reshaping females,€¦ · muscle on any human, regardless of sex, must be hammered hard in order...

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Reshaping Females, One Renovated Body

At A TimeLiz KampschroederBy Marty Gallagher

5Photo by K.M. Johnson

From left to right: Stephanie O’Brien, Trainer Liz Kampschroeder, Wendy Mayfield, Jayne Fincher, Tami Sasek-Waite and Sandi Groepper

T here is an old saying amongst fitness professionals that goes, “women have to work twice as hard to obtain half the results.”

It sounds clichéd and trite, yet there is a lot of truth in that ancient sound bite. Why is this? Biologically, men and women, or more precisely boys and girls, are virtually identi-cal (except for their plumbing) up until both sexes hit puberty. At that point, boys begin creating testosterone. All that makes a man a man begins to occur in earnest with a mas-sive influx of testosterone. This hormone allows boys that weight train to build mus-cle at an astonishing rate: the combination of weight training, lots of calories and tor-rents of testosterone turns boys into men as they develop unimaginable power, mass and sheer muscle size. Girls (conversely) become estrogen factories. For every hardening/strengthening characteristic associated with boy testosterone production, there is a femi-nizing/procreation characteristic associated with girl estrogen production. The two sexes diverge dramatically at puberty. Alpha males with the excess testosterone make effortless bodybuilding gains; the female bodybuilder must train harder and smarter and be satis-fied with less. Blame Nature.

One super smart move for any female serious about radically renovating their physique is to engage the services of a topflight personal trainer. Women serious about fitness are too often seduced by the “softball,” pretty-in-pink pretend fitness; dumbed-down, neu-tered, fake fitness is all about “feeling good” and “having a positive body image” as op-posed to obtaining actual results. Women are told that they need easier modes and less intense methods; after all, they are women, and hence, they need to be treated with kid gloves. This type of fitness pandering does a terrible disservice to women. If anything, women need to train harder than men. Any muscle on any human, regardless of sex, must be hammered hard in order to force that muscle to grow. We force the body to

NerG Unlimited’s Masters Pro Ladies

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add muscle. The body creates new muscle in order to cope with the intense and repeated pounding we subject it to. All humans, regard-less of age or gender, need to lift hardcore guy style, not softball girl style, if they are to reap the sensa-tional gains they envision.

Women, like men, grow muscle as a protective reaction to intense, past-the-limits nature of truly difficult, hard and ergo productive weight training. Does anyone really think that going to the local YMCA, sit-ting down on a comfy seated chest press machine, doing 2-3 casual sets of 10 easy reps (never exert-ing, perhaps texting between sets) is going to result in the spectacular results we expect? Does anyone re-ally think that exercise moderation, that comfort, ease and familiar-ity are going to create the requisite stresses and trauma needed to build muscle and acquire the physique of our dreams?

Ditto for dieting: fad diets are aimed at women and are worthless and pure exploitation. These fad diet plans always gain traction because they give women permission to eat what they should be avoiding. The fact is, these diets don’t work and can never work. Cardio exercise needs to be in-tense and sweaty to be effective: ca-sually riding an exercise bike while thumbing through Vogue or Ladies’ Home Journal does nothing. Yet fit-ness experts tell woman that “mild cardio burns a greater percentage of fat” and going too hard or too fast “leads to injury.” So women are starting off behind the physiologi-cal 8-Ball and they’re getting bad advice based on faulty information. What’s a poor gal to do? Get some

expert professional help from a successful personal trainer; be sure and pick someone that actually ob-tains results for their clients.

A woman serious about fitness would do well to obtain some sound advice from a seasoned profession-al; someone that routinely and reg-ularly renovates people, male and female, for a living. One such sea-soned fitness pro is Kansas body-building guru Fred Rowlett. Fred has been a titan on the Midwest bodybuilding scene for decades. Fred thrives because Fred gets re-sults: he was marinated in Parrillo Principles and melded John’s core strategies on training (super hard) and eating (super strict) with his own hard-earned empirical observa-tions, based on Fred’s actual results. Fred’s training lair is Laser Sharp Fitness, widely regarded as one of the finest personal training facilities in the Midwest. Fred has assembled a team of trainers that specialize in one-on-one personal training. Laser Sharp provides group training, boot camps and contest preparation for Bodybuilding, Figure, and Bikini competitions.

His squad of experts also provide sport-specific training designed to enhance athletic performance. La-ser Sharp members are given diet consultations and weight manage-ment advice. Fred’s no-nonsense nutritional approach has deep roots in the Parrillo nutritional approach. The workouts that Fred’s athletes are subjected to are legendary: Fred cut his teeth on Parrillo by attending one of the earliest of John’s legend-ary weekend training/certification camps. Parrillo revised Fred’s ap-proach towards nutrition and train-

Each of Liz Kampschroeder’s NerG Unlimited clients are unique with their own personal story of how they made it to the masters pro level. The IFPA pro masters winning trend for her ladies began in 2011 when Tami Sasek-Waite, a friend of Liz’s, approached her about helping to build her glutes and hams. Preparing to turn 50, Tami’s goal was to earn her pro bodybuilding status. Tami says, “My legs needed some change and with only 4 weeks to do it in, most people said it wasn’t possible...except one. My friend and trainer Liz gladly took on the challenge. She put together a workout plan I had never done and each week we pushed. She was as excited as I was which made me work harder than I thought possible. Three months before my birthday I took home the pro card in Masters bodybuilding at the 2011 St. Louis Hardbodies Clas-sic and took 2nd in the open. The combination of the right trainer, the right motivation and a burning ache to succeed made me a believer in the ‘Anything is possible when you put your mind to it.’”

In 2013 Liz began training Sandi Groepper, who had chosen to com-pete as a part of her 50th year cel-ebration. With a background of se-vere degenerative neck arthritis, the challenges were keeping Sandi’s joints safe while building muscle through Parrillo lifting techniques and nutrition guidelines. One of the biggest challenges facing Sandi and Liz was in posing to get her back to open up after years of hunching over. “Working with Sandi definitely was a new experience for me in at-tempting to undo years of muscle mind connection across her traps. She came to Laser Sharp already in great shape, but not ‘stage’ shape so getting her body and mind used to really pushing heavy weight took some getting used to,” remembers Liz. From Sandi’s perspective it was overwhelming at first being asked to do lots of sets, reps and different kinds of exercises than she had ever done to stimulate muscle growth and re-train her back to open up. Sandi says, “At the age of 49 I hit the weights. I worked really hard and made some wonderful gains. I had been encouraged by a few people to compete, but felt I was way too old to do it. After quite a bit of prompt-ing, I decided to do it as a celebration of turning 50 and to challenge myself to go way outside my comfort zone. I won my Masters Pro Card in Figure at the 2013 NANBF St. Louis Natural Bodybuilding Classic. This journey has been completely unexpected and a wonderful joy all at the same time. Finding Liz Kampschroeder and working with her as my trainer, prep coach and now friend has been absolutely amazing and there is no way that I could have done any of this without her!”

Photo by K.M. Johnson

Sandi Groepper

Tami Sasek-Waite

ing and in the intervening 25 years Fred has passed this knowledge along, Vulcan mind-meld style, to a new generation of personal trainers.

One of Fred’s top personal train-ers is Liz Kampschroeder. Liz is an unusual woman who has carved out an unusual niche clientele. Liz only takes on women serious about

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JOHN PARRILLO’S PERFORMANCE PRESS Liz Kampschroeder

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training and “preps” them for vari-ous types and kinds of competitions. Liz attracts women with competitive aspirations like a magnet attracts steel metal filings. Her methods are seeped in Fred and John’s precepts. Liz holds her female athletes to the same high standards as those used for males. Liz’s ladies reap incred-ible results – but the price of admis-sion is steep: Liz wants her athletes to lift hard, heavy and often. She insists that cardio be done daily and done with great intensity, fueled by sweat.

