RICH GASPARI’S

Written by Rich Gaspari

Forward by John Romano
 FORWA RD
By John Romano

Former Senior Editor at Muscular Development magazine

and co-founder of RX Muscle.com

2
So, who is this guy and why you should you listen to him....

Every sport has its standouts.Think of the fringe practitioners of

football, baseball, basketball, hockey, Moto GP, Formula 1, and
the like. These are exceptional individuals, outliers who put the
awe in “awesome” when it comes to describing their particular
talent. Bodybuilding is no different. While the essence of what we
do is often mocked and misunderstood, we still, nevertheless,
have those who wear the badge of a legend. And every now and
then, one of those legends sits down and lays out before you the
definitive roadmap for how to get to the top of your game. Like
they did. This is one of those books.

I first met Rich Gaspari in 1987 before his second assault on his
old training partner, Lee Haney, the only man on earth standing
between him and the Olympia title – the absolute zenith of any
bodybuilder’s life on earth. Of course I knew of Rich; if you were a
bodybuilder you knew who Rich Gaspari was. In fact, at the time,
you could say I was a fan. I was working for a chiropractor in
Santa Monica who specialized in pro athletes. I’d see Rich come
into the office every week for adjustments and deep tissue work.
He was one of those bodybuilders who left no stone unturned.

All of 24, with the muscle maturity of a man twice his age, Rich
Gaspari was a brash, cocky kid from South Jersey, with a world
class physique, who was so focused on winning the Olympia,
he couldn’t have squeezed in another thought if he tried. We
got along, I suppose, because I was a brash, cocky kid from

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New York, who actually admitted he liked the Jersey shore better than
the beaches on Long Island. And, of course, we’re both bodybuilders
and 100% Italian, with familial roots in the construction biz. We’ve been
friends ever since.

Other than the Hudson river, the thing that separated us was the fact that
Richy had every right to be brash and cocky. This kid, four years younger
than I, had already bagged his IFBB pro card. Doing so at 21 years of
age made him the youngest pro bodybuilder in the sport. The icing on that
cake came one week later when he won the Mr. Universe, making him –
to this day – the youngest Mr. Universe of all time. For the next five years,
Rich would compete in 18 pro shows. With the exception of a 3rd place
finish in his first Olympia in 1985, in the remaining 17 shows, he took 2nd
eight times - three in a row at the Olympia - and won the rest, including
the first Arnold Classic in 1989.

This incredible contest history not withstanding, no pantheon of modern

bodybuilding would be complete without Rich Gaspari, because of
where he, and he alone, set the bar for conditioning. Rich was the first
bodybuilder in history to present striated glutes. I’m not particularly
enthralled about having to talk about my friend’s ass cheeks here, but
they are, nevertheless, pivotal items in bodybuilding history. Those
striations set the conditioning standard that would mark the subsequent
reign of the 90’s as the greatest era in the history of the sport, and
known forever as the “classic era of bodybuilding.” After Rich, no
pro bodybuilder’s physique would be considered complete without
the conditioning marked by striated glutes. At no time since, have
bodybuilders brought the level of conditioning to the stage that Rich
ushered in.

4
What makes these accomplishments so notable is the fact that Rich did
not have stellar bodybuilding genetics. As you’ll see later in this book,
genetics is the apex pre-requisite as far as any bodybuilding pursuit goes.
What Rich exemplifies is ferociously rare. He overcame what his genetics
lacked by out working everyone else. He’d wear out training partners
like canyon racers wear out tires. Rich was an absolutely ruthless,
unbreakable, animal in the gym and everyone knew it, including eight
time Mr. Olympia, Lee Haney, who recruited Rich to be his training partner
during his Olympia prep. Lee literally had 7 billion other people in the
world he could have chosen for that position, but he chose Rich because
of how hard he worked, which he knew, would be how hard it would make
him work.

In Lee’s mind, it would be the classic Biblical reference to steel

sharpening steel. And, as history tells, it worked. Rich and Lee trained
in “the Valley” at the Gold’s gym in Reseda, CA. I trained at the Gold’s
in Venice. Even in the days before social media and instant messaging
– cell phones too for that matter - everyone in Gold’s Venice would be
talking about how brutal Lee and Richy were training in Resida. The
members there would call and tell the guys working the desk what they
were doing and they’d tell the rest of us. One day, about two weeks
before the Olympia, Lee and Rich showed up at the gym eating Tofuti
frozen yogurt cones! Phones started ringing all over the world! News of
that sacrilege spread faster than a California wildfire during a drought.
Such stories became legends.

Throughout this book, it will be abundantly clear to you that building a

classic physique requires classic bodybuilding determination, focus, hard
work, immense suffering, more hard work and, most importantly, attitude.

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You cannot possibly be successful at this unless you believe, with every
fiber of your being, that this is what you’re going to do. And Rich is the
classic example of what I mean by that.....

In 1983, Rich took a disappointing 5th in the Nationals. He was

determined to come back the next year and win, which would qualify
him for the Mr. Universe (World IFBB Amateur Championships) where, if
he won, would earn him professional athlete staus (back in those days,
they didn’t hand out pro cards like candy, like they do today. Becoming
a card carrying IFBB pro bodybuilder was a HUGE deal). And, he did.
He came back the next year, one weight class lighter and took 1st in the
light-heavies, earning his coveted qualification for the Universe in Vegas a
week later.

This feat was something he not only envisioned, but also sold to his
family, who he wanted to attend. But, it gets better..... Several weeks out
from Nationals, while Rich was telling his family to book flights and hotels
for that show in New Orleans, he told them they also needed to book
flights and hotel accommodations in Las Vegas a week later, because,
Rich told them, he was going to turn right around after winning the
Nationals and win the Mr. Universe. Not compete in the Mr. Universe, but
win it and turn pro. And he wanted his family there to see it.

There was simply no doubt in his mind about that, and he convinced his
family to pony up the funds for all that traveling from and to New Jersey.
Well, long story short, in spite of everyone telling Rich he couldn’t do that,
that’s exactly what he did. And he was the youngest guy to ever do it.
“Can’t” simply was not a concept Rich would allow himself to understand.

6
In fact, telling him he can’t do something is a 100% guarantee that he will.
Clearly, a trait worth emulating.

And that’s what you need to know as you scroll through these pages.
Building a classic physique, in the true sense of the term, is one of the
most difficult things to accomplish on earth. And, because it is, “can’t”
is a concept you can not allow to exist. There’s no such thing. You can.
Everything in this book works, but only if you follow it. It’s been proven
hundreds and hundreds of times. Nothing suggested on these pages is
going to require you fill a pioneering lab rat role; it’s all been done before
and with great success. I can tell you from experience that it’s definitely
not going to be easy, nothing worthwhile is. But, you can build a classic
physique. Anyone can, as long as you never, for one second, believe you
can’t.

Every single thing you need to build the classic physique of your dreams
– whether you want to compete or just hear the girls gasp when you peel
off at the pool – is contained in just three places: The gym, this book and
your brain. And you’re lucky enough to have access to all of them.

So, it’s time to get to work. In the inimitable words of Rocky Balboa,
when Ivan Drago said he must break him, “go for it.”

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 “
Intensity, power and focus. Employ these three things,
never quit and you can’t possibly lose.

