mm

Phil Heath looks nice. Not that much mass, but very balanced and harmonic body, IMHO. From the top three I like Jackson the most. Do you think any of those could give Cutler or Coleman a run for their money?

because of his ski accident?

I thought the point of taking roids was to work harder? Since bodybuilding is purely about aesthetics and not about how you got there, drug-users don't really piss me off that much. Before you start arguing about the validity of chemical assistance in sports, I'd rather question if bodybuiling should be considered a sport. After all, who get's to be Mr Olympia boils down to the individual taste and aesthetic understanding of the judges (and politics ). I can't think of another athletic discipline where subjective taste decides over the outcome of the event.

If I've ever had a certain physique as a guideline for my training, it probably belongs to the 19th-century-greats. Pandour, Hackenschmidt, Sandow, Breitbart... I like their - by todays standard - "fatty" look. They're way more balanced, IMHO, and not being cut makes them appear less aggressive and more mellow. Apart from that, I think Serge Nubret kicks ass. http://www.schwarzenegger.it/mro/nubr.jpg

I'd guess http://www.intensemuscle.com/forumdisplay.php?f=45 is a good starting point. The guy who "invented" it is a member of the forum.

I use a routine that consists of squat, bench press, deadlift, dips, pullups, rows, military press, snatch and high pull. Plus pec dec and calf raise thrown in for isolation. So far I've gained 6 pounds since the beginnig of the year. But if you don't start eating until the gag-reflex kicks in, you won't grow that much, compounds or no compounds. Maybe for starters just stick to your current routine and try to eat more? See what happens and then change other variables (volume, exercises choice, frequency) iny our training.

Competing with other guys at the gym gets your testosterone pumping. And with 'competing' I mean just seeing them work out next to you. It's a silly primal thing, but works. If there are females around, the better.

Yeah, I count out loud myself, especially the last rep. Apart from that, the ocassional swear word slips in.

I think I found a way to unite every opinion in here: Kopi Luwak Jesus.

Here's another URL: Wikipedia - Coffee and most importantly Effects on baldness Only 60 cups of coffee to keep my hair? Jesus Christ, I'm gonna start right now! Who knows, maybe I'll look like Braveheart next week. No, seriously, given the two links I don't see any reason to advocate the non-use of coffee. The caffeine-entry on Wikipedia makes a distinction between 'moderate consumption', 'overuse' and 'coffeine intoxication'. Maybe taking this differentiation and applying it to our discussion would be more helpful.

Yeah... I didn't mention that statement because I didn't want to get your blood boiling. The thing is, why should he have an interest in dissing soy? He's not dumb, he must have picked up something from somewhere. Or so I hope.

Over at T-Nation there's a summary of one of Charles Poliquins seminars, including following statement: "Asian people can absorb 96% of the soy they consume, while for Caucasians it's a paltry 16%." The article is basically just a bunch of statements whith no reference to back it up. To be fair, it wasn't written by P. himself but by a seminar attendee. Is there any truth to it? Oops, nearly forgot the link: http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1431471 cheers, mm

What about the power clean? According to Ian King the numero uno mass building exercise. For Polliquin it's the box deadlift. I'm currently giving snatch a try, although I believe I'll need another year to perfect it. No, not perfect it, not mess it up would be more appropriate. Damn tricky.

The High Pull is an olympic lift. Check it out: http://exrx.net/AnimatedEx/OlympicLifts/HighPull.gif http://exrx.net/WeightExercises/OlympicLifts/HighPull.html

I'm doing high pulls, they're kind of fun plus it involves the legs too.

Fu**ing apples.

Even if you were taking roids, you'd still have to be genetically blessed to become like Coleman or Schwarzenegger. I'd say stay away from the drugs and pick the right parents. PS: According to an interview with Coleman, he started competing 3 months after he started BB. No amount of roids can transform you in that short amount of time - or can they? My trainer thinks Coleman was injected with genetic virii. They supposedly reprogram your genetic code, downside being that you might die if your body rejects the process. I googled for it and it still seems to be some kind of science fiction, correct me if you know more about this.