Top trainers like Liz don’t play when it comes to nutrition: either get on-board 100% with the diet approach or don’t waste her time. Perfect nu-trition is the cornerstone, the foun-dation, for a truly transformative effort. Six days a week you will find Liz Kampschroeder at Laser Sharp Fitness in Leawood, Kansas train-ing clients from 5 am until 3 pm. Liz is a Parrillo Certified Master Trainer and IFPA Pro figure athlete. Along with IFPA pro bodybuilder Abu-Shabazz, Liz co-founded a competition prep business called NerG Unlimited designed for both male and female athletes to have a unique experience chasing the stage based on hard core training, nutri-tion and posing. All of Liz’s com-petitive athletes are a part of NerG.

The members of Liz’s group of like-minded women have banded togeth-er to support one another in their competitive aspirations. A sizeable number of NerG members have won their IFPA master pro card in bodybuilding, figure or bikini. Liz is the oracle, and the advice she dispenses is unique and custom-ized to the individual. Liz is adept

at prescribing progress enhancers. “The basics stay the same, yet we need to make allowanc-es for each individual’s unique circumstances.” Over the past few years her focus has shifted to 35 years old and older females. “I love work-ing with that population. The older women have focus and commitment that I don’t normally find in the under 35 popula-tion. Since 2011 I have helped six masters ath-letes turn professional competing in women’s bodybuilding, bikini or figure.” Again, real re-sults, real trophies and real awards to prove the point. No pink dumb-bells, Pilates, tofu or softball training meth-ods for these ladies.

Liz knows her stuff be-cause she has engineered her own transformation. “I have always been athletic. Growing up with three brothers, our main family sport was basketball. I blew out my knee in high school, ending my college bas-ketball aspirations. I picked up the sport of triathlon, which I did until I was 34. I had to stop running be-cause of the damage to my knee.” At age 38, Liz “stumbled” onto Figure competitions and “began lifting heavy for the first time in my life.” Hooked on the ‘bodybuilding life-style,’ Liz won her IFPA Pro status in Figure in 2012. She is now a sea-soned pro. “I will be competing in my 10th show this year.” She walks the walk and talks the talk. “I found

In 2014 three more clients earned Masters titles in both figure and bikini. Jayne Fincher won at her very first show and Masters Pro card at the 2014 Southern States Classic in Liberty, Missouri. Jayne says, “After years of dis-tance running and racing mar-athons, I began to experience debilitating pain in my hips, glutes and hamstrings. Refus-ing to quit running (as most runners can attest to its addic-tive nature), I ran through the pain for over a year. When I could no longer walk around without being in intense pain, I began to seek other methods of exercise. Pilates and yoga were nice, but didn’t give me the results I was looking for. My husband Dave has always hit the weights pretty hard, and kept pushing me (hard) to head to the iron for rehabilita-tion. We knew I had to start a physical rehab program. I be-gan reading a lot of magazines covering women’s weight lift-ing and all of its tremendous benefits. The symmetry of their physiques along with their strength, determina-tion and confidence is what caught my attention the most. I was convinced! At 46 years old I began the drastic change that serious weight training can bring. One year later, the goal of a figure competition was something I wanted to achieve. I met up with the staff at Laser Sharp Fitness in Over-land Park, Kansas where I began working with Liz. Their knowledge and philosophy of natural bodybuilding was just what I needed to push for my goal of a competition.”

Jayne Fincher

that I love seeing how far I can push my limits; I wonder how dramati-cally can I reshape my body. I am very competitive with myself. I am constantly trying to improve over my last competition, my last race, my last squat poundage, etc.”

Liz leads a full and active life. “I am a mom of three teenagers; they are competitive dancers and soc-cer players. I think it is important to show my kids what hard work and commitment can do, and how a healthy lifestyle far outweighs the instant gratification of junk food and a sedentary lifestyle.” Well said, Liz. One reason Liz’s people get results is that she knows how

to train smart. “As an athlete with no ACL, as an athlete that has in-jured my medial meniscus and had a herniated disc, training, for me, is all about being creative. I train with IFPA Pro bodybuilder Abu-Shabazz. He has been instrumental in coming up with new and differ-ent exercises, exercises I am able to do, exercises that push my muscles past their limits but still go easy on my injured joints.”

Originally from Denver, Liz now resides in Overland Park, Kansas. She is 44 and has a husband, Koby, and her three teenage children are Claire (17), Caroline (15), and An-drew (13). In addition to raising

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JOHN PARRILLO’S PERFORMANCE PRESS

Photo by K.M. Johnson

Liz’s ladies reap incredible results – but the price of admission is steep: Liz wants her athletes to lift hard, heavy and often. She insists that cardio

be done daily and done with great intensity, fueled by sweat.

Liz Kampschroeder

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Liz’s client Wendy Mayfield says, “In 2013, I decided to change my nor-mal workout routine and get serious. I began training harder on my own and with a trainer and changed my diet. It was mentioned to me by a trainer at my gym that I should consider competing. I laughed, but then later after some thought I decided to challenge myself. I decided to work out and do the things nec-essary to compete and see where it took me. In January of 2014, I decided I wanted to compete. I did one small competition in the bikini class and quickly realized I was not a bikini competitor. My next competition in April of 2014 I competed in Figure and for my first competition and only having 5 weeks of prep time I did pretty good, placing second in Masters to Jayne Fincher. I started training with Liz after that competition and decided to compete at the end of June in the NANBF St. Louis Natural Bodybuilding Classic competition. After 8 weeks of intense training and a different diet plan I won the Master’s class and earned my IFPA pro card. Competing and bodybuilding is instilled in me now. It has become a part of my life and who I am. I enjoy the challenge and the chang-es. I thrive on all of it and can-not imagine not ever being a part of it again. I have learned so much and built such great relationships. I will always be so grateful that I had the op-portunity to compete. It has made me stronger - and not just physically. I am proud of what I have done. It takes a lot of hard work, dedication and sacrifice. I am a very lucky mother of three wonderful kids - I am grateful that they have been so supportive and allowed me to take the time away from them to allow me to chase my dreams.”

three teens, (as if that in and of it-self weren’t enough!) Liz finds time to travel “a great deal.” She is on the road as a judge and emcee. “I am a judge and emcee for NANBF/IFPA bodybuilding federation and travel to all their shows. I also have a competition suit business called DaisyChick Designs. I will be head-ing up a podcast for the NANBF/IFPA called “The Voice of Natural Muscle.”

When she is on the road, it is next to impossible to keep up with body-building-style nutrition. Liz relies on Parrillo. “I take boxes of Parrillo Soft Chew Bars™ and 50/50 Plus Powder™ with me when I travel. I love the Pecan Praline Soft Chew Bars™. I eat these continually and never tire of their deliciousness. I put my 50/50 Plus Powder™ in small Ziploc bags that I carry with me ev-erywhere I go. It is measured out and ready to use. I will also carry Parrillo Liver Amino Formula™ tablets and use Parrillo’s Creatine Monohydrate™ every day.” John, Fred and Liz all think alike on the topic of nutrition. “I have found that diet truly is the key to performance success. During my years of triath-lon I learned the value of using car-bohydrates to fuel my body for long rides and runs. In bodybuilding I learned the benefits of post-workout meals and how to use nutrition to shorten recovery time.”

