The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding: The Bible of Bodybuilding, Fully Updated and Revised

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Using this training system, you plan your three-times-a-week body part sessions so that the first is intense, with relatively high reps and sets, but you don’t use the heaviest weights possible. You increase the weight for the second session, but still stay short of going all out. For your third workout, however, you go very heavy, keeping your reps down to four to six maximum per set.” In my own early training, I practiced what I am now preaching. I started with the basics – bench and incline presses, dumbbell flyes, dips and pullovers. After three years, I was still doing only these five basic chest exercises.” There’s probably not a bodybuilder alive who hasn’t owned it, borrowed it or at least read several chapters in it. I’m talking about the original Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Although it was an invaluable resource tool for bodybuilding, after 15 years it had become a bit outdated. Hence the fully updated and revised New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding.

Schwarzenegger’s original workout split also has you training the abs six days a week. Forearms are worked alongside the biceps and triceps. If I had to choose one routine over the other, the Arnold split would be the one I’d go for. However, both will produce good results if you train hard, eat right and stay consistent. Arnold Split vs Bro Split This means the routine doesn’t match perfectly with a 7-day week and runs over an 8-day period instead.One of the main downsides with the Arnold Split is that it requires you to be in the gym 5-6 days a week. You really get everything you bargain for. He goes into super detail on essentially every facet of weight lifting (notice I did not say Strength Training). I was introduced to actual weight training through a tough basic program put together by these bodybuilders. The one hour a week we had trained for soccer was no longer enough to satisfy my craving for working out. I signed up to go to the gym three times a week.”

Research shows that when you hit a muscle twice a week, it tends to grow faster compared to training it once a week. Every serious bodybuilder should do a substantial amount of aerobic training. I have always liked to run several miles a day. Some bodybuilders, however, find that running does not suit them and leads to problems with the legs and ankles, so they seek other ways of developing cardiovascular conditioning. Tom Platz, for example, after working his legs to exhaustion in the gym gets on a bicycle and rides for twenty miles. Bill Pearl used to do the same thing. A lot of bodybuilders are developing their aerobic systems using ‘Lifecycles’ and other types of stationary bicycles. The fact is, the better conditioned your heart, lungs, and circulatory system, the more intense training you will be able to do in the gym and the more progress you will make as a bodybuilder.”Lucas: As someone who is passionate about weightlifting and bodybuilding, I found this book to be a treasure trove of information and inspiration. The detailed explanations and illustrations of various exercises helped me improve my form and target specific muscle groups, while the chapters on nutrition and recovery have helped me fine-tune my diet and training regimen. This book is a must-read for anyone serious about building muscle and improving their physique. It’s designed to help you understand what and when to eat and how your body uses food to burn fat and build lean muscle. Each chapter is easy to read and understand, even for beginning bodybuilders, and also has plenty of motivational photographs and diagrams. Everything is organized logically so it’s easy to find the topics you want to read about again. Natural lifters shouldn’t train exactly like Arnold, as the overall training volume is going to be too high for most people. Natural trainees can train with high frequency or high(ish) volume, but not both at the same time.

NOTE: One of the things that stimulates growth in a muscle is subjecting it to high levels of tension at long muscle lengths, a phenomenon known as stretch-mediated hypertrophy. By that, I mean you want to challenge your muscles in a stretched position, which is one of the benefits of training through a full range of motion.Training 5-6 days a week allows for a relatively high volume of training while still keeping the workouts down to a reasonable length. 2. Allows for an Effective Training Frequency The fascinating history and growth of bodybuilding as a sport, with a photographic “Bodybuilding Hall of Fame” Just like weight training, cardiovascular exercise (particularly of the high-intensity variety) needs to be recovered from and adapted to. This can eat into your body’s limited resources without making any meaningful contribution to muscle growth.

Professional bodybuilder and two-time Miss Figure Olympia Erin Stern includes five weekly meal plans, 100 delicious fat-burning recipes, and her expert insight into what it takes to achieve a bodybuilder’s physique. The main thing I learned from this book is to keep an open mind. Sometimes when you are taught principles from one person, you think that what that person said is right and nothing else is. For example AST says to do exercises in the 4-6 rep range, which I have been doing lately. Many people think this is the only way to go, but they are wrong. There are benefits in the 4-6 rep range, but there are also benefits in the 8-10 rep range. I realized that from reading this book. I have also begun thinking about my next routine and how I plan on implementing different techniques in it. I also learned about working weak areas first in your workout. I have heard and done this before, but I realized exactly how important it is. In my previous routine, I had my calf and forearm exercises at the end of my workouts. I realized I was not putting enough effort into working them. Therefore, I put them in there own workout. This worked great! I did them after biceps, so I still had a lot of energy. I was able to concentrate on them and really work them. In a nutshell, don't wear yourself out trying to look like Arnold. Respect your body for what it is and value your health. If you're skinny, flaunt it. If you're overweight and looking for change, commit yourself to losing the weight. Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training by Mark Rippetoe provides detailed instruction on every aspect of the basics of barbell exercises.

New Athlete Profile: PNBA Derek Joe

The book is presented in a way that’s easy to digest and is ideal for anyone looking to improve their overall body composition and health. One of the few downsides of the upper/lower split is that the workouts can take a while to get through. It’s not necessary to train twice a day on the Arnold split. It’s certainly an option, if that fits your schedule better. But it’s not essential.