Common Gym Phrases And What They Actually Mean

The gym can be an intimidating place.

Well, sort of.

Not as intimidating as being chained up in a Belgium sex bunker, being asked to call a coin toss by Anton Chigurh or having your CV marked up by Claude Littner.

Or being forced to sleep opposite a pickled jar containing the severed head of your murdered lover as a punishment for being unfaithful.

To be fair on Peter the Great, this was fairly mild as punishments from Russian Czars go – the equivalent, nowadays, of purposefully making your partner a rubbish cup of tea.

But, for newcomers especially, the gym can be a discomfiting environment.

As you wonder out of the changing rooms for the first time, you’ll feel like a new recruit in a buddy cop movie who’s been transferred to a department in a corrupt precinct.

You’ll get dirty looks from the tough guys free weights area (all ‘on the take’), an unhinged Mel Gibson type will accost you at the water fountain with unsolicited fitness tips and weapons-grade viagra, and there’ll be a by-the-books personal trainer trying to avenge the memory of his father who was murdered in the line of duty (crushed by a bosu ball in the steam room).

As you get to know the lay of the land you’ll pick up a few valuable titbits.

You’ll learn, for example, that the gym is a place where you can seemingly break wind with total impunity.

You’ll learn to avoid that one guy who wonders around with a Foreigner t-shirt, flip-flops and a permanent demiboner.

You’ll learn to avoid peak times where the gym floor resembles a flock of seagulls going mental over a dropped ice cream.

And you’ll also learn that in the gym there is a big difference between what people say and what they actually mean.

One wrong word and the situation will escalate quicker than a late-night confrontation with Joe Pesci in a petrol station.

“I didn’t call you a prick, Joe, I was just trying to grab a Ginsters pasty from the fridge.”

So, if you’re new to the gym and want to avoid committing any faux pas that will land you in hot water, here is a collection of common phrases and what they actually mean…

Gym lingo – translated

Are you using this?

You’re quite clearly not using this, I’m merely feigning politeness, so please get off your phone and move before I lodge this bottle of Lucozade Sport so far up your rectum you’ll be shitting electrolytes for the next six months.

Have you got many sets left?

I’ve been wanting to use this piece of equipment for the last 15 minutes and if I see you attempt one more set I’m going to burst a blood vessel in my ballbag.

Do you need this 20kg?

I’ve made the assumption just by looking at your pathetic bag-of-bones physique that you will have no use for these weights, so I’m just going to take them, deal with it you human skidmark.

Can I work in with you?

Even though the gym is empty, I am now going to annoy you by unracking your weights, making small talk about protein supplements and sweating everywhere when I could have just done something else for 10 minutes.

Can I get a spot?

You’re the only person who actually looks like they know what they’re doing in here so can you please assist me with this lift.

I’m maxing out

I’ve put far too much weight on this bar and will certainly not be hitting the prescribed reps, but I don’t want to admit this by removing any plates.

One… more… rep

I’ll shit a potato before I ever lift this weight so please get ready to step in.

It’s all you!

This is 50% me, you have no business lifting this weight, you’re wasting both of our time, and I have a good mind to drop this bar on your stupid face.

You’ve got this!

If it wasn’t for me supporting this weight you’d be going home in an ambulance with a spine that looks like a dropped burrito.

You’re looking massive!

What steroids have you been taking?

I don’t want to get too big

I no absolutely nothing about lifting weights or human physiology.

It really engages your core

I’ve learnt everything I know about weightlifting from a pullout in The Mail On Sunday entitled “Sizzling Summer Abs” and therefore believe crunches to be more effective at strengthening your core than heavy squats.

Squats are really bad for your knees

My PT qualification came free with a box of Kellog’s Crunchy Nut.

It’s really good for muscle toning

I couldn’t be much more of a cunt if I tried.

You need to confuse your muscles

I will believe anything I read – even if it’s been scrawled in human faeces on the wall of a public toilet by a blind toddler.

This machine will hep you get rid of belly fat

If someone told me that fisting your grandma burns body fat I would be the first to give it a go.

Squats/deadlift/pressing really kills my back/knee/shoulder

I can’t be bothered to work hard or spend time learning correct form so I’m just going to do some isolation exercises instead.

I leg press 400kg

I don’t want to squat or deadlift so I’m distracting myself from the real task at hand with an exercise that’s about as pointless as a clay sculpture of a dog’s colon.

I’m not lifting heavy at the moment

I have never lifted heavy in my entire life.

Lightweight baby!

Everybody look at me, look at me, I’ve watched some Ronnie Coleman YouTube videos, look at me!

I don’t go to the gym much anymore

I’ve been working out four times a week every week for the last year.

Hmm, interesting, I’ll give that a try

What kind of babbling bullshit is this?

Do you still train much?

Bloody hell you look small.

What are you lifting today?

I have nothing else to say to you but we’ve made eye contact now.

Signing off

Hopefully this decoded gym lingo will save some of you newbies from social embarrassment next time a fellow lifter strikes up a conversation with you.

Alternatively, you can just eschew all human interaction by donning a massive pair of headphones and scowling at everyone who makes eye contact with you – it works for a lot of people.

If you have any more translations of common gym phrases please get in touch via the comments section below, I’d love to hear from you!

The post Common Gym Phrases And What They Actually Mean appeared first on Gymtalk.

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Common Gym Phrases And What They Actually Mean

The gym can be an intimidating place.

Well, sort of.

Not as intimidating as being chained up in a Belgium sex bunker, being asked to call a coin toss by Anton Chigurh or having your CV marked up by Claude Littner.

Or being forced to sleep opposite a pickled jar containing the severed head of your murdered lover as a punishment for being unfaithful.

To be fair on Peter the Great, this was fairly mild as punishments from Russian Czars go – the equivalent, nowadays, of purposefully making your partner a rubbish cup of tea.

But, for newcomers especially, the gym can be a discomfiting environment.

As you wonder out of the changing rooms for the first time, you’ll feel like a new recruit in a buddy cop movie who’s been transferred to a department in a corrupt precinct.

You’ll get dirty looks from the tough guys free weights area (all ‘on the take’), an unhinged Mel Gibson type will accost you at the water fountain with unsolicited fitness tips and weapons-grade viagra, and there’ll be a by-the-books personal trainer trying to avenge the memory of his father who was murdered in the line of duty (crushed by a bosu ball in the steam room).

As you get to know the lay of the land you’ll pick up a few valuable titbits.

You’ll learn, for example, that the gym is a place where you can seemingly break wind with total impunity.

You’ll learn to avoid that one guy who wonders around with a Foreigner t-shirt, flip-flops and a permanent demiboner.

You’ll learn to avoid peak times where the gym floor resembles a flock of seagulls going mental over a dropped ice cream.

And you’ll also learn that in the gym there is a big difference between what people say and what they actually mean.

One wrong word and the situation will escalate quicker than a late-night confrontation with Joe Pesci in a petrol station.

“I didn’t call you a prick, Joe, I was just trying to grab a Ginsters pasty from the fridge.”

So, if you’re new to the gym and want to avoid committing any faux pas that will land you in hot water, here is a collection of common phrases and what they actually mean…

Gym lingo – translated

Are you using this?

You’re quite clearly not using this, I’m merely feigning politeness, so please get off your phone and move before I lodge this bottle of Lucozade Sport so far up your rectum you’ll be shitting electrolytes for the next six months.

Have you got many sets left?

I’ve been wanting to use this piece of equipment for the last 15 minutes and if I see you attempt one more set I’m going to burst a blood vessel in my ballbag.

Do you need this 20kg?

I’ve made the assumption just by looking at your pathetic bag-of-bones physique that you will have no use for these weights, so I’m just going to take them, deal with it you human skidmark.

Can I work in with you?

Even though the gym is empty, I am now going to annoy you by unracking your weights, making small talk about protein supplements and sweating everywhere when I could have just done something else for 10 minutes.

Can I get a spot?

You’re the only person who actually looks like they know what they’re doing in here so can you please assist me with this lift.

