ANB Victoria and ANB Nationals Overview

Thew last two weekends have been busy ones for Muscle Academy with first the ANB Victorian State Titles and then the ANB Nationals the weekend just passed. Three clients of mine were competing in across these shows - Jayden, Kimberly and Jonathon. Here is a rundown.

ANB Victorian Titles

Jayden competed just over a week ago at the ANB Vics. This was his last show of the season and I'm very happy with the package that we brought to the stage. I wouldn't have changed anything in regards to the peak week that we performed. All Jayden's hard work paid off with him taking out the Under 90 kg Class which is a great achievement and a nice way to cap off the 2015 contest season. I am told he also came very close to winning the overall, and as you can see from his physique and conditioning below that doesn't surprise me. Congratulations again Jayden!

Jayden on stage at the ANB Victoria State Titles

Jayden with his partner at the show

ANB Nationals
 

Nationals were held at the Marconi Club on Sunday the 11th of October (this past weekend). I had two clients competing at this show - Kimberly and Jonathon. Fortunately I was able to attend this show as it was in Sydney. This is always of great benefit as I am able to help my clients with all aspects of show day and stage preparation so that they look their best.

Kimberly was first up with both of her figure divisions - Novice Figure Short and Open Figure Short. Kim was a bit nervous about getting on stage so I made sure we just focused on getting everything ready - ie having her tan done early enough, making sure she was looking good in terms of her suit/accessories etc and helping to to pump up before she got on stage. From there it was up to Kim and she pulled it off well. Being her first time on stage she wasn't perfect but she hit all the poses properly and she appeared to become more confident as she spent more time on stage. Unfortunately Kim didn't place but she has achieved quiet a bit of weight loss throughout this prep which is a feat to be proud of (15 kg total, which is 25% of her original body mass). Overall it has been a challenging but fulfilling process for Kim. She will now stay on track for one more week for a photoshoot and then begin the process of reverse dieting to recover from the contest diet.

Kim on stage in Novice Figure

Kim hitting an abdominal thigh pose in the Open Figure Short category
 

 Kim and I

Jonathon as you guys who have been following along may know, has a few shows and wins under his belt from this season already. This is his first bodybuilding season but he won the overall at the ANB Newcastle back in September and he also won Open Class 3 at the INBA NSW Titles narrowly missing the overall. Being ANB Nationals these were the toughest line ups Jonathon had faced so far but he was able to prevail winning the Novice Tall, Under 80 kg and the Overall. This is truly an amazing achievement. Few people can say they have won the Overall title at ANB Nationals and be able to call themselves Mr Australia. It's always a hugely difficult show and this title has even evaded me personally to this point. So winning it Jonathon joins an elite club of ANB Nationals winners and if he chooses can accept the invitation to become a UFC pro natural bodybuilder. His success at this show I feel comes down to of course his years of hard work building his physique, managing his contest prep effectively, peaking well and paying attention to the fine details such as posing and flawless colour. There are many factors that go into a champion beyond the obvious ones and I feel that together we ticked all the boxes at Nationals this year. We have one more show to do this coming Sunday which I am very optimistic about.

 Jonathon hitting a side tricep in the Novice Tall pose down

Side chest in the Under 80kg division

Jonathon hitting a most muscular in the Overall pose down

Overall winner

Myself and Jonathon after winning the overall

With Kimberly, Jonathon, Family and Friends on stage after the show

So that's a wrap folks. Now if you are a competitor (first time or experienced) and you are thinking about doing a show in season A next year, I suggest you don't delay in getting in touch with me. The more time we have available the better I will be able to plan and execute a contest season that will be both effective and structured with your well being in mind. Even if you are thinking about doing season B or beyond it's always a good idea to touch base with me about what the best approach might be for you.

Muscle Academy contact details:

Email - info@muscleacademy.com.au
Website - http://www.muscleacademy.com.au
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/MuscleAcademy
Instagram and Twitter - @evansoooon

- Evan

Mind Muscle Connection

INBA NSW

Last weekend was the INBA NSW Titles which was held at the University of New South Wales. I had two clients competing at this show - Aaron and Jonathon. These clients also competed three weeks earlier at the ANB Newcastle Titles (you can check out my run down of that show in an earlier blog).

Aaron has dieted hard in the three weeks between his shows and he did end up improving his condition between then and now. Unfortunately it wasn't enough for him to place on the day but I am proud of his effort and achievement regardless. Aaron has now completed his 2015 contest season and is enjoying some much earned food!

Aaron on stage (green trunks, 5th from right)

With Aaron after the show

Jonathon competed also and won Open Class 3 (height class) which qualified him for the Overall. Unfortunately Jonathon didn't walk away with the overall title on Sunday. It was a close round (they came up with a tie the first time they judged it so had to rejudge all the mandatory poses). I thought he deserved the win but that's not the way the judging went in the end. At the end of the day it was a great outcome for Jonathon and myself and we are looking forward to bringing a better package to the last few shows of the season.

Jonathon on stage in the overall (winner on left)

After the show with the Muscle Academy boys Jonathon and Aaron

Mind Muscle Connection

This is something I want to write about because I think it is often misinterpreted. In fact I think some people take it almost literally, in that they think that your mind actually goes into your muscle. Muscles don't have minds and your mind can't enter a muscle so that doesn't happen lol.

