Thursday, October 9, 2014

TORSO SUPERSET TRAINING. Article by Sergio Oliva (1967)

Old School Bodybuilding
TORSO SUPERSET TRAINING
Article by Sergio Oliva (1967)
Source: ditillo.blogspot.com
Since my entrance and winning of titles over the past year or two, many nice comments have been made, and questions asked about my torso development. Especially about my back, and lately my chest as well. I've been working hard on my chest and back in the last six months, and I'd like to explain my exercises and training methods a little here.

Before I get into that, I'd just like to say what a pleasure it is writing these exclusive articles for Joe Weider and Muscle Builder magazine. Not only am I completely free to write just what I want, I know for certain that the information is reaching the majority of bodybuilders in this country and abroad. If my training ideas can be of help to others, then I'm glad to make them public through the Weider magazines, for I know this is where they'll do the most good.

My Back and Chest SuperSets
Firstly, let me explain why I am combining both chest and back routines into one article. The plain fact of the matter is that I train these opposing bodyparts together, and train the chest and back in superset fashion. This article must include both of them to correctly explain my workout.

I train my chest and back on Mondays and Thursdays, after warming up with some abdominal and calf work, and before finishing off with deltoid work. They, therefore, are the meat of my workout, the section I devote the most time and energy to.

On those days, in addition to supersets, I also use several other training principles: Flushing, an essential to gorge and pump the muscle areas to maximum, insuring maximum growth. Quality Training, speed in your workout, is also helpful in keeping up the pump and pushing back the pain and exhaustion barrier, which you must do to develop your highest level of musculature. The Power Principle, for the maximum development of power and size, is a part of my workout also. I cheat a bit on the later reps of the later sets, particularly on the heavier movements.

My Weightlifting Background
As many of you know, I originally started out as a weightlifter, working to develop power for that sport alone. It wasn't until I defected to America and came to realize the bodybuilding potential I had that I went into bodybuilding seriously.

I must admit I was blessed with a naturally small waist, but in all my training for the power-packing of the back I made sure the back and legs were properly developed, without the unsightly thickening of the hips. When it came to thighs or lower back, I worked specifically on these areas, and avoided the hip development that was unnecessary to my weight lifting.

As a result of this, I developed a powerful and well-developed body, without being thick. This gave me the basis for advanced power exercises for the upper and overall back, and enough development so that I do not have to specialize in this area for complete development; occasional weightlifting keeps my lower back in the pink and impressively thick. 

With this power basis it was only natural that I handled maximum weights for back development. I soon built up a 51-inch measurement, mainly on lat and back development, and this area was ahead of my pecs. This was obvious to me after my loss in the Mr. Olympia 1966 event, and I mean to rectify it in 1967. With this in mind, I've added about 10 lbs in weight, mainly in the pecs and arms, since last September, and feel now my pecs are up to par with the rest of my development. I've gotten a lot of praise on them in recent posing exhibitions, so I must be headed in the right direction.

 
My Chest/Back Routine
I now devote about equal time and effort to my chest and back, combining Super Sets so as to give me development in all areas that I desire. I can best illustrate this by explaining fully to you my routine, exactly as I do it.


Chest/Back SuperSet #1

1) Bench Press - 20 full sets. I start with as warmup with 135 x 15 reps, then jump to 250. From here I go up in 10-20 pound jumps to 400 lbs, cutting down the reps as I go until I do about 8 reps with the 400. Then, I again go down with 10-20 jumps, keeping the reps 8-10 and going for maximum pump and stretch of the muscle. Naturally, I cheat a bit on the last few reps as I progress, but make sure I touch the chest each rep and stretch the pecs, really working them each and every rep.

This is my staple exercise for the chest, and I move along as fast as I can, also to keep the pump going and to work the muscle with the greatest intensity . . . a combination of weight and speed . . . possible.

2) Chins - 10 sets with a wide grip for development of lat spread, and 10 sets with a medium grip for back thickness. I use a 50-lb dumbbell for added resistance, and do about 10-15 reps per set. Naturally, I do more reps with the widest grip possible at the very beginning, and as I progress I cut my reps to accommodate my strength and level of determination. As the grip comes in closer, this naturally helps to make the exercise a bit easier and conserve my strength as the full 20 sets progress. Again, I concentrate on intensity, the combination of speed and strength, in working my back.