I’m maxing out

I’ve put far too much weight on this bar and will certainly not be hitting the prescribed reps, but I don’t want to admit this by removing any plates.

One… more… rep

I’ll shit a potato before I ever lift this weight so please get ready to step in.

It’s all you!

This is 50% me, you have no business lifting this weight, you’re wasting both of our time, and I have a good mind to drop this bar on your stupid face.

You’ve got this!

If it wasn’t for me supporting this weight you’d be going home in an ambulance with a spine that looks like a dropped burrito.

You’re looking massive!

What steroids have you been taking?

I don’t want to get too big

I no absolutely nothing about lifting weights or human physiology.

It really engages your core

I’ve learnt everything I know about weightlifting from a pullout in The Mail On Sunday entitled “Sizzling Summer Abs” and therefore believe crunches to be more effective at strengthening your core than heavy squats.

Squats are really bad for your knees

My PT qualification came free with a box of Kellog’s Crunchy Nut.

It’s really good for muscle toning

I couldn’t be much more of a cunt if I tried.

You need to confuse your muscles

I will believe anything I read – even if it’s been scrawled in human faeces on the wall of a public toilet by a blind toddler.

This machine will hep you get rid of belly fat

If someone told me that fisting your grandma burns body fat I would be the first to give it a go.

Squats/deadlift/pressing really kills my back/knee/shoulder

I can’t be bothered to work hard or spend time learning correct form so I’m just going to do some isolation exercises instead.

I leg press 400kg

I don’t want to squat or deadlift so I’m distracting myself from the real task at hand with an exercise that’s about as pointless as a clay sculpture of a dog’s colon.

I’m not lifting heavy at the moment

I have never lifted heavy in my entire life.

Lightweight baby!

Everybody look at me, look at me, I’ve watched some Ronnie Coleman YouTube videos, look at me!

I don’t go to the gym much anymore

I’ve been working out four times a week every week for the last year.

Hmm, interesting, I’ll give that a try

What kind of babbling bullshit is this?

Do you still train much?

Bloody hell you look small.

What are you lifting today?

I have nothing else to say to you but we’ve made eye contact now.

Signing off

Hopefully this decoded gym lingo will save some of you newbies from social embarrassment next time a fellow lifter strikes up a conversation with you.

Alternatively, you can just eschew all human interaction by donning a massive pair of headphones and scowling at everyone who makes eye contact with you – it works for a lot of people.

If you have any more translations of common gym phrases please get in touch via the comments section below, I’d love to hear from you!

The post Common Gym Phrases And What They Actually Mean appeared first on Gymtalk.

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Review: MuscleMeds Carnivor Beef Protein Isolate

This is a product we’ve been wanting to try at Gymtalk for quite some time.

Not just because it’s weird, but because of its crazy awesome nutritional profile, and the fact that it’s a protein powder made from beef.

Yes – beef.

Isolated beef.

Could it be disgusting?

Let’s find out…

Product overview

MuscleMeds were one of the first guys on the market to start selling beef protein isolate, and definitely the first to properly market it.

Although it was mainly sold in the US at first, Carnivor is now pretty widely available in the UK.

So what is beef isolate?

Well, it’s literally beef protein in its most pure isolated form, a protein powder that contains only beef, resulting in a ridiculously lean nutritional profile and a highly concentrated amino acid profile.

The powder has zero fat and zero lactose (making it another option for those who are lactose intolerant) and also contains no sugar.

Ingredients

So here’s where it might get weird.

Simply Googling “beef protein isolate” presents a huge number of articles on “the real truth about beef isolate” a.k.a “beef isolate is made from hooves” a.k.a “how beef isolate will literally turn you into a grass fed cow and you’ll be eaten by a crossfitter”.

It’s highly questionable how much of this is credible, but in a nutshell the process of making beef protein isolate seems to involve a lot of meat offcuts – i.e. the bits steak manufacturers just didn’t want to use.

And I have to say, looking at the price of this product compared to the protein content, these claims are probably true.

It’s highly unlikely that this product is made from pure isolated lean steak.

And it’s almost definitely not from grass-fed beef either, if that’s your thing.

But it’s a bit of a stupid argument against beef protein really, as many foods we consume in western diets are made from so-called “disgusting” or “weird” ingredients that might freak people out.

Like did you know BCAA powders are made from duck feather?

Ethically it’s up to you if you want to take products like these.

Regardless of manufacturing process, MuscleMeds Beef Isolate has a pretty damn good nutrient profile.

Per serving (one 36.4g scoop) this is:

Calories	120kcal
Protein	23g
Carbs (of which sugar)	8g (0g)
Fat (of which saturates)	0g (0g)

There’s also Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Calcium, Phosphorus and Magnesium.

Carnivor also contains added BCAAs, which, combined with the high protein content, will be sure to kick you into muscle growth (provided you’re training, eating and resting properly, obviously ).

Taste and texture

Judging from some of the reviews online, the taste and texture of Carnivor has come in for a lot of criticism, but I had no problems at all.

Sure it’s a lot more of a fine powder than most whey protein, but it mixes well and tastes pretty good (I tried mint chocolate flavour).

I had no problem drinking a double serving with 450ml of water mixed in a shaker cup.

Pretty impressive considering this is powdered beef.

Effectiveness

Over the past month or so of using the product in place of post-workout whey, I’ve not really seen or felt much of a difference in recovery times compared to just using whey.

That being said, I do feel like beef isolate is much easier on the stomach.

Each time I use it I just don’t feel full from it and don’t get any bloating whatsoever (usually I’m slightly sensitive to dairy).

And due to its high protein content you don’t need to take as much at a time as with some whey products.

So if you’re very sensitive to dairy (if you fart a lot from whey protein you just might be) then this is a great option.

Value for money

MuscleMeds Carnivor comes in at the medium-ish price of around £25 per kilo.

I’d say this is a good price to pay if you’re the sort of person who needs something lactose-free that will help you build muscle.

But if you aren’t, you’ll probably be best, cost-wise, sticking to whey protein isolate, as it’s technically just as pure, but perhaps without the added BCAAs.

Summary

While we’re not sure of the muscle building benefits of MuscleMeds Carnivor compared to whey, it’s certainly a good option for those with intolerances to dairy, and is really high in protein.

Buy Carnivor Beef Protein Isolate

You can order MuscleMeds Carnivor Beef Protein Isolate by shopping here at Amazon.co.uk.

Over to you

Have you tried Carnivor?

If so, what did you make of it?

Any other comments or questions?

Please get in touch below – I’d love to hear from you.

The post Review: MuscleMeds Carnivor Beef Protein Isolate appeared first on Gym-Talk.

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Review: MuscleMeds Carnivor Beef Protein Isolate

This is a product we’ve been wanting to try at Gymtalk for quite some time.

Not just because it’s weird, but because of its crazy awesome nutritional profile, and the fact that it’s a protein powder made from beef.

Yes – beef.

Isolated beef.

Could it be disgusting?

Let’s find out…

Product overview

MuscleMeds were one of the first guys on the market to start selling beef protein isolate, and definitely the first to properly market it.

Although it was mainly sold in the US at first, Carnivor is now pretty widely available in the UK.

So what is beef isolate?

Well, it’s literally beef protein in its most pure isolated form, a protein powder that contains only beef, resulting in a ridiculously lean nutritional profile and a highly concentrated amino acid profile.

The powder has zero fat and zero lactose (making it another option for those who are lactose intolerant) and also contains no sugar.

Ingredients

So here’s where it might get weird.

Simply Googling “beef protein isolate” presents a huge number of articles on “the real truth about beef isolate” a.k.a “beef isolate is made from hooves” a.k.a “how beef isolate will literally turn you into a grass fed cow and you’ll be eaten by a crossfitter”.

It’s highly questionable how much of this is credible, but in a nutshell the process of making beef protein isolate seems to involve a lot of meat offcuts – i.e. the bits steak manufacturers just didn’t want to use.

And I have to say, looking at the price of this product compared to the protein content, these claims are probably true.

It’s highly unlikely that this product is made from pure isolated lean steak.