Anyway back on topic, what I see a lot of at the gym and in fitness media is people focusing on the squeeze of a muscle and how it feels. This is usually placed at a high priority and the amount of weight used is often brushed off as being unimportant. This way of approaching weight training is completely backwards. I'm not saying that being aware of which muscles are contracting and focusing on them is unimportant but it certainly should not be the number one priority at the expense of things which are more important (like say the load being lifted for example!). If load isn't important why not just do the exercises with an imaginary bar or dumbbells but with a perfect, hard squeeze? Surely lifting air weights would cause hypertrophy if load isn't important and the squeeze is crucial. But in reality we know that doesn't happen. And I don't know about you guys but that's where I like to live - reality.

What is the mind muscle connection?

The mind muscle connection is in my opinion largely just using good form via contraction of the correct muscles. If you use good form then in most cases the correct muscles are by default doing the work that they should be doing. Pretty simple right?

Can you use correct form by using the wrong muscles?

Yes and no. You can have form that looks like or is close to textbook form. However it is likely that there will be small differences between the correct movement and the false movement. For example you can do a machine row by primarily pulling with your lats and scapula retractors and having the biceps help by performing the function of flexion at the elbow joint. You could also do the same movement by using primarily the biceps to pull the handle hard and having the momentum carry it through. Of course the lats are still going to contract to some degree to extend the shoulder joint but the movement is being initiated and driven by the biceps which should be a secondary mover in this case, not a primary mover. For this example I'd suggest that you wouldn't see much active scapula (retraction) movement happening. The movements are similar but when you look at the details they are different. The latter one is false and not correct form at all.

Does it matter if I can't "feel" my muscle working?

This depends on a few things. The first thing to consider is the exercise. If you are performing a high bar squat with correct form for example and you cannot feel your quads very much it doesn't really matter. The fact that you are using correct form means that the quads are working to extend the knees (as are the glutes and hamstrings to extend the hips). All of those muscles are working together to perform the movement so chances are you won't feel each individual contraction. Whereas if you are performing an isolation movement such as a lying hamstring curl and you can't feel your hamstrings working, you might need to focus more on the contraction of the hamstrings, reassess your technique and maybe even lower the weight a little.

The second thing to consider is the rep range you are working in. If you are working in a really high rep range you are going to accumulate a lot more metabolic by products and so when you reach the last few reps you will feel it a lot. Working in a low rep range it will be difficult and your muscles will be contracting with maximal force but you won't "feel the burn" a whole lot. Not feeling it doesn't mean that the muscles aren't contracting.

The third thing to think about is how well individual muscles contract for you. This is something you can only discover by experience through visual, tactile and sensory feedback. For example in my case I have a lot more trouble contracting my right hamstring as well as my left hamstring. In this case I need to focus a lot more on the contraction of my right hamstring in order for it to be effective. If I don't "feel" it contracting it's actually somewhat of a concern (in that I need to ensure it is
contracting).

Should steroids change anything?

Again, yes and no. Yes because training while on drugs is different to training without drugs, no because to "optimise" results the priorities of training (eg progressive overload) should still reign supreme. It's very common for me to see the situation I described earlier amongst enhanced folk (focusing 100% on the squeeze and thinking weight doesn't matter). I commonly see guys on steroids doing the hack squat with 10 kg on each side. Yes seriously 10 kg on each side! I'm certain I could lift that much the first day I ever stepped into the gym. Chances are I could have even lifted it when I was 10 years old. This isn't about me bragging but there are multiple enhanced guys I see regularly who should be stronger than me. They should be blowing me out of the water when it comes to strength. But they aren't and often I am lifting 2, 3, 4, 5 times as much as them depending on the exercise. I put this down to their training style (the squeeze with light weights). They are on drugs and lifting weights so of course they experience results (quite reasonable results in some cases). That's the power of anabolic steroids for you. But really they are just cruising on the drugs, letting the drugs cause most of the growth whilst doing just enough in the gym to help it along. The benefit to doing this is that it is safer ie they will experience results without any significant risk of mechanical injury.

In my opinion though that isn't the point of steroid use. The point of using drugs in bodybuilding is to aid you in increasing your performance so that you can achieve greater than normal levels of muscle mass and at an accelerated rate. So the priority for enhanced bodybuilders should really be the same as it is for natural bodybuilders ie becoming as strong as possible within relevant rep ranges with good form so as to develop maximum muscle mass (not just the muscle mass that is developed by synthetically raised hormone levels).

Note: this is not a "how to" for drug use and being a natural bodybuilder I don't know very much about drugs. The point is rather that if you are on drugs you should maximise their benefits rather than just cruise fairly passively on the results that they help to bring - and that is done by knowing, prioritising and applying basic training principles.

On that note, I will leave it there for this week. Have some input? Let me know in the comments section or on social media.

Muscle Academy contact details:

Email - info@muscleacademy.com.au
Website - http://www.muscleacademy.com.au
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/MuscleAcademy
Instagram and Twitter - @evansoooon

- Evan

2015 Olympia Overview

Olympia Overview

Well the Olympia weekend is done and dusted and I want to go over the placings for the open bodybuilding and give my take on the event.

Firstly, we all know that Kai Greene didn't compete in the Olympia this year. We don't necessarily know the full story with what happened but at the press conference Bob Chic did clear up that the reason he was not competing was simply because for whatever reason he didn't sign his contract. Apparently that's what it comes down to so really Kai is the only one who let his fans and himself down in that situation.

I have seen various comments all over social media following the Olympia. Many of them have said that Kai Greene would definitely have won the Olympia had he entered. I find this interesting considering (a) we really don't know what Kai would have looked like on stage this year and (b) the top four competitors this year all brought their A game and it was very close. So considering the reality is that for the past four years Kai was unable to bring really crisp conditioning to the Olympia, I think what is more likely is that Kai would have placed outside of the top four. Of course that is just opinion and speculation but whatever the case it certainly doesn't make sense to claim that he would definitely have won the Olympia. In fact I think I enjoyed the Olympia more this year without Kai because there was less drama, more comradery and it allowed us to focus on some of the other top competitors.

