• The low-intensity (~55-60 percent 1RM) resistance training program with slow movement and tonic force genera- tion (3 seconds for eccentric and concen- tric actions, 1-second pause and no relax- ing phase), resulted in gains in muscular size and strength similar to those after the same whole-body training program using a high-intensity load (~80-90 per- cent 1RM) with normal speed (1 second up, 1 second down).
• Not “locking out” at the end of the movements keeps tension constant on muscle throughout the entire set.
• A slow, controlled non-locking exer- cise set produced ischemic conditions that can trigger muscle growth factors.
• Traditionally, tourniquet training was thought to be the only way of producing ischemic (oxygen shortage) in muscle, however research suggests that maximal contractions also produce similar ischemic conditions. Squeezing a muscle to invoke these conditions may be con- ducive for muscle hypertrophy. ! References:
1. Kraemer, WJ, Deschenes, MR, and Fleck, SJ. Physiological adaptations to resistance exercise. Implications for athletic conditioning.
Sports Med, 6: 246-256, 1988.
2. MacDougall, JD, Ward, GR, Sale, DG, and Sutton, JR. Biochemical adaptation of human skeletal muscle to heavy resistance training and immobilization. J Appl Physiol, 43: 700- 703, 1997.
3. Campos, GE, Luecke, TJ, Wendeln, HK, Toma, K, Hagerman, FC, Murray, TF, Ragg, KE, Ratamess, NA, Kraemer, WJ, and Staron, RS. Muscular adaptations in response to three dif- ferent resistance-training regimens: specificity of repetition maximum training zones. Eur J
Appl Physiol, 88: 50-60, 2002.
4. Tanimoto, M and Ishii, N. Effects of low- intensity resistance exercise with slow move- ment and tonic force generation on muscular function in young men. J Appl Physiol, 100: 1150-1157, 2006.
5. Kraemer, WJ and Ratamess, NA. Hormonal responses and adaptations to resis- tance exercise and training. Sports Med, 35: 339-361, 2005.
6. Schott, J, McCully, K, and Rutherford, OM. The role of metabolites in strength train- ing. II. Short versus long isometric contrac- tions. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol, 71: 337-341, 1995.
7. Kawada S, Ishii N. Changes in skeletal muscle size, fibre-type composition and capil- lary supply after chronic venous occlusion in rats. Acta Physiol (Oxf)., 2008 Apr; 192(4):541-9.
8. Rooney KJ, Herbert RD, Balnave RJ. Fatigue contributes to the strength-training stimulus. Med Sci Sports Exerc., 1994 Sep; 26(9): 1160-4.
MuscleGrowthUpdate
Arnold Classic champ competing, and he’s the only Mr. Olympia runner-up. The only man to beat him in the past two years was Jay, and I think you all know how I feel about that B.S. by now. Of course, the big X factor here, and the million-dollar-question, is will his injured leg look the same as before?
Victor never had the most over- whelming quads in the front poses as it is, so they need to look at least as good as they did at the ’07 Arnold and Olympia. From the side, his quads bulge out and his hamstrings have a nice hang to them, but from the front they don’t appear quite as enormous as his upper body does. Part of that stems from his wide clavicles. A guy would need to have pretty crazy thigh sweep to match shoulders as wide as Victor’s. The funny thing is that I bet if you took a tape measure to the thighs of Vic, Kai and Toney, they probably all measure about the same. But body- building is a sport of illusion, not measurements. A thigh with great outer sweep like Jay’s or Toney’s will always appear larger.
Martinez also needs to bring the condition or else he leaves the door open for someone like Kai Greene to waltz right on in. He’s been very lean the last few times we’ve seen him, but Victor has yet to bring that super dry,
crisp look. I can relate, because out of the 33 pro shows I did, I probably only truly had that look four or five times. The first Arnold I won in 1993 is one show of mine people still talk about as my best-ever condition, along with the ’96 Night of Champions. So far, Victor hasn’t shown up with the type of con- dition people will refer to as his all- time best, though he’s come close a few times now. If he can accomplish that for the Arnold, that big paycheck has his name on it.