- Rich Gaspari

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9 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
PREFACE
Why This book had to be written . . .
I’ve long looked at bodybuilding as “physique art.” I come
from an era when bodybuilding focussed on aesthetics:
pleasing, artistic lines, symmetry, balance, a small waist
and crisp condition. Many, many aficionados of the sport
have unanimously reflected on my era of bodybuilding –
the 80’s through the 90’s, the “Classic Era” - as the most
aesthetic and complete - between form and condition - the
sport has ever seen, then or since. Toward the end of my
competitive career, bodybuilding was heading on a differ-
ent course. I’m not going to point fingers, but the direction
it was going led to incredible mass, less condition, bigger
guts and a blurring of the “classic” lines. The guys were
turning into monsters with odd proportions that fewer and
fewer athletes wanted to emulate – either as competitive
bodybuilders, or just guys who wanted to look like body-
builders.

The smaller guys – bodybuilders who turned pro as middle

weights, light weights and bantam weights, were eventu-
ally given the 212 class. This was great for them because
a lot of those guys are really incredible bodybuilders. But
at 5’1”, and 198 pounds, you can’t be fairly compared to a
11 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
guy 6’3”at 290. I think the 212 class guys always bring bet-
ter condition than the open guys; the division is very excit-
ing to watch and will always be one of my favorites. But the
taller guys who didn’t want to strive for a 300 pound plus
contest weight had nowhere to go. The open guys were
more and more often criticized for their big bloated look,
distended guts, cartoon character proportions and lack of
condition and none of them could hit the vacuum pose. But
no one seemed to care. They kept bringing it and bringing
it and the prize money at the Olympia kept growing. There
was zero incentive to stuff the genie back in the bottle, his
giant gut wouldn’t fit!.

This situation persisted, not only unabated but it metasta-

sized for almost two decades, inciting more and more re-
sentment for the direction things were headed and lament
for the classic era gone by. From the late Steve Reeves, to
Arnold Schwarzenegger to numerous Classic Era cham-
pions and thousands of competitors and fans, that period
was universally regarded as the era that produced the best
physiques of all time. On top of that, the prevailing belief
was that if the current mass monster trend continued, it
would kill the sport.
In 2013 the Men’s Physique (“board short”) Division was
hatched in an attempt to give guys who didn’t want to get

12
so huge an alternative to open bodybuilding. It was a great
idea and almost instantly became extremely popular. But,
for a lot of guys, it was just too far away from bodybuild-
ing. They didn’t even need legs! The board shorts covered
them. Some in the industry were really not very kind to the
division, calling it “men’s bikini.” Honestly, it kinda was.
Bodybuilding can’t just be about the upper half of the body.
Don’t get me wrong, the guys look great and are very mar-
ketable for the industry, but real bodybuilders need mass
and they have to have legs.

Finally, in 2016, the powers that be answered the call and

created “Classic Physique” as a bridge between the board
shorts guys and the extreme bodybuilders of the open
class. It was really a homage to the classic physiques of
my era. There was a twist though; there would be height
classes that limited weight. This was a great idea because
it forces guys to be in condition. Obviously, you want to
weigh as much as possible in your height class, and you
want that weight to be all muscle; not fat, not bloat, not wa-
ter, not whatever is in those big distended guts.

Aesthetics, symmetry, pleasing lines, a tiny waist, balance,

and crisp condition are the hallmarks of the classic phy-
siques of the 80’s and 90’s – not to mention classic poses,

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such as “the vacuum” that even the biggest guys could do.
These were my hallmarks too. History will prove that I was
the first pro to compete in the Olympia with striated glutes.
I was also one of the youngest. Just barely into my 20’s, I
took 3rd in my first Olympia and then 2nd three times in a
row. I know I had what it took to win the Olympia, but I had
a mountain of a man named Lee Haney blocking my way
to the winner’s circle. He’d go on to win eight Mr. Olympia’s
in a row. To say that he was a formidable adversary is a
severe understatement. But he knew I was pretty formida-
ble myself; that’s why he invited me to be his training
partner.

It wasn’t so much the idea of keeping your enemies close,

14
it was because I trained like an animal and he knew I’d
push him. And I did. We trained with savage intensity. But
Lee would reel me in from time to time and teach me to
“stimulate, not annihilate” the muscle. Instead of bench-
ing over 500 pounds every chest workout, he taught me
to lower the weight and use better form. This was the ba-
sis of sculpting my physique and insure my lines would
flow and not sacrifice form for unbridled mass. We did an
amazing amount of work together and I learned a lot from
Lee. Some time after he capped off his Olympia run, we
were talking one day and I told him there was a year, may-
be two, where I think I beat him. He laughed and said that
maybe that was true. But, the Sandows (trophies) are stay-
ing at his house.
That’s why I had to write this book. When I look at the
Classic Physique guys competing today, it reminds me of
the great era I was part of – the incredible work we put in,
the suffering, the focus and attention to detail that created
the era everyone agrees was the best the sport has ever
seen. If there’s anyone who learned and invented more
about the classic physique it’s me. I’m not patting myself
on the back, but rather telling you, and history will agree,
that I am imminently qualified to teach you how to build the
classic physique. I’m also the only guy of the classic era
willing to share this vast knowledge with you.

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16
Whether you want to compete, or just look like
you do, this book is basically an all inclusive
instruction manual on how to build the classic
bodybuilding physique. As of this writing, there’s
nothing else out there like it. I cover everything,
from training, nutrition, dieting for a show, sup-
plements, drugs, contest prep, posing, even your
mindset - literally everything you need to know
to avoid the pitfalls of extreme bodybuilding and
sculpt a winning classic physique from one of
the originators of the classic physique.

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Chapter 01
WHAT IS CLASSIC PHYSIQUE
According to the boss of all bosses, IFBB Pro league/ NPC
President, Jim Manion, “Classic Physique is for guys who
want to take their muscularity and size beyond the limits
of Men’s Physique, but not quite to the extremes of Body-
building. The sport is constantly evolving as the athletes
find new ways to express their physiques and the NPC
prides itself on offering a platform for these athletes to real-
ize their competitive goals. Classic Physique will highlight
proportion, symmetry, pleasing lines, and a small waist. In
short, the focus will be on aesthetic qualities in harmony
with muscularity and condition.”

At least that’s the official version. For me, it’s all of that, but
also a validation for the physiques we built back in the day.
It’s the shared belief that bodybuilding went too far and
was starting to turn off people. And more than anything, it’s
a homage to those of us who believed that the essence of
bodybuilding was and is “classic.” More than anything,
it’s an opportunity for the guys competing today to honor
the past.

I have nothing against the open class guys. I respect

them and am just as in awe of what they can build as
anyone else. But it’s too far a departure from what body-
19 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
building was during the “classic era.”
What they practice is a different kind
of bodybuilding, and for a lot of guys,
it’s not what they want. What the
advent of classic bodybuilding did
was unchain the open guys. There’s
no reason now for them to reel it in.
They can take it as far as they dare
with no insult to the sport. It’s their
part of the evolution and I’ll be a fan
of them forever.

20
Classic bodybuilding, however, is our opportunity to con-
tinue and refine the physiques of the classic era. It’s our
opportunity to take what the pioneers of my time created
and espouse it to the masses in the modern times. This
is the class of bodybuilding that will attract more partici-
pants, because the look we promoted was not only pleas-
ing to the eye, but it also seemed attainable. Sure we
had standouts that had body parts from another planet,
but for the most part, you can scan the lineup of any pro
show during that classic era and not see a single bloated
gut. The top guys came in crisp and shredded, with great
detail, proportion and grace. This is what bodybuilding
should never forget and strive to maintain.

The new guys coming up now have a choice. We’re al-

ways going to see the new giant come to fame. But, now,
we’ll also see the new classic physique come to domi-
nance. Given the direction bodybuilding had gone, the
advent of Classic Physique is the best thing that could
have possibly come to be and I applaud the federation for
adopting it.