Now that is covered let's get into the placings. The top six places this year were:

1. Phil Heath
2. Dexter Jackson
3. Shawn Rhoden
4. Dennis Wolf
5. Ramy
6. Branch Warren

Now as I mentioned above the top four were very competitive this year. After prejudging I had the top four as: 1. Phil, 2. Dennis, 3. Shawn, 4. Dexter. I think Phil was a little smaller and less "freaky" than he usually is. However he definitely had a tighter mid section this year. Overall he was the most complete though. Dennis Wolf I had in second because he was conditioned, full and freaky looking. His rear double bicep looked crazy. Shawn Rhoden appeared to have made some size gains since last year. From the front he looked great. From the rear of course his back was the area that was lacking. Dexter looked better than he usually does (which is always good anyway). He was conditioned and the only reason I had him in fourth at the end of prejudging was because he was a bit smaller than the other three.

Final call out at prejudging

At finals I felt Phil came in better than he did at prejudging. He looked fuller and his muscles popped more. Dennis and Phil had both improved their tan/colour. I'm not quite sure if Dennis had faded slightly compared to prejudging. Regardless he still looked really good. Shawn looked similar to prejudging but his mid section did look a little watery relative to the previous day. Dexter I would say looked equally good to the way he had looked on Friday.

Top call out during finals

Anyhow it obviously turned out that Dexter ended up placing second, Shawn third and Dennis fourth. I think you could have even mixed and matched those placings and it would have been valid just because it was so close. However the placings as they stand do make sense to me and here is why. Firstly all of the top four had a great combination of conditioning and fullness so that isn't something that could really separate the placings. Phil and Dexter are the only two competitors out of the top four that have complete and proportionate physiques so it makes sense that they are the top two. Phil is bigger than Dexter so of course he was first and Dexter was second. Shawn and Dennis both had weak body parts (Shawn's back and Dennis's calves) which pushed them into the third and fourth placings. Dennis is also probably a little bit less proportionate than the others when you look at his total physique.

Fifth place was a lot more difficult to pick. I actually had Roelly in fifth after prejudging based purely on the call outs. However of course we saw Ramy place fifth and Branch place sixth. Branch does have a fairly ugly physique with a few "battle scars" but he was very conditioned. Ramy has a tremendous amount of size but is always (and was this year) too soft. So in this case the judges went for size and structure over condition which I can understand. But I don't personally agree with that decision as I would never place a soft pillow over a hard, grainy physique.

I think the most overlooked competitor both last year and this year was William Bonac. He is a little bit smaller than some of the other competitors but he really does bring a great overall package - full, conditioned, separated, symmetrical, proportionate. He's got it all and I think he really should have gotten a look into the second call out. He did end up moving up to eighth but I think he could have been as high as sixth if the judging were a little fairer.

So that is my take on the Olympia this year. Before I wrap this up I am going to address a few of the common objections I have seen recently.

Typical objections:

1. It's politics, the IFBB is corrupt and it's all about money

This comment I find typically comes from fans who are disgruntled that their favourite competitor didn't win (or perhaps their least favourite competitor did win). I think what these people need to do is start judging the actual physiques that they see, rather than just thinking the bodybuilder that they like the most should win. I can say that when I judge the line ups during prejudging I can usually get pretty close or spot on where the placings actually happen. If you aren't getting close and you are blaming it on "politics" then chances are it's not politics, you just suck at analysing and comparing qualities of physiques. So to those people I would suggest to start learning about what things you should be looking for when comparing physiques in a line up. As much as it is subjective there are actually clear details that you should look for.

Additionally if it is "politics" that determines placings at the Olympia then I would ask this question. Why did Nicole Wilkins place second in figure to a relatively unknown newcomer? Nicole is amongst the most well known and popular figure competitors and is a four time Olympia champion. So if it were all about politics surely she would have won. But hold on, she didn't win. You can't have a double standard where it's all politics for men's bodybuilding but it's somehow not politics for figure at the same show.

2. Dexter should have won

No. There was never a point where Dexter was going to win this show. He did deserve to be in the top two this year. However since him and Phil were both equal in terms of condition, structure, symmetry, proportion etc it really just left muscle mass and Phil has more muscle mass than Dexter. There is no thing that I can see that would have justified Dexter placing first ahead of Phil at this show. So no, Dexter should not have won the Olympia.

3. Dennis or Shawn should have won

As I mentioned previously. Both have weak points. Phil and Dexter do not have any (at least not any glaringly obvious ones that I can see).

4. Phil Heath has a huge gut

Last year Phil was a bit bloated and specifically watery through his abs (very unusual and atypical of the guts you usually see on pro bodybuilders). Anyhow he specifically addressed it this year and didn't show any signs of a gut. In fact he drew deliberate attention to his mid section multiple times during prejudging as if to say "that's right, no gut!".

The thing I find most ironic about this kind of commentary is that it is usually expressed by Kai Greene fans and Kai Greene has a chronic, huge gut that is present every single year. So again a double standard where a gut is apparently ok for Kai to have (or ignored) but when Phil shows up once with a bloated stomach people never let him forget it.

