Natural Bodybuilding at F.I.S.H.

At F.I.S.H. we have a special interest in natural bodybuilding (bodybuilding without steroids). We have in depth knowledge - both theoretical and practical- of the major schools of training (including the High Volume Training associated with Arnold, High Intensity Training as advocated by Mike Mentzer & Dorian Yates, Denie's "Psycho-Blasting", X-Reps etc).

Del makes prolific use of Olympic Strength Coach Charles Poliquin's training protocols having studies his major writings and implemented his approaches with great success. Del is currently studying for the Poliquin International Certification Program.

If you would like to improve your body shape & composition, learn the basics, improve technique, or if you have aspirations to compete in figure fitness or bodybuilding competitions book a FREE consultation to see how we can help you with all aspects of training and nutrition.

Contact fishfitness@tiscali.co.uk for more information or to request your free consultation.

Mike Mentzer and High Intensity Training

Nothing polarizes proponents of weight training and bodybuilding as much as the figure of Mike Mentzer. Mentzer was a professional bodybuilder who won the Mr Universe title in the 70s and the heavyweight category at the Olympia. He last competed in the 1980 Olympia and was favoured by many to win. This was the year of Arnold's comeback as part of his preparation for "Conan the Barbarian" and the Austrian Oak won amidst controversy. Mike Mentzer came fifth, despite being in the most awesome shape of his life. He retired from professional bodybuilding in disgust.

Mentzer continued to write his "Heavy Duty" column in "Ironman" magazine and produced books and other media promoting his "Heavy Duty" training system - high intensity training in which the volume of training is reduced, rest periods are increased, and heavy weights are favoured, often using intensity increasers like pre-exhaust, negatives, and forced reps.

Mentzer likened the training stimulus to other stressors on the body, including exposure to the sun. Too much sun exposure results in sunburn and the destruction of skin rather than the desired tanning effect. Too much volume in weight training, coupled with insufficient rest, leads to over-training and muscle atrophy.

Mentzer recommended training infrequently and he advised cutting down the volume, often as low as one all-out effort working set for a particular body part. Some of Mentzer's protocols were adopted successfully by seven-time Mr Olympia Dorian Yates.

Mentzer has come in for a lot of criticism, however. Charles Poliquin, for one, says that it is impossible to completely exhaust all available motor units with just one working set. Another problem is Mentzer's insistence on taking every set to failure and beyond - something which has been shown to reduce testosterone levels and thus decrease the anabolic environment needed for muscle growth.

Mentzer was right, however, to reduce training time (anything above 45-60 minutes generally results in an increase in cortisol levels which results in catabolism and gluconeogenesis). He was right to indicate that many bodybuilders trained too frequently and were thus prone to over-training syndrome.

During his professional career, Mentzer initially followed the high volume training associated with Arnold et al. He later identified the need for less frequent training but seem, in his later writings, to have reduced training frequency ad absurdum.

If Mentzer's insights are married with the high volume approach and a middle ground is sought his ideas start to bear fruit. Ideally, training protocols need to be varied, periodised, so that high intensity, low volume (in terms of total reps performed) work gives way to periods of lower intensity (load) higher volume work. Rest intervals between sets, number of sets and reps, and number of training days are all factors that need to be manipulated in order to ensure maximal training effects.

In general I like to change training protocols every 6 weeks or so (for example, six week periods of accumulation, increasing volume; strength work at higher intensity, lower over-all volume, and longer rest intervals; fat stripping periods of high volume, higher reps and incomplete rest between sets etc).

It is best to avoid the polemic on either side of the high intensity vs high volume debate. We need aspects of both, and more, for continuous progress. Mentzer was a thoughtful, intelligent, trainer who may have had personal and political reasons to wage war against the protocols promoted by the bodybuilding "authorities". He offers insights into some of the pitfalls that have always plagued bodybuilding - such as the psychological reasons for too frequent training, but his own views often need tempering.

The key is to understand how each stage of training relates to specific goals. Understand what you are trying to do and how to get those results safely and effectively. There is no perfect programme that can continue to reap rewards indefinitely. One of the most interesting things about training (and a real pain to those who are mentally lazy) is that it has to keep evolving if the body is going to continue adapting.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger has taken on something akin to mythical status in the world of bodybuilding. Despite the decades since his departure from the competitive stage Arnold is often the first name to spring to mind when bodybuilding is mentioned. He has his critics, of course (Lee Haney described himself as having "a more complete" physique than Arnold in the '80s, and current Mr Olympia, Jay Cutler, reputedly told Arnold he knew next to nothing about modern bodybuilding).