Chest/Back SuperSet #2

1) Incline Barbell Press - 5 sets of 10 reps with 185-205 lbs. I prefer to do this exercise with a wide grip and the Olympic bar, hence the weights quoted. I make sure to bring the bar to my neck, elbows out, each and every rep, concentration being on the stretching of the upper pec and doing the exercise movement properly, rather than just how much weight you can handle. Keep your mind on the action of these muscles alone; 'think' the weight up and down.

2) Dips - 5 sets of 10 reps with an 80-lb dumbbell attached. I use this exercise to bring every little finger and striation of the pecs. To do this I work slowly and deliberately again, concentrating mentally on the action of the muscle. I go up and down as far as I can, and really work the muscle through a full range of motion. In fact, I guess you could call this a 'concentration set' instead of a Super Set . . . I use it to make sure the pec is completely and fully worked in all sectors.

Chest/Back SuperSet #3
 
1) Lying Laterals - 5 sets of 15 reps with 65-lb dumbbells. Now that I've completed the major portion of my chest workout, I combine a light shaping movement for the pecs with a heavy, lat developing exercise for the now-rested lats.

2) Lat Machine Pulldowns - 5 sets of 15 reps, 240 lbs. After anchoring myself securely so as to keep my exercise style perfect and not having to be distracted by keeping my balance with this weight, I go to lat machine pulldowns. I keep my back straight and think of my arms only as levers, allowing the lat muscles to pull he weight down. I make sure the lats only do the work, and I keep them spread out and my elbows pointed to the side at all times. I may cheat a bit and pull down the head and body a bit on the last few reps, but I try to avoid this. I'm primarily concerned with how much weight I can handle in proper style, the more weight the better. I find as I add to my lat power, so also do I add to my back sweep and thickness.

Back/Shoulder SuperSet #4

1) Press Behind Neck - 6 sets of 10 reps with 175 lbs on the Smith machine. To finish off the back (and as I go next to shoulders on my Monday/Thursday workouts), I do a heavy back exercise, for overall thickness, and a warmup movement for the delts. The press behind neck is performed in good style, standing, using the machine to keep the weight in the perfectly right track for maximum delt development.

2) Barbell Rowing - 6 sets of 10 reps with 250 lbs. Again I use maximum weight, to foster maximum growth of the upper back. I make sure I hit the upper part by using a wide grip on the bar, and pulling the weight up to the upper body so that I touch the upper chest. This way I make sure the upper back and lats only are affected, and not the lower back. I use a loose, or cheating style, and work for power. I enjoy handling heavy weights, and psychologically feel I'm making better gains.      
   
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Disclaimer: The Content on this site is intended to be used for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to be and should not be interpreted as medical advice or a diagnosis of any health or fitness problem, condition or disease; or a recommendation for a specific test, doctor, care provider, procedure, treatment plan, product, or course of action. BODYBUILDING MAURITIUS is not a medical or healthcare provider and your use of this site does not create a doctor / patient relationship. We disclaim all responsibility for the professional qualifications and licensing of, and services provided by, any physician or other health providers posting on or otherwise referred to on this Site and/or any Third Party Site. Never disregard the medical advice of your physician or health professional, or delay in seeking such advice, because of something you read on this Site. We offer this Site AS IS and without any warranties.  Correspondence: vicgoyaram@gmail.com
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Wednesday, October 8, 2014

AFTER DMAA WATCH OUT FOR "DMBA" IN SUPPLEMENTS. By Veeraj Goyaram

AFTER DMAA WATCH OUT FOR "DMBA" IN SUPPLEMENTS
Article by Veeraj Goyaram 
After the ban on the pharmaceutical stimulant 1,3-dimethylamylamine (DMAA) by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) supplement companies came up with a replacement to this amazing compound. This compound is called 1,3-dimethylbutylamine (DMBA). DMBA is an analogue of the popular DMAA (see their chemical structures below). 
 