 Kai sporting that nice trim waistline

5. Phil Heath is a big arrogant meany and Kai Greene is black Jesus so Kai should be Mr Olympia

I think the thing that people need to understand here is firstly we don't really know what Phil Heath is like or what Kai Greene is like in reality (in terms of personality). All we see is a limited view of them via social media and via the various bodybuilding media outlets. Secondly a bodybuilder's attitude isn't really relevant for a competition that is all about the person who has the best physique. That's right, it is called BODY-building for a reason!

That's it for this week. If you agree, disagree or have anything to add let me know in the comments.

Muscle Academy contact details:

Email - info@muscleacademy.com.au
Website - http://www.muscleacademy.com.au
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/MuscleAcademy
Instagram and Twitter - @evansoooon

- Evan

ANB Newcastle Overview and Olympia Predictions

ANB Newcastle Overview

Before I go into my 2015 Olympia predictions I would like to go over the ANB Newcastle Classic show which was held last weekend (Sunday the 6th).

Firstly I want to congratulate the ANB on a well run event. The venue had enough space for competitors to tan/prepare/pump up. The officials made sure that ample time and warning was given for competitors ie when exactly they should be back stage preparing etc. For the most part I think the judging was of high quality also. As a coach it is always good to have your clients enter shows that are run smoothly and efficiently because it just makes things easier for me and for my clients that way.

I had two clients entering the show - Aaron who is a personal trainer at North Sydney Fitness First and Jonathon who runs a fitness oriented, healthy meal service called My Fitness Kitchn. Both of them were competing for the first time.

Aaron entered the Novice Short and under 70 kg divisions. Unfortunately he didn't place largely just because he lacked in size compared to others in his classes. However he did display some good conditioning and his presentation, posing and colour were all on point. Aaron will now be rounding out his season by competing in the INBA NSW in two weeks time which we are trying to come in harder and more conditioned for.

Aaron on stage hitting a rear double bicep

With Aaron backstage

My other client Jonathon went in the under 90 kg and Novice Tall classes. The under 90 kg division was the first up for him and perhaps the most competitive class he was in but he ended up coming out on top. He won the Novice Tall class fairly easily. Jonathon also managed to come away with the overall title. Needless to say I was very happy with the result considering it was Jonathon's first ever show and considering we were really just treating it as a warm up for shows later in the season. 

Jonathon in the overall line up
 

With Jonathon backstage

At the end of the day both boys put their all into their prep for this (and upcoming shows). So a big congratulations to them both.

Jonathon (left) and Aaron (right)

Olympia Predictions

With the Olympia just days away I think I will make my predictions for the top five (open bodybuilding). It can be really hard to predict who will place where because people can come in off, others can come in improved. Small changes in physiques can make a big difference at that level. So without further ado here we go:

5th Place

This one has probably been the hardest one to pick since numerous guys could jump in and take this spot - Ramy, Juan, Victor, Branch, Roelly. I think there is a chance that Branch will take this position because he will come in good condition. Ramy has a chance too but he has to be in good condition and we just haven't seen that high standard of conditioning from him yet. I think Roelly tends to struggle with condition and his gut and Victor can be very hit and miss. Despite his freaky upper body I just don't think Juan has the completeness in his lower body in particular to make it into the top five at this stage. So I'd say the most likely candidates for fifth are probably Branch and Ramy. As much as I'd like to see Ramy sneak in there I just don't think he's going to nail the condition so I'm going to go with Branch because we know he will be very hard and for the judges I think that might be enough to bypass his treestump reminiscent proportions.

4th Place

Dexter Jackson - We all know Dexter looks phenomenal. With the exception of maybe the 2011 Arnold Classic he has always compared really well in top line ups. The 2008 Mr Olympia won the Arnold Classic this year, setting the record for most Arnold Classic wins (five). So he's going into this show with a lot of momentum behind him. Whilst I predict that he will be fourth I can see him challenging for second or third place.

3rd Place

Shawn Rhoden  - I have Shawn in third because he has a great physique which compares quite well in a line up. However he never really seems to change much. He's kind of like Dexter Jackson, he just looks good every year but he never gets bigger and seems to get out-massed to a degree by some of the bigger guys. I think if he's on he could be as high as second (and I think he will be battling for that place) but I think more likely he'll be third. He's unlikely to be a danger for first place because he has no freaky wow factor.

2nd Place

 Kai very upset that he is unable to compete

A recent photo of Kai that gained a lot of hype a few weeks back

Originally I had Kai as my pick for second place. However as you may or may not know Kai has announced that he is officially out of the 2015 Olympia. As for the reason, in a video he posted on Facebook today he said "there's more going on than I'm able to say". But it looks like he didn't sign the contract to compete by the due date. So my pick for second place is....

Dennis Wolf - Dennis has been placing consistently well the last few years. He appears to have found the formula for nailing his condition which had been a bit off and on in the past. Of course his main weaknesses are his calves and also his high lats. However with his huge frame he really compares well with the top guys, especially when he is on. He is one of the only guys left with the size and potential condition to be comparable with that of Phil Heath. So I'm hoping that will be the case this year and so I am putting Dennis in second.

1st Place
 

Phil Heath - Phil may be called a lot of things cocky, arrogant, an asshole etc. But whether or not that is true is irrelevant because bodybuilding is not a personality contest. As you might be able to tell from the name "body-building" is about who has the best BODY. And it's quite clear that Phil currently has the best physique of everyone - freaky, popping muscle bellies, fullness, condition, proportionate, symmetrical, aesthetically pleasing to the eye. It's all there. 