However, Arnold still bears comparison with the current crop of bodybuilding "freaks" whose proportions have become ludicrously inflated so that they resemble bloated Cardassians more than human beings. Arnold won the "Best Built Man" title early in his career: the modern heavy weights would no doubt be excluded from such a competition on the grounds of species.

There have been internet polls comparing Arnold to Ronnie Coleman, the previous Mr Olympia. Coleman may well have been awesomely huge, but Arnold came out on top in the polls due to his superior aesthetic. At his best, Arnold retained something of the classical physique, and in some ways his "weaknesses" (his legs were nowhere near as huge as the those of modern bodybuilders) may well have been his strengths.

Another recent poll, this time in a bodybuilding magazine, compared the chests of top bodybuilders from the past to the present. Arnold came first with Lou Ferrigno close behind.

Training philosophy has certainly changed since Arnold's day. He used to advocate gruelling two hour workouts often twice per day but research has shown that working out beyond the 45-60 minute mark produces high levels of the catabolic hormone cortisol. Obviously Arnold was able to achieve great results with his prolonged training sessions (due to genetics and anabolic steroids) but he may have achieved even more had he trained a little less. That said, Arnold's "Basic Training Program" in his "Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding" is excellent. The more advanced programmes are probably a bit over-the-top in terms of volume (as Mike Mentzer's prescriptions are woefully inadequate in terms of complete motor unit recruitment).

Arnold has a shoulder exercise named after him, the "Arnold Press", which is a sort of combined lateral raise and shoulder press. He also has "The Arnold Classic", one of the most prestigious bodybuilding competitions (which also hosts an array of other sports).

Whatever one may think of Arnold, he remains an inspiration for many and probably the greatest icon of bodybuilding - so much so that we felt obliged to put a poster of Arnold up in the F.I.S.H. studio behind the power rack (perhaps one last rep of squats could be squeezed out by appealing to this demi-god of training).

Progression in Resistance Training

You must have noticed the guys in the gym who always train hard, always train heavy, and always train the same. You may also have noticed that, no matter how long you have witnessed their training, they also always look the same.

There may be a number of reasons for lack of progress: inadequate nutrition or rest; poor timing of nutrition and supplementation; inappropriate exercises. Often lack of progress can be ascribed to poor knowledge, poor technique, and a lack of variety.

The body is a lazy organism. It is concerned with the conservation of energy and assiduously tries to cling to homeostasis, maintaining its biological state within pre-set parameters. Unless muscle fibres are stressed to the point of overload there will be no incentive for them to grow. If they are taken to the point of momentary muscular failure (or beyond, as with forced repetitions) the signal to grow is even greater (in the latter case up to 30% greater). To ensure muscular overload is progressive, leading to bigger gains, there are a number of variables that can be manipulated. For many recreational bodybuilders, however, it is always about increasing the weight at all costs.

In addition to poor exercise knowledge, poor form, and an ignorance of specificity, the other contributing factor to training plateaus is lack of variety.

If you perform the same routine week in, week out, there will come a point when you cannot increase the weight without sacrificing form. Your body will also quickly adapt to a particular way of training. If it is no longer taxed it will cease to develop.

In order to increase the intensity of a workout there are a number of variables that can be manipulated: resistance (weight), repetitions, rate (speed), rest (in between sets) and range of motion. Experiment with each of the “5 Rs”. Cut down your rest in between sets. The muscles won’t be fully recovered and will fail earlier in the next set. Move through a full range of motion (fully extend the arms at the start point of a biceps curl for example); sometimes pause along various points in the range of movement and allow the muscles to statically contract; exploit peak contraction positions; slow the movements down, control the negative. Sometimes use faster movements; sometimes work with heavy weights, but only if you can maintain good form. Experiment with high intensity techniques (rest-pause, supersets, pre and post-exhaust, negatives, static contraction etc). If you increase the intensity you may need to reduce the volume. Mike Mentzer advocated short bursts of extremely high intensity training using very heavy loads (with perfect form) and then leaving the gym to start the recovery and growth process. Dorian Yates, six times Mr Olympia, successfully exploited this type of training philosophy but there is, for the recreational bodybuilder, a caveat: Yates suffered his share of major injuries, including a detached tricep, and when Frenchman Francis Benfatto experimented with heavy training he seriously damaged his pectoral. If you use high intensity, don’t use it exclusively. Vary your training.