And it’s almost definitely not from grass-fed beef either, if that’s your thing.

But it’s a bit of a stupid argument against beef protein really, as many foods we consume in western diets are made from so-called “disgusting” or “weird” ingredients that might freak people out.

Like did you know BCAA powders are made from duck feather?

Ethically it’s up to you if you want to take products like these.

Regardless of manufacturing process, MuscleMeds Beef Isolate has a pretty damn good nutrient profile.

Per serving (one 36.4g scoop) this is:

Calories	120kcal
Protein	23g
Carbs (of which sugar)	8g (0g)
Fat (of which saturates)	0g (0g)

There’s also Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Calcium, Phosphorus and Magnesium.

Carnivor also contains added BCAAs, which, combined with the high protein content, will be sure to kick you into muscle growth (provided you’re training, eating and resting properly, obviously ).

Taste and texture

Judging from some of the reviews online, the taste and texture of Carnivor has come in for a lot of criticism, but I had no problems at all.

Sure it’s a lot more of a fine powder than most whey protein, but it mixes well and tastes pretty good (I tried mint chocolate flavour).

I had no problem drinking a double serving with 450ml of water mixed in a shaker cup.

Pretty impressive considering this is powdered beef.

Effectiveness

Over the past month or so of using the product in place of post-workout whey, I’ve not really seen or felt much of a difference in recovery times compared to just using whey.

That being said, I do feel like beef isolate is much easier on the stomach.

Each time I use it I just don’t feel full from it and don’t get any bloating whatsoever (usually I’m slightly sensitive to dairy).

And due to its high protein content you don’t need to take as much at a time as with some whey products.

So if you’re very sensitive to dairy (if you fart a lot from whey protein you just might be) then this is a great option.

Value for money

MuscleMeds Carnivor comes in at the medium-ish price of around £25 per kilo.

I’d say this is a good price to pay if you’re the sort of person who needs something lactose-free that will help you build muscle.

But if you aren’t, you’ll probably be best, cost-wise, sticking to whey protein isolate, as it’s technically just as pure, but perhaps without the added BCAAs.

Summary

While we’re not sure of the muscle building benefits of MuscleMeds Carnivor compared to whey, it’s certainly a good option for those with intolerances to dairy, and is really high in protein.

Buy Carnivor Beef Protein Isolate

You can order MuscleMeds Carnivor Beef Protein Isolate by shopping here at Amazon.co.uk.

Over to you

Have you tried Carnivor?

If so, what did you make of it?

Any other comments or questions?

Please get in touch below – I’d love to hear from you.

The post Review: MuscleMeds Carnivor Beef Protein Isolate appeared first on Gym-Talk.

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Historical Figures We’d Like As Gym Buddies

A good gym buddy can be worth their weight in gold.

Someone to shout words of encouragement as you struggle on that final rep, someone to blame when you accidentally let one off by the water fountain, someone to hold deep and meaningfuls with between sets (what’s the best sex position for building muscle, is the new male yoga instructor “Jeff” a predatory homosexual, is “skullsmasher” an appropriate nickname for your penis), someone to hold you tenderly in the shower and wipe your tears after a failed max lift attempt.

Find the right one and you’ll share an unbreakable bond for life.

Find the wrong one and you’ll miss out on one of the only meaningful relationships you’ll ever truly have – not to mention risk waking up one morning to find a stranger’s rectum clamped over your mouth like the facehugger from Alien (“gym buddy” is also code for “bum fuck buddy”, as I discovered during the research for this article).

What’s more, the benefits of having a reliable, plantonic gym buddy extend beyond just mutual backslapping and changing room japery.

Science has shown that working out with a partner can yield more gains than working out alone.

A study of the Oxford University Boat Club rowing team, for example, demonstrated that those rowing in unison released more endorphins and rowed harder and faster compared with rowers who trained on their own.

“That’s all well and good,” you may say, “but I can’t find someone to go to Nando’s with let alone commit to a brutal schedule of early starts, heavy squatting and constant meal prepping”.

Well, what if I said to you that, a la Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, I could transport you back into the past so you that could herd up a bunch of famous historical figures to choose from?

Unfortunately, owing to the fundamental laws of space and time, I’m not able to action this, but, if I could, here’s who I’d recommend…

Maximus Decimus Meridius

A good gym buddy needs to be someone who earns your trust and respect, someone to look up and aspire to.

Who better to fill this position than Maximus Decimus Meridius, protagonist of Gladiator and the ultimate alpha male.

(Let’s just forget for a second that this is a completely fictional character.)

This is a man so masculine that he breathes woodsmoke, deodorises with the blood of Germanic peasants and drinks his own urine simply because he finds the taste refreshing.

He is strong, confident, mentally tough, loyal to a fault, and, crucially for a gym buddy, not afraid to step in if some bellend starts breaching gym etiquette.

Maximus would answer to a stricter (some might say harsher, some might say fairer) brand of justice in the gym:

Someone curling in the squat rack?

Perforate their skull with a javelin.

Someone playing their music too loud?

Tie them to the horns of a wild bull and parade them through the streets.

Someone hogging three pieces of equipment to do a wanky triple superset at peak time?

For this gravest of sins, take revenge the only way the ancient world knew how: rape and murder their family and serve their corpses for dinner at a banquet.

Not only would having Maximus as a gym buddy elevate your social standing, but his antics would make for great after-dinner speech material: “One time one of the regulars started taunting Maximus about his dead wife so Maximus responded by caving his cranium in with a 50kg dumbbell, you really had to be there”.

On the down side, however, Maximums does tend to take himself a bit too seriously at times, and will occasionally be glimpsed telling anyone who will listen – the work experience receptionist or the engineer who’s come to fix to gent’s toilets – that he is father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife and will have his revenge in this life or the next.

“That’s great mate, but you’ve got to learn to start flushing the toilet…”

Most likely to be seen:

Impaling punching bags with a trident or weeping about his murdered family between sets on the lat-pulldown machine.

Genghis Khan

What list of dream gym buddies would be complete without at least one maniacal despot?

Despite being one of the cruellest men ever to roam the earth (we’ll quickly glaze over some of his weaker character traits such as the genocide of 40 million people), no-one could accuse Genghis Khan of lacking drive and ambition, two of the most important qualities you’ll need in a gym buddy.

Some Instagram-famous fitness celebs might proffer their ability to perform tricep pushdowns with immaculate form as an example of #dedication and #hustle.

I would counter that by saying (a) you’re wrong (b) you’re a cunt and (c) a better display of dedication is surely building an empire which spans a quarter of the earth’s total land mass.

If you team up with Khan in a bid to build superior muscle and strength, you can be sure that this mad Mongol won’t let anything stand in your way.

If he had no qualms in murdering his half-brother at 14 years old in an argument over a fish, just imagine what he would do if he found someone refusing to let the pair of you work in for a set of deadlifts.

Khan was also a keen womaniser (often taking the term “ladykiller” in its most literal sense) who, according to predictions made by Russian scientists, has spawned approximately 16 million male descendants.

Most likely to be seen:

Monopolising the global gym market with his own chain of health clubs and murdering anyone who stands in his way.

Lord Byron

A good gym buddy should also be a good wing man, and who better to have by your side when chatting to the opposite sex than Lord Byron, the wild-child Romantic poet with a club foot and a penchant for fucking everything that moves.

The man didn’t discriminate – he was a notorious bisexual, a keen sodomite, and even partial to a bit of incest (he fucked his half-sister Augusta).

Byron, who was also featured in our list of Historical Figures Who Didn’t Need To Lift, was a tremendously powerful lover, with a cock like a pneumatic drill and an ejaculation so powerful that it was rumoured that one jet of his piping hot man lava could be used to power a water turbine for half an hour.

Yes, Byron will probably ruffle a few of the regulars up the wrong way – using Viagra as a pre-workout, waltzing around in a pashmina while loudly quoting lines from “She Walks In Beauty”, trying to install scented candles in the men’s changing rooms, chanting relentlessly from an Aramaic spellbook – but if you want to impress the ladies from Tuesday morning yoga class, there’s no-one better.