DMAA nostalgia
As most of you probably know, DMAA was what gave new life to a lackluster pre-workout supplement category which was until then based on caffeine and Nitric Oxide boosters. DMAA was reintroduced in 2006 by Patrick Arnold and almost all companies rushed to include it into their pre-workouts and fat burner supplements. In the year 2010, DMAA-containing supplements generated $100 million. That was the year when the preworkout business really took off (nostalgia) with Jack3D, Muscle Marinade and others. Unfortunately, due to health concerns (risk of stroke, sudden cardiac arrest and heart failure) supplement companies have been pressured to remove DMAA from supplements. You can read more about the DMAA situation in a past article on this website (click here).
Jack3D was the trendsetter in preworkouts both with regard to DMAA and the smaller container that competitors rushed to copy.

DMBA will soon grab spotlight
An article has just been published today by scientists from Harvard Medical School (Cohen, Travis and Venhuis, 2014) tested a number of supplements under the weight loss and preworkout category with ingredient lists that include DMBA or other chemical names that it is known by:  4-amino-2-methylpentane citrate, AMP citrate, 1,3-dimethylbutylamine citrate, 4-amino-2-pentanamine, Pentergy, and 4-AMP

Welcome back as I am sure you all rushed to check the label of your supplements. 

What Cohen and his colleagues found was that all products indeed contained DMBA after they analyzed it in their sophisticated laboratory.  The labels did not disclose the amount of DMBA but the scientists were kind enough to provide the values (table below).

Amount of DMBA in dietary supplements. Table modified from Cohen et al. (2014)
One of the supplements found to contain DMBA
What does all this mean?
DMBA has never been studied in humans and therefore the health risks of the compound are unknown. According to Cohen et al (2014), only two studies have been conducted in animals reporting pressor effects (Pressor: tending to increase blood pressure) although weaker than DMAA. The authors also speculate that this "cat chase the rat" scenario between the FDA and the supplements industry won't stop anytime soon because there are additional related compounds waiting to replace DMBA once the latter gets banned by the FDA. These compounds to watch out for in the future are: 2-amino-5-methylhexane, 2-aminohexane and 2-amino-6-methylheptane

All I want to say is that they don't really care about us. 
Needless to say that the mainstream media has already rushed to write BS about this whole situation. They never had any good thing to say about our supplements, anyway. My personal opinion on this situation is that it would suck if DMBA gets banned. There is no still no definitive evidence of DMAA's safety but yet it was banned. Most substances can be harmful if consumed in excessive amounts (including beneficial drugs and even water). DMAA and DMBA are no different. Products bearing a real risk like tobacco and alcohol are legal. You can overdose alcohol and kill people on the road. Alcohol causes so many deaths every year and countless social problems. But yet nobody banned alcohol. Nobody even bats an eye that there are so many alcohol ads. Soon you will walk in public drinking a protein shake and get more stares than some moron walking with a can of beer. In our society real drugs are acceptable while dietary supplements aren't. Don't get me started on cigarettes, carbonated drinks and fast foods. Why do they spend so much effort to ban supplement ingredients? Perhaps because the supplement industry doesn't provide enough tax revenue to governments. 
Double standards. And its bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts who suffer

 Products bearing a real risk like tobacco and alcohol are legal. You can overdose alcohol and kill people on the road. Yet, nobody wants to ban alcohol

Reference


Cohen PA, Travis JC and Venhuis BJ. A synthetic stimulant never tested in humans, 1,3-dimethylbutylamine (DMBA), is identified in multiple dietary supplements. Drug Test. Analysis (2014). http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/dta.1735/abstract



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©,2014 Veeraj Goyaram, Bodybuilding Mauritius. Any reprinting in any type of media is prohibited.
 ______________________________________________________________________________
Disclaimer: The Content on this site is intended to be used for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to be and should not be interpreted as medical advice or a diagnosis of any health or fitness problem, condition or disease; or a recommendation for a specific test, doctor, care provider, procedure, treatment plan, product, or course of action. BODYBUILDING MAURITIUS is not a medical or healthcare provider and your use of this site does not create a doctor / patient relationship. We disclaim all responsibility for the professional qualifications and licensing of, and services provided by, any physician or other health providers posting on or otherwise referred to on this Site and/or any Third Party Site. Never disregard the medical advice of your physician or health professional, or delay in seeking such advice, because of something you read on this Site. We offer this Site AS IS and without any warranties.  Correspondence: vicgoyaram@gmail.com
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