After New York City policeman Vaughan Ettienne placed fifth in the light-heavy class of last year’s NPC Nationals, we named him one of our four “Who’s Up” guys from that contest. Since then, he’s stayed up, for in his next contest, the recent NPC/IFBB Team Universe, he not only won the light-heavy class but the overall, securing the right to compete in the IFBB Pro League. His waist-to-shoulder differentia is among the best in the sport, so in the Gym Bag section of the June issue of FLEX we featured Ettienne’s unusual shoulder routine (delts and traps). In honor of his earning a pro card, we repeat it here and break down in greater detail what makes it so unique.

VAUGHAN’S UNIQUE SHOULDER TRAINING

* Superset of presses and laterals
Neither seated dumbbell presses nor seated dumbbell laterals are unusual, and supersetting them is hardly unprecedented. But note that Vaughan combines these two exercises after first doing seated dumbbell presses alone.

* Triple pressing
Three of his first four exercises are overhead presses.

* Trap priority
He works shoulders twice every 10 days, and every other workout he prioritizes traps by doing three types of shrugs after overhead pressing.

* Machine wide-grip rows
He does what most people think of as a back exercise as part of his shoulder workout, keeping his elbows high and wide and using an overhand grip. In this way, he focuses it on his rear delts and inner traps.

* Seated dumbbell shrugs
He prefers to shrug while seated to take his legs and back out of the movement.

VAUGHAN ETTIENNE’S SHOULDER ROUTINE

sourse: http://www.flexonline.com

Most people love to train biceps, flexing their arms with pride at the end of every set, yet not always seeing the kind of results they want to see. This article will tell you how to get the results you want from your biceps training.

It’s important to know the function of the muscle you’re training in order to design a routine that properly works that muscle. The biceps is properly known as the biceps brachii and is a two headed muscle. This muscle has two functions: Flexion – the action of bringing the arm up to the shoulder and Supination – the action of twisting the wrist, or turning the thumbs away from the body. The brachialis is a small muscle which lies just beneath the biceps. It is not really a part of the bicep muscle but is included in the discussion because an untrained brachialis muscle can add up to an inch to your current arm size. How cool is that?

We’re going to be using two routines because many bodybuilders stick to the same routine long after its stopped working. Research shows that 3-4 weeks is the most you want to spend on a routine, then it is time to change. Otherwise you hit a plateau and stop getting results. You can use these two routines one of two ways – either do the first routine straight through for 3-4 weeks then go to routine #2, or switch between the two each week (do # 1 for one week and #2 for the next week). Also, try to add weight to your exercises every week, even if it’s just 2 1/2 lbs. Adding weight consistently is essential for growth, your focus should always be to beat your performance from the last workout.

Routine # 1

Seated EZ Bar Curls
Use this pyramid to do your curls: 15reps, 12 reps, 10 reps, 8 reps, 6 reps, 6 reps. The first 3 sets are warmups, the last 3 your working sets. Use a weight that allows you to fail at the prescribed number of reps, don’t stop the set just because you hit the number, especially if you can do more.

These are done seated on a bench with your back against the pad to prevent cheating, don’t rest the bar on your thighs during your set. By doing them this way, your biceps do the work as opposed to your back and legs if your form is less than perfect. This makes sense, why bother to do an exercise if it’s not working the intended muscle? How do you expect to see results from exercises performed that way? Do it with your back and legs out of it and you’ll feel the difference. The EZ bar is easier on the wrists than a straight bar and is also great for triceps work. Use an explosive up/slow down rep performance with no pausing.

Incline Dumbbell Curls – Supinate
2 sets of 8 reps. To perform this exercise, start with your palms facing towards your legs when holding the dumbbells. As you curl up, twist the thumbs away from the body, as you lower; twist the thumbs back towards the body. This is a continuous tension exercise with a pause and squeeze at the top.

Hammer Curls
2 sets of 8 reps: do these by holding the dumbbell like a hammer, then curl up to the opposite shoulder.