This is a man so seductive that he could bring a woman to spontaneous unsolicited orgasm just by talking in iambic pentameter.

Most likely to be seen:

Fingering the Zumba instructor in the steam room.

Nelson Mandela

Tired of gym buddies letting you down at the last minute?

A psychologist might reason that certain gym buddies are late or forget to turn up when they say they will because of Time-Based Prospective Memory (TBPM) – in other words, the way their brain is wired to manage time is to blame.

For me, a simpler, one-word prognosis suffices: cunt.

Instead, what you need is someone loyal and unfaltering, with principles and conviction… how about a man who spent 27 years in prison for fighting for a free and democratic society?

If there’s one bloke who’s not going to text you “Sorry dude won’t be able to make it today, feeling a bit iffy” five minutes after you’ve already got to the gym, it’s Nelson Mandela.

While not an obvious choice for a gym buddy (all those years of incarceration did little for his pec and deltoid development), Nelson Mandela had extraordinary levels of inner strength, something essential in a workout companion.

And while you’re going to need more than inner strength to move a heavy barbell, Mandela was also no stranger to hard work.

To get the most from your workouts, you’re going to need a gym buddy who’s not afraid to face up to a session of heavy squats, and Mandela’s incarceration on Robben Island where he spent long hours breaking rocks into gravel more than proves his mettle.

And if his CNS can withstand 27 years of being beaten and tortured, it can withstand a few mesocycles of Wendler’s 5/3/1.

Mandela was also into his fitness, practising stationary running, fingertip push-ups, sit-ups, squats and various other calisthenics in his prison cell every day, so he’s going to be wholly onboard with your plan to get swole.

Most likely to be seen:

Posing for selfies and then having to explain that actually, no, he’s not Morgan Freeman.

Albert Einstein

What Einstein lacks in muscle building experience, he more than makes for in a willingness to bring new ideas to the table.

This is an essential trait in a gym buddy, as you want someone to push you in new directions and bring variety to your regimen, and who better to have as your ideas man than the greatest theoretical physicist of all time.

Ask him to spend a bit of time reading up on the latest muscle building research and he’ll no doubt return with a regimen so advanced and powerful that it’ll be instantly banned under the Geneva Convention.

While some gym buddies may be swayed by the latest article they’ve read or by some new fitness YouTuber, Einstein will rely solely on his own empirical research which cuts right through the bullshit.

Sure, this may raise a few eyebrows from some of your gym mates, but who would you rather have whispering in your ear about periodisation and autoregulation, Albert Einstein or The Lean Machines off YouTube?

One revolutionised the way we view space, time, mass and energy, the others make videos on “Extreme Diving With Tom Daley” and “The Best Lady Gap Workout”.

Most likely to be seen:

Making puns about mass and pissing off Crossfitters by calculating the speed of light on their WOD whiteboard.

Jesus Christ

Forget dying for our sins, the son of God’s true calling is undoubtedly being the perfect gym buddy.

Weedy enough to make you look massive by comparison but with the ability to work bodybuilding miracles on your behalf – and who doesn’t want a gym buddy that can turn water into protein shakes?

Plus, if Christ can spit on blind people to make them see, just imagine the nutritional value that one globule of his saliva could have – you’d never need to buy another supplement again.

Although he is mostly remembered for easter eggs and having a really cool beard, Jesus could also go into full-power beast mode at the flick of a switch, making him the perfect person to have by your side when you’re going for a new squat PR.

Indeed, when he discovered a temple to his dad had been overrun with moneylenders and animals, he went, for want of a better expression, fucking mental, upturning tables and chairs with the ferocity of a level 5 hurricane.

Imagine Nigel Farage finding out that his favourite pub has been taken over by a Bulgarian family who plan to turn it into a HIV treatment clinic for lesbian Muslims, and you’ll get some idea of how badly Christ Hulked out.

Most likely to be seen:

Getting thrown out by security for trying to deliver a sermon during morning spin class.

Signing off

If you enjoyed this blog post, be sure to check out Charlie’s piece on Fictional Characters We’d Like As Gym Buddies (which I completely ripped off in the writing of this article).

Who would you choose to be your dream gym buddy?

Let me know in the comments section below – I’d love to hear from you!

The post Historical Figures We’d Like As Gym Buddies appeared first on Gym-Talk.

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Historical Figures We’d Like As Gym Buddies

A good gym buddy can be worth their weight in gold.

Someone to shout words of encouragement as you struggle on that final rep, someone to blame when you accidentally let one off by the water fountain, someone to hold deep and meaningfuls with between sets (what’s the best sex position for building muscle, is the new male yoga instructor “Jeff” a predatory homosexual, is “skullsmasher” an appropriate nickname for your penis), someone to hold you tenderly in the shower and wipe your tears after a failed max lift attempt.

Find the right one and you’ll share an unbreakable bond for life.

Find the wrong one and you’ll miss out on one of the only meaningful relationships you’ll ever truly have – not to mention risking waking up one morning to find a stranger’s rectum clamped over your mouth like the facehugger from Alien (“gym buddy” is also code for “bum fuck buddy”, as I discovered during the research for this article).

What’s more, the benefits of having a reliable, plantonic gym buddy extend beyond just mutual backslapping and changing room japery.

Science has shown that working out with a partner can yield more gains than working out alone.

A study of the Oxford University Boat Club rowing team, for example, demonstrated that those rowing in unison released more endorphins and rowed harder and faster compared with rowers who trained on their own.

“That’s all well and good,” you may say, “but I can’t find someone to go to Nando’s with let alone commit to a brutal schedule of early starts, heavy squatting and constant meal prepping”.

Well, what if I said to you that, a la Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, I could transport you back into the past so you that could herd up a bunch of famous historical figures to choose from?

Unfortunately, owing to the fundamental laws of space and time, I’m not able to action this, but, if I could, here’s who I’d recommend…

Maximus Decimus Meridius

A good gym buddy needs to be someone who earns your trust and respect, someone to look up and aspire to.

Who better to fill this position than Maximus Decimus Meridius, protagonist of Gladiator and the ultimate alpha male.

(Let’s just forget for a second that this is a completely fictional character.)

This is a man so masculine that he breathes woodsmoke, deodorises with the blood of Germanic peasants and drinks his own urine simply because he finds the taste refreshing.

He is strong, confident, mentally tough, loyal to a fault, and, crucially for a gym buddy, not afraid to step in if some bellend starts breaching gym etiquette.

Maximus would answer to a stricter (some might say harsher, some might say fairer) brand of justice in the gym:

Someone curling in the squat rack?

Perforate their skull with a javelin.

Someone playing their music too loud?

Tie them to the horns of a wild bull and parade them through the streets.

Someone hogging three pieces of equipment to do a wanky triple superset at peak time?

For this gravest of sins, take revenge the only way the ancient world knew how: rape and murder their family and serve their corpses for dinner at a banquet.

Not only would having Maximus as a gym buddy elevate your social standing, but his antics would make for great after-dinner speech material: “One time one of the regulars started taunting Maximus about his dead wife so Maximus responded by caving his cranium in with a 50kg dumbbell, you really had to be there”.

On the down side, however, Maximums does tend to take himself a bit too seriously at times, and will occasionally be glimpsed telling anyone who will listen – the work experience receptionist or the engineer who’s come to fix to gent’s toilets – that he is father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife and will have his revenge in this life or the next.

“That’s great mate, but you’ve got to learn to start flushing the toilet…”

Most likely to be seen:

Impaling punching bags with a trident or weeping about his murdered family between sets on the lat-pulldown machine.

Genghis Khan

What list of dream gym buddies would be complete without at least one maniacal despot?

Despite being one of the cruellest men ever to roam the earth (we’ll quickly glaze over some of his weaker character traits such as the genocide of 40 million people), no-one could accuse Genghis Khan of lacking drive and ambition, two of the most important qualities you’ll need in a gym buddy.

Some Instagram-famous fitness celebs might proffer their ability to perform tricep pushdowns with immaculate form as an example of #dedication and #hustle.