Liz feels there is a huge mental component to nutrition. “For so many people, food has an emotion-al connection. To be successful in our bodybuilding efforts, we need to view food as fuel, nothing more.” For Liz, training mature females has been a very rewarding expe-

rience. “I’ve found that as a client approaches 40, their goals become clear. As we age, we tend to become more realistic about our abilities. We also become more realistic about the time and effort it is going to take to achieve the goal.” Liz sees her-self continuing to improve far into the foreseeable future. “Honestly I think age is just a number. I love be-ing an older athlete. I have become much more aware of my abilities and my limitations. As an older ath-lete I find that I am far more able to buckle down and perform a task. I grew more disciplined as I grew older.” Liz Kampschroeder is the definition of the modern multi-task master. This lady has a life full of family and activities and by helping

Stephanie O’Brien, trained by both Liz and Fred, won the 2014 Masters Bikini title at the NANBF St. Louis Nat-ural Bodybuilding Classic. She says, “I was 41 years old when I won. I fell into competing when I began having knee pain from running. I needed another outlet. I lost my father when he was 49 years old. He had diabetes and heart disease. The loss led me into fitness and eat-ing better. I never used to look at weights. In fact, I was terrified to set foot in the weight section of the gym. I forced myself after learning how great lifting is for your body, especially as women age. Now it’s hard to go one day without it. I get so much satisfaction to try and shape my body. I never realized how hard I could push myself. The discipline, consistency and dedication I had to surround myself with was harder than anything I’ve done. I’ve learned so much about what eating can do to sabotage or benefit your personal goals. CapTri® has become a staple in my diet. I’m a mother of two amazing boys (9 and 11). I realized after I began my fit-ness journey that my passion would be a positive influ-ence for them as well. After experiencing the hardest work I’ve put myself up against, it took a long time to realize this is not about anyone but myself. Finding time to fit everything in was absolutely challenging. 5am workouts, going to work by 8:45 then becoming mom at 5:00pm to help with homework and feed everyone and do it all over again the very next day. With the guidance, training, and support of Fred and Liz this has been such a rewarding experience.”

Wendy Mayfield

Stephanie O’Brien

others help themselves – physically – Liz is providing women on the top side of 40 with a new lease on life. That sounds like the very definition of job satisfaction.

• 6 am: eggs, Ezekiel bread• 10 am: chicken, sweet

potatoes, green beans • 1 pm: Parrillo Optimized

Whey Protein™ shake with egg whites, oats

• 3 pm: ground turkey, Shirataki noodles, green vegetables

• 8 pm: salmon, green salad• 10 pm: cottage cheese with

pineapple


Monday: chest, triceps, calves, absTuesday: quads, hamstringsWednesday: kettlebell shoul-der workThursday: back, tricepsFriday: glutes, calves, absSaturday: offSunday: shoulders, biceps

Liz’s Daily Meal Schedule

Phot

o by H

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ores

Liz’s Weekly Training Split

Liz Kampschroeder



Facebook: Ron Harris WriterTwitter: @RonHarrisMuscleInstagram: ronharrismuscleYouTube: RonHarrisMuscle

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Ah, the off-season. Who among us bodybuilders doesn’t love it? You get to eat plenty of food, train heavy, you don’t do a whole lot of cardio, and best of all – the focus is on get-ting big and strong! If you compete on a regular ba-sis, you have a set time when you will end your off-season. Some guys I know have already started dieting for national shows in the summer such as the Team Universe, USA, and Masters Nationals. Since most of us like to gradu-ally diet over a period of 16 weeks, that point at 16 weeks out from contest day would definitely tell you when your off-season is over as it’s time to start getting leaner. And the more experienced among us like to ‘clean up’ our diets for at least a few weeks before starting a strict pre-contest diet.

That’s how it was for me for many years. Aside from a couple lengthy breaks from competing, I did it from 1989 until 2013 at least once a year, and often did as many as three or four contests a year at some points. When I was x number of weeks out from a contest, I would cease my attempts to gain and abruptly shift over into diet mode with the aim of maintain-ing my muscle mass while losing as

much fat as possible. Now that I am retired (until further notice), know-ing when to stop the off-season and transition into a leaning-out phase isn’t so easy. Having given it a bit of

thought recently, I came up with 3 signs it’s time to end your bulking/off-season phase.

1. You’ve stopped gaining.Those of you who have dieted for a contest, or just to get extremely lean for whatever reason, probably no-ticed that after a certain point, fat

loss practically grinds to a halt. Why is that? Our bodies are quite adap-tive organisms. So when you have lowered your calories and increased your activity for long enough, it ‘ad-

justs’ and does its best to maintain normalcy. A similar scenario happens when we are bulking. After anywhere from three to six months (it varies greatly) of eating more and trying to gain weight, you will hit a plateau that is more like a brick wall. You could shovel in more calories and gain weight in the form of more bodyfat, but as far as gaining any more muscle mass, it’s just not going to happen. Your body is all done doing that. This is one reason many bodybuild-ers intersperse what are called ‘mini-cuts’ into their off-seasons. These are periods that can be as brief as two weeks but are usually three or even four, where you

eat much cleaner and kick up your cardio in order to lose some fat. The real purpose of these mini-cuts is to give your metabolism a chance to reset itself. Then, when you resume the higher calories and cut your car-dio back, you can start gaining. You can think of it as taking a step back to allow yourself to take two steps

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forward, when otherwise you would be standing in place, stagnant. You can do this, or continue dieting for as long as you like until you are happy with the way you look. At that point you may choose to maintain that leaner look for a while, or go back to bulking. It’s up to you.

2. You’re not looking or feeling too great.It’s something I’ve talked about many, many times. Most of us have the intention of staying in reasonable condition during our off-season, but somewhere along the way we wind up getting fatter than we had planned on. I reached that point almost two months ago when I was close to my goal of hitting an all-time high

bodyweight of 250 at just under 5-8 (my last physi-cal exam showed I have started getting shorter with age, as unfortunately we all do). While it was exciting to step on a scale and see numbers like 246 and 247 for the first time ever, I was starting to look bloated and unhealthy. I don’t know if my blood pressure was high, but I am pretty sure it was. I would bend over to tie my shoes, and it felt like my freaking head was going to explode. I was getting winded climbing a couple flights of stairs. Pathetic!

And in pictures, I saw I was past being smooth – more like a glazed donut in the flesh. So I cut back on the junk treats and started doing a bit of cardio again (having done practical-ly none for a couple months). Once you look and feel like crap, it’s time to say goodbye to all-out bulking.

3. Warm weather is coming.This reason is pure vanity, but so what? The fact is, in most of the USA we stay pretty covered up in the cold months. Here in Boston and in most of the coun-try, it was one of the coldest winters on record (just before March, we still had mornings under zero degrees, and most days in March were below freezing). We also managed to set a record for the most snow in Boston in a single winter since they started keeping records in 1880. It felt a lot like I was liv-ing in Siberia. As such, it was

hard to even imagine it ever being hot and sunny again. But spring is finally arriving after a late start, and summer is right on its heels. We will be wearing more revealing clothing and showing a lot more skin. Do you want to show a body that’s muscular but covered under a layer of chub? I sure don’t! Even if I’m not compet-ing, I want to have nice clear abs, decent muscle separation, and some cool veins popping.

For those three reasons, I put an end to my own off-season and decided to start working on getting some nice cuts again. What about you? Is it time for you to end yours too? That’s for you to decide!

A BODYBUILDER IS BORN: Generations

“Off-season is over, and the quest for cuts begins anew!”

“At some point, the gains will grind to a halt.”

“The off-season is all about eating big and lifting heavy.”

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Minor versus Major: What is a minor exer-cise? It is the opposite of

a major exercise. A major exercise is a free-weight progressive resis-tance weight training movement almost always done using barbells or dumbbells. A major exercise is, classically, a compound multi-joint exercise that requires groups of muscles to work together in a syn-chronized fashion; a muscular relay race is needed to complete the com-plex exercise. Squats, bench presses, rows, power cleans, overhead press-es, deadlifts and jerks are all exam-ples of major exercises that require groups of muscles to work together to finish a lift. A minor exercise is an isolation exercise; the trainee ze-ros in on one single muscle to the purposeful exclusion of the neigh-boring muscles. Triceps extensions and tri pushdowns, lat pulldowns, leg extensions, leg curls, calf raises, lateral raises, bicep curls – these are all minor, isolative exercises aimed at a lone muscle. A major exercise is a compound multi-joint exercise that purposefully requires help from its neighboring muscles. A minor exercise is an isolation exercise that

purposefully does not want or need assistance from its muscular neigh-bors. One exercise type attacks muscles in groups; the other attacks muscles individually.