Cable Curls
Done seated or kneeling with arms across a flat bench- 2 sets of 8-10 reps. These will keep constant tension on the muscle from start to finish. Do 8-10 reps to failure, extend the sets by using r/p, partials or forced reps. Always get 2 more, whether they are partials, forced, or whatever.

Routine # 2

Alternate Dumbbell Curls – Supinate

2 -3 sets after warm ups, 6-8 reps per set to positive failure, don’t extend the set, save it for the 21’s to follow.

EZ Curls – 21’s
2 sets, if you can. Do these with no momentum until the very end (2 or 3 controlled cheat reps are OK). These are done by doing the curl from the start position to halfway up, then back down for 7 reps, from halfway up to the top then back down to the halfway point for 7 reps and finally doing the complete curl for 7 reps. Don’t wuss out on the weight either, make it heavy so those last 7 take everything you’ve got!

Many bodybuilders that have problems with biceps development do so because they aren’t using good form; they are attempting to do curls with a weight that is to heavy. So here you have someone, jerking the weight up with everything except the biceps and then failing to control it on the way down. What’s the point of a rep like that? Yes, controlled cheating at the end of a set does have it’s place but proper rep performance of any exercise for any muscle is extremely important. This means you have to be able to feel it in the target muscle, getting a good contraction every time.

Also, be sure to use a weight heavy enough to allow you to fail at the listed number of reps. Heavy weight, lifted correctly, builds muscle. Rep tempo is also important – here I’m talking more about lowering the weight slowly. The thing to remember here is about tempo, it’s not a race to see who can lift the fastest. Think 3-5 seconds up and the same down. In most free weight curls, you lose the resistance at the top of the movement, most people flex hard at the top in an attempt to compensate for this. It’s better not to bring the weight up to that point but rather bring up to the point just before you lose the resistance, this will keep the muscle under more tension. Don’t lower to a dead stop either, keep the reps going, make it feel like one long rep, with constant tension the whole way through.

For supplements – protein powder, a multi, a good intra workout drink, extra creatine and nitric oxide, a joint product and a pre workout make great choices.

So there you have it – use this information, train hard and you’ll get the bigger arms you’ve wanted!

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Workout Routine

This routine is a typical Arnold routine, but Arnold’s routine did changed constantly. Sometimes he trained twice a day, and other times, once a day. There were periods when he did lots of forced reps. There were times when he did supersets and giant sets. Arnold tried every thing, and picked what worked best for him at that particular time.

Arnold rested little between sets, and usually increased pound ages wile each subsequent set. Although he experimented with high reps at times, he usually preferred a rep range in the neighborhood of 6 to 10. If he could only do five he would cheat to get past thay sticking point. However, Arnold’s cheating wasn’t the same as the average person’s. If he did a cheat curl, it wasn’t the same as an average bodybuilder swinging a weight from top lo bottom. It was controlled, deliberate cheating.

His concentration was complete. As far as the philosophy or his workouts is concerned, he was almost an existentialist. Nothing existed outside the set at hand. To illustrate this, one of his workout partners remembered the time when he and Arnold were doing 20 sets of biceps curls. The training partner said, “Boy, Arnold, we have fourteen sets to go.” Arnold replied: “No, we have only one. The one we are working on”.

Mon, Wed, Fri

Chest:
Bench press – 5 sets, 6-10 reps
Flat bench flies – 5 sets, 6-10 reps
Incline bench press – 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Cable crossovers – 6 sets, 10-12 reps
Dips – 5 sets, to failure
Dumbbell pullovers – 5 sets, 10-12 reps

Back:
Front wide-grip chin-ups – 6 sets, to failure
T-bar rows – 5 sets, 6-10 reps
Seated pulley rows – 6 sets, 6-10 reps
One-arm dumbbell rows – 5 sets, 6-10 reps
Straight-leg deadlift – 6 sets, 15 reps

Legs:
Squats – 6 sets, 8-12 reps
Leg presses – 6 sets, 8-12 reps
Leg extensions – 6 sets, 12-15 reps
Leg curls – 6 sets, 10-12 reps
Barbell lunges – 5 sets, 15 reps