2. Kai L. Greene
If there is any one man who poses a formidable enough threat to be Victor’s worst nightmare, it’s “The Predator.” If for any reason Martinez isn’t firing on all cylinders, Kai will steal the show away from him. Remember that crisp look we just talked about? Kai brings it! Greene has been batting a thousand lately when it comes to nailing that ultra-dry condi- tion. And the crazy thing is, he does it while still gaining mass and improv- ing. Far more often we see guys show up bigger, but having sacrificed the shredded look. Not The Predator. Every time you think you’ve seen his best, he comes back looking even better.
He still hasn’t maxed out his full potential. Kai does need to watch out and make sure he doesn’t get too
huge for his frame. With his type of structure, namely a short torso and long legs, he runs the risk of becoming blocky. Bigger isn’t always better, which was a harsh lesson I learned toward the end of the ’90s. But from what I’ve heard, he’s put on something like 5 pounds of new muscle since last spring, which should be fine— assum- ing it’s in the key areas he needed, such as the upper chest, shoulders and maybe a bit in the triceps. Once those areas are up to par, he really won’t need any additional size. Kai should just focus on refining and adding detail to what he has. But regardless, Mr. Greene is most definitely in the running and could give Victor the fight of his life.
3. Toney Freeman
Toney, my man! Talk about an inspiration. This cat is 42 years old and he’s still getting better and mov- ing up the ranks. The “X-Man” has a lot going for him. At 6’2” and 280 pounds with a small waist, he simply overwhelms just about any other physique that stands next to him. He’s on a roll with two wins and a fifth place at the Mr. Olympia this past fall, and he also seems to have finally mastered the fine art of combining awesome condition, including striated glutes and hams, with nice fullness.
www.musculardevelopment.com March 2009
216
MD Kai L. Greene Toney Freeman Branch Warrenwww.fantamag.com
Another area Toney shines in is posing and overall presentation. He has a great stage presence and knows how to display his physique perfectly. Great posing has almost become a lost art with just a few guys today maintaining that tradition, but I would put Freeman right up there with Kai, Melvin and Darrem. Physique-wise, Toney is almost flawless.
Aside from the noticeable pec tear, he has no weak body parts and every- thing flows with full muscle bellies sweeping off of small joints. If Victor and Kai slip up at all and don’t show up looking the way we expect them to, the X-Man could very well leapfrog right over them and win this thing. Otherwise, I have him as a solid pick for third, which is right where he was in 2007 when Victor won.
4. Tie: Silvio Samuel
and Branch Warren
I hate to seem indecisive, but for the life of me I couldn’t pick one of these guys over the other. When we see how they each look I am sure it won’t be such a nerve-wracking choice, but as it stands right now either one could beat the other. Talk about your apples and oranges. Branch is a true freak, a monster with loads of thick and striated muscle. He personifies what bodybuilding is all
about to a lot of people. And it doesn’t even need to be said that he has the best wheels in the game today. Those cross-striated fibers in his quads are just not right. If Branch can nail it like he did last year with the fullness, the grainy condition and the perfect color, he could edge Silvio out.
But the Silvio coming to Columbus is not the same one you saw last year. I was in Gold’s Venice a few days ago and watched him hit a few poses dur- ing a workout with Charles. I guessed that he had put on another 10 pounds of muscle, and he confirmed that I was dead on. His chest, shoulders, back and arms all look bigger. Conditioning isn’t an issue for Silvio; we know he’ll handle his business there. With him, the issue is present- ing his physique correctly. Silvio needs to control his diaphragm and hit all his shots in a way that plays up his strengths. If he does all that, I see him no lower than fifth.
6. Dennis James
Which D.J. will we see here? Will it be the ginormous beast lacking deep muscle separations and with a large midsection, or the more streamlined and detailed version unleashed last year? I think it’s safe to say that Dennis stopped playing the mass game. With the amount of thick muscle he carries,
D.J. can afford to trim down and it only makes his shape and separation better. I’ve spoken to him off the record and Dennis definitely knows that the look he had as a rookie pro is the one that would do the best with the current judging criteria.