Phil was a bit off last year (a mistake I don't think he will make this year) and he was still the clear winner. I just don't see anyone beating him unless he's very off and someone else is looking exceptional. But the way things have been going I doubt anyone is really going to challenge him for the top spot. Especially now that Kai is out of the race Phil is set to win without a doubt. He would have to come in soft and bloated to not win.

There has been some speculation that Phil won't place well because he said in a comment on social media that Arnold had small legs. I don't think that Arnold really cares since he is one of the most successful people in the world. He probably hasn't even read the comments because he has better things to do with his time. Even if he has what is he going to do? Walk up the Olympia judges and say "excuse me please make sure Phil Heath doesn't win because he said mean things about my legs on facebook"? Sorry Arnold isn't much of a girly man and that's just not going to happen in this lifetime.

So Phil Heath number one, that is what I expect to happen this year!

Those are my predictions for the top five. Let me know if you agree or disagree and why in the comments below or on social media. Either way we will find out for sure by the end of this week!

Thanks for reading. I will catch you guys again soon.

Coaching/Contest Prep

For those who are looking to get lean for Summer now is your last chance if you want to be ready in time. Also those who are competing in seasons A and B of 2016 I urge you to contact me soon as places for contest prep coaching are limited and will be filling fast.

Muscle Academy contact details:

Email - info@muscleacademy.com.au
Website - http://www.muscleacademy.com.au
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/MuscleAcademy
Instagram and Twitter - @evansoooon

- Evan

Why aren't my arms 20 inches?

This week I am going to talk about the arms. I'm going to use them as a simple example but if you are clever you will be able to apply this concept to all different parts of your body.

Why aren't my arms 20 inches?

If you are reading this, you are probably someone who has weak arms or wants to develop bigger, fuller arms. The answer to how to do this always requires context but I will go over what things can be issues and what steps you can take to improve.

The Problems

There are numerous barriers to developing a good set of arms:

- genetics
- inappropriate volume, intensity and frequency
- incorrect form
- poor exercise selection
- misplaced progamming focus
- lack of patience

Genetics

Genetics play a big role in both how much muscle you are capable of gaining on your arms and the shape of that muscle. If you have short bicep muscle bellies and long tendons where they insert at the elbow joint then you are more likely to have a bicep which bunches up into a "baseball" or a "peak". If you have long bicep muscle bellies and a short amount of bicep tendon at the elbow (this is me) then you are more likely to have longer, fuller biceps when contracted but less peak. I like to call the latter a "football bicep" as opposed to a baseball bicep.

Of course that is just the biceps, the triceps also contribute to arm size to a great degree. In fact they contribute to a greater degree than the biceps, they just aren't noticed as readily. All three heads of the triceps play a role in arm size but the extent to which there is potential for long head development will determine how "round" the arm looks in the contracted position (looking from the front).

Arnold had one bicep with a shorter muscle belly/longer tendon "peak" structure and another long, full bicep

Inappropriate volume, intensity and frequency

The interplay of these three variables is largely what makes up your training program (along with a few other things). Any of these things can be too high, too low or not interplaying well with each other, resulting in a lack of progress. Obviously this applies both to individual muscles like the biceps and triceps and broadly to the entire musculoskeletal system.

Incorrect form

Bad technique can limit the amount of gains you make because the muscle intended to move the weight through the range of motion is not doing so. In the case of the biceps often excessive momentum is used to swing the weight up, too much shoulder flexion occurs and too little forearm supination occurs. When we are talking about the triceps there is a greater variety of exercises that can be performed so it depends on the context but usually it is a lack of range of motion (extension) at the elbow joint, excessive weight being used, lack of control of the exercise or otherwise faulty mechanics.

Arnold demonstrates incorrect form aka the girl walking downstairs in The Exorcist

Poor exercise selection

Care needs to be taken to select exercises which are appropriate for the individual performing them and for the goal that the exercise needs to accomplish. If the latter is neglected then the result will not be achieved to the best potential. When it comes to arm development, exercises which target ALL areas of the arm are important. Yes this means the biceps and triceps but it is important not to neglect the forearms and secondary elbow flexors (brachialis and brachioradialis being the main two). All of these muscles contribute to total arm development and a lack of any one of them makes the arms noticeably less impressive.

Misplaced programming focus

Sometimes when a muscle is not responding well to training we start to gravitate towards extremes. That is we might resort to the "whatever it takes" mentality and try anything from eight hour arm workouts on the extreme end and things like German volume training, pre exhaustion with compound exercises (eg chin ups) and intensity techniques on the less extreme side. Some of these things are ridiculous, and others might actually be valid to some degree. The consideration is sustainability and progression. Are you really going to be able to keep doing 10 sets of 10 for biceps for the rest of your lifting career? Will you be able to continue to progress doing that in the long term? Or is it just a short term road to some gains which will eventually plateau and leave you struggling with where to take your training next?

Oh Rich you are the first person in the history of the world to tell it like it is bro

Lack of patience

Everybody these days wants everything NOW. They often don't realise how long it takes to develop a good physique, and weak body parts no less. Weak body parts are always going to take a long time to develop. Sometimes you will discover something which does increase the rate of development but generally you won't stumble across these things unless a fundamental was out of place and you didn't quite realise it initially.

The Solutions

Genetics

There is obviously no solution to having poor arm genetics. All you can do is accept that you do have poor genetics in whatever regard and then make a commitment to developing them to be the best they can be within your own limitations.