Calves:
Standing calf raises -10 sets, 10 reps
Seated calf raises – 8 sets, 15 reps
One-legged calf raises (holding dumbbells) – 6 sets,12 reps

Forearms:
Wrist curls (forearms on knees) – 4 sets, 10 reps
Reverse barbell curls – 4 sets, 8 reps
Wright roller machine – to failure

Abs:
Nonstop instinct training for 30 minutes

Tues, Thurs, Sat

Biceps:
Barbell curls – 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Seated dumbbell curls – 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Dumbbell concentration curls – 6 sets, 6-10 reps

Triceps:
Close-grip bench presses (for the all three heads) – 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Pushdowns (exterior head) – 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Barbell French presses (interior head) – 6 sets, 6-10 reps
One-arm dumbbell triceps extensions (exterior head) – 6 sets, 6-10 reps

Shoulders:
Seated barbell presses – 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Lateral raises (standing) – 6 sets, 6-10 reps
Rear-deltoid lateral raises – 5 sets, 6-10 reps
Cable lateral raises – 5 sets, 10-12 reps

Calves and Forearms:
Same as Monday, Wednesday and Friday

Abs:
Same as Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

sourse : sourse: http://www.ironmagazine.com

After languishing in the IFBB Pro League for his first two years, Ben White made a strong run for FLEX’s most improved bodybuilder of 2010 when he won the recent Pro Bodybuilding Weekly Championships in Tampa Bay, Florida. How much has he improved? Last year, he was fifth in the same contest, and that was his highest pro placing until this victory. One thing he has always excelled at is bench pressing, as he is one of the lightest men to bench press 600 or more raw.

We have a comprehensive look at White’s bench pressing philosophy, technique, assistance exercises and routines in our September issue (“See Ben Bench”). Here, we provide a sneak peak, serving up two of the 10 items on his bench press technique checklist as well as the off-season chest maintenance routine he uses to maintain bench strength but also maximize pec mass. It’s just a sampling of what you’ll find in our September issue.

BEN’S BENCHING TIPS

* “Before I even sit on the bench, I ‘see’ myself completing the lift. I go through everything: lowering the bar, exploding it off my chest and pushing it to lockout. In my mind, I’ve already done it. There’s no hesitation or doubt that I’ll succeed.”

* “With the bar in position, my entire body is now a coiled spring. I get on the balls of my feet and generate power by pushing through the floor to shift the energy to my lats, which are the main movers in the beginning of the lift.”

Lack of balance, or a focus on only biceps is one reason people have weak triceps. Weak triceps means weak arms, arms that are no where near their full size potential no matter how much you do for biceps. Now, those who read my articles know I review the anatomy of the muscle we are working, because it makes sense to know what the muscle is supposed to do, so here’s the anatomy of the triceps:

The Triceps Brachii has three heads which connect the humerus and scapula to the forearm bone called the ulna. These heads are known as the Lateral, Medial, and Long heads. The Lateral head is located on the outer side of the humerus. This head is largely responsible for the horseshoe shape of the triceps. The Medial head originates on the back of the humerus. The Long head is located along the bottom side of the humerus and is the largest of the three heads.

The primary function of the Tricep is to extend the elbow (straightening the arm). The secondary function of the Tricep is achieved only by the Long head of the muscle, which is to bring the arm down towards the body (adduction). The triceps shares this function with the lats.

When putting together a triceps routine it’s common to work them after chest, since they are involved in all chest exercises and are well warmed up. Some people include shoulders (push, pull split) in this group but I tend to think that’s too much work in one session, so I suggest shoulders with traps on their own day. Why do so much in one workout? If you train chest, then shoulders, then triceps, how can you possibly have enough energy left to do justice to tris? Most likely, you can’t, if you’re training hard enough in the first place. You can train arms alone, especially if they are weak, but allow ample recovery time from training your other upper body parts and don’t schedule them to close to upper body work.