21 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Chapter 02
THE CLASSIC PHYSIQUE MENTALITY

22
I’m not writing this book just for competitors. It’s really for
any guy who wants to build a classic physique, if for noth-
ing more than to just look good at the beach. However,
the competitive nature of the sport must be discussed and
there’s some truths that need to be told, and decisions
you need to make.

The Classic Physique is essentially a culmination of the

physical and aesthetic ideals upon which bodybuilding
was founded. For decades, it was these ideals to which
bodybuilders strived to adhere. Based closely on the
same ideals as the sculptures of Ancient Greece and
Rome, it was an ode to physical perfection. Everything
was balanced and in proportion, from the bone structure
to the individual muscle groups. Competitors featured
broad shoulders and a wide upper back, yet still with a
small waist and hips. The champion physiques were true
works of art; masterpieces carved in flesh. Shape, pro-
portion, condition and aesthetics were always foremost in
their minds, not unbridled mass.

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These are the attributes of building your physique that you
must constantly keep in the front of your mind. It’s real-
ly easy, especially when you’re young and feel invincible,
to get carried away with your training. I know because
I’m guilty of it. As I mentioned before, when I first started
training with Lee Haney, I was routinely pushing 500 plus
pounds on the bench for nearly every chest workout. While
that was great for building big pecs, it wasn’t until I low-
ered the weight and started doing slower reps, with deeper
range of motion and full contractions that my chest began
to develop its wow factor. This is the kind of attention that
etches striations and detail into the muscle like nothing
else.

I was the first Olympian in history to showcase striated glu-

tes. I didn’t get those from doing squats. Although I could
squat half the gym and my legs were huge, it wasn’t until
I started doing walking lunges and reverse lunges – exer-
cises people used to call “girl exercises” - that I was able
to etch in the detail that made my glutes the envy of every
pro on the circuit. Now, everyone has striated glutes. But it
took a different mindset to experiment with something new
to bring them out.

The classic mindset requires that you keep a keen eye on

how your body is responding to the work you’re doing. If
24
your waist is getting blocky, if you notice that your symme-
try is getting thrown off, if you see your proportions getting
out of whack, you need to pull back, reassess what you’re
doing and set out again. Remember, building the classic
physique is like a sculptor honing his creation with fine
chisels and delicate hammer blows.

You’re not driving a bulldozer through the

gym. This is not a knock on open bodybuild-
ing, but rather stating a point of difference.
In classic bodybuilding you’re honoring
the human form, in open bodybuilding,
you’re exploiting it.

Be that as it may, you ultimately have to come make the

decision on competing. As l mentioned, l’m writing this
book for everyone, not just competitors. However, the very
same tenets of training and diet exist for the competitor as
they do for the regular lifter who just wants to look great
with his shirt off. But, I’m a competitor and I’m writing this
from a competitor’s mindset. In so doing, I’d be remiss if I
didn’t offer the following warning.

If you are going to pursue bodybuilding as a sport, and not

just a pastime, there are several things your going to have
25 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
to consider. Please don’t take it as negativity; it’s the truth
and sometimes the truth hurts.

The first thing you need to consider is if you really want

to pursue bodybuilding as a sport and not a pastime. In
consideration of the paucity of rewards in the sport (pro
bodybuilders are the least paid athletes on the planet), and
you still answer “yes” to that question, the next immediate
question to answer is, should you pursue bodybuilding as
a sport?

To say that this is a fork in the road is to say that the great
pyramid at Giza is just a pile of rocks. If you decide to be
a competitive bodybuilder, then you are committing to one
of the most difficult physical pursuits available on the plan-
et. How difficult is it? Look around you. Better yet, go to a
busy international airport – probably the best visible cross
section of the world – and, forget a pro bodybuilder, just
see how many fit, built, ripped people are walking around.
None. If being big and ripped were easy, everyone would
be. Almost no one is. Bodybuilders are even rarer than
that! Those who possess a bodybuilder physique are the
rarest among us.

Do you, could you, fit in among them?

26
 Of course anyone can, and
should, lift weights and follow a
healthy lifestyle. And, because
that’s so, popular opinion is that
anyone can be a bodybuilder.
However, just because anyone
can join a gym and lift weights
and anyone can enter a body-
building contest, doesn’t neces-
sarily mean you should – kind of
like having kids. This sport has
indeed produced some of the
most enigmatic characters, with
personalities that would have
had Hollywood beating a path to
their door if they won the Olym-
pia. But they had the physique
of a turtle. It’s one of life’s cru-
el jests, as far as bodybuilding
goes; genetics are the 1st, 2nd
and 3rd greatest limiting factor
in anyone’s bodybuilding career.
Your bodybuilding potential is
100% dependent on genetics.

27 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Structurally, the physical attributes of a champion body-
builder are well documented and well defined, and ge-
netics dictate absolutely every single one of them. From
the width of your clavicles and your pelvis, the size of
your joints, the roundness of your muscle bellies, where
they insert, the details they contain, their ultimate size
potential and willingness to stay intact under the sav-
agery they will suffer..... all of these structural attributes
are the chisel strokes of God. You have no control over
them. There is little to no making up for bad bodybuild-
ing genetics, unless, of course, you have the genetics
to overcome bad genetics. You have to play the hand
you’re dealt. And quite frankly, there are plenty of good
reasons to fold. Very few hands are full houses. And,
these days, you need at least that to win. You’re not
going to get very far on a pair of 2’s.

That’s on the outside. On the inside, genetics control

our body type, how easily we gain or lose body fat, how
well we respond to our training, diet, cardio, drugs, sup-
plements, rest, and various therapies. Even the willpow-
er to stick to your diet is controlled by your genetics.
And psychologically, your genetic code must not only
keep you from cheating on your diet, but also focus,
manufacture training intensity, suffer, endure pain, stay
28
positive, manage your time and integrate bodybuilding into
your life. Even the will to drag your ass out of bed at 4:00
in the morning, day after day, and ride your bike to the gym
in the freezing rain no matter how much you ache, is writ-
ten in your genetic code.

There is even a gene that limits muscle growth. Think

about it. If there were no limiting mechanism in place, mus-
cle would keep growing as long as it was stimulated and
there were enough nutrients on board to feed it. In fact,
there is a breed of cow, called the Belgian Blue, that is so
afflicted. These cows are genetically myostatin negative.
Google them. They look like armored troop carriers; slabs
and slabs of muscle. For bodybuilding, myostatin negativity
– to any degree – is a huge genetic advantage, and there
are some guys out there who purportedly have it.

So, not only are you genetically dependent on the favor-

able physical attributes of your physique, but every single
other aspect of bodybuilding – physiologically and psy-
chologically - requires a “yes” in the bodybuilding box. If
too many of those boxes go unchecked, you might want to
consider taking up a different hobby. By all means, keep
working out and eating clean, but competing probably isn’t
for you. Some people need to prove this to themselves and

29 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
actually get on stage and take their inevitable lumps. And
that’s fine. Those who accept that cruel reality and walk
away, will do so with a great question answered. Those
who don’t, and insist on coming back for more, beg to an-
swer another great question - “what the hell is he think-
ing?” Everyone can lift weights, not everyone should com-
pete. Plain and simple.

Like I said, I’m writing this book for everyone who wants to
build a classic bodybuilder physique, whether you want to
compete or not. But, if you do want to compete, there’s a
few more things to look into....