I would counter that by saying (a) you’re wrong (b) you’re a cunt and (c) a better display of dedication is surely building an empire which spans a quarter of the earth’s total land mass.

If you team up with Khan in a bid to build superior muscle and strength, you can be sure that this mad Mongol won’t let anything stand in your way.

If he had no qualms in murdering his half-brother at 14 years old in an argument over a fish, just imagine what he would do if he found someone refusing to let the pair of you work in for a set of deadlifts.

Khan was also a keen womaniser (often taking the term “ladykiller” in its most literal sense) who, according to predictions made by Russian scientists, has spawned approximately 16 million male descendants.

Most likely to be seen:

Monopolising the global gym market with his own chain of health clubs and murdering anyone who stands in his way.

Lord Byron

A good gym buddy should also be a good wing man, and who better to have by your side when chatting to the opposite sex than Lord Byron, the wild-child Romantic poet with a club foot and a penchant for fucking everything that moves.

The man didn’t discriminate – he was a notorious bisexual, a keen sodomite, and even partial to a bit of incest (he fucked his half-sister Augusta).

Byron, who was also featured in our list of Historical Figures Who Didn’t Need To Lift, was a tremendously powerful lover, with a cock like pneumatic drill and an ejaculation so powerful that it was rumoured that one jet of his piping hot man lava could be used to power a water turbine for half an hour.

Yes, Byron will probably ruffle a few of the regulars up the wrong way – using Viagra as a pre-workout, waltzing around in a pashmina while loudly quoting lines from “She Walks In Beauty”, trying to install scented candles in the men’s changing rooms, chanting relentlessly from an Aramaic spellbook – but if you want to impress the ladies from Tuesday morning yoga class, there’s no-one better.

This is a man so seductive that he could bring a woman to spontaneous unsolicited orgasm just by talking in iambic pentameter.

Most likely to be seen:

Fingering the Zumba instructor in the steam room.

Nelson Mandela

Tired of gym buddies letting you down at the last minute?

A psychologist might reason that certain gym buddies are late or forget to turn up when they say they will because of Time-Based Prospective Memory (TBPM) – in other words, the way their brain is wired to manage time is to blame.

For me, a simpler, one-word prognosis suffices: cunt.

Instead, what you need is someone loyal and unfaltering, with principles and conviction… how about a man who spent 27 years in prison for fighting for a free and democratic society?

If there’s one bloke who’s not going to text you “Sorry dude won’t be able to make it today, feeling a bit iffy” five minutes after you’ve already got to the gym, it’s Nelson Mandela.

While not an obvious choice for a gym buddy (all those years of incarceration did little for his pec and deltoid development), Nelson Mandela had extraordinary levels of inner strength, something essential in a workout companion.

And while you’re going to need more than inner strength to move a heavy barbell, Mandela was also no stranger to hard work.

To get the most from your workouts, you’re going to need a gym buddy who’s not afraid to face up to a session of heavy squats, and Mandela’s incarceration on Robben Island where he spent long hours breaking rocks into gravel more than proves his mettle.

And if his CNS can withstand 27 years of being beaten and tortured, it can withstand a few mesocycles of Wendler’s 5/3/1.

Mandela was also into his fitness, practising stationary running, fingertip push-ups, sit-ups, squats and various other calisthenics in his prison cell every day, so he’s going to be wholly onboard with your plan to get swole.

Most likely to be seen:

Posing for selfies and then having to explain that actually, no, he’s not Morgan Freeman.

Albert Einstein

What Einstein lacks in muscle building experience, he more than makes for in a willingness to bring new ideas to the table.

This is an essential trait in a gym buddy, as you want someone to push you in new directions and bring variety to your regimen, and who better to have as your ideas man than the greatest theoretical physicist of all time.

Ask him to spend a bit of time reading up on the latest muscle building research and he’ll no doubt return with a regimen so advanced and powerful that it’ll be instantly banned under the Geneva convention.

While some gym buddies may be swayed by the latest article they’ve read or by some new fitness YouTuber, Einstein will rely solely on his own empirical research which cuts right through the bullshit.

Sure, this may raise a few eyebrows from some of your gym mates, but who would you rather have whispering in your ear about periodisation and autoregulation, Albert Einstein or The Lean Machines off YouTube?

One revolutionised the way we view space, time, mass and energy, the others make videos on “Extreme Diving With Tom Daley” and “The Best Lady Gap Workout”.

Most likely to be seen:

Making puns about mass and pissing off Crossfitters by calculating the speed of light on their WOD whiteboard.

Jesus Christ

Forget dying for our sins, the son of God’s true calling is undoubtedly being the perfect gym buddy.

Weedy enough to make you look massive by comparison but with the ability to work bodybuilding miracles on your behalf – and who doesn’t want a gym buddy that can turn water into protein shakes?

Plus, if Christ can spit on blind people to make them see, just imagine the nutritional value that one globule of his saliva could have – you’d never need to buy another supplement again.

Although he is mostly remembered for easter eggs and having a really cool beard, Jesus could also go into full-power beast mode at the flick of a switch, making him the perfect person to have by your side when you’re going for a new squat PR.

Indeed, when he discovered a temple to his dad had been overrun with moneylenders and animals, he went, for want of a better expression, fucking mental, upturning tables and chairs with the ferocity of a level 5 hurricane.

Imagine Nigel Farage finding out that his favourite pub has been taken over by a Bulgarian family who plan to turn it into a HIV treatment clinic for lesbian Muslims, and you’ll get some idea of how badly Christ Hulked out.

Most likely to be seen:

Getting thrown out by security for trying to deliver a sermon during morning spin class.

Signing off

If you enjoyed this blog post, be sure to check out Charlie’s piece on Fictional Characters We’d Like As Gym Buddies (which I completely ripped off in the writing of this article).

Who would you choose to be your dream gym buddy?

Let me know in the comments section below – I’d love to hear from you!

The post Historical Figures We’d Like As Gym Buddies appeared first on Gym-Talk.

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Why Apple Watch Is The Best Heart Rate Monitor You Can Buy

The Apple Watch is now the most used heart rate monitor in the world.

And as of yesterday’s keynote at the brand new Steve Jobs theatre, we know that the next version of its operating system – Watch OS 4 – will bring additional features that focus the product line on delivering an even more useful health experience.

Not only that, but the addition of cellular connectivity on the Apple Watch Series 3 means you can now use the device to track activity without the need of your phone (we’re yet to think of a use for this outside of surfing, but hey, still cool).

There’s a bunch of heart rate monitoring devices out there, but we’re here to tell you why the Apple Watch is the best of the lot.

Visual Heart Rate all day

Let’s just get it out the way and say that the Apple Watch isn’t the most accurate heart rate monitoring device out there.

If you really want to get the best accuracy, you’d have to use a chest strap style monitor, which usually pairs with another device.

But the Apple Watch does something better than any other heart rate device out there – it tracks your heart rate all day long as standard, and with Watch OS 4, you see that on screen alongside the time.

This makes the watch a device that’s ingrained right into your daily life and actually provides a useful heart rate statistic you can access easily from Apple Health at any time.

Yes, there are other devices that may be better for the serious athlete, but for the vast majority, being able to see what your heart rate is every few minutes of the day automagically is far more useful than traditional fitness tracker stuff like amount of steps taken or how many times you’ve stood up in the office.

And when we say automagically, we are really talking about…

No pairing, faffing about or downloading rubbish apps

We’ve tried a lot of heart rate monitors and gadgets, and even on some of the most respected brands like Garmin or Polar, we find the same thing every time: their apps suck.

The pairing process for the apps suck, the apps themselves suck, and they owe to a crappy experience in general.

The Apple Watch pairing process is ridiculously simple and quite cool, and once done you no longer have to worry about it, it’ll just gather health data all day long as long as you’re wearing it.

And for the most part the battery life is excellent.

On the Series 3 you’ll easily be able to wear it for a full day and night if you really want to gather 24 hours of heart rate data.

That alongside the excellent and well designed Apple Health app which comes with your iPhone, makes for the best experience by far.