Max-Stimulation - "cheat fatigue, enhance strain, increase the translational response to weight training and grow" http://max-stimulation.hypertrophy-research.com/ I've been doing Max-Stim for two months now and must say it is absolutely fantastic. I've always perceived CNS fatigue to be the one thing that keeps me from working harder, with Max-Stim's fatigue management and HST-Style load progression I can feel physically exhausted without the accompanying mental burnout. I suggest you give it a try, if you're already doing HST then you might even swith to Max-Stim during your cycle (as I have done). You're basically doing one set with 20 reps and a break after every rep. No Rest/Pause, you're putting the weight down completely and relax for X seconds (depending on where you are in the cycle). Then you lift again. It is amazing what you can lift this way, you have to try it yourself to believe it. The second thing is the HST-style load progression that let's you basically work under your 100 % RM for any given rep-range most of the time. The cycle consists of 10, 8 and 6 rep phases that each take 4 weeks to complete, starting with 75 % RM and ending with 110 % RM. But before I'm getting too confusing, please check out the website and forum, it's got most of the questions already answered and contains a free downloadable PDF-booklet. (From the Website) What Max-Stim isn't: It's not magic-No training sytem yet identified will put on 30 Lbs of muscle in 30 days, it just doesn't work this way. It's not rest pause- The typical rest/pause setup involves invoking a continued fatigue response. Max-Stim completely circumvents or at minimum delays fatigue. It's not clustering- Clustering in the literal and applied sense is grouping reps into mini sets, Max-Stim does not do this. It's not singles- Singles are a weightlifting term used when lifters use several incremental increases in load over very few reps working up to one all out rep, in order to stimulate neural responses and increase strength. Max-Stim does not do this. What Max-Stim is: Max-Stim is a way of effectively working beyond your normal max in any rep zone. Max-Stim is a way of diminishing fatigue that reduces the force exerted during contractions and subsequant strain. Max-Stim is a way of progressively loading the muscle tissue with an adequate work load. Max-Stim is a way of maintaining an identifiable TUT no matter the load used.

I have a general question about bulking: Is it right that in order to gain weight you must eat more than your hunger calls for? And how long must I keep doing this before my body adjusts and I can go back to eating "normally", meaning I'm not content with the previous amount of food anymore and intuitively eat more.... The reason I'm asking is that I've tried bulking but only noticed a gain in Body-Fat. So after gaining 6 lbs. I've dropped it and went back to eating to when I feel like it or when it's possible. I notice that I'm not gaining weight but am becoming more and more cut.... as an aside, I've started BB one year ago so maybe I just was plain too fat to begin with

Is there a difference between eating one pound of Tofu and drinking a large soy protein shake? I'm saying this because the reason I've incorporated protein shakes into my nutrition routine is because they've given me greater liberty on what to cook. Instead of going for nuts/legumes/Tofu/whatever all the time I can just skip the protein part of the meal and focus on vegetables and carbs. Feel free to tell me I'm stupid, but that's the way it works for me.

Thanks for posting this. What I would like to know is in what way does a nutrition plan for endurance sports differ to a nutrition plan for bodybuilding. Is there a difference in calories intake, carbs... or am I cool if I just stick to what Brendan eats?

9 lbs plus of lean mass? Awesome, congratulations! I plan to look like Iceman from Top Gun, but if I don't eat more I'll probably end up looking like Bruce Lee... which isn't too bad either. (hmm, there's no sarcasm-emoticon, so I guess I'll have to go with this )

Weeks 7-8 (use 2 clusters of 1x3 reps or negatives (when possible) instead of 5's? Monday: • Full Squats - 1-2 Warm-Up Sets + 1 Set x 5 Reps • Snatch-Grip Deadlifts - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Shrugs - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Incline Bench Press - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Weighted Dips - 1 Set x 5 Reps • Medium-Grip Pull-Ups - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Pendlay Rows - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Military Press - 2 Sets x 5 Reps Tuesday: • Bent-Over Rear Lateral Raises - 1 Set x 5 Reps • Dumbbell Curls - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Triceps Extensions - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Calf Raises - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Weighted Crunches - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Split Squats - 1-2 Warm-Up Sets + 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Glute-Ham Raises - 1 Set x 5 Reps • Behind the Back Shrugs - 2 Sets x 5 Reps Wednesday: • Incline Bench Press - 1 Set x 5 Reps • Weighted Dips - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Weighted Wide-Grip Chin-Ups - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Pendlay Rows - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Military Press - 1 Set x 5 Reps • Lateral Raises - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Hammer Curls - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Skull Crushers - 2 Sets x 5 Reps Friday: • 1-Leg Calf Raises - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Weighted Decline Sit-Ups - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Full Squats - 1-2 Warm-Up Sets + 1 Set x 5 Reps • Snatch-Grip Deadlifts - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Shrugs - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Incline Bench Press - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Weighted Dips - 1 Set x 5 Reps • Medium-Grip Pull-Ups - 2 Sets x 5 Reps Saturday: • Pendlay Rows - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Military Press - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Bent-Over Rear Lateral Raises - 1 Set x 5 Reps • Dumbbell Curls - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Decline Triceps Extensions - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Calf Raises - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Leg Raises - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Behind the Back Shrugs - 2 Sets x 5 Reps