30
Chapter 03
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OPEN
BODYBUILDING AND CLASSIC PHYSIQUE?

31 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
It’s critical that you know this because if you’re going to
compete you have to decide early on what you want to be.
For better or worse, open bodybuilding has become a freak
show. I don’t mean that in a bad way; it just is what it is.
Genetics are the holy grail of bodybuilding. Some genetic
factors will take you down one path, while another genetic
predisposition will take you a different way. The guys who
are excelling in open bodybuilding have a unique gift; they
can put on slabs and slabs of muscle. Imagine being 5’9”
and walking around in the off season over 300 pounds and
still see abs! That’s astounding. And there’s really only a
handful of guys like that in the entire world. Now, that’s not
to say that the genetics for Classic Physique aren’t as rare
or awe inspiring. You have to have the right structure. Of
course it can be said that I’m splitting hairs here, because
the same genetic structural elements – wide clavicles,
narrow waist and hips, etc. - are the same for both classes.
It’s the ability to develop those genetic gifts one way or an-
other that’s the key. You have to decide what you are and
what you want to be.

Once you do that, you have to determine in what

class you will compete.

32
 HEIGHT & WEIGHT REQUIREMENTS
NPC national competitions and regional and state contests
will have the option to offer 4 height classes or to stay with
the 2 or 3 height classes they are currently using. Here
are the breakdowns for the different height classes starting
with 4 height classes.

DIVISION “A”
(UP TO AND INCLUDING 5’ 7”)

DIVISION A
Up to and including 5’ 4” - Up to and including 160 lbs
Over 5’ 4”, up to and including 5’ 5” - Up to and including 165 lbs
Over 5’ 5”, up to and including 5’ 6” - Up to and including 170 lbs
Over 5’ 6”, up to and including 5’ 7” - Up to and including 175 lbs

DIVISION “B”
(OVER 5’ 7”, UP TO AND INCLUDING 5’ 10”)
DIVISION “C”
(OVER 5’ 10”, UP TO AND INCLUDING 6’0″)
DIVISION C
Over 5’ 10”, up to and including 5” 11” - Up to and including 205 lbs
Over 5’ 11”, up to and including 6’ 0” - Up to and including 212 lbs

33 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
 DIVISION “D” (OVER 6’ 0”)

DIVISION D
Over 6’ 0”, up to and including 6’ - Up to and including 220 lbs
Over 6’ 1”, up to and including 6’ 2” - Up to and including 230 lbs
Over 6’ 2”, up to and including 6’ 3” - Up to and including 237 lbs
Over 6’3”, up to and including 6’ 4” - Up to and including 245 lbs
Over 6’4”, up to and including 6’5” - Up to and including 252 lbs
Over 6’5”, up to and including 6’6” - Up to and including 260 lbs
Over 6’6”, up to and including 6’7” - Up to and including 267 lbs
Over 6’7” - Up to and including 275 lbs

34
 Competition Breakdown For Three Classes:
DIVISION “A” (UP TO AND INCLUDING 5’ 7”)
Up to and including 5’ 4” - Up to and Including 160 lbs
Over 5’ 4”, up to and including 5’ 5” - Up to and Including 165 lbs
Over 5’ 5”, up to and including 5’ 6” - Up to and Including 170 lbs
Over 5’ 6”, up to and including 5’ 7” - Up to and Including 175 lbs

DIVISION “B”
(OVER 5’ 7”, UP TO AND INCLUDING 5’ 10”)

Over 5’ 7”, up to and including 5’ 8” - Up to and Including 182 lbs
Over 5’ 8”, up to and including 5’ 9” - Up to and Including 190 lbs
Over 5’ 9”, up to and including 5’ 10”- Up to and Including 197 lbs

35 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
 DIVISION “C” (OVER 5’ 10”)

Over 5’ 10”, up to and including 5” 11” - Up to and Including 205 lbs
Over 5’ 11”, up to and including 6’ 0” - Up to and Including 212 lbs
Over 6’ 0”, up to and including 6’ 1” - Up to and Including 220 lbs
Over 6’ 1”, up to and including 6’ 2”
Over 6’ 2”, up to and including 6’ 3”
Over 6’3”, up to and including 6’ 4” - Up to and Including 230 lbs
Up to and Including 237 lbs
Up to and Including 245 lbs
Over 6’4”, up to and including 6’5” - Up to and including 252 lbs
Over 6’5”, up to and including 6’6” - Up to and including 260 lbs
Over 6’6”, up to and including 6’7” - Up to and including 267 lbs
Over 6’7” - Up to and including 275 lbs

36
 Competition Breakdown For Two Classes
DIVISION “A” (UP TO AND INCLUDING 5’ 9”)

Up to and including 5’ 4” - Up to and Including 160 lbs
Over 5’ 4”, up to and including 5’ 5” - Up to and Including 165 lbs
Over 5’ 5”, up to and including 5’ 6” - Up to and Including 170 lbs
Over 5’ 6”, up to and including 5’ 7” - Up to and Including 175 lbs
Over 5’ 7”, up to and including 5’ 8” - Up to and Including 182 lbs
Over 5’ 8”, up to and including 5’ 9” - Up to and Including 190 lbs

DIVISION “B” (OVER 5’ 9”)

Over 5’ 9”, up to and including 5’ 10” - Up to and Including 197 lbs
Over 5’ 10”, up to and including 5” 11” - Up to and Including 205 lbs
Over 5’ 11”, up to and including 6’ 0” - Up to and Including 212 lbs
Over 6’ 0”, up to and including 6’ 1” - Up to and Including 220 lbs
Over 6’ 1”, up to and including 6’ 2” - Up to and Including 230 lbs
Over 6’ 2”, up to and including 6’ 3” - Up to and Including 237 lbs
Over 6’3”, up to and including 6’ 4” - Up to and Including 245 lbs
Over 6’4”, up to and including 6’5” - Up to and including 252 lbs
Over 6’5”, up to and including 6’6” - Up to and including 260 lbs
Over 6’6”, up to and including 6’7” - Up to and including 267 lbs
Over 6’7” - Up to and including 275 lbs

37 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Chapter 04
TRAINING FOR CLASSIC PHYSIQUE

38
The Goal:

Building a Classic Physique requires following a blue-

print that’s designed to produce the classic lines that de-
fine a pleasing, proportional, symmetrical and balanced
physique. This is critical because you want to build your
body correctly from the onset and avoid the pitfalls of the
mass game, common in open bodybuilding today. Your
goal should focus on forging the classic “X frame.” That
means focussing on building a wide back and shoulders,
while making sure your waist stays small and trim, with
the highly defined abdominals that give your physique the
illusion of a V taper. And be able to hit a vacuum pose, to
further the appearance of having an even smaller waist – a
bloated gut that looks bigger than your chest has no place
in classic physique – or, technically, anywhere else. Leg
development should focus on sweeping quads that ap-
pear much wider than your waist to further the look of the
X frame. Your calves should match the size of your arms,
and not look smaller than your knees.

39 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
40
You have to make sure your chest is well developed with-
out it looking droopy because you did too many flat bench
presses and not enough incline work to develop your up-
per pecs. It’s important that you develop your upper and
mid back to have both width, as well as thickness, and that
your lower back is also developed, with the coveted “christ-
mas tree” deeply etched and defined.

In designing your training program, you have to assess

your physique to determine where your weaknesses lie.
Then, focus more attention on those weak areas, and less
attention on the areas that develop more easily. At the be-
ginning of my bodybuilding career it was easier for me to
build my legs but much harder for me to develop my upper
body, especially delts and arms. So, I needed to focus on
those body parts and do less leg training so that I devel-
oped proportionally. I basically had to cut back on training
legs so that my upper body could catch up to my lower
body. I focused on training and building my shoulders, as
well as putting width on my back and size on my arms. And
it worked. I ended up winning both the Nationals and World
Championships – not to mention the first Arnold classic,
3rd in my first Olympia, followed by three consecutive 2nd
place Olympia finishes.

41 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
A lot of people who take up bodybuilding don’t know how
to do this, so they build up the easier body parts and tend
to not want to train the more stubborn body parts. A good
example we see in a typical gym is the guy who looks
great from the waist up, but once you see his legs, you
want to ask, “Bro, do you even lift?”

