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 By: Jeff Behar As I briefly discussed I have always trained instinctively and from an early age (13) I used many training principles that worked for me. Many of these training principles also worked for a man by the name of Joe Weider who happened to publish his ideas (unbeknownst to me at the time). I just found out through trial and error what worked for me (probably the same as Joe did). I attribute much of my success, especially now as I am almost 40 with having such a strong foundation of basic training techniques, understanding body mechanics and nutrition, as well as being able to visualize and focus. I also attribute my success to the fact that I maximize what I have and what is given to me. I have good genetics, but I also have little time. For instance:
What I have learned however, is to make do with what my body, mind, and schedule allows me to do....to make the most out of what I have. I think that attitude has enabled me to make the gains I have with the previously mentioned limitations
To answer those of you who contacted me via email or approached me at the recent spring contests asking how I managed to make such huge changes in density, hardness and size in 3 week periods I have briefly summarized what I feel was the major driving forces for such change.
The most important contributor was my focus. Although I had very little time to make changes with the weights in a few weeks, while I was in the gym posing, squeezing, stretching, I set a goal and was determined to exceed the goal. My first goal was very simple: do not make a fool of myself (realize I had not been on stage in 15 years, and I was not training, and I choose a show that was less than a month away, a non-drug tested show, a show where I was still one year shy of masters, so I would be standing toe to toe with competitors half my age who trained for this show all year, and by admission were not natural athletes.
When I am in the gym I train. I am not there to chat, check out the girls, or wish. I am there to get bigger, stronger and harder. When I am in the gym I remember why I am there and stick to my instinctive plans.
Flexing in between sets, just like stretching is very important to maintaining hardness, sculpting your look and providing blood to the muscle to aid in recovery and growth.
Stretching
Stretching stimulates growth and increases flexibility. It also gives you greater range of motion which results in the ability for greater muscle contractions. Stretching also reduces injury. Many bodybuilders say they do not have the time to stretch, but remember this�in the long run stretching allows you to handle heavier weight, reduce layoffs because of injury and will get you to your goals quicker. Additionally, your quality of life will be better (less soreness, less tightness). You will also save money because you will have less need for your doctor, chiropractor or pharmacist�the people you typically visit when your do not take the time to stretch. Do you really have the time not to stretch? Bottom line: Stretching is goooooooooood!!!
Good Nutrition
My knowledge of nutrition was also important. I have taken college classes in nutrition, but I would say most of my experience has been self taught, through reading, through trial and error. However, I must admit I still ate lots of candy at night, and ate after midnight. These are not the best things to do, but I adjusted my diet accordingly to make up for these miscues and still had rock hard abs and muscle separation after a few short weeks.
Drawing on Experience
I have trained on and off since I was 12. I hate to admit this, but that means I have been raining for�.ehhhh��.. (Whispering) approximately 28 years. During this time I learned many things that worked for me through trial and error. Many of the things I learned on my own has also been captured and published by Joe Weider. Not that I am taking credit for anything, but I am illustrating the point that although bodybuilding can get very technical (physiology, biomechanic, nutrition, etc.) you can learn a lot about these complex sciences instinctively through trial and error. For this to happen you have to experiment and be observant. Use a training log and a food log in the beginning. See what works and what does not. I know this works, because many of the things I self taught myself were beautifully documented by Mr. Weider. The following are the principles. I used for my first contest back. I use others but because I only had a 3 week period from the start of my training until the first show, some principles were not appropriate given the circumstances.
The Main Principles I Used For My Sudden Reentry Into The Sport
I normally do not follow this approach exactly, because I believe you need to keep some strength movements in to keep mass and depth, but considering I was not training, I had no strength, and pushing to develop some with just a few weeks before a contest would be a huge risk (injury) with very little potential chance of significant mass gain. Additionally, I would not lose mass or depth because it was already gone. Therefore, even a contest preparation training cycle would result in mass gain for me and depth) because it would be a new stimulation to my muscles that were not worked for a while.
I use that principle with the Muscle Confusion Principle, because I learned a long time ago that muscles can adapt very readily and as a result the only way to make continued strong gains is to shock the muscle (not just with the amount of weight but with volume of exercises, volume of reps, angles, amounts of reps, combinations of sets, body parts, etc. In fact, I use this principle so instinctively that I can honestly say that I never do the same work out within a month. I have that much variation in my mind when I walk into the gym. Weider actually breaks down this principle even more by calling the variation of rep/set schemes, intensity and frequency to maximize mass the "Holistic Training Principle". I typically use many other Weider principles for success (like the Progressive Overload Principle, the Eclectic Training Principle, etc.) which I will not mention here, because I did not use them during my 3 week "comeback" because of the lack of time I had available at that time. In the upcoming months I will discuss my overall training approach and philosophy, but for now in this article I will continue to answer the question posed to me, which was how I made such a huge body change in so little time.
The same principle will apply to your diet and supplementation. For example, some people hold water with creatine supplementation, while others do not. You have to be aware, focus, and be instinctive. So, the bottom line is going with your gut, does what feels write, train hard while you are in the gym, train smart, and eat well. You too can make rapid changes that will surprise others, as well as yourself!
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