Major and Minor techniques: You would be surprised at how few trainees understand how to prop-erly perform an isolation exercise.

The premier goal of any isolation exercise is to isolate the targeted muscle. This is not nearly as easy as it sounds. There are maximally ben-eficial techniques for every isolation exercise and John Parrillo has de-vised dozens of signature techniques for different isolation exercises; each particular Parrillo technique

was designed to improve the results obtained from that particular isola-tion exercise. Parrillo progressive resistance exercises are performed in a very specific way. To delve into the details of these optimal train-ing techniques, consult the Parrillo Training Manual or purchase John’s timeless book, 50 Workout Secrets. Each book is jam-packed with spe-cific techniques for getting the most out of the various progressive resistance exercises.

Complex: A compound multi-joint major exercise is, by definition, complex. For example, think how many muscles it takes to success-fully perform a power clean, fol-lowed by a set of overhead barbell presses. A power clean (with a bar-bell or a pair of dumbbells) requires we pull the barbell from the floor to the shoulders using thighs, glutes, erectors, lats and traps. To press the shouldered barbell or dumbbells overhead further requires side and rear deltoids to spring into action, plus upper lats, triceps and even abs are activated during the effort to repeatedly push the barbell or bells from the shoulders to overhead lock-

out. A clean and press is a compli-cated and intricate biomechanical challenge.

Simple: The idea behind any iso-lation exercises is simple: force one muscle to do all the work. A prop-erly performed curl is as simple as it gets: curls should be done so strictly that the biceps are forced to do 100% of the work. Avoid the tenden-cy to cheat while doing isola-tion exercises. For example, avoid using a heave or jolt to get a curl moving. Avoid using “lean back” at the end of the curl to make the finish easier. Cheat techniques pervert the purity of isolation exercises. Contorting while curling robs the exercise of any bicep-build-ing benefit. A proper curl puts 100% of muscle stress on the biceps: less poundage can be used if less poundage is curled with superior technique. John Parrillo is a bicep-building ex-pert. Parrillo routinely shows seminar attendees ways to in-crease bicep fiber stimulation. He ups the intensity, the isolation and the degree of difficulty by having curlers slow down their rep speed; they use less poundage while ex-erting far greater control. This pat-ented Parrillo strategy can be used on all isolation exercises: hone in and isolate a muscle by slowing down the rep speed and exerting greater control; use precise tech-niques to create continuous tension while repping. The goal is to target individual muscles maximally and exclusively.

Work your weak points! Parrillo insists we include both major and minor barbell and dumbbell free-weight exercises into the weight-

training template. Basic compound multi-joint power movements are unrivaled for building mounds of muscle. We master the major ex-ercises, the classical barbell and dumbbell core movements, and we also master a select group of minor isolation exercises. The minor ex-ercises are selected with an eye to-wards addressing our own structur-

al and symmetrical shortcomings. We are all disproportional; no one is born with perfect symmetry, no one is born looking like Sergio Oliva or Flex Wheeler. We need to sculpt our physique; we seek to balance the im-balances we all possess. The smart trainee listens to John Parrillo’s ad-vice. Parrillo would say, “In order to correct symmetry flaws, my advice is always the same: stop playing to your strengths! Reapportion your available training time; more time on weak points, less training time on strong points: work your weak points!”

Reapportion training time: The big gains come from blasting away at our deficiencies with all the

ferocity and passion we generated when training our beloved body parts using our favorite exercises, ones we love to perform. The way to overcome structural and symmetri-cal weak points is to reapportion available training time; shift train-ing away from favored and shift towards lagging body parts. Weak-nesses should henceforth receive

the lion’s share of available training time. One particular Parrillo prescription deserves repeating: to correct imbalanc-es, perform extra isolation ex-ercises aimed at “bringing up” a lagging body part. We need to be empowered enough to design our very own “lagging body part specialization” tem-plate. How might this work? Let us assume our hypotheti-cal trainee has a good set of pecs, delts, triceps, biceps and lat muscles, due to spending 100% of his available train-ing time training these favored “beach” muscles. His spindly and pathetic legs are ripe for a

leg specialization program. If he cre-ates a leg program that gains trac-tion, he will be able to bring up his pathetic legs rapidly and radically. Here is a classic, two-day a week leg specialization program.

Monday: • Squat: work up to an all out set of 8 reps; then two sets of 10 reps, lighter weight• Hack squat: four sets of eight reps, tri-setted with…• Lying leg curls: four sets of 8-10 reps• Standing calf raise: four sets of 15-30 reps

Thursday:• Front squat: work up to five rep

“Minor” Exercises, Goals & Specialization

Isolation exercises should be used to correct disproportionality


What is a minor exercise?

Parrillo insists we include both major and minor barbell and

dumbbell free-weight exercises into the weight-training template.

It’s an isolation exercise that purposefully

does not want or need assistance from its

muscular neighbors.

The Parrillo PrinciPles “Minor” Exercises, Goals & Specialization

By Andre Newcomb

1� May 2015 / Performance Press 1-800-3��-3�0� www.parrillo.com 1�www.parrillo.com 1-800-3��-3�0� Performance Press / May 2015

all out set; then two sets of 8 using lighter weight• Leg extensions: four sets of eight tri-setted with…• Seated leg curl: four sets of 8-10 reps• Seated calf raise: four sets of 15-30 reps

Square up the nutrition;create goals: On each of our two weekly leg training specialization days, a compound multi-joint exer-cise, the back or front squat (a major exercise,) is done exhaustively; the trainee works up to a top, all out set, this is followed by two more squat sets, using less poundage and higher reps. After completing the front or back squats, the trainee performs three isolation exercises: four sets each are performed in tri-set fashion. This is a lot of work. With upwards

of 22 sets per session, the minor exercises are used to augment the leadoff major squat exercise. Minor isolative exercises are added to ma-jor core exercises to create an effec-tive specialization program. Those seeking to add lean muscle mass to lagging body parts need to eat lots of clean quality calories, in ample amounts, in order to fuel new muscle growth. First and foremost, square up your nutrition. Get the nutrition in sync with the goal. You need a goal. Set goals into timeframes. Cre-ate weekly mini-goals that, attained sequentially, transform the trainee. We seek to add new muscle atop our weak points.

Adding muscle where it is need-ed the most: Why not add new-found muscle to where the unsym-metrical trainee needs it the most?

Why not attack physical weak points? Why not bias training towards for-merly undertrained muscles? When neglected and undertrained muscles are suddenly worked hard and often, these underdeveloped muscles come up quick. This is all predicated on the idea that you hit the weak points with all the passion and gusto you did when training those favored muscles. Here is a short (and by no means complete) list of minor isola-tion exercises that are worthy of use (see chart below)…

Mind/Muscle connection on isolation exercises: On all isola-tion exercises it is critically impor-tant to make the mind/muscle con-nection. The whole point of doing an isolation exercise is to exclusively isolate the targeted muscle. Regard-less if you are performing a lat pull-down or a set of dumbbell flyes, know what muscle you are target-ing (upper lats, pecs) and use “feel” and continuous tension to isolate the targeted muscle. Don’t worry about poundage; make the mind/muscle connection, starting with the first rep and until the set’s final rep is done. Concentrated reps equate to real results; use additional isolation exercises to create the extra work needed to bring up a lagging body part. For any muscle on the human body, there exists an isolation exer-cise specifically designed to target that muscle.