42
WHY DOES THE BODY
BUILD MUSCLE?
Before you ever cinch up a lifting belt and wrap your hands
around an Olympic bar, there is an undeniable concept
you absolutely must understand and accept 100%. Muscle
growth (hypertrophy) is an adaptive response to progres-
sive gravitational stress. It’s actually considered a surviv-
al mechanism. In order to grow muscle the body must be
subjected, repeatedly, to a work load it cannot accomplish
with the stock muscle allotment. In order to survive that
stress, it builds muscle to become stronger and adapt.

And, that is IT. Other than some kind of rogue genetic fac-
tor, there is absolutely no other reason whatsoever your
body will build muscle. It will only build muscle if it needs it.
The opposite is also true. If you have any doubt, stick your
arm in a cast for six weeks and see what’s left of it when
you cut off the cast. Your job as a bodybuilder is to keep
your body convinced it needs more muscle – if you want to
grow. That means, doing ten easy reps and putting down
the weight, isn’t going to convince your body of anything.

43 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
THE FORMULA
While there are a variety of training protocols you can em-
ploy, none of them is demonstratively better than another,
as long as you’re stimulating the body’s adaptive response
which results in muscle growth. Ultimately, personal prefer-
ence usually takes precedent. That’s the easy part. The dif-
ficulty comes in the form of pain. This is because the pain
you must endure to stimulate growth would make a statue
of Hercules cry. The exact formula to stimulate hypertrophy
is no different for one muscle group or another. It’s pret-
ty black and white. Execute it and your muscle will grow.
Sandbag and you might as well not even go to the gym.

Time under tension (TUT) + Intensity (I)

= Growth Stimulus (GS), GS + Nutrients
(N) = Hypertrophy (H)

44
In this case, the “TUT” is the number of reps and sets to
which you will subject a particular body part. The “I” part
is done with your brain. While the former is more recogniz-
able and universally accepted (unless you’re doing curls in
the squat rack), the latter is one of those things you have
to learn to generate in the presence of searing pain, both
during the workout and later when the soreness sets in. If
you can scratch your head without your forearms cramp-
ing the night after your arm workout, you didn’t train your
biceps intensely enough. If walking up and down stairs
doesn’t make you wince and grab the hand rail two days
after you trained legs, then you didn’t train them intensely
enough. The concept of generating training intensity is a
wide and varied topic that can fill an entire book. So suffice
to say, not too much time is going to be spent here on the
subject. What I will say is a simple rule of thumb followed
by most bodybuilders: no matter how hard you think you’re
training, someone else is training harder. So when you’re
straining to grind out those last couple of reps and you’re
ready to quit, remember, someone else is getting theirs.
So, keep pushing.

45 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
46
Chapter 05
THE WORKOUT

47 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
There are two phases of training for the ultimate classic
physique: the building phase and training for refinement
(Pre-contest phase), and each phase requires a different
style of training. I’ll cover both of them here.

In the building phase, the mission is to put on not only

more muscle mass, but to also build your body within the
right proportions. Upon assessing your physique, you
would determine what your weak points are (everyone has
weak points) and prioritize training them so that you’re hit-
ting these body parts in the beginning of a specific work-
out, as well as placing these workouts in the first days of
your training split so that you’re hitting them after rest days
when you’re the most rested. By prioritizing your weak
points, you’re able to train them harder while still maintain-
ing your strong points so that your physique is more pro-
portioned, balanced and symmetrical.

The actual training during the building phase is heavy.

Very heavy. As heavy as you can safely go for the number
of reps you’re required to do for a specified exercise. While
the refining phase is predominately composed of higher

48
reps and sets, with moderate weight – I’ll get to that in a
minute – there is also a time and a place for high reps sets
during the building phase

During a growth phase, I train on a four-day split, train-

ing all my body parts once a week. Then I’ll add a fifth day
to train a weak body part a second time. The first workout
at the beginning of the week, for the weak body part, will
be heavy, while the second workout is designed more for
reps, supersets or drop sets/ strip sets and slow motion
reps for the added burn.

Advanced Training Techniques:

Drop Sets/ Strip Sets/ Negatives

On several exercises in both the building and refining

phase, you’ll notice that I’ll say for the last set, to do a
“triple drop set.” It’s basically three sets in one. In a tri-
ple drop, the last set is done with the heaviest weight for
a maximum (or specified) number of reps. Then drop the
weight (by about 25%) and do another maximum (or spec-
ified) number of reps. Then drop the weight again (by
about 25%) and get another maximum (or specified) num-
ber of reps. Then finally one last drop (of about 25%) for
another maximum (or specified) number of reps. Each set

49 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
should be to failure. Your goal is to choose a weight where
you can barely get the specified number of reps before you
fail. Then drop the weight, do the next round of reps to fail-
ure, then drop again and do another round, and finally, one
last drop to failure.

Negatives are another way to squeeze out the last bit of

strength that might be left at the end of a set. Particularly in
the pre-contest phase. I used negatives in a lot of my work-
outs. Negatives are nothing I would recommend you do
at every workout, but if you integrate them on a fluid basis
and surprise yourself with a set of negatives a few times a
week, you’ll be well on your way to going that extra mile.
A negative movement is measured from peak
contraction to the start position. Or while the weight
is on its way down.
Muscles are much stronger in their negative movement
than they are while exerting force. In other words, if your
max bench is 315, you can probably control 355 on the
way down (while a spotter has his hands on the bar). In
most cases gravity is enough to work the negatives, but if
you’re really feeling like killing yourself, a sadistic training
partner can exponentially increase the force gravity is ex-
erting on the muscle by pushing on the weight. While the
ideal cadence for this is five-seconds for the negative and

50
two-seconds for the extension, your training partner can
assist quite a bit on the way up, making that part of the
movement almost effortless. The focus here is not on how
much you can lift, but fighting against how much you can
put down.

51 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
 HERE IS A TYPICAL 5 DAY SPLIT FOR
THE BUILDING PHASE:
Check out the video links at the end of each chapter where Rich
shows you how to do each exercise right!
DAY 1:
Priority Body Parts: Let’s assume Chest and Triceps –
you can switch for any weak body parts, plus calves.

Chest:
Incline Barbell Press or DB Press:
4 sets of 12 reps
First set is a warm up set of 12 – 15 reps
Increase weight and do 10 reps
Increase weight and do 8 reps
Increase weight and do 8 reps (to failure)

52
Incline DB Flies
3 sets, each between 8 and 10 reps (to failure)

53 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
DB Flat Bench or Barbell Bench Press
4 sets - 10 reps
Increase weight and do 8 reps
Increase weight and do 6 reps
Then lighten the weight and do 10 reps (to failure)

54
Flat Bench DB Flies or Pec Deck
3 sets, each between 10 and 12 reps (to failure)

55 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Weighted Dips
3 sets - 12 reps
Increase weight and do 10 reps
Increase weight and do 8 reps (to failure).

56
Triceps:
Rope Pushdowns
3-4 sets of 10-12 reps (to failure)

57 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Pullover Press
3-4 sets of 10-12 reps (to failure)

58
Overhead French Press
3-4 sets of 10-12 reps (to failure)

59 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Tricep Cable Kick Backs
3-4 sets of 10-12 reps (to failure)

Calves: See page 121 60

 For access to
video library for Day 1
click below.