Weeks 5-6 Monday: • Full Squats - 1-2 Warm-Up Sets + 1 Set x 5 Reps • Snatch-Grip Deadlifts - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Shrugs - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Incline Bench Press - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Weighted Dips - 1 Set x 5 Reps • Medium-Grip Pull-Ups - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Pendlay Rows - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Military Press - 2 Sets x 5 Reps Tuesday: • Bent-Over Rear Lateral Raises - 1 Set x 5 Reps • Dumbbell Curls - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Triceps Extensions - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Calf Raises - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Weighted Crunches - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Split Squats - 1-2 Warm-Up Sets + 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Glute-Ham Raises - 1 Set x 5 Reps • Behind the Back Shrugs - 2 Sets x 5 Reps Wednesday: • Incline Bench Press - 1 Set x 5 Reps • Weighted Dips - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Pendlay Rows - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Military Press - 1 Set x 5 Reps • Lateral Raises - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Hammer Curls - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Skull Crushers - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • 1-Leg Calf Raises - 2 Sets x 5 Reps Friday: • Weighted Decline Sit-Ups - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Full Squats - 1-2 Warm-Up Sets + 1 Set x 5 Reps • Snatch-Grip Deadlifts - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Shrugs - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Incline Bench Press - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Weighted Dips - 1 Set x 5 Reps • Medium-Grip Pull-Ups - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Pendlay Rows - 2 Sets x 5 Reps Saturday • Military Press - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Bent-Over Rear Lateral Raises - 1 Set x 5 Reps • Dumbbell Curls - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Decline Triceps Extensions - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Calf Raises - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Leg Raises - 2 Sets x 5 Reps • Glute-Ham Raises - 1 Set x 5 Reps • Behind the Back Shrugs - 2 Sets x 5 Reps

Weeks 3 & 4 (exchange 10 with 8 reps in second week) Monday: • Full Squats - 1-2 Warm-Up Sets + 1 Set x 10 Reps • Snatch-Grip Deadlifts - 2 Sets x 10 Reps • Shrugs - 2 Sets x 10 Reps • Incline Bench Press - 2 Sets x 10 Reps • Dips - 1 Set x 10 Reps • Medium Grip Chin-Ups - 2 Sets x 10 Reps • Pendlay Rows - 2 Sets x 10 Reps • Military Press - 2 Sets x 10 Reps Tuesday: • Bent-Over Rear Lateral Raises - 1 Set x 10 Reps • Dumbbell Curls - 2 Sets x 10 Reps • Triceps Extensions - 2 Sets x 10 Reps • Calf Raises - 2 Sets x 10 Reps • Weighted Crunches - 2 Sets x 10 Reps • Split Squats - 1-2 Warm-Up Sets + 2 Sets x 10 Reps • Stiff-Legged Deadlifts - 1 Set x 10 Reps • Behind the Back Shrugs - 2 Sets x 10 Reps Wednesday: • Incline Bench Press - 1 Set x 10 Reps • Dips - 2 Sets x 10 Reps • Wide-Grip Chin-Ups - 2 Sets x 10 Reps • Pendlay Rows - 2 Sets x 10 Reps • Military Press - 1 Set x 10 Reps • Lateral Raises - 2 Sets x 10 Reps • DB Hammer Curls - 2 Sets x 10 Reps • Triceps Pushdowns - 2 Sets x 10 Reps Friday: • 1-Leg Calf Raises - 2 Sets x 10 Reps • Weighted Decline Sit-Ups - 2 Sets x 10 Reps • Full Squats - 1-2 Warm-Up Sets + 1 Set x 10 Reps • Snatch-Grip Deadlifts - 2 Sets x 10 Reps • Shrugs - 2 Sets x 10 Reps • Incline Bench Press - 2 Sets x 10 Reps • Dips - 1 Set x 10 Reps • Medium-Grip Chin-Ups - 2 Sets x 10 Reps Saturday: • Pendlay Rows - 2 Sets x 10 Reps • Military Press - 2 Sets x 10 Reps • Bent-Over Rear Lateral Raises - 1 Set x 10 Reps • Dumbbell Curls - 2 Sets x 10 Reps • Decline Triceps Extensions - 2 Sets x 10 Reps • Calf Raises - 2 Sets x 10 Reps • Leg Raises - 2 Sets x 10 Reps