But the real reason it’s becoming the best heart rate monitor is the Watch OS 4 features announced alongside the Series 3 Watch.

New Features

In general Apple are taking a much more serious approach to heart rate monitoring in Watch OS 4, and these features really demonstrate that.

The new resting heart rate view gives you an overview of this quite vital statistic, and will show you periods of the day when it becomes elevated – something that not just you but also your GP might find useful.

Alongside that, the watch shows your recovery rate after you’ve finished exercising, another excellent indicator of your overall health and in particular great for assessing cardiovascular health.

For us, this is the most useful feature they’ve announced, and we’re sure it’ll be a competition stat between friends.

Heart rate study

Lastly we have something that has set the tone for how Apple is going to eventually use the data from your wrist: large scale studies.

The good thing about this study is that you get a warning if you have Atrial Fibrillation, a often undiagnosed condition affecting millions that can lead to heart disease.

The data collected is also used for university led studies to combat the condition.

With the Apple Watch Series 3 and Watch OS 4, we are seeing Apple make a bold statement about the role they want to play in your health.

Many may regard it as a big marketing stunt to sell expensive watches, but even so they are clearly innovating here and focusing on ways to make wearable tech improve lives.

What are your experiences with the Apple Watch and its heart rate monitor features?

Let us know what you think in the comments or on Facebook.

The post Why Apple Watch Is The Best Heart Rate Monitor You Can Buy appeared first on Gym-Talk.

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Why Apple Watch Is The Best Heart Rate Monitor You Can Buy

The Apple Watch is now the most used heart rate monitor in the world.

And as of yesterday’s keynote at the brand new Steve Jobs theatre, we know that the next version of its operating system – Watch OS 4 – will bring additional features that focus the product line on delivering an even more useful health experience.

Not only that, but the addition of cellular connectivity on the Apple Watch Series 3 means you can now use the device to track activity without the need of your phone (we’re yet to think of a use for this outside of surfing, but hey, still cool).

There’s a bunch of heart rate monitoring devices out there, but we’re here to tell you why the Apple Watch is the best of the lot.

Visual Heart Rate all day

Let’s just get it out the way and say that the Apple Watch isn’t the most accurate heart rate monitoring device out there.

If you really want to get the best accuracy, you’d have to use a chest strap style monitor, which usually pairs with another device.

But the Apple Watch does something better than any other heart rate device out there – it tracks your heart rate all day long as standard, and with Watch OS 4, you see that on screen alongside the time.

This makes the watch a device that’s ingrained right into your daily life and actually provides a useful heart rate statistic you can access easily from Apple Health at any time.

Yes, there are other devices that may be better for the serious athlete, but for the vast majority, being able to see what your heart rate is every few minutes of the day automagically is far more useful than traditional fitness tracker stuff like amount of steps taken or how many times you’ve stood up in the office.

And when we say automagically, we are really talking about…

No pairing, faffing about or downloading rubbish apps

We’ve tried a lot of heart rate monitors and gadgets, and even on some of the most respected brands like Garmin or Polar, we find the same thing every time: their apps suck.

The pairing process for the apps suck, the apps themselves suck, and they owe to a crappy experience in general.

The Apple Watch pairing process is ridiculously simple and quite cool, and once done you no longer have to worry about it, it’ll just gather health data all day long as long as you’re wearing it.

And for the most part the battery life is excellent.

On the Series 3 you’ll easily be able to wear it for a full day and night if you really want to gather 24 hours of heart rate data.

That alongside the excellent and well designed Apple Health app which comes with your iPhone, makes for the best experience by far.

But the real reason it’s becoming the best heart rate monitor is the Watch OS 4 features announced alongside the Series 3 Watch.

New Features

In general Apple are taking a much more serious approach to heart rate monitoring in Watch OS 4, and these features really demonstrate that.

The new resting heart rate view gives you an overview of this quite vital statistic, and will show you periods of the day when it becomes elevated – something that not just you but also your GP might find useful.

Alongside that, the watch shows your recovery rate after you’ve finished exercising, another excellent indicator of your overall health and in particular great for assessing cardiovascular health.

For us, this is the most useful feature they’ve announced, and we’re sure it’ll be a competition stat between friends.

Heart rate study

Lastly we have something that has set the tone for how Apple is going to eventually use the data from your wrist: large scale studies.

The good thing about this study is that you get a warning if you have Atrial Fibrillation, a often undiagnosed condition affecting millions that can lead to heart disease.

The data collected is also used for university led studies to combat the condition.

With the Apple Watch Series 3 and Watch OS 4, we are seeing Apple make a bold statement about the role they want to play in your health.

Many may regard it as a big marketing stunt to sell expensive watches, but even so they are clearly innovating here and focusing on ways to make wearable tech improve lives.

What are your experiences with the Apple Watch and its heart rate monitor features?

Let us know what you think in the comments or on Facebook.

The post Why Apple Watch Is The Best Heart Rate Monitor You Can Buy appeared first on Gym-Talk.

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The Bill Pearl Bulk & Power Routine

Say “bodybuilder” to most people these days and they’ll probably bring to mind a misshapen, oily blob that would look more at home inhabiting a cave in Frank Herbert novel than the stage of the Mr Olympia contest.

50 years ago, however, this word would have conjured up different images – beautiful v-tapers, classic lines and perfectly proportioned muscles.

In the intervening years, the ascension of steroids and the mistaken belief that bigger is always better transformed professional bodybuilders from classical heroes to hulking, out-of-breath monsters with tits.

The former were men borne to Euripidean wet dreams while the latter look like the child of a Teenage Mutant Hero Turtle that’s been fucked by a Triceratops and conceived in a puddle of shit.

While technology and science has no doubt advanced our understanding of the human body, this has sometimes been to the detriment of what actually looks good.

Indeed, as modern bodybuilders get bigger and bigger, the classic physiques of the pre-steroid era gradually fade away, with Steve Reeves and co beginning to resemble that picture of the McFly family in Back To The Future.

Today’s roided-up physiques are now so unobtainable for the natural lifter that Olympia competitors might as well start experimenting with elephant genomes.

Just get it over with – I for one would love to see a Mr Olympia where Phil Heath is beaten by a mutant ogre with tusks and the exoskeleton of a crab.

The fact that such a contest is a now genuine possibility shows how far bodybuilding has come since the 1950s, when the physiques of each Mr Universe competitor looked athletic, healthy, attainable and something to aspire towards.

Bill Pearl

Bill Pearl was one of the foremost bodybuilders of the twentieth century, winning five Mr Universe titles between 1953 and 1971 (once as an amateur, four times as a professional).

Like most eminent bodybuilders of this era, Pearl was strong, classically proportioned and athletic.

He could tear licence plates and horseshoes in two, blow up hot water bottles and bench press 500 pounds.

But, crucially, Pearl still had a physique that, as well being strong and beautiful, looked within reach.

He has authored a plethora of books and training manuals during the course of his career such as the popular Getting Stronger: Weight Training for Men and Women (1986) and Keys to the INNER Universe (1979).

The Routine

Although he dabbled with steroids much later in his career, the foundation of Pearl’s mighty physique was, like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Larry Scott, built on consistent full-body routines with compound lifts.

One of Bill Pearl’s oft-mentioned workouts was the ‘Bulk & Power Routine’ which we are going to look at in this post.

Like the routines that Pearl followed in the early 1950s under the tutelage of Leo Stern in his San Diego gym (Stern had previously trained 1942 Mr America Clancy Ross), this one comprises three six-week courses, each of which feature three full-body workouts per week.

Pearl later prescribed this routine for beginner-to-intermediate level lifters looking to gain size and strength and build a solid, muscular foundation.