61 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
DAY 2:
Back, Lower Back Hamstrings

Back:
Wide Grip Pull-ups or Wide Grip Pull-downs
One warm up set of 12 – 15 reps
3-4 sets of 10-12 reps,
increasing the weight with each set (to failure)

62
Seated Close Grip Cable Rows
3-4 sets of 10-12 reps,
increasing the weight with each set (to failure)

63 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
T-Bar Rows
3-4 sets of 10-12 reps,
increasing the weight with each set (to failure)

64
High Cable Rows
3-4 sets of 10-12 reps, increasing the weight with each set
(to failure)

65 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Barbell Rows
3 sets of 10 reps, increasing the weight with each set
(to failure)

66
Reverse Grip Pulldown
3-4 sets of 10-12 reps, increasing the weight with each set
(to failure)

67 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Lower Back:
Dead Lifts
3 sets - 10 - 12 reps
Increase the weight and do 8 - 10 reps
Increase the weight and do 6-10 reps (to failure)

68
Hamstrings:
Lying Leg Curls
5 sets - 10 reps
Increase the weight and do 10 reps
Increase the weight and do 10 reps
Increase the weight and do 10 reps
Increase the weight and do 10 reps with a triple drop,
do each drop to failure.

69 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
 For access to
video library for Day 2
click below.

70
DAY 3:
Shoulders, Biceps and Forearms

SHOULDERS:
Seated Front Barbell Press or Seated DB Press
3-4 sets of 8-12 reps. Increase the weight with each set
and perform each set to failure.

71 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Standing Side Laterals
3-4 sets of 10-12 reps.
Increase the weight with each set. The last set should start
with 12 reps and then do a triple drop of ten reps each
drop (to failure).

72
Wide Grip Upright Rows SuperSetted
with Standing Front laterals raises
3 sets of x 10 reps to failure

73 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Incline Bench Bent Side Laterals
3 sets of 10-12 reps to failure

74
Standing barbell Shrugs
3-4 sets of 10-12 reps to failure

75 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
BICEPS:
Incline DB Curls
3 sets of 10-12 reps (to failure)

76
Standing Preacher Curls
3 sets of 10-12 reps (to failure)

77 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Reverse Preacher Curls
3 sets of 10-12 reps (to failure)

78
Standing Cable Curls
3 sets of 10-12 reps (to failure)

79 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Forearms:
Barbell wrist curls
4 – 5 sets x 20 reps (to failure)

80
 For access to
video library for Day 3
click below.

81 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
DAY 4:
Quads

Squats:
Start with a light warmup set for 20 reps.
Then increase weight for 20 reps.
Increase weight again for 15 reps.
Increase weight again for 12 reps.
Increase weight again for 10 reps.

82
45 Degree Leg Press:
Start with a weight with which you can do 20 reps.
Increase weight for 15 reps.
Increase weight again for 15 reps.
Increase weight again for 12 reps (to failure).

83 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Hack Squats:
Choose a weight with which you can do 15 reps and do
three sets of 15 reps (last set to failure).

84
DB Walking Lunges:
Pick a weight with which you can do 15 steps on both legs.
Repeat for a total of three rounds

85 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Leg Extensions:
Start with a weight with which you can easily do 15 reps.
Increase the weight for 15 reps
increase the weight again for 15 reps
Increase the weight again for 15 reps then do a triple drop
of 15, 12 and 12 reps (to failure)

86
 For access to
video library for Day 4
click below.

87 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Day 5:
Weak Body Part
(chest and triceps example), Plus Calves

(with any weak body part done for the second time in the
five day split, shoot for two separate exercises of 5 sets
each, adding weight with each set, with a rep range of be-
tween 10 – 20 reps, slow motion, tightly contracted reps,
with a triple drop set at the end of each exercise)

Chest:
Incline DB Press
5 sets - 20 reps
Add weight and do 15 reps - last 5 reps should be very dif-
ficult, slow and tightly contracted at the top.
Add weight and shoot for 12 – 15 reps last 5 reps should
be very difficult, slow and tightly contracted at the top.
Add weight and shoot for 10 – 12 reps last 5 reps should
be very difficult, slow and tightly contracted at the top.
Add weight and do a triple strip set to failure on each drop.

88
Pec Deck
5 sets - 20 reps
Add weight and do at least 15 reps, last 5 reps should be very
difficult, slow and tightly contracted at the top.
Add weight and do at least 12 reps, last 5 reps should be very
difficult, slow and tightly contracted at the top.
Add wight and do at least 10 reps to failure, last 5 reps should
be very difficult, slow and tightly contracted at
the top.
Add weight and do a triple drop set going to failure at
each drop.
Calves: See page 114

89 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
 For access to
video library for Day 5
click below.

90
Training for refinement
(Pre-contest Training)

In this phase of training you are sculpting and refining your

physique to see details such as the striations in your chest,
shoulders, legs and back. I switch from heavy weights and
low reps to lighter weights and higher reps. I add more
“squeeze” to the reps and do more supersets to help in-
crease heart rate and burn more fat. This phase of training
is to show the details in your physique, so you see more
of the muscle you don’t see when you are in the bulking
phase. You’re training, not necessarily to gain size, but
to still keeping your body balanced. You still want to work
harder on your body parts that are weaker, and lessen the
training on the body parts that are dominant.

Training frequency is increased to train your body

parts twice a week. So you are working on a six-day
split, training your entire body in three days and
repeating it for three more, then taking 1 day off
for recovery.

91 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Rep range will be increased to 1—15 reps on upper body
and 15-30 reps on lower body. During this phase of training
you are also dieting with restricted calories and/or carbohy-
drates. Plus for those who have stubborn fat you are also
adding cardio to your training regiments.

92
DAY 1:
CHEST AND BACK

Chest superseded with Back:

Incline DB press Supersetted Wide Grip Pulldowns
4 sets of 12-15 reps to failure

93 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Incline flies supersetted with Cable Low Rows
4 sets of 12-15 reps to failure

94
Flat Bench Press or Machine Press Supersetted with
Close grip Pulldowns
4 sets of 12-15 reps to failure

95 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Fly Machine Supersetted with T-Bar Rows
4 sets of 12-15 reps to failure

96
Decline DB Flies Supersetted with Barbell rows:
3-4 sets of 12-15 reps to failure

97 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Weighted Hyper extensions
3-4 sets of 12-15 reps to failure

98
 For access to
video library for
training for refinement
(pre-contest) day 1
click below.

99 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
DAY 2:
SHOULDERS AND ARMS

Shoulders:
Seated Arnold Presses
4 sets of 12-15 reps to failure

100
Seated Side Laterals
4 sets of 12-15 reps, last set is a triple drop of 12-15 reps
each, to failure

101 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Cable Side Laterals:
3 sets of 15 reps

102
Cable Front raises supersetted cable wide grip
upright rows:
3 sets of 15 reps

103 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Machine Rear Delt machine
4 sets of 12-15 reps to failure

104
DB Shrugs
3-4 sets of 12-15 reps
All reps are slow motion with a full contraction
of the muscle.

105 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Arms:
Triceps Superset with Biceps
Triceps Rope Pushdowns Supersetted
with Incline DB Curls.
3-4 sets of 12-15 reps.

106
Lying Tricep Extensions Supersetted
with Seated Preacher Curls
3-4 sets of 12-15 reps.

107 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Overhead Tricep Cable Extensions Supersetted
with Standing “21 Curls.”
This is Standing Curls done first with 7 reps from bottom
to half way up, then 7 reps from the top of the curl to half
way down, then 7 full reps - do 3 rounds

108
Triceps Kickbacks Supersetted
with concentration curls
3 sets of 12 (to failure)

109 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Forearms:
Barbell wrist curls
4 – 5 sets x 20 reps (to failure)

110
 For access to
video library for
training for refinement
(pre-contest) day 2
click below.

111 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
DAY 3:
Quads and Hamstrings

Quads:
Leg Extensions
4-5 sets of 15-20 reps, last set is a triple drop set of at
least 15 reps each drop (to failure).