Symmetry prescription: The first Mr. Olympia, Larry Scott, was a classic example of an elite athlete overcoming structural and symmetrical deficiencies through specialized training. Larry added a ton of shoulder work, mainly isola-tion exercises to his training. “The Great Scott” was cursed with nar-

row clavicles. He was narrow-shoul-dered and wide-hipped, nominally fatal flaws for an IFBB pro body-builder. Scott, one of the smartest bodybuilders of all time, took two full years during which he went on a deltoid specialization program. He “bombed and blitzed” his shoul-ders using a unique and strange delt specialization program: Larry had been a star gymnast and his spe-cialty was the still rings. At Vince Gironda’s famed Hollywood Gym of the 1960s, Scott set up gymnastic rings and devised a series of super difficult deltoid exercises, including Iron Crosses and all types of power movements beyond the capacity of any but an elite gymnast. Scott took 24 months and turned his deficient deltoids into coconut shell mounds of muscle. When specializing, Larry devoted a full 40% of total training time to shoulder work alone, more than any other single body part. The other 60% was divided between legs, calves, chest, back, arms, forearms and abs. Scott built so much beef on his shoulders that, at his awesome peak, his shoulders were considered the best in the world.

Put it all together: There is a classic Parrillo prescription for bringing up lagging body parts: it starts by having a goal. A Parrillo bodybuilder never seeks to stay the same. The elite bodybuilder is ei-ther undergoing a protracted mass-building regimen or, conversely, he is involved with a protracted lean-out phase, likely looking to get maximally ripped leading up to a physique competition. The impor-tant point is that regardless if the bodybuilder is looking to add size or looking to get maximally ripped, the elite always have a plan. Having said that, the ideal time to bring up

symmetrical shortcomings is during a mass-building phase. Here is how the shoulder specialization routine would look…

Monday:• Seated press behind the neck: work up to five rep top set, then 2 sets of 8 reps • Cable lateral raises: four sets of 8-10 reps alternated with…• Bent-over rear lat-eral raises: four sets of 8-10 reps• William’s front plate raise: one set to failure, front raise a 25-45 pound plate

Thursday:• Barbell press off the racks: work up to one all out triple; then 2 sets of 5 reps• Seated dumbbell press: three sets of 6-8 reps; strict reps, heavy, heavi-er, heaviest• Seated dumbbell lateral raises: four sets of 8-10 super strict; held at high point• Rear lateral raises done on pec-dec: two sets of 12-15 reps

Feed the machine: You must eat big to maximize muscle gain, spe-cifically to add new shoulder mass to lagging shoulders we need to blast the delts hard twice a week then eat big to grow big. Seek to maximize power gains; power gains invariably convert into muscle gains. We grow larger muscles in response to lifting more than we have lifted before; we seek to surpass our limits, in some way. We need to eat ample amounts of quality nutrients. We need to train hard, concentrating our efforts on

our weak points: when we do so suc-cessfully we reap tremendous gains in muscle size. By addressing sub-standard weak points, by specializ-ing on underdeveloped body parts, the additional size ends up where we need it the most.

Get in gear: Can you be critical and

truthful when you size up your own weak-points? Once you correctly identify your own weak points, can you create a major/minor training template that focuses your train-ing efforts where you need help the most? We need to get the training synced up with the nutrition. Qual-ity calories need be eaten in large amounts to maximize muscle gain. High protein/high calorie eating provides the ideal environment for muscle growth. Our specialization prescription is timeless and never fails to generate radical improve-ment when it is implemented as John Parrillo intended: fully, completely and in totality – you cannot pick and choose amongst the various Parrillo principles as if it were a cafeteria. The time for excuses is over.

Side lateral raise anterior and posterior deltoidsFront lateral raises front deltsBent over rear lateral raises rear delts, rhomboids, teresCurls, various types and angles both inner and outer bicep headsTriceps extensions all three triceps; braced, seated,

standingTriceps pushdowns all three triceps; various grips and

anglesGood mornings spinal erectors, hamstringsRomanian deadlifts spinal erectors, hamstringsLat pulldowns lats; various grip widths, front and

rearSeated rows lats; various grip widthsProne hyperextensions hamstrings, erectors; go high, hold

on every repCalf raises calves; standing, seated, 12-100 rep

setsLeg extensions thighs; high reps with intense

contraction, 10-15Flyes, pec-dec pecs; the key is big stretch, light

poundage 8-12


JOHN PARRILLO’S PERFORMANCE PRESS “Minor” Exercises, Goals & Specialization

You must eat big to maximize muscle gain!

Listen up!

18 May 2015 / Performance Press 1-800-3��-3�0� www.parrillo.com 1�www.parrillo.com 1-800-3��-3�0� Performance Press / May 2015

Calories 27Protein 2.86g Fat .42gTotal Carbs 4.67g

Fiber 3.2gSodium 20mgCholesterol 0mgCalcium 115mg

Iron 1.64mgVitamin A 3024 IU Vitamin C 70mgPotassium 384mg

Recipe Ideas from the CapTri® Cookbook:

Nutritional Information for 100g, raw:

Training Tip of the month:

tipsof the month

tidbits&RECIPE

spotlight

18

News & Discoveries

In Fitness & Nutrition

InterestingArticle Fact:

Onions and garlic boost levels of enzymes in the body that detoxify potential carcinogens. Garlic, in particular, is an effective gastrointestinal detoxifier. Read more in John Parrillo’s article on page 20.

19

Losing 30 Minutes of Sleep Per Day May Promote Weight Gain

FooD of the month:

Supplementof the month:

After cooking dried beans, let them cool completely in the cooking water, rather than draining them in a colander which causes the beans’ skin to shrivel and crack. If you’re not using all the beans right way, you should store them in their liquid in the refrigerator to keep them from drying out.

• Add chopped mustard greens to the Vegetable Soup Recipe• Add Garlic Lover’s CapTri® Pesto to cooked mustard

greens

Losing as little as 30 minutes of sleep per day on weekdays can have long-term consequences for body weight and me-tabolism, a new study finds. “While previous studies have shown that short sleep duration is associated with obesity and diabetes, we found that as little as 30 minutes a day sleep debt can have significant effects on obesity and insu-lin resistance at follow up,” said lead study author Professor Shahrad Taheri, MBBS, PhD, professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, in Doha. “This reinforces earlier observations that sleep loss is additive and can have metabolic consequences.”

Because of social and work commitments, people often ac-cumulate sleep debt during weekdays and make up for lost sleep over the weekend. But weekday sleep debt may lead to long-term metabolic disruption, which may promote the onset of, or exacerbate the progression of, type 2 diabetes mellitus. “Sleep loss is widespread in modern society, but only in the last decade have we realized its metabolic con-sequences,” Taheri said. “Our findings suggest that avoid-ing sleep debt could have positive benefits for waistlines and metabolism and that incorporating sleep into lifestyle interventions for weight loss and diabetes might improve their success.” The authors advise that future interventions designed to slow progression or reverse metabolic disease should consider all factors - including sleep - that affect metabolic function. Looking toward future research, they recommend that consistent optimum sleep hygiene and education may be a key component of successful future trials in metabolic disease control.

Questionof the month:?

Nutrition Tip of the month:

Question: Would there be any benefits to following a high fat diet to get lean or is there a better choice out there for me?Answer: There are more benefits of a high carbohy-drate diet as compared to the high fat diet in terms of getting lean. Not all calories are created equal. Di-etary fat is preferentially stored as body fat, whereas carbohydrates do not significantly contribute to fat stores. Most of your body fat is derived from the fat you eat and very little comes from conversion of pro-tein or carbohydrate into fat. So it makes sense that if you want to reduce body fat the first place to start is to eat less fat. Proponents of the high fat diet say that carbohydrates cause insulin release which in turn stimulates fat storage. On the Parrillo diet we teach you how to select carbohydrate sources and structure your meals so that carbohydrates are released into the bloodstream very slowly, so this isn’t a problem. We have found that if you eat a diet higher in carbs and low in fat you will end up being leaner and more mus-cular whether you are using the diet to gain weight or lose weight.