Don’t allow your workouts to become totally random, however. Follow a basic programme that gradually progresses resistance (consider using step loading cycles for 4-6 weeks). Intersperse your regular training with sessions of high intensity work. Don’t be afraid to modify your routine every 4-6 weeks. Listen to your body. Keep notes of how you respond to different approaches and mix your approaches. Francis Benfatto, who recently staged an incredible comeback at the Australian Grand Prix, makes the comparison between training and music:

“You don’t play with just one note of music, and we bodybuilders can’t play just with weights. We must play with technique, reps, speed, machines, dumbbells, barbells, inclines, declines, supersets, giant sets – everything. We must push our bodies with new things all the time so we can always progress.” (Flex, September 2006, p118)

With a combination of good nutrition, adequate rest, clear goals, exercise knowledge, good form and variety you will continue to make gains. Don’t be one of those people who always seem to be in the gym, always train hard, and seldom change their physiques. Think about what you want to achieve, study the most effective exercises and learn correct form (consider having a session on technique with a personal trainer who has knowledge of bodybuilding), manipulate the “5 Rs” and experiment with high intensity at intervals. Don’t worry about what everyone else is lifting. Focus on form – it’s all in the execution not the ego.

Training Infrequently

When I first started training with weights I was influenced by the high volume approach advocated by, amongst others, Arnold Schwarzenegger. I found myself in the gym for two to three hours six (sometimes even seven) times a week.

Initially I made some progress. Mostly this was due to moving from a sedentary to a very active lifestyle and the caloric deficit created by hours of training. After a few months, however, the progress stopped/ By now I was psychologically addicted to training and found myself going to the gym even when I knew further training would be counter-productive.

During this period I discovered the writings of Mike Mentzer whose "Heavy Duty" training system (High Intensity Training) recommended brief but extremely intense bouts of exercise followed by long rest periods. I tried this for a while but found training for only twenty to thirty minutes once every four to seven days unfulfilling. Whilst Mentzer might have commented that this was due to a psychological need, I was never fully convinced of his infrequency principle.

Over time I completed my Personal Training course with YMCA F.I.T. and continued to read as much as I could on weight training: Denie's"Psycho-blast", Stuart McRobert, Charles Poliquin, John Hansen etc.

The approaches and theories are somewhat conflicting and bewildering. Up to a point you can achieve results with any of them. Some are safer than others, and this leads to the possibility of long-term progression. Others are more suitable to experienced trainers or elite body builders. Stuart McRobert's approach is extremely sensible and he provides excellent advice on technique and steady progression, but, for me, his approach is mechanical and uninspiring. I also found the rate of progression a little too slow - although I agree with using very small weight increments for progression at times.

In my own training I have evolved a somewhat eclectic approach that focuses primarily on compound exercises (squats, dead lifts, bench press, bent over rows, chin ups, dips, and bar bell biceps curls). I now train each body part for 4-8 sets once per week (formerly I could do anything up to thirty sets for chest twice a week). I currently use a three day split, although recently whilst setting up the F.I.S.H. studio I've been limited to two workouts at home and have been surprised at the growth achieved with relatively lights weights and lots of rest.

So Mentzer had a point about infrequency but perhaps too much of a point. I find that resting at least 48 hours between workouts is keeping me growing and that three (sometimes four) workouts per week allows me the time to hit each body part effectively and does fulfill my (pathological?) need to train fairly frequently. Taking seven (or even up to fourteen) days of rest between workouts seems excessive and may actually interfere with the habituation which is essential to continuing with an exercise programme.

I still throw in the odd super-set, pre-exhaust, post-exhaust, drop set or rest-pause, but whereas before I would use these techniques at every workout I now use them only occasionally (often not for weeks). They have become plateau busters and novelties that keep me interested. Sometimes they are time savers and enable me to do an effective and intense workout in under half an hour.

In conclusion, for drug-free body-building (from my experience) it is effective to train three to four times a week with at least one whole day off in between workouts. If you are forced, through circumstances, to take an extra rest day don't be disheartened or frustrated. See this as an opportunity to recover and grow. This cognitive re-structuring has been a key to my recent progress - being able to see rest days in a productive light.