Here’s a sample split that’s great for this:

Day 1 – Legs, abs
Day 2 – Rest
Day 3 – Rest
Day 4 – Chest, triceps
Day 5 – Rest
Day 6 – Back, biceps
Day 7 – Rest
Day 8 – Shoulders
Day 9 – Rest
Day 10 – Repeat

If you can’t train 4 days a week, then I would suggest a basic 3day push/pull/legs split. I’ve had to use this many times and I usually stay with compound movements only to get the biggest bang for my buck in the least amount of time. This makes sense: don’t waste time and energy on isolation moves, if you’re trying to get big use the big exercises.

Let’s take a look at what exercises best work each head of the triceps:

For overall size: close grip bench press, dips (this can be normal dips or bench dips).

To develop the horseshoe/lateral head: pressdowns and pressdown variations. Much of the impressiveness of the triceps comes from the horseshoe shape. I can still remember seeing Frank Zane in a tight t-shirt back when he was Mr. O and the most noticeable thing about his arms was not the biceps or the size but the horseshoe. What is interesting to note was that his arms were only about 17 inches but you would never know by looking at him, as his arms seemed big and ripped. Medial head: most exercises will hit the medial head to some degree.

Long head: extensions and extension variations.

Before I lay out the routines, let me introduce you to one of the best triceps exercises out there: the EZ bar extension/pullover/press. This is a variation to the more standard pullover and press. With the pullover/press, you actually press the weight, then do a pullover, then press, then do a pullover and so on. With my exercise, you will do 6-8 reps of skullcrushers, then go right into 6-8 reps of the pullover, keeping elbows close to your head and doing a pullover that is close to your face to more fully involve the triceps, then you go right into close grips. So, this is really a tri-set of three distinct exercises all done as one exercise. A performance note:when doing a lying extension, there are two ways to perform this exercise: lower the bar close to your head, hence skull crushers, and lower the bar out and back away from your head. In this exercise, do skull crushers.

Routine # 1

Warm ups- the EZ extension/pullover/press using this rep scheme: 15, 12, 10. Work sets: 3 sets of 6-8 reps on each segment of this exercise. Use a challenging weight on this. By the time you get to the close grips, they should be near impossible to complete. In fact, use a spotter for some forced reps if you need to. 3 sets of press downs: 8-12 reps at the bottom of the movement hold and squeeze for a 2 count, lower back to the starting position slowly, taking full advantage of the negative. On this exercise, let the triceps do all the work. For added intensity, stop at the halfway point and hold for a 3 count.

Rep performance: use a continuous tension style on the EZ ext/pullover/press, no pausing or stopping unless you need to use a rest pause technique to complete your sets. On both, no “speed” reps, let the muscles do the work, not momentum.

Routine # 2

Warm ups- using a light dumbbell, do extensions for an easy 15 reps over 3 sets. For this routine, we will be doing tri-set drop sets with rest pause. Take 2 progressively heavier dumbbells and an EZ bar. Begin with the EZ bar, which should be set with the heaviest weight, do as many full range extensions as you can, put the bar down, count to 10 and do as many more as you can then instantly drop to the heaviest bell and repeat, then drop the the third dumbbell and repeat. If this is done right one series should be all you can handle.

Rep performance: explosive up, slow and controlled down.

Routine # 3

Warm ups – using a rep scheme of 15, 15, 12, use a light weight on close grips for your warm up. Close grip bench presses 2 sets of 6-8 reps Bench dips – 2 sets of 8-10 reps Pressdowns – 2 sets of 10 reps

Rep performance:explosive up, slow and controlled down. On pressdowns, hold and squeeze at the bottom. A performance note: always use a weight that will challenge you. You should train to that point where you can’t complete one more rep on your own and in good form. Don’t be afraid to step beyond that point, however. I am using techniques like forced reps, rest pause and drop set style sets in some of the routines. Take full advantage of this, don’t stop just because you hit the prescribed number of reps. Knock out a couple more if you can. Also, add weight each workout, there is a direct correlation between strength and size – strive to always beat the performance of your last workout. If you can’t add weight, then add a few reps or use shorter rest periods.