Quinoa Crust For Quiches: You can make a quick and healthy crust for your quiches using cooked quinoa mixed with egg whites and No-Salt and pepper. You can also add fresh or dried herbs, garlic and spices for added flavor. There are many recipes online for quinoa quiche crusts, just do a quick search and see which one fits best with your tastes!

- The Endocrine Society, March 5, 2015, edited for length

Mustard Greens• Good source of vitamin A and vitamin C• The leaves, seeds and stem of the plant are all edible• Has a more pungent taste than the closely-related

kale, cabbage, and collard greens, so mustard greens may be mixed with these more mild tasting greens

• Commonly used in soul food, as well as Indian, Italian, African, Chinese, Japanese and Korean cuisines

Quick Tip of the month:

Kitchen TipsIdea Corner

This bench press variation is excellent for upper pec development. Take a medium grip on the bar. As with the bench press, it’s important to align your pectoral girdle properly to place the me-chanical advantage on your upper pecs. Press your shoulders down toward your waist. Push your ster-num up. As you lower the bar, pinch your chin into your chest. Bring the bar down to this pinch point. Then press back up to the starting position, staying tight throughout the full range of motion.

Bench Press To The Neck

In skillet heat the CapTri® until hot, not smoking. Put sliced peeled potatoes in a bowl and sprinkle “No Salt” on potatoes and mix thoroughly. Carefully place some of the potatoes in the hot CapTri®. Cook until tender, re-move from pan and place on a paper towel to soak up excess oil. Continue until all the potatoes are done. In a large bowl mix “Egg Beaters”, egg whites, garlic, onion and black pepper, then gently add potatoes. Place the mix in a 9”×13” pan and bake for 30 min. at 350°, or until cooked through in the center. You can also add peppers, mushrooms or other vegetables desired. Another option is to add turkey sausage from the CapTri® Cookbook.

Spanish Potato Quiche1/2 cup CapTri®

5 medium size Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled & sliced about 1/8” thick2 tsp. “No Salt”1 cup onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced1/8 tsp. ground black pepper2 dozen egg whites1 container “Egg Beaters”

Satisfy your sweet tooth and mix up a batch of delicious Protein Frosting™ to spread on Parrillo’s Hi-Protein Cake and Cupcakes™. Also available in 3 other delicious flavors: Va-nilla, Chocolate, and Peanut Butter flavors.

• Great with Parrillo desserts and spread on Hi-Protein Pancakes™ rolled up as crêpes

• Packed with 12g of protein per serving• Only 1g Net Carbs, 0g of sugar per serving

Parrillo Cream Cheese Flavor Protein Frosting Mix™

Muscle Growth Combination: One of the most potent supplement combi-

nations for supporting muscle growth is creatine and 50/50 Plus™. The best time to use this combination is after train-ing. At that time your muscles are depleted and are begging for nu-trients. The protein acts to repair muscle damage from training as well as to supply the building blocks to generate new muscle tissue. The carbohydrate replenishes glycogen, as well as increasing uptake of the amino acids and creatine by muscle cells. If you’re on a budget and want to keep things simple, try 50/50 Plus™ along with creatine. After just one month, used in combination with proper diet, you will see and feel a difference.

Photo by thebittenword

.com


JOHN PARRILLO’S PERFORMANCE PRESS THE PARRILLO PERFORMANCE 3-DAY DETOX


Detox diets are front and cen-ter in nutritional news – and for good reason. Increas-

ingly, there are harmful toxins from herbicides, pesticides, heavy metals, solvents and industrial waste being released into the environment and on our food. The problem is, these toxins eventually accumulate in our bodies, potentially causing innu-merable illnesses, from allergies to cancer.

Toxins also interfere with digestion, alter metabolism, and contribute to weight gain – none of which you want as a bodybuilder, exerciser, or athlete. One of the hardest hit organs is the liver, the metabolic workhorse of the body. The liver has a lot of key metabolic functions. It stores energy in the form of glycogen. It manufac-tures proteins. It aids in digestion. It removes waste. And it helps filter toxins from the body. You definitely do not want to overburden your liver with toxins.

One of the ways you can fight tox-ic build-up is to do a bodily spring cleaning with the Parrillo Perfor-mance 3-Day Detox. It focuses on foods and supplements that naturally cleanse your body.

I need to emphasize, though, that you may need to detox – or may not need to. You should consider my 3-day detox if you:

• Have blood sugar problems, insulin

resistance, or hypoglycemia • Need to get a jump-start on weight loss to reduce body fat• Are experiencing a lot of fatigue• Suffer from chronic joint aches and pains• Experience regular digestive prob-lems such as constipation• Have had a lot of colds over the winter.

If you’re a candidate for the 3-day detox, and decide to follow it, you’ll be emphasizing the following foods because of their detoxification benefits.

Green Leafy VegetablesThese foods are loaded with beta-carotene, an antioxidant that protects plants from environmental insult. Their green hue is a result of chlo-rophyll, which may detoxify and neutralize carcinogens. And, leafy vegetables are loaded with fiber. Fi-ber cleanses the colon by ushering waste and toxins from the body. Eat at least one large green leafy salad a day on the detox. Other foods high in beta-carotene include sweet pota-to, carrots, spinach, pumpkin, winter squash, tomatoes, and bell peppers.

Cruciferous VegetablesBroccoli, broccoli sprouts, cabbage, kale, and Brussels sprouts promote detoxification in the liver due to the phytochemicals in these vegetables. Enjoy these foods cooked or raw. Have 2 to 3 servings daily while detoxing.

Onions and GarlicThese foods boost levels of enzymes in the body that detoxify potential carcinogens. Garlic, in particular, is an effective gastrointestinal detoxi-fier. Garlic and onions are rich in sul-fur, which helps detoxify the liver.

Fibrous CarbsThese foods – namely brown rice and oats – contain soluble and in-soluble fiber that bind toxins to be carried out of the body. While detox-ing, have one to two servings daily of either oats or brown rice.

ProteinsThe best proteins to choose while de-toxing are egg whites (which contain detoxifying sulfur), wild-caught fish such as salmon, dark tuna (which is low in metal toxins), and free-range, anti-biotic-free chicken or turkey.

SupplementsIn addition to foods, there are also several nutritional supplements that can support your body’s detoxifica-tion process and help eliminate pol-lutants. Here are the supplements I recommend for detoxing.

Parrillo Optimized Whey Pro-tein™: Whey protein is rich in glu-tathione, a key antioxidant used by the body to neutralize toxins. This product offers a “clean” (fat free/sugar free) source of protein that is assimilated quickly and with maxi-mum absorption. Optimized Whey™ provides 33 grams of high biologic

value (BV) protein with every serv-ing. With no fat or sugars, and only 4 grams of carbohydrate, Optimized Whey™ mixes with a few swirls of the spoon in a glass of water and the taste is rich, dense and flavorful. It comes in chocolate malt, vanilla malt or strawberry malt flavors.

Evening Primrose Oil 1000™: This beneficial fat helps maintain healthy gut flora, the friendly bacteria in our digestive tract – required for ongo-ing detoxification. Evening primrose oil also decreases inflammation in tissues and boosts the immune sys-tem. Newcomers to this supplement think it’s strange to supplement with a fat, especially while trying to lose body fat. However, the right fats will keep you ripped because they are anabolic. They ramp up the body’s metabolism and therefore increase your energy level, endurance, and performance. Take one to three capsules daily.

Bio-C™: Vitamin C is a well known detoxifier because of its powerful antioxidant properties and ability to keep the liver working at its peak. Vitamin C also helps build a strong immune system and is involved in the production of collagen, a protein building block for cartilage, joints, skin, and blood vessels. Take one or more tablets, preferably with meals.