Before you can accept that you have poor arm genetics though you need to be able to recognise that you have poor arm genetics. I'm going to discuss how to recognise this in regards to the structure of the biceps in particular. I suggest standing in front of a mirror and abducting your arms to shoulder level with elbows extended. Examine what the biceps look like. Most people will have similar looking biceps in this position as when they are stretched out the amount of muscle won't be terribly apparent. Next contract your biceps and bend your elbows 90 degrees. Again look at your biceps and take note of the amount of muscle vs tendon. Finally contract your biceps completely, moving your forearms as close to your biceps as they will go (a front double bicep pose). Examine the way your biceps look once again taking note of the amount of muscle vs tendon. Having looked at these three positions should give you a fairly good idea of the structure of your biceps. Having a short baseball bicep, a short peaked bicep or a long, full football bicep can all be good things in different ways. Maybe you have none of these. You might have a lot of tendon and very little muscle which lacks appreciable shape. Generally football biceps have the most potential for overall size as there is simply more muscle tissue to fill out. However baseballs and peaks can be quite impressive in their own rights. If you have hardly any muscle tissue, you probably got screwed genetically (unless you have been training for a short period of time).

That covers structure, but what about potential for growth and rate of growth? These things will only become apparent with experience. If you've been training for 10 years, doing everything correctly and you still have small biceps, chances are you just don't have good potential for muscle growth in that muscle group.

Like we noted above if you do discover that your genetics for arm development are poor there isn't anything you can do about it. So don't waste time worrying about it and invest your energy into a reasonable plan of action as well as developing self acceptance and patience/trust in the process.

Sergio Oliva was famous for his long, full biceps

Inappropriate volume, intensity and frequency

I can't tell you the exact answer to how you should program your training variables. However a good starting point for most people is between 40 and 70 reps per muscle group trained 2 - 3 times per week. 1 - 15 reps is a good range for hypertrophy but when it comes to the exercises which are appropriate for training the biceps and triceps many of them are isolation exercises meaning that you will probably be working in more of the 6 - 15 rep range (exceptions might be compound exercises like close grip bench press).

Incorrect form

The main things to address here are:

- Keep the weight under control ie don't swing and use momentum
- The primary function of the biceps is to flex the elbow joint. Some translation of the elbow is ok when performing bicep curls but excessive shoulder flexion is undesirable. The same thing goes for tricep cable push downs
- Make sure you supinate completely when performing dumbbell curls. Half the people I see doing this exercise seem to do it in a fashion that looks half way between a supinated bicep curl and a hammer curl. Supination is one of the functions of the biceps. Not completing the movement means you won't be getting a complete contraction and you are short changing yourself.
- Use a full range of motion

Poor exercise selection

For the biceps you want to include curl variations which involve flexion and supination. For triceps I think it's good to include exercises in different ranges of shoulder flexion. All of the three heads will contract during all exercises involving elbow extension but certain exercises will emphasise different heads. I suggest at least one push down movement and one overhead extension movement. Lastly don't neglect the secondary elbow flexors. An exercise like hammer curls will place an emphasis on the brachialis and brachioradialis. This is one area that is consistently neglected by gym goers. Perhaps they think they are unnecessary or perhaps they just don't think to train them, but one thing is for sure I rarely see people specifically train this area and I rarely see people with well developed forearms. Speaking of forearms you can also perform wrist curls into flexion or extension to develop the forearm flexors/extensors but the return on investment is somewhat limited.

 Hammer curls - I've done these consistently for my whole time lifting, can you tell?

Misplaced programming focus

When it comes to programming I suggest having an overall philosophy or goal of progressive overload. Within that you want to have a specific progression scheme. With some of the isolation exercises for biceps and triceps you may have to sometimes focus on adding reps more than increasing weight simply because the smallest increment available to increase by can be a relatively large percentage of the weight you are lifting (depending on how much you are lifting and the exercise). 

Lack of patience

Here is a novel idea. Consider that it takes a long time to build a good amount of muscle. If we are talking about some of the weakest muscles in your body genetically, they could take many years until they look even decent. Strap yourself in for the long haul.

Personal Anecdote

I do want to offer my perspective on this in case any of you are feeling hopeless at this point. Just stick with it. I had fairly poor legs at some point. My legs didn't respond quickly to training but if you were to look at my legs now you'd probably say they are one of my strongest body parts. It wasn't until I started training my legs more than once per week that they really responded well and over several years they have grown a good amount just by focusing on the basics. Now I'm not saying this can be achieved by everyone for all weak muscle groups but I am certain that you can always improve. Stick with the things discussed above that make logical sense and actually offer a gradual return on investment.

Thankyou for reading, I'll catch you guys next week.

Muscle Academy contact details:

Email - info@muscleacademy.com.au
Website - http://www.muscleacademy.com.au
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Instagram and Twitter - @evansoooon

- Evan

Is bodybuilding a sport?

Is bodybuilding a sport?

This is something that I have seen discussed many times over, so I more or less know the topic inside out. I will present both sides of the argument as well as going over my personal opinion.

Against bodybuilding being a sport

The arguments against bodybuilding being a sport centre largely around:

- sports are usually, but not always, scored objectively
- sports usually involve a performance aspect
- bodybuilding is less similar to sports than it is to other competitive activities
- technical aspects related to the definition of "sport"

Sport - the definition

I think firstly let's define what sport is so that we have something to work with. The dictionary defines sport as:

"an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment"

 Objective Scoring

Usually sports are scored objectively in some way. If you are performing a race of some kind then the person who finishes within the shortest time is the winner. If you are a powerlifter and you lift the most total weight on the squat, bench press and deadlift you win the meet. If you are playing basketball and your team shoots the most baskets amounting to the greatest score then your team wins the game. This is fairly straight forward. The argument against bodybuilding being a sport therefore is that the competitors are judged subjectively based on loose criteria. There is no direct control that you have over your score or placing.