Course 1

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Dumbbell Swing	1	10
Leg Raises on Floor or Bench	1	30
Bendovers	1	10
Breathing Squats	2	15
Bent Arm Laterals (Superset with Squats)	2	12
Calf Raises	3	20
Shoulder Shrugs	2	18
Bench Press	2	8
Rowing Motion	2	8
Press Behind Neck	2	8
Two Hand Barbell Curl	2	8
Bent Leg Deadlifts	3	5

Course 2

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Dumbbell Swing	1	10-15
Sit Ups	1	15-50
Side Bend Dumbbell	1	15-50
Alternate Leg Raises	1	10-30
Deep Knee Bend	3-5	6-8
Bent Arm Pullover	3-5	8-10
Calf Raises	3	15-20
Upright Rowing	2	8
Military Press	2	5-6
One Arm Rowing	3	8
Bent Leg Deadlift	2	8
Incline Dumbbell Press	2	6-8
Bent Arm Laterals	2	6-8
One Arm Dumbbell French Press	3	6-8
Standing Dumbbell Curl	3	6-8

Course 3

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Sit Ups	1	25
Leg Raises	1	25
Bench Press	5	5
Press Behind Neck	5	5
Barbell Row	5	6
Bent Arm Pullover	3	8
Barbell Curls	4	6
French Press	4	6
Box Squats	4	5

Training notes

Frequency

Each course should be followed for six weeks and consist of three workouts per week.

Workouts should be on non-consecutive days allowing your body to fully repair and recover.

Although not stipulated in Pearl’s original programme, I would advise incorporating a deload week between each course.

Either focus on mobility work and technique with very light poundage or just take a break from the gym completely.

Don’t skimp on calories and focus on resting up – deloading is all about recovery and growth.

Exercises

Warm-ups

The single-set exercises which start each workout (dumbbell swings, bendovers, leg raises, etc) are warm-ups, so always keep the poundage light.

Squats

On the squats (also referred to as deep knee bends) pay special attention to your breathing.

According to Pearl, correctly executing the breathing sequence carries more importance than the poundage used.

Pearl, like all bodybuilders in the 50s, especially his idol John Grimek, was a proponent of the breathing squat, an exercise which they had found to have an explosive effect on the body’s growth potential.

Before every squat, perform two to four deep inhalations through the the mouth, keeping the chest high.

On the last inhalation, squat down, being careful not to bounce, and hold your breath until you return to the standing position, then exhale.

Repeat this process for every repetition, increasing the amount of breaths throughout the set.

Pullovers & bent arm laterals

Like squats, with pullovers and bent arm laterals the focus should be on breathing.

Indeed, these are strictly breathing exercises, with the goal being ribcage expansion rather than muscle hypertrophy.

As such, use a light poundage, breath deeply, and focus on stretching your rib box.

Inhale as the weight is lowered and exhale as you bring it back to the starting position.

Progression

Trainees should always start with course number one, regardless of level.

While the initial volume may feel low for those with a few years of training already under their belt, it is important to get a feel for the exercises, rebuild and prepare your tendons and ligaments for the intensity of the proceeding training blocks.

With this in mind, begin every exercise with a light poundage (Pearl advises around two thirds of your max effort) with which you can comfortably complete all repetitions.

Every time you complete the required reps and sets for an exercise, add weight to the bar (2.5kg/5lbs) for the next workout.

This approach, built around the principals of progressive overload, gradually increases the stress placed on your muscles which will build strength and work capacity and stimulate muscle hypertrophy.

Rest

Pearl recommends between three and five minutes rest between every set.

The focus should be on lifting heavy and using full range of motion rather than rushing through the workout at breakneck speed.

Due to long rest periods, Pear suggests always training in a tracksuit to keep your body warm and conserve energy.

Diet

Eat fresh, wholesome and well-prepared meals at the same time every day.

Being consistent with your eating habits will produce far better results than eating willy-nilly.

Pearl recommends a hearty breakfast comprising 50-75g protein balanced with fats and carbs.

Taking the average male daily calorie intake of 2,400-2,800kcal as a baseline, Pearl advises gradually increasing this to 5,000kcal to drive growth.

If you can’t the calories from your three daily meals, eat four to five meals a day.

Also, gains can be made from drinking a quart (two pints) of milk during workouts.

Everyone is different, so find the sweet spot by recording progress and making adjustments where necessary.

Above all, ensure you are consuming the right kind of food, as a poor diet will only lead to fat gain.

Recovery

Never overlook the role that sleep and relaxation play in building muscle and strength.

Perl recommends a minimum of eight and a maximum of ten hours interrupted sleep every night.

Again, as with your diet, getting into a habit of going to sleep at the same time every night will prove produce better results than haphazard sleeping patterns.

Habit helps the body to regulate itself and will deliver better gains.

Pearl also places importance on mastering the ability to relax.

Logbook

Keep an accurate record of your training.

For each workout, jot down your poundages, sets, reps, rest times, as well as anything else you feel is pertinent.

The key to progressive overload is a gradual increase in training stress, and keeping an accurate logbook will allow you to be methodical when it comes to tracking progress.

Also important is keeping a daily record of your bodyweight.

As well as allowing you to see any progress, tracking your bodyweight will allow you to make precise changes to calorie and liquid intake if you’re not gaining bodyweight.

However, as Pearl states, “Do not expect a big increase in bodyweight the first week or two, for your system must adjust itself to the change in work.”

If, after a few weeks of training, you are still not seeing gains in size and strength, take a closer look at your lifestyle.

More often than not, not getting enough nutritious food or adequate sleep is the real reason behind your lack of progress, so fix these issues before adjusting the workout routine.

Mental attitude

Pearl stresses the value of a proper mental attitude when approaching this – or any – training plan.

“You should think positively about all your daily activities, physical, mental and moral. It will aid you in your training in the gym, as well as your personal life. A healthy, positive attitude will improve your body and make you a better person. “

Summary

This is an old-school, no-frills muscle building routine which will have you working hard for a solid 4-5 months.

If you’re the type of lifter who performs rope pushdowns while yelling “come on champ”, spends £100 a month on pre-workout supplements and snapback caps, and has a Eurodance playlist called “Pump and Grind” saved on their Spotify account, this routine probably isn’t for you (and I would happily execute you with a bolt gun).

Pearl’s course very much relies on a simple but tried-and-tested methodology for getting big and strong: no shortcuts, no gimmicks, no easy split routines – just busting your balls with a heavy barbell for years and years, never missing a workout, and eating like a boss.

That’s the real secret to building muscle – but it’s a far harder pill to swallow than training biceps and triceps three times a week and taking whey protein.

Over to you

If you’re thinking of giving this routine a try or if you’ve already followed it, I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.

Also, if you have any other questions, comments or general abuse, feel free to get in touch and I’ll get back to you.

The post The Bill Pearl Bulk & Power Routine appeared first on Gym-Talk.

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The Bill Pearl Bulk & Power Routine

Say “bodybuilder” to most people these days and they’ll probably bring to mind a misshapen, oily blob that would look more at home inhabiting a cave in Frank Herbert novel than the stage of the Mr Olympia contest.

50 years ago, however, this word would have conjured up different images – beautiful v-tapers, classic lines and perfectly proportioned muscles.

In the intervening years, the ascension of steroids and the mistaken belief that bigger is always better transformed professional bodybuilders from classical heroes to hulking, out-of-breath monsters with tits.

The former were men borne to Euripidean wet dreams while the latter look like the child of a Teenage Mutant Hero Turtle that’s been fucked by a Triceratops and conceived in a puddle of shit.

While technology and science has no doubt advanced our understanding of the human body, this has sometimes been to the detriment of what actually looks good.

Indeed, as modern bodybuilders get bigger and bigger, the classic physiques of the pre-steroid era gradually fade away, with Steve Reeves and co beginning to resemble that picture of the McFly family in Back To The Future.

Today’s roided-up physiques are now so unobtainable for the natural lifter that Olympia competitors might as well start experimenting with elephant genomes.

Just get it over with – I for one would love to see a Mr Olympia where Phil Heath is beaten by a mutant ogre with tusks and the exoskeleton of a crab.

The fact that such a contest is a now genuine possibility shows how far bodybuilding has come since the 1950s, when the physiques of each Mr Universe competitor looked athletic, healthy, attainable and something to aspire towards.

Bill Pearl

Bill Pearl was one of the foremost bodybuilders of the twentieth century, winning five Mr Universe titles between 1953 and 1971 (once as an amateur, four times as a professional).