Other important factors in detox-ing are to supplement with Parrillo Essential Vitamin Formula™ to give your body support nutrients during the detox. Take these supplements with each meal. Also, drink lots of water – at least 2 quarts daily. Wa-ter keeps the kidneys in good work-ing order so that they can flush out toxins.

Finally, eliminate alcohol and nico-

tine during the detox, since they can be harmful to your liver and other organs. It’s also a good idea to cut out caffeine. But if you have trouble withdrawing from coffee, at least try to gradually reduce it over the three-day period.

Here is a rundown of what you’ll eat during the detox:

Day 1Meal 1Parrillo Optimized Whey™ Shake

Meal 24-6 scrambled egg whites1 cup cooked oatmeal

Meal 3Large green salad topped with 3-6 ounces dark tuna and chopped onions

Meal 4Parrillo Optimized Whey™ Shake

Meal 5Lean chicken breastSweet potatoSteamed broccoli seasoned with garlic



Meal 3Large green salad topped with 3-6 ounces cooked salmon, and chopped onion


Meal 5Lean turkey breastBrown riceSteamed cabbage



Meal 3Large green salad topped with 3-6 ounces cooked salmon, and chopped onion


Meal 5Lean turkey breastWinter squash (such as acorn)Steamed green vegetables such as spinach or kale, seasoned with garlic

Feel free to follow the detox at least once a month, or any time you feel you need to give your body a cleansing or reboot your weight loss efforts.

Leafy vegetables are loaded with fiber, which cleanses the colon by

ushering waste and toxins from the body. Eat at least one large green

leafy salad a day on the detox.


Why Parrillo insists on high caloric intake: If you are a serious bodybuilder, cal-

ories can and should be eaten often in meals or snacks that are consumed 4 to 8 times per day, every single day. The calories must be of the right type and kind. We call a proper, body-building-appropriate calorie a “clean” calorie. Clean calories eaten in ample amounts boosts the metabolism and supports the hardcore weight train-ing and the copious cardio John Par-rillo insists we do if we are to fulfill our genetic potential as bodybuilders. We need lots of calories to promote healing and growth. A Parrillo Pro bodybuilder has large, shapely, pro-portional muscles because of what he eats, when he eats and how much he eats; the Parrillo Pro bodybuilder is able to accomplish the most difficult feat in all of bodybuilding: adding muscle size without adding body fat. Anyone can grow muscle; the trick is build muscle without adding an unac-ceptable amount of body fat.

The basic mass-building formula has been known for decades: eat tons of calories on an indiscriminate basis while simultaneously engag-ing in hardcore power training; use super heavy, very basic exercises; train heavy, eat everything that’s not nailed down and be sure and sleep a lot. Using this strategy, anyone with a pulse can grow muscle – and just as surely add body fat. Powerlifters have used this approach for eons: eat big, lift big, rest big, grow big and in the vast majority of cases, grow fat! This “see food” diet is unacceptable to the Parrillo bodybuilder. The amount of body fat accumulation is unaccept-able. Besides, John Parrillo has de-vised a devilishly clever way in which to add muscle size without adding an unacceptable amount of body fat. He bases his approach on the expert use of regular food and amplifies a clean-

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What is your opinion of the NFL Combine’s use of the repetition bench press as their strength bench-mark? There seems to be a lot better ways (and lifts) to test real strength – how’d they come up with the high-rep bench press as the indicator of strength and power? That seems stupid! Ralph, Dayton

The NFL Combine is an annual gathering of the nation’s top college football players. At the Combine players are put through standard-ized drills so that coaches can cross-compare performances. The Com-bine helps coaches determine which new players to select and in which round to select them during the an-nual NFL Draft held every spring. Millions of dollars, literally, ride on

the performance of college players at the Combine. Six events or drills are performed: 40-yard dash, vertical leap, standing broad jump, 3-cone drill (determines ability to change direction at top speed,) the shuttle

run (lateral quickness) and the rep-etition bench press with 225 pounds. I think the rep bench press with 225 is a terrible strength benchmark; I have no idea how they arrived at the rep bench as the quintessential test of football strength. I would have

selected the full squat, if forced to pick a lone strength test. I would have prospects squat three ass-on-heel reps in order to see who is really strong. I would also test new players on the deadlift, done for a single rep. I would test the bench press – but not for high reps; for 3 to 5 reps max; past 10 reps in a weight exercise and you are performing a feat of endur-ance with an element of strength added.

I would prefer to see 3 to 5 clean reps in the bench press. No butts coming off benches, no bouncing, a clean rep is paused on the chest on every rep. The low-rep paused bench press would be a far better and far more accurate test of upper body strength and power. I’d like to see what a pro prospect could power clean and what they could overhead press. These are the true power benchmarks. These


Combine insanity…TV Fad Diets not so fad anymore…Why I love Mongols… Parisian lunge lover…UFC drug busts…Ben’s offer of life advice rejected…

23www.parrillo.com 1-800-3��-3�0� Performance Press / May 2015

“I would have selected the full squat, if forced to pick a lone

strength test.”


lifts need to be tested together and thoroughly, in a formal Combine-like setting. I suspect some idiot in the 1960s, a high school football coach with zero strength creden-tials, formulated the high-rep bench press. Somehow this stupid proto-col got traction and somehow it was crowned the determining strength test for pro football players. The high rep bench press test is a joke; a ri-diculous test that does little in ascer-taining anything other than who is good at benching a 225-pound bar-bell for reps. The high rep, touch and go repetition bench press is an en-durance/strength feat and light years removed from a pure strength feat. The rep bench is a joke that ought be replaced.

Vic,My own mother is buying one of those TV diet systems – and she is getting results! Meanwhile, I am a national level bodybuilder who’s fat-loss advice she has always shunned. My ideas were ‘too weird.’ So she forks over $300 and this outfit sends her “ food” each week. Have you ever seen any of this stuff? It looks like ultra-lite camping food; most come frozen and are loaded with chemicals and preservatives. They tempt potential clients by of-fering “chocolate cake” and “pizza” on their ‘diet plans.’ The actual food is uniformly horrible. How do they do it? Obviously these outfits are tremendously successful; they have been on TV forever and their em-pires and their market share seem to be improving and increasing. They get “celebrities” to tout incredible results. They just flat out lie about results. The celebs claim it is all so effortless; you can lose fat by the bucketful while eating “chocolate cake” and “pizza.” The cake and pizza they show on TV looks like a

celebrity chef just baked them – the stuff they deliver to your door looks like plastic and tastes like stale card-board covered with cheap chocolate syrup. Still they are raking in mil-lions. Does their success cause your head to explode?

Bas, Central Louisiana

You can make a fortune if you have no compunction about telling flat-out lies. Just straight up lie, know-ing the real truth; just make bogus claims people want to believe; mix together words like “revolu-tionary” and “effor t less,”

tell them they can eat chocolate, tell them bread is allowed, so is pasta and ice cream, it is all permissible! Of course, it doesn’t work and you know it doesn’t work; you know it is a lie but you shout to the world that it is true – because the lie allows you to live in a mansion and drive a Porsche. You sell the unobtainable promise. You know no one in a po-sition of authority will question you or your “spokespeople.” The reason these Meal Plans work is portion

control: regardless the “foodstuff” you receive weekly from central processing, each “meal” or ‘food’ contains between 300-600 calories. If you, the purchaser, stick to the recommended foods eaten at the rec-ommended times, you will reduce bodyweight by reducing calories.

Portion control is combined with the elimination of alcohol, sweets and refined foods (other than theirs.) The weight loss is not from a miracle sub-stance or strategy; the weight loss is attributable to portion control. The quality of food offered by these out-fits is uniformly pathetic, doomsday prepper fare, eaten day in, day out, week in, week out, world without end amen. The maddening part is for the amount of money the clients of these TV diet programs spend, they could easily afford gourmet food.