Nutrition/Supplement Strategies

Any time you are trying to build muscle you need to remember that you have to take in more calories over and above maintenance requirements. Now, the timing and type of calories is critical to your success. Rather then just take in a bunch of excess calories, you want to time your intake of protein and carbohydrates. Protein, as I often say, should be at least 1 gram per pound of bodyweight evenly divided throughout the day, or you’re taking in protein every 3 hours. In the hours leading up to your workout, you can take in small amounts of carbs, such as 20-30 grams at a time to give you energy when you train. How I do this is have a small carb based meal with some protein, usually powder. The carb source is typically a granola bar, which has a mix of simple/complex carbs, about 4-5 hours before your workout, have another one 2-3 hours before. A complete meal can take 24 hours or more to digest but small amounts of food can digest in a few hours. Doing this, you will find you have more energy to train. Another thing I often suggest is to use a during the workout drink of Gatorade with some BCAA/glutamine powder mixed in, this provides energy and keeps you anabolic while you train. Of course, don’t forget your post workout shake. Now, if you are trying to stay lean, you need to limit carbs at all other times of the day and on non training days because an excess of carbs over and above energy needs will be stored as fat. Feel free, however, to eat fibrous carbs because they aren’t really digested by the body. Also have most of your starchy carbs early in the day, and other than around the workout only have simple carbs at breakfast. Of course you should limit fat intake as well. Now, you can add things like creatine and NO to your workout drink, and use this stack on it’s own for solid size and strength increases. This is, in fact, my favorite natural stack. I always see great results anytime I use it.

sourse: http://www.ironmagazine.com

Kris Dim on shrugging strategies

After suffering a heart attack and life-threatening complications in 2007, Kris Dim made a successful comeback last year. The 2003 NPC Nationals light-heavy winner was third in his first contest back, the 2009 Europa Supershow 202, and then placed an eye-opening fourth in his hometown Sacramento Pro, an open contest, missing his third Olympia qualification by one slot. Dim gives us some pointers on trapezius training and serves up a typical traps routine.

DIM’S TRAP TIPS

• Trains traps once per week.
• Box shrugs are performed with a free-weight box-bar that allows me to hold my arms at my sides with palms facing inward. Dumbbell shrugs can be substituted for these.
• Machine shrugs are done on a Nautilus machine. Barbell shrugs can be substituted for these.
• Shrugs are a short movement so be certain to focus on contractions. I like to hold the contractions early in a set and then go faster as the set wears on and I tire.

sourse: http://www.flexonline.com

Top 202 pro Eduardo Correa answers back training questions

Eduardo Correa lives in the capital of laid-back: Florianopolis, a resort island off the coast of Brazil. So we could all forgive E.C. if he chilled at the beach instead of killing it in the gym. But that’s not how he rolls.

Correa burst onto the scene last year, winning his pro debut at the 2009 IFBB Pittsburgh Pro Invitational 202 as a 27 year old. Many thought he was the best 202er in the ‘09 Olympia 202 Showdown, where he placed third, and this year Correa has kept the momentum going, easily winning the 2010 IFBB Europa Show of Champions 202 in April.

We questioned Correa on back training and got his typical back routine to find out how he sculpted the thickness and width in his rear shots to come in and do serious damage in the 202 ranks.

Q: You have one of the thickest backs in the 202 division. What do you think is best for back thickness?
A: All variations of rowing exercises. I’m always alternating between grips to work specific areas of my back and at the same time increase the thickness.

Q: How important are deadlifts?
A: Basic exercises like deadlifts are really important, although we must remember that we have an aesthetic goal, and because of that the way to execute this exercise is a little different. What I do is always focus on contracting my scapula to focus more on my inner, upper back.

Q: What exercises do you do for lower back?
A: The rowing exercises are my favorites. As I said before, I’m always switching my grip, and I think that helps a lot.

Q: Do you train traps with back or shoulders?
A: I usually train traps at the end of my shoulder routine. I do shrugs with a barbell or dumbbells for 4 sets 10-12 reps.