112
45 degree Leg Press Supersetted with Hack Squats
4-5 sets of 15-25 reps. Last set of Hacks is a double Drop
set to failure.

113 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Wide Stance Squats Supersetted with Reverse lunges
3 sets of 15-20 reps

114
Sissy Squats
3 sets of 15-20 reps

115 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Hamstrings:
Lying Leg Curls
4-5 sets of 15 reps – increasing the weight with each set.
On the last set, do a triple drop set doing 15 reps on each
drop (to failure).

116
Stiff Legged Deadlifts
3 sets of 15 reps, increase weight with each set (to failure)

117 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
 For access to
video library for
training for refinement
(pre-contest) day 3
click below.

118
DAY 4 REPEAT DAY 1
DAY 5 REPEAT DAY 2
DAY 6 REPEAT DAY 3
DAY 7 OFF

119 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
 ABS AND CALVES
These two muscle groups are treated differently from
the other groups because they require special attention.
This is because getting them to grow tends to be harder
because they are constantly in use. If you’re standing
and/or moving, you’re using these two muscles. This
makes them unique and more difficult to develop. Most
athletes who have holes in their physiques will have
weaknesses in either or both of these muscle groups.
This is why they get their own section.

120
The Calf Section
There is no such thing as “stubborn calves.” Of course
genetics can play a roll in stellar calf development, but
for the rest of us, if you’re calves won’t grow, it’s because
you’re not training them right.

The universally accepted method of growing muscle

revolves around a low rep, high volume, explosive
movement approach.

This is where calves are exempt.

The empirical data I’m using to support this can be found

in Olympic athletes. Cyclists vs sprinters: which group has
better calves? Clearly, the cyclists. Not the sprinters, who
are doing low rep, high volume, explosive training. The cy-
clists are doing high rep, varying resistance (up and down
hills), high volume, high intensity training. Those who will
argue that athletes of African decent (the best sprinters in
the world) have genetically small calves are reenforcing my
point. If calves responded to low rep, explosive training,
the best sprinters would genetically have huge calves.
121 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
So I approach calf training using the cycling protocol. I
also consider the anatomy of the calf and make sure I train
both major movers: the gastrocnemius (originating above
the knee) and the soleus (originating below the knee). Be-
cause seated calves, by virtue of the knee being bent iso-
late the soleus, seated calves are a must. As far as the
gastrocnemius goes, any movement where the knee re-
mains straight (or slightly bent) will suffice. I prefer stand-
ing calf moves over donkeys. Or you can alternate. How-
ever, I’ve never done more than two different exercises for
calves in a workout.

The final element is intensity. Imagine racing up the

Pyrenees, in the Tour de France, on a bike made of lead.
The shit’s gotta hurt, like the getting your teeth drilled with-
out novocain kind of pain. Anyone who didn’t get their
calves from their parents knows this unfortunate truth.

During the building phase, calves are trained twice a week.

During the refining phase it’s bumped up to three times a
week. Stick them in wherever you want. If they’re a lagging
body part you’ll want to prioritize them. If not, they go well
with hams and then again with quads.

122
Standing Calf raises
5 sets x 15 reps.
The last set is a triple drop set. As described above, It will be done
with the heaviest weight for 15 reps, then drop the weight (by about
25%) and do another 12 reps, then drop the weight again (by about
25%) and get 12 more reps, then, finally, one last drop (of about
25%) for another 12 reps. Each set should be to failure. Your goal is
to choose a weight where you can barely get 15 reps before you fail.
Then drop the weight, do 12 more to failure, then drop again and do
12 more and finally, one last drop for 12 reps to failure.

123 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Seated Calve raises
5 sets x15 reps.
The last set will be the same triple drop set as above.

124
 For access to
video library for
training calves
click below.

125 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
The Ab Section

I’m adding a dedicated ab section here because there is

no more important a muscle group when building the
classic physique than your abs. So I’m going to go very
in depth here because a lot of guys gloss over abs; they
don’t do them correctly, or not at all, until it’s too late.

The whole stigma of the bloated gut is one of the defining

differences between open bodybuilding and classic
physique, and we tame that gut right here with ab work.
Back in the day, guys trained their abs relentlessly to keep
their midsection tight, flat and totally in control. And then
there’s that elusive vacuum pose. The more you train your
abs, the more control you have over them. The more con-
trol you have over them, the more your going to be able to
train yourself to hit the vacuum pose.

There’s a reason why the guys from my era can hit a

vacuum and the majority of guys today can’t – back then
we worked our abs, a lot.

126
As your contest date, or summer weather grow near, many
bodybuilders will add a second gym session several days
a week to do cardio, lagging body parts and/or abs.

127 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
This is a good idea, especially on days when you’re hitting
big body parts (chest, back, legs). It gives you a little rest
time in between and the chance to get in another meal or
two or three for some added energy.

128
THE ULTIMATE AB WORKOUT

Chances are pretty good this will work for you. But you
have to be consistent and commit to doing it five days a
week pre contest, or even when you’re getting ready for
summer. While you’re doing these exercises, wherever
possible, touch the area being worked with a free hand.
Feel how the spaces between the muscles gobble up your
fingers and squeeze them with each rep. Poke around and
find the details and feel them work, especially as the pain
gets harder to bear. Certain exercises will preclude a free
hand. In these cases try to picture the muscle while you’re
in the start position. Close your eyes and find the origin of
the muscle at the top, then try to imagine where it inserts
below.

Although you can’t completely isolate any one muscle of

the trunk, you can concentrate the effort in one specif-
ic area if you focus while you’re training and make each
move deliberate. Tossing weights around and doing sloppy
reps is an exceptional waste of time here. Don’t let your
ego ruin your progress. There is no set weight or number
of reps below which it becomes emasculating in any ab
movement.

129 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
The key is isolation and deliberate movement with only
enough resistance to allow you to consistently perform
clean reps right up until you hit the wall— somewhere after
12-15 reps during each set of each exercise. You have to
go to failure and that means enduring thick burning pain to
which no sane man would deliberately subject himself.

Now, let’s see how tough you are.

Assuming you will do this workout Monday through Friday,

Monday, Wednesday and Friday will be heavy work days
while Tuesday and Thursday will be lighter with different
movements.

MONDAY-WEDNESDAY-FRIDAY

The order of these exercises is critical because they de-

scend in degree of difficulty. In other words, the weakest
move is first and the strongest move is last (i.e. prioritiza-
tion). So don’t mess with the order. There is also a slew
of other ab exercises and a pile of pretty equipment upon
which to do them that I’m not going to mention.

130
I usually believe less is more, so I find the basic moves
suit this program just fine. The simplicity of the equipment
needed to accomplish the whole workout can usually be
found in any gym, anywhere. If you ever find yourself trav-
eling to a foreign gym, you won’t be at a loss for your ab
workout. If your gym has a bunch of expensive high-tech
equipment that you are just dying to use, go ahead.
Just make sure you are duplicating the movement you
are replacing.

HANGING KNEE RAISES:

This is perhaps the most difficult ab exercise ever

invented and the one you’re first most likely to relegate to
some newfangled contraption. But doing them au natural
is better because you are training your whole torso and ty-
ing it all into your abdominals.

Machines tend to isolate the movement by strapping you in

and forcing you to actuate the move with your lower
abdomen. This is all well and good, probably safer too, but
it does rob your upper body of the ancillary benefits. So try
to master the old-fashioned hanging knee raise before you
move on to a machine that stresses actuating ab flexion
from the bottom. 131 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
If your gym has those comfortably padded nylon weave
loops with a carabineer on one end that you can clip into
a chin bar and hang by your elbows, you’re in luck. This is
the easiest way to do them.