The convenience of popping one of these frozen “meals” into a mi-crowave cannot be underestimated.

Preparing good food and prepar-ing it well is a skill. Some seek

to avoid the kitchen at all cost; instead they happily eat chemical gruel churned out

in a vast industrial vat. They eat freeze-dried food and get results because as horrible as this is, it is a decided improvement over what they were doing! The users of these TV diet plans pay top dollar for substan-dard garbage. These product makers tell people what they want to hear – that they can eat cake and get ripped – and though the results never equal the promise, there are always new suckers to replace the dropouts.

Greetings from central Asia, Mon-golia!

I am a fan and over here with the Mongols filming a Nat Geo

special about their mini-hors-es. I am a sound guy. These Mongolian guys are strong and compact and wiry and like gymnasts when riding horses. Very acrobatic, very athletic, very strong – but a different kind of strong. They have re-ally good grip strength and are good wrestlers. We have noth-ing like them in our society; at least not since the Ameri-can Plains Indians back in the 1800s when they migrated with the buffalo herds. The Mongols are lean and fit, yet do no for-mal fitness. They are a primi-tive, robust people that eat lots of meat and drink lots of milk and eat very few vegetables. Everything is organic for sure. Rough and raw, they live in tents. You’d fit right in. Thad, Central Mongolian Steppe

I’ve always been a Mongol admirer. The life molds the man and these men ride horseback for hours every day and their expertise and mounted martial abilities are legend. To this day many of their horse-mounted archery feats have never been dupli-cated. As you noted, in that society everyone is lean and fit and everyone has some sort of highly physical job. In their nomadic society, there is no such thing as a desk job. I envy your job and find it cool that you seem sharp enough to appreciate what a fabulous experience you are experi-encing. The Mongol cowboy leads a life full of high intensity exercise; the active Mongol herdsman must ride and rope at top speed for extended periods. These people lead lives full of intense physical activity and cou-ple their physicality with an organic, nutrient-dense diet. It is easy to see why they are healthy, fit and capable

humans. Western man has to go to the gym and hire a personal trainer to replicate the physicality of the Mongol lifestyle. Western sissy-man has to purchase his robust activity. Ironic, don’t you think?

Steele-for-Brains,Why are you so down on the great-est of all leg exercises – the walking lunge! I get tired of hearing you say you hate them. If you were to drop by our Paris gym on any warm spring or summer night, a night without rain, you would witness bodybuild-ers doing walking lunges in our parking lot by the canal with 50 ki-los or more on their back. We expe-rience a thigh burn unlike anything ever felt on planet Earth, this after walking a mere 20 paces in each direction – our back knee touches on every rep – the effect is incred-ible and I am sure I would have you screaming like the little sissy man you really are after only three steps. You need to go back to the bent-press

and one-arm snatch and leave mod-ern people alone! Your lunge hatred betrays what we in France call “ex-ercise racism!” Name withheld, Paris, France

No, I really don’t think I will “Drop by our Paris gym on any warm spring or summer night” to see you gay Parisians doing walking lunges “experiencing thigh burns unlike anything ever experienced on planet Earth.” I will take a pass on that visit and will take your word for the awe-someness of that experience. Lunge away, name withheld, you have my blessing. I certainly don’t want to be labeled an exercise racist, particu-larly by Parisian lunge-ers having exercise orgasms in the parking lot. (“Not that there’s anything wrong with it!”) I have visions of men look-ing like Serge Nubert wearing spee-dos and berets, lunging and counting reps in French, perhaps in unison as a synchronized squad. Anyway, my


JOHN PARRILLO’S PERFORMANCE PRESS IRON VIC SPEAKS By IRON VIC STEELE

Diet systems tempt with pizza, chocolate cake and convenience, but the results never equal the promise!

The Mongol cowboy leads a life full of high intensity exercise; the active Mongol herdsman must ride and rope at top

speed for extended periods.


imagination gets the better of me. Lunge on, Name Withheld! Send photos!

Vic,Anderson Silva gets busted for ste-roids and Nick Diaz is popped for weed after their most recent fight. What is the world coming to? Disheartened, Texas

How can they get Nick for weed when it’s legal in two states? Plus, will someone please explain to me how smoking weed is a perfor-mance enhancer for a freaking fist fight?! Really?? His oppo-nents would likely encourage Nick to smoke all the weed he could lay his hands on before a fight. The opponent might even want to foot Diaz’s weed budget. How does Anderson get busted for steroids? Some-one gave that man some bad advice. Steroids? Really? For what? To give him super-hu-man strength? He didn’t have any fighting Nick. Better car-dio? Perhaps. Improved heal-ing? Likely. In any case, even rookies understand different performance enhancing drugs, those on the banned list, have differing clearance times; clearance time is the length of time it takes for the body to rid itself of a felonious substance. Silva’s people were apparently completely ignorant of clearance times and this cost him and his people their purse. I maintain that steroids did little if anything for the 6-1, 185 pound Silva. Everyone hears, “Silva popped for steroids” and imagines some muscled-up monster ripping arms out of sockets and eye-gouging opponents in fits of ‘roid rage. Had Anderson showed up weighing a freaky 225, muscled-

up and massive, I would have said, “Hey! Silva’s gassing and gaining an advantage!” In the Nick Diaz fight Silva looked the same damn way he always looks; lean, hardly mus-cular; sporting a 10 or 11% body fat percentile. Did the steroids help his recovery in training? No doubt yes. Still, the guy did not gain any of the power or strength advantages asso-ciated with taking steroids. In my opinion, he forfeited his purse for nothing!

Mr. Steele,Why so freaking negative and grumpy all the time? Anybody

brings up anything and you use it as an excuse to tee-off – what’s up with that?? You are like the grumpy grandfather that no one wants to sit next to at Thanksgiving. You’re still moaning and complaining, pissed off over the fact that David Lee Roth left Van Halen – get over it! That was thirty years ago! Do you have no re-spect for anyone under age 50?? Try and remain relevant – your tone is decidedly out of touch.

Ben, Cambridge

I might be out of touch with what you think is hip and important, like Justin Bieber’s latest escapade, but at least I don’t sound snide, condescending and imperious like you do, Ben from Cambridge. Van Hager blew. So do you. I have many friends under 30. They are all in the military, kicking ass worldwide. My under 30 friends are stationed in Afghanistan or Af-rica. They ask me for training ad-vice. I get results for those that seek my council – my advice is always the same: attack your weak points. Human nature wants to continually play to our strengths. That is a dead-end. Identify your weak points and

be ruthlessly self-critical. De-vise a training regimen that emphasizes targeting weak points. Stop continually play-ing to your strengths. I don’t think that message ever goes out of fashion. Because I am all about progress and how to keep it going during the body-building “process,” I have nu-merous and ongoing contacts with the absolute cream of the crop of the younger genera-tion. Don’t jump to irrational conclusions Ben. I am hip but jaded; I’ve been around. Ex-cuse me if I am not instantly bowled over by the latest fad diet, the latest “revolutionary”

training mode, product or guru. Ex-cuse me if I decide not to change my life, based on your god-like critique of me, of my personality and of my life. I am sure you are a life-master in your own mind. I sir, however, remain steadfastly unconvinced of your magnificence and ergo, I will pass on your prescription for what you perceive I suffer from: irrational grumpiness and the uncontrollable urge to tee-off on moronic letters sent in by idiots.

2� May 2015 / Performance Press 1-800-3��-3�0� www.parrillo.com


Identify your weak points and be ruthlessly self-critical. Devise a training regimen that emphasizes

targeting weak points. Stop continually playing to your strengths.

PRSRT STDU.S. PoSTage

PaiDCinCinnaTi, oHPeRmiT no. 855

reshaping females,€¦ · muscle on any human, regardless of sex, must be hammered hard in order...

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