Q: What advice would you give for young bodybuilders who want to gain back size?
A: Focus on the right execution of each movement. Keep the focus on getting a full stretch and contraction every time. Don’t worry about the amount of weight, your strength will improve with time.

sourse: http://www.flexonline.com

How heavy basics built Charles Dixon’s quads

As you will soon see, there’s nothing fancy about Charles Dixon’s quad training. And that’s refreshing. Too many bodybuilders over-think leg day, coming up with pre-exhausting, supersetting, high-rep barrages. Not Dixon. The 5′5″ South Carolina resident beat twenty other pros when he landed in the runner-up spot in last years Europa Super Show 202, and two big reasons why were his left and right legs. He tells how he got those quads — the old fashioned way.

DIXON ON QUAD BASIC TRAINING

“I don’t mess around when it comes to leg training. For me, it’s always been the essentials: squats, leg presses, leg extensions, hack squats and barbell lunges. And I like to stay in that middle range of 8-12 reps, even if it’s leg extensions or lunges. Those aren’t toning exercises to me; they’re all building exercises. I’ll sometimes change the order of the other exercises, but I like to start with squats and end with lunges.”

sourse: http://www.flexonline.com

A classic chest workout from Arnold Schwarzenegger

Four Mr. Universe titles, seven Mr. Olympia titles, Conan, Terminator, Governor…does he really need an introduction? Arnold Schwarzenegger is the most famous bodybuilder of all time, an honor he’ll no doubt still hold a century from now. Partly this is because during his Olympia reign his two best bodyparts were biceps and pecs, and these are the two tank top showboats, the muscles that everyone associates with a bodybuilder’s physique. His chest in particular is widely considered the best ever. So let’s let Arnold describe how he built it with a classic quote and a classic routine from back in the day.

ARNOLD ON HIS FAVORITE CHEST WORKOUT

“I always like to start my chest routine with barbell bench presses. I’ll use the pyramid principle, starting with a lighter weight and going to a heavy weight for six reps. After that I’ll do barbell presses on an incline to hit the upper chest. These I like to do for 10 to 15 reps and get a good pump. After that I do dumbbell flyes on a flat bench to really stretch out my pecs and hit the inner part. And finally I’ll end my routine with dips, and I lean into these a lot. This also stretch out my pecs and get a lot of blood in there. Dips also focuses more on my lower pecs.”

sourse: http://www.flexonline.com

On page 158 of the July issue of FLEX magazine we start to countdown the top 10 hardest-training bodybuilders of all time. (If you have an opinion on this, we encourage you to express it in the FLEX Forums.) And now we’re offering the routines that helped put them on the list.

* Weighted

* Sets typically include one to three forced reps. Even precontest, Warren uses over 400 pounds on the first two exercises.

† These are drop sets, performed with heavy chains around his neck, shedding a chain each time he reaches failure.

sourse: http://www.flexonline.com

2010 IFBB Europa Show of Champions winner Hidetada Yamagishi talks about wide-grip upright rows

Japan’s Hidetada Yamagishi has come a long way in a short period of time. A couple of years ago, the 5′5″ pro was relegated to also-ran status. But last year, he was runner-up in two IFBB Pro League contests, and this year he’s racked up two more seconds and added his first pro title, the Europa Show of Champions. Most guys his height are battling in the 202’s, but Yamagishi proved at the New York Pro (one of his two seconds this year) he can hold his own against the behemoths. A key reason is his shoulder width. Not blessed with Cutler-sized clavicles, he has nonetheless packed on so much delt mass his shoulders seem to be reaching for opposite sides of the stage. A key exercise for filling out his medial delts is the wide-grip upright row, a favorite of trainer Charles Glass. Hide tells us about this exercise and shares his “wide-ranging” delt routine.

HIDE ON WIDE-GRIP UPRIGHT ROWS

“This is a very good exercise. Unlike a close-grip upright row, it focuses more on your side delts and not so much on your traps. I take a grip at about shoulder-width or slightly wider and I pull to my upper chest. My elbows go straight out at my sides. Another way to do this is to use two dumbbells and hold them at your sides. Pull up with your elbows and keep the dumbbells against your sides as they go up.”

sourse: http://www.flexonline.com