Q: I’ve been getting good upper body results, but my leg development is lagging behind. I’ve tried just about everything, but no matter what I do I can’t get them to budge. Any suggestions? A: My guess is that in your eagerness to bring up your legs you’re possibly over training them. You don’t state what type or how much cardio you’re doing, but remember that intense cardio can also fatigue your thighs, hamstrings and calves, which may contribute to that over training effect. So what to do? Firstly, don’t train legs and do cardio on the same day. Secondly split your leg workout into two separate days, with at least two days between each work-out. So, on Monday, for instance you can work your thighs and calves and on Thursday, your hamstrings and calves again. This type of split really ...

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Q: I’ve built up a decent amount of mass but now I want to focus on bringing out the details of my physique. Can you give me some suggestions about how I can achieve this? A: You need to approach the goal of getting shredded from four distinct angles: A) Weight training B) Cardio training C) Diet D) Isometric tensing Let’s take them one by one: A) Weight Training: Not everyone responds to high rep training so it’s a matter of doing a bit of experimentation to see if this, combined with the other three elements will help bring out your definition. By high rep we mean 50-100 reps with about 40 % of the weight you’d normally perform for 8 reps. The effect of this will be to pump a lot more blood than normal into the working muscle, with a resultant increased capillarization. Many trainers ...

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Q: What do you think of the increasing number of people that are doing their pressing exercises on those multi-colored stability balls? A: Stability balls are rapidly becoming essential pieces of equipment around gyms and more and more serious bodybuilders are starting to realize their potential. The biggest challenge to hardcore trainers, of course, is the realization that they will have to reduce their weights, especially when they first begin to train with a stability ball. The thing that has to be remembered, though, is that the weight is merely a tool and what really matters is how intensely the muscles are actually being worked. With a stability ball the work-out is more intense. That’s because in addition to acting as action stabilizers, your muscles must provide balance stabilization. This recruits the lower back, abs and thighs into your upper ...

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Q:  I really want to do two training sessions a day, but don't know how to prepare for it since my endurance is really lacking. Even though I'm doing strength and mass gaining workouts, I suspect it's going to kick my ass! What do you guys suggest to get ready for doing that? I mean, I do cardio a couple times a week, but it's obviously not enough. What should I do? A: If you want to increase endurance, try running a couple days a week to start. Or, you can do alternating sprints and walking stairs. If fat loss is your goal, these will definitely help with that. Just don't do too much running because it's going to really affect your leg size. On the other hand, it's going to really boost your endurance faster than anything. Elliptical and treadmill work is fine, and ...

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Q: Can you do fat burning cardio sessions after leg workouts, or are you begging for small legs? Sometimes that's the only time I have. Suggestions? Comments? A: On one hand, a light cardio session can help with clearing lactic acid and soreness, so it aids recovery in that way. However, if you're going to do fat burning, high intensity stuff, you're going to tax your legs. Plus, if you do your leg workout right, can you even walk? Well, some feel more of the burn the day after, but if you train your legs to total failure and exhaustion, you will only feel like cycling the couch. But pushing yourself mentally, provided it isn't a heavy session of cardio, is probably smart. Personally though, for fat burning - doing it correctly anyhow... which is the only way to do anything or you're wasting your ...

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Q:  I’ve got a couple of problems with my biceps. Firstly, whenever I do barbell curls I feel more of a burn in my forearms than my biceps. And secondly, I can’t seem to get any peak on my biceps. What’s the key to building an Arnold style bicep peak? A: That’s easy – go back in time to 1947 and get yourself hatched from a sweet little Austrian woman named Auriela. Failing that you could work with your OWN potential. You see, muscle shape is a pre-determined genetic factor in our make-up. And, unfortunately, an Everest type bicep peak doesn’t get dished out that often. Every once in a while you get your Arnolds, your Robby Robinsons and your Boyer Coes. Meanwhile the rest of us have to work with what we’ve got. Which doesn’t mean that you can’t build some damn ...

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Q:  I'm a big fan of circuit training ever since my last contest. I know it's not for every day of every week throughout the year, but it's great for burning glycogen and fat, fast because it's so isolative! But tell me, what do you guys think about doing it throughout the entire year, every other week or so? A: Circuit training does burn the fat, and it does get the muscles harder - even if they look a little smaller than you'd like. But to compare circuit work with isolation work... Umm... we're not sure that's accurate. They are almost completely different animals altogether. Muscles respond well to circuit training because it's such a departure from regular heavy training with fewer reps. On the other hand, muscles also need stimulation other than circuit work - more intensive work on individual muscle groups. So while ...

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Q:  I’ve seen some of the big guys at my gym doing super slow repetitions during their workouts. What’s the value in working out this way? A: Super Slow training has been around for decades yet seems to be enjoying a recent resurgence in popularity. It involves controlling both the concentric (lifting) and eccentric (lowering) phases of a movement to such a degree that you are doing them in slow motion – that is, you are taking ten seconds to perform the concentric part of the movement and five seconds to perform the eccentric part. This compares with conventional training which advocates a two second up, one second pause and four second down cadence (most trainers abbreviate this dramatically). Advocates of super slow claim that performing an exercise in such a manner is far more productive than conventional training and, furthermore, that one set ...

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Q:  What is Concentric Super Overload and why would it benefit my training routine when I already lift heavy? Also, what exercises can you do this on? Do you need a partner? A: People assume that getting stronger will make them bigger and it's not quite that simple. It's much more complex. Fact is, lifting heavier weight will not always lead to more hypertrophy. Maximum growth depends largely upon overloading the areas. So while the 1-3 rep max can assist you in the growth process, it's just one simplistic approach to the sport. In CSO, the goal is to force your muscles to work concentrically past what they are accustomed to doing. So, it isn't about the whole strength or max rep picture. It accomplishes the task of overload in the same way that negatives accomplish their goal. Negatives eliminate the concentric portion and focus ...

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Q:  My friend works out 6 days a week, and takes one day off. I say he's crazy, but he's been doing it now for 4 months straight. Is one day actually enough for mass building? It's kind of too soon to tell with him because it's only been 4 months and I don't know whether his body is really rebelling against that workload yet or not. He also eats pretty much whatever's available and whatever he wants and isn't too fat. What do you guys think of this? A: We think your friend is an individual with individual tolerances, so to say that no one or everyone should do one particular thing in the gym would be impossible. It really depends upon how you plan and execute that kind of schedule, and how well you fuel your body, as well as the amount ...

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