 Basketball is an example of an objectively scored sport

Performance

Another thing most sports have in common is that the training and performance of the sport activity are directly related. Whether that be shot put, table tennis, sprinting, soccer, swimming, your training develops skills and abilities which directly contribute to the activity you perform. In bodybuilding that doesn't happen. You train for hypertrophy and whilst there is certainly a performance aspect to training when it comes to the competition there is no related performance aspect. You get on stage to display the physique you have built through the training that you have done.

Posing in bodybuilding displays the physique but isn't a performance activity

Similarities and Differences

Another argument that people put forward is that bodybuilding not only has differences between itself and other sports but that it has similarities to other competitions. In particular people like to cite that bodybuilding competitions are similar to beauty pageants. Indeed they do have some similarities - judged partly on physical appearance, they involves training and preparation of some kind, they are both competitions which are judged subjectively and both involve posing on stage in a bikini or posing trunks.

 Bodybuilding contests and beauty pageants - the same thing?

Technicalities of the Definition

 So again the definition of sport was

"an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment"

In particular proponents of bodybuilding not being a sport argue that the performance on stage is what really matters (as opposed to the training). They would then argue that posing doesn't involve much physical exertion or skill.

  For bodybuilding being a sport

The arguments for bodybuilding being a sport centre largely around:

- not all sports are scored objectively
- bodybuilding involves an athletic training aspect
- similarities to other activities don't matter
- technicalities of the definition

Subjective Scoring

Whilst I would say the majority of sports are scored objectively as I discussed above, there are certainly some sports which are scored subjectively. Four examples which come to mind immediately are gymnastics, figure skating, synchronised swimming and diving. All of these sports have criteria which they are judged upon but they are judged subjectively by a panel nonetheless. Saying that an activity must be judged objectively to be considered as a sport is therefore incorrect.

Figure skating - a sport which is judged subjectively

Competition vs Training

I think where both sides really disagree is the consideration of the actual competition vs the training which is involved for it. Like I said already most other sports do have a performance aspect to the competitive activity. Bodybuilding doesn't really have that but it does include it very much as the main part of the preparation for the competition. Training for muscular hypertrophy is very demanding as much so as many other sports and you could certainly consider the activity of resistance training as athletic. It is definitely "training" as opposed to "exercise" if you get what I am saying.

 Bodybuilding isn't a performance based activity ... tell that to Ronnie Coleman

Similar =/= Exactly the same

The argument that bodybuilding competitions are the same as beauty pageants is a flawed one in my opinion. Whilst I do recognise that there are some legitimate similarities between the two things, I dispute that they are the same thing. Some examples of differences between bodybuilding competitions and pageants include but are not limited to:

- one is a competition between muscular males or females, the other is a competition between slim females only
- one involves age groups from teenage to elderly, the other involves children and young women
- bodybuilding involves peaking strategies, pageants do not
- one involves a series of mandatory poses, the other does not
- one involves a posing routine set to music, the other does not
- one involves a variety of rounds including appearance in a swimsuit, appearance in a gown, talent in an activity and poise answering questions about things like how they would solve contemporary problems in society. The other involves just muscular appearance
- in one the competitors apply a very dark tan, in the other the competitors lack the same degree of tan
- the training and preparation involved for each competition is completely different
- bodybuilders get to extremely low levels of bodyfat, pageant competitors don't
- the judging criteria for the aspects of appearance which are judged are different
- some bodybuilders use anabolic steroids and other performance based substances, pageant competitors don't

Clearly pageants and bodybuilding contests are completely different things. And to argue that they are the same thing based on the few similarities that they do have is wrong. That would be the same as arguing that apples and tomatoes are the same thing, cricket and baseball are the same games or sharks and dolphins are exactly the same. It is possible for things to have some similarities whilst actually being two different things.

 Mmmmm I can't wait to eat both of these round, red fruits which are exactly the same

Technicalities of the Definition

For ease of reading I will paste the definition of sport here one more time:

"an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment"

Now we need to tick off the boxes for bodybuilding to technically be considered a sport:

- it is an activity TICK
- the training involves physical exertion and skill TICK
- you can argue that the posing on stage involves both physical exertion and skill (anyone who has competed will know exactly what I mean) TICK
- bodybuilding involves an individual competing against others TICK
- the purpose is entertainment TICK

So if we are strictly looking at the definition of a sport then it is possible for bodybuilding to be considered a sport because you can argue that it technically fulfills what the definition requires.

My Opinion

Personally I have seen this argument so many times that I can see both sides. I do like to think of bodybuilding as a sport. Being someone who is involved in it and knowing what it requires, I naturally think about it that way until these kinds of arguments are brought up. I'd also be fairly happy to call it a "competitive recreational activity". However I don't think it is correct to call bodybuilding contests pageants. I feel that comparison is usually drawn as an attempt to upset bodybuilding competitors because it is known that suggesting bodybuilding is the same as something inherently feminine will be interpreted as offensive. I don't think it really matters what we define it as at the end of the day. It doesn't really change anything about bodybuilding. It's still the same thing whether you call it a sport, an activity, a competition or whatever else.

Announcement: I plan to have Muscle Academy t shirts and perhaps other apparel available soon. I hope for them to be available within the next few weeks for competitors, clients and followers. So keep an eye out on social media. If you aren't following me already on social media my details are below.

