian Cooper – Multi title winner . Helen Everson – Title winner . Gayle Bellamy – British Under 52kg winner . Local TV stars . Phil Guy – Multi title winner .

And more than 60 other title winners and finalists over the last 20 years. Corporate Clients . Walkers Transport . Nick Marr . Dave Symon. Nutrition Companies who have supported Ian . Allsports International . Maximuscle . Udo’s Oil . Natural Nutrition Products . Organic Foods Currently Ian is supported by ‘AST Sports Science’ supplements, his clients are also. . Many more camps at Bodyindesign. . New vidoes on youtube. . 2-New books in 2009 .

Continue to help clients achieve their goals Ian has created a name for himself in the world of figure, bodybuilding and natural health. His passion and innovation have kept him at the top for years. He is truly a trainers’ trainer – in fact his nickname is The Guru. Need we say more? Areas for more info: Short and sharp book—True Grit book—bodyindesign web site—look for articles on this site and others featuring Ian.

Who I’d like to meet:
I have met most of my hero’s Robby– Arnold–Stallone–Labrada. I never got to meet the now passed away Arthur Jones. He was an awesome man that changed the industry I am in today.

Be sure to visit Ian’s website, www.bodyindesign.co.uk.