Like most eminent bodybuilders of this era, Pearl was strong, classically proportioned and athletic.

He could tear licence plates and horseshoes in two, blow up hot water bottles and bench press 500 pounds.

But, crucially, Pearl still had a physique that, as well being strong and beautiful, looked within reach.

He has authored a plethora of books and training manuals during the course of his career such as the popular Getting Stronger: Weight Training for Men and Women (1986) and Keys to the INNER Universe (1979).

The Routine

Although he dabbled with steroids much later in his career, the foundation of Pearl’s mighty physique was, like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Larry Scott, built on consistent full-body routines with compound lifts.

One of Bill Pearl’s oft-mentioned workouts was the ‘Bulk & Power Routine’ which we are going to look at in this post.

Like the routines that Pearl followed in the early 1950s under the tutelage of Leo Stern in his San Diego gym (Stern had previously trained 1942 Mr America Clancy Ross), this one comprises three six-week courses, each of which feature three full-body workouts per week.

Pearl later prescribed this routine for beginner-to-intermediate level lifters looking to gain size and strength and build a solid, muscular foundation.

Course 1

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Dumbbell Swing	1	10
Leg Raises on Floor or Bench	1	30
Bendovers	1	10
Breathing Squats	2	15
Bent Arm Laterals (Superset with Squats)	2	12
Calf Raises	3	20
Shoulder Shrugs	2	18
Bench Press	2	8
Rowing Motion	2	8
Press Behind Neck	2	8
Two Hand Barbell Curl	2	8
Bent Leg Deadlifts	3	5

Course 2

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Dumbbell Swing	1	10-15
Sit Ups	1	15-50
Side Bend Dumbbell	1	15-50
Alternate Leg Raises	1	10-30
Deep Knee Bend	3-5	6-8
Bent Arm Pullover	3-5	8-10
Calf Raises	3	15-20
Upright Rowing	2	8
Military Press	2	5-6
One Arm Rowing	3	8
Bent Leg Deadlift	2	8
Incline Dumbbell Press	2	6-8
Bent Arm Laterals	2	6-8
One Arm Dumbbell French Press	3	6-8
Standing Dumbbell Curl	3	6-8

Course 3

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Sit Ups	1	25
Leg Raises	1	25
Bench Press	5	5
Press Behind Neck	5	5
Barbell Row	5	6
Bent Arm Pullover	3	8
Barbell Curls	4	6
French Press	4	6
Box Squats	4	5

Training notes

Frequency

Each course should be followed for six weeks and consist of three workouts per week.

Workouts should be on non-consecutive days allowing your body to fully repair and recover.

Although not stipulated in Pearl’s original programme, I would advise incorporating a deload week between each course.

Either focus on mobility work and technique with very light poundage or just take a break from the gym completely.

Don’t skimp on calories and focus on resting up – deloading is all about recovery and growth.

Exercises

Warm-ups

The single-set exercises which start each workout (dumbbell swings, bendovers, leg raises, etc) are warm-ups, so always keep the poundage light.

Squats

On the squats (also referred to as deep knee bends) pay special attention to your breathing.

According to Pearl, correctly executing the breathing sequence carries more importance than the poundage used.

Pearl, like all bodybuilders in the 50s, especially his idol John Grimek, was a proponent of the breathing squat, an exercise which they had found to have an explosive effect on the body’s growth potential.

Before every squat, perform two to four deep inhalations through the the mouth, keeping the chest high.

On the last inhalation, squat down, being careful not to bounce, and hold your breath until you return to the standing position, then exhale.

Repeat this process for every repetition, increasing the amount of breaths throughout the set.

Pullovers & bent arm laterals

Like squats, with pullovers and bent arm laterals the focus should be on breathing.

Indeed, these are strictly breathing exercises, with the goal being ribcage expansion rather than muscle hypertrophy.

As such, use a light poundage, breath deeply, and focus on stretching your rib box.

Inhale as the weight is lowered and exhale as you bring it back to the starting position.

Progression

Trainees should always start with course number one, regardless of level.

While the initial volume may feel low for those with a few years of training already under their belt, it is important to get a feel for the exercises, rebuild and prepare your tendons and ligaments for the intensity of the proceeding training blocks.

With this in mind, begin every exercise with a light poundage (Pearl advises around two thirds of your max effort) with which you can comfortably complete all repetitions.

Every time you complete the required reps and sets for an exercise, add weight to the bar (2.5kg/5lbs) for the next workout.

This approach, built around the principals of progressive overload, gradually increases the stress placed on your muscles which will build strength and work capacity and stimulate muscle hypertrophy.

Rest

Pearl recommends between three and five minutes rest between every set.

The focus should be on lifting heavy and using full range of motion rather than rushing through the workout at breakneck speed.

Due to long rest periods, Pear suggests always training in a tracksuit to keep your body warm and conserve energy.

Diet

Eat fresh, wholesome and well-prepared meals at the same time every day.

Being consistent with your eating habits will produce far better results than eating willy-nilly.

Pearl recommends a hearty breakfast comprising 50-75g protein balanced with fats and carbs.

Taking the average male daily calorie intake of 2,400-2,800kcal as a baseline, Pearl advises gradually increasing this to 5,000kcal to drive growth.

If you can’t the calories from your three daily meals, eat four to five meals a day.

Also, gains can be made from drinking a quart (two pints) of milk during workouts.

Everyone is different, so find the sweet spot by recording progress and making adjustments where necessary.

Above all, ensure you are consuming the right kind of food, as a poor diet will only lead to fat gain.

Recovery

Never overlook the role that sleep and relaxation play in building muscle and strength.

Perl recommends a minimum of eight and a maximum of ten hours interrupted sleep every night.

Again, as with your diet, getting into a habit of going to sleep at the same time every night will prove produce better results than haphazard sleeping patterns.

Habit helps the body to regulate itself and will deliver better gains.

Pearl also places importance on mastering the ability to relax.

Logbook

Keep an accurate record of your training.

For each workout, jot down your poundages, sets, reps, rest times, as well as anything else you feel is pertinent.

The key to progressive overload is a gradual increase in training stress, and keeping an accurate logbook will allow you to be methodical when it comes to tracking progress.

Also important is keeping a daily record of your bodyweight.

As well as allowing you to see any progress, tracking your bodyweight will allow you to make precise changes to calorie and liquid intake if you’re not gaining bodyweight.

However, as Pearl states, “Do not expect a big increase in bodyweight the first week or two, for your system must adjust itself to the change in work.”

If, after a few weeks of training, you are still not seeing gains in size and strength, take a closer look at your lifestyle.

More often than not, not getting enough nutritious food or adequate sleep is the real reason behind your lack of progress, so fix these issues before adjusting the workout routine.

Mental attitude

Pearl stresses the value of a proper mental attitude when approaching this – or any – training plan.

“You should think positively about all your daily activities, physical, mental and moral. It will aid you in your training in the gym, as well as your personal life. A healthy, positive attitude will improve your body and make you a better person. “

Summary

This is an old-school, no-frills muscle building routine which will have you working hard for a solid 4-5 months.

If you’re the type of lifter who performs rope pushdowns while yelling “come on champ”, spends £100 a month on pre-workout supplements and snapback caps, and has a Eurodance playlist called “Pump and Grind” saved on their Spotify account, this routine probably isn’t for you (and I would happily execute you with a bolt gun).

Pearl’s course very much relies on a simple but tried-and-tested methodology for getting big and strong: no shortcuts, no gimmicks, no easy split routines – just busting your balls with a heavy barbell for years and years, never missing a workout, and eating like a boss.

That’s the real secret to building muscle – but it’s a far harder pill to swallow than training biceps and triceps three times a week and taking whey protein.

Over to you

If you’re thinking of giving this routine a try or if you’ve already followed it, I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.

Also, if you have any other questions, comments or general abuse, feel free to get in touch and I’ll get back to you.

The post The Bill Pearl Bulk & Power Routine appeared first on Gym-Talk.

from Gym-Talk http://ift.tt/2vXh6at
via IFTTT