Muscle Academy contact details:

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- Evan

Staying Humble

I have been sitting here thinking about what I am going to write about this week and it suddenly dawned on me. I was thinking about this over the weekend. It's a topic that I think many people in the fitness industry could take on board and at the least have a think about or do some self reflection.

The importance of staying humble

I am writing this in relation to those involved in the fitness industry and bodybuilding. Bodybuilding and fitness unfortunately are things that are driven largely by image. Even the name bodybuilding describes building the body. It's a body centric activity. Unfortunately it also tends to be an activity that distorts many people's egos. It's something that goes with the sport simply because it is so self focused and so image focused.

Let's think about some of the behaviours that bodybuilders and people in the fitness industry engage in:

- analysing your physique in the mirror or other reflections
- taking photos of yourself or having others take photos of you
- judging your own physical appearance (physique)
- judging others people's physical appearance (physique) in relation to yours
- taking selfies
- boasting or bragging about physique, fitness related financial success or otherwise
- posting any of the above on social media

Now I'm not saying that all of the above are negative things which should be completely avoided. Many of them are actually necessary and useful things for monitoring self progress. In fact I do many of those things myself. I'd actually say that most of us who are involved in bodybuilding and fitness would be lying if they said they'd never done any of those things. However all of those things are self focused and body image focused. Some of them are fine and others are a little unhealthy by nature but all of them can become somewhat unhealthy if the ego gets too big.

I suppose what I'm getting at is the mindset behind all of this. Looking at yourself in the mirror at the gym and admiring/being proud of your progress is ok. You shouldn't feel ashamed of yourself for feeling good that you are improving the way you look or improving your fitness and health in some manner. But if you start thinking a little too much of yourself I think that can start to become a bit of a problem. And I think some people do start to feel this way, even if they deny it.

This doesn't exist only amongst amateur bodybuilders or in the general fitness arena. Think about Phil Heath and Kai Greene at last year's Mr Olympia. Here are two of the best professional bodybuilders in the world and each of them were bickering like school girls on and off stage. Why? Too much ego. And you might say "well they are the best so it's fine for them to have inflated egos". Well, not really. You can be the best at something without thinking the world of yourself.

I think often times actually the people who are at the top of different sports or the top in whatever else are actually the most humble. They know what they are capable of and what it took to get there. They have respect for the process. So they don't need to prove to everyone that they are something fantastic and they don't think they are God's gift to the world. Usually when people try to prove themselves it stems from insecurity. The people at the top (usually) aren't insecure.

The fact is everybody struggles with this to some degree. When you start to get good at something and achieve results your ego gets a boost. It's human nature.

What can we do to stay humble?

 Check yourself before you wreck yourself - I think the first step is just being mindful of our egos. Be aware that you are involved in an activity or in an industry that is very image focused. When you achieve something good and your ego starts to inflate, reign it back in. Recognise your progress but stay calm and focus on further progress, not on how great you are.

Educate and dominate - knowing what is realistic in terms of your physique, strength development etc will go a long way. Educating yourself and having a greater level of knowledge about a variety of factors that contribute to your progress will keep you grounded in reality a lot more. Ideally this should help to keep you a little more humble because you will realise what to expect in terms of results and just what a slow and gradual process this is that requires a lot of focus, consistency, patience and dedication. I think that in itself is humbling. Those that stick with this for the long haul knowing the reality of how slow progress really is have the opportunity to develop some positive character traits along the way (one of them being humility).

Moderate your own behaviour - sometimes the behaviour we engage in fosters our ego to become bigger and bigger. To negate this, have an attitude and behaviour that promotes the opposite. Pull back on talking yourself up. If you are posting on social media know the reason why you are posting - fun, business, progress, to brag, attention. If the reason you are posting is because you want to show off and get attention, maybe just hold back and don't post. Achieving success and being modest about it says a lot about yourself.

Develop yourself in a balanced way - this is difficult advice to give when bodybuilding is such an extreme activity which sometimes requires extreme measures. Sometimes we need to take a step back, look at the big picture and ask ourselves are we truly balanced. Your physique and fitness should not be your entire life. Things like interpersonal relationships, family, education/intellectual development, career, spiritual development, emotional well being, travel/cultural experience and personal happiness are just some examples of areas that can be important and should be paid ample attention. Live your life outside of the small subculture of bodybuilding and fitness.

Don't think, do - what I mean by this is that if when you achieve something if you spend too much time thinking about how great you are for achieving that thing then you aren't spending that time being productive. You could be creating and/or acting on a strategy for success in the next thing. Of course there is time for relaxing, resting and non-action too. However what I am saying is doing things, planning, practicing, training, applying, creating is so much more valuable and productive than expressing to yourself and to others how great you are. If what you are achieving is great, people are going to take notice without you making a big noise about it.

Small steps - I want to point out that by writing this I'm not hoping to create a massive change. If anything I realise that many people are very set in their ways and don't even see this as a problem. But I am hoping a few people might read this and think "yeah I let my ego soar a bit high sometimes" and then apply mental effort and take behavioural actions to keep it in check. As bodybuilders we don't need to become Buddhist monks but we could have a think about the nature of ourselves in this activity/industry. A little bit of humbleness goes a long way, especially in an industry where we see much of the opposite. Do your part to make this better, not worse.

Those are my thoughts for the week. I hope you enjoyed reading them. I'll be back next week with a different topic. Remember if you have any coaching enquiries or perhaps a topic you'd like me to cover in my blog in the future then you can contact me as per below.

Muscle Academy contact details:

Email - info@muscleacademy.com.au
Website - http://www.muscleacademy.com.au
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/MuscleAcademy
Instagram and Twitter - @evansoooon

- Evan