7. Moe Moussawi
The new “Lion of Lebanon!” The razor-sharp cuts this dude displayed at last year’s Iron Man were off the chain, and he brought them back for the Olympia. That earned him ninth place in his debut at the big dance. Moe doesn’t compare with the top guys on raw mass, so it’s shape and condition that are his aces in the hole. He needs to show up with his A-game again. If he does that and if he’s brought his back up since last fall, Moe could surprise us all and do even better than this.
8. Gustavo Badell
The Freakin’ Rican has taken a lot of heat lately for what people have said are mysteriously shrunken legs. I want to be the first one to say that I don’t believe Gustavo’s legs are any smaller than they were when he was placing top three at the Olympia and winning shows. Instead, his upper body has grown. Add to that the fact that he has lacked his stellar condition
www.musculardevelopment.com March 2009
218
MD Silvio Samuel Dennis James Moe Moussawiof past years at most of his recent con- tests, and you have the illusion of smaller legs. I do know that he suf- fered some injury last summer that forced him to cancel on guest posing at the NPC contest I promoted. I heard a rumor that was never substantiated that claimed he passed out while train- ing legs and had to be rushed to the hospital. Again, I have no confirmation of this, but he was able to rally back and compete in the Mr. Olympia.
I know that he has a warrior men- tality and never wants to stop training and competing, but I think Gustavo needs to step back and at least take a little break from contests to examine himself and figure out what he needs to do to get back to the Gustavo of old, the phenomenon that came ‘out of nowhere’ to push all the top men for supremacy. I personally handed Gustavo his trophy over a decade ago when he turned pro, and I would love to see him get back to kicking ass and taking names.
9. Darrem Charles
I hate to put Darrem so low in my predictions, because he’s a hell of a nice guy and he does have an amazing physique. The only problem is that with his small frame, it’s hard to com- pare with the other men in terms of sheer size. There are some guys who you swear are heavier than they really
are. When I won my first Arnold Classic at 213 pounds, people refused to believe I was any lighter than 225- 235. With Darrem, it’s the opposite. He does compete now at 235 pounds, but doubters like to say he’s really closer to 210-215. Shape, symmetry and insane condition are Darrem’s strong points, along with his entertaining pos- ing routines. Lately he’s been giving up some of his usual freaky condition- ing in an effort to come in bigger and fuller, but so far it hasn’t been a suc- cessful gambit. Maybe he’ll succeed this time, in which case Darrem could place several slots higher than ninth.
10. Johnnie Jackson
I like Johnnie a lot and feel he has one of the best upper bodies in the sport, but his condition is all over the place. At one show he looks incredible, then he’s off the next time you see him. I have to wonder if this inconsis- tency is directly related to the fact that he continues to compete at the highest levels of powerlifting. With pro body- building as fiercely competitive as it is these days, you really need to focus on it 100 percent if you want to be one of the best. Johnnie also needs more thigh sweep from the front. He’s another one who has awesome legs in the side shots thanks to his Butterball hams (which probably come from those sickeningly heavy deadlifts he
does, just like his back), but his quads just don’t impress in the front shots.
Those are my picks. How accurate they will be remains to be seen, but I did my best without an actual crystal ball in front of me. As for the guys who will probably get pissed off at me, which might just be everyone except Victor, as always I ask that you not take my comments personally. Easier said than done as I know myself, but there it is. The 20th anniversary Arnold Classic is gonna be a true battle, and I can’t wait to see how it all goes down! ■
www.musculardevelopment.com March 2009
220
MDArnold Classic
Champions
1. Rich Gaspari 2. Mike Ashley 3. Shawn Ray 4. Vince Taylor 5. Flex Wheeler 6. Kevin Levrone 7. Mike Francois 8. Kevin Levrone 9. Flex Wheeler 10. Flex Wheeler 11. Nasser El Sonbaty 12. Flex Wheeler 13. Ronnie Coleman 14. Jay Cutler 15. Jay Cutler 16. Jay Cutler 17. Dexter Jackson 18. Dexter Jackson 19. Victor Martinez 20. Dexter Jackson Gustavo Badell Darrem Charles Johnnie Jacksonwww.fantamag.com
www.musculardevelopment.com March 2009
228
MDExclusive Interview by Ron Harris Photography by Per Bernal