If your gym doesn’t have a set, go to the Ab Originals web-

site: http://www.aborigionals.com/ and order yourself a
pair. Otherwise, wrist straps can hold you in. Or, if your grip
strength is of rock climber caliber, just hang on.

132
Stand on a block or an up-turned
dumbbell and grab the bar with your hands facing
out (or slide your elbows into the straps) using a
very comfortable shoulder-width grip. Step off the
dumbbell and hang there for a second to get set.

133 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
The most common problem people tend to have with this
exercise is swinging.

They swing because they are not using their abs

to lift their knees.

Although lifting your knees with the pivotal axis at the hip
does indeed cause the muscles of the abdomen to tense,
the primary mover in this instance is not the rectus abdom-
inis, but the psoas muscle. The psoas muscle is the main
muscle that raises your leg toward your body. Its origin is
the vertebrae of your lumbar spine, and it inserts in the top
of your thigh in the front. It runs right through your abdo-
men under your guts. Unless you’re a sprinter, there’s no
point in working this muscle— you can’t see it. If you find
yourself swinging, don’t ask a spotter to hold your back
still. All this will do is allow you to work your psoas muscle
even more. The reason you’re swinging is because lifting
your knees pushes your butt back, shifting the pivotal axis
from your hips to your wrists and shoulders. Hence, just
like a playground swing, you are going to rock back and
forth as the balance shifts.

134
Instead, hook one foot over the other and lift your knees
until your quads are almost at a 45 degree angle to the
ground and lock them there— this is the start position.
Now, the object is to pull your knees up toward your chest
as high as you can by rolling your spine, not lifting your
legs. You do this by actuating the move from the top and
the bottom by drawing your elbows down and your knees
up in one deliberate movement until your abdominal mus-
cles are completely contracted and your low back is arched
upward. Then, slowly lower your knees back down to their
locked bent position, drop down with your elbows and start
another rep.

While you can certainly lower your knees for a more com-
fortable start position, remember, raising your knees by
pivoting your femur in your hip does NOT work your abs.
The most direct and difficult attack on your abs occurs
when your knees stay bent and locked the whole time.
Properly executed, this movement will not only call into
play the rectus abdominis as the primary mover, but will
also secondarily stress the serratus, external oblique and
your lats. If you are doing these properly, you can’t possi-
bly swing.

135 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
136
This is a powerful systemic exercise that will shift your ab
development into high gear. Regardless of how much they
hurt— and boy, do they ever— stick with this exercise. In
the end, you’ll be glad you did.

Taking into account the degree of difficulty in perform-

ing this exercise properly, it’s quite possible your abdom-
inal muscles are not conditioned sufficiently to perform
this movement at all. If that’s the case, try it on a decline
bench first. You can adjust the angle all the way to horizon-
tal if you need to. The less steep the angle, the less the re-
sistance and the easier it will be to perform this movement
properly.

Regardless of how wimpy you may feel while you are try-
ing to get this right, work at it anyway. This is an incredibly
effective exercise, as well as, a significant example of the
power of the mind/muscle connection.

Do four sets to failure.

137 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Side Cable Crunches:

The primary mover here is the serratus and external

oblique, with your rectus abdominis and lower lats coming
along for the ride. This movement also underscores the
value of the mind/muscle connection. Although it is consid-
erably less difficult than the previous move, this exercise
still takes some practice to get to the point where it is most
effective.

Clip a stirrup handle on a high cable pulley, face the

machine with one shoulder slightly ahead of the other and
grab the handle with the forward hand. Step back, bend
slightly at the hips and shift your weight back to your
opposite leg. Your arm should be fully extended and the
weight should be hanging several inches up off the stack.
Starting from this long stretched-out position, the object is
to pull your elbow down while tilting your hip up to meet it.

138
The movement should be deliberate and slow, slightly
twisting your torso and crunching one side of your up-
per ab, serratus, lat and oblique as your elbow practical-
ly touches the front of your hip. This is a perfect time to
use your free hand to feel around for the muscles being
worked. It is perhaps the key to doing this exercise right.
Slowly return to the start position, stretch the whole thing
out and start again. You’ll want to use enough weight to
get at least 15 reps on each side, with another five bringing
you to the wall with all its brutality. If you did these right, fi-
nally letting go is a total rush. Do four honest sets of these,
also to failure.

139 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Cable Crunches:

The relative ease of this exercise, compared to the pre-

vious two, is decidedly less. Since it is, this requires less
thinking about mind/muscle connections, which in turn
avails you of a much brighter shade of pain.

This movement is really about finding the upper threshold

of what you think you can’t possibly bear and going past it.
For some reason, the primary mover here— the rectus
abdominis— is freighted with nerve endings that cause you
to feel an incredible amount of searing pain at the upper
limit. Taking this muscle deliberately to honest failure four
sets in a row is perhaps the most grievous route to enlight-
enment. However, necessary.

Unclip the stirrup handle you just used and clip in a dou-
ble-ended rope. Find a pad or a yoga mat and place it on
the floor in front of the machine. Grab the rope in each
hand and kneel down a little more than arms length from
the weight stack.

140
Raise your hands up behind your head so that your head is
positioned between your elbows, and the cable is angling
up away from you toward the machine. Arch your back
and completely stretch out your torso making sure you are
far enough away from the pulley so the weight does not
rest on the stack. From this start position, lock your hips
and pull the weight down by flexing your rectus abdominis,
trying to touch your knees with your elbows.

Do not let your femur pivot in the hip joint! And, don’t bring
your elbows past your face. With your hips locked, this
movement is accomplished by rolling your back from the
arched position to hunched over, completely isolating the
rectus abdominis. Use enough weight to get at least 20
reps with another five to ten thrown in for masochism’s
sake. Pain management is like a game; see how much you
can handle. You can’t hurt yourself if the weights you’re
using are realistic. So, crush’em. Try to find your limit.

Do four sets to failure.

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TUESDAY AND THURSDAY:

Training the same muscle five days in a row flies

in the face of conventional training philosophy.
Surely, this will lead to overtraining and thus, di-
minished returns. If we were talking about any
other muscle, except for maybe calves, I’d have
to agree. It seems that the muscle fibers in your
torso react differently from those that make up the
thick muscle bellies of the bigger muscle groups.

This could have something to do with the fact that

your abs are constantly in use. The only time they
are not working is when you are laying flat. Evi-
dently, training them five days running is some-
thing they can handle. Just like cyclists have
amazingly huge calves for their size, the body-
builders with the best abs do something for them
almost every day.

142
There was a bodybuilder from the ‘60s and ‘70s who trained
at Gold’s gym when Joe Gold owned it, and then later at
World Gym, named Zabo Koszewski who was known to per-
form 1,500 ab movements a day.

No one since has sported abs like “The Chief.”

143 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Since you just torched your abs with weight, they are likely
sore. This is normal, and if you are training your abs prop-
erly, it is something you’re going to have to learn to live
with. Getting some blood back in there seems to help dis-
sipate some of the soreness, and keeps your abs tight. So
on these two in-between days, stress high reps with only
bodyweight as resistance.

Here, two very basic traditional exercises are employed to

further stimulate abdominal development. The only catch is
that you have to do them right. Once again, the mind/mus-
cle connection prevails.

Twisting Sit-Ups:

This is an all-encompassing exercise that can really fry the

entire midsection. Sit on a Roman chair or sit-up bench
with a very mild incline— the first or second pin stop is
steep enough. Make a loose fist out of each hand and hold
them knuckle to knuckle directly over your pecs. Rock back
with your hips until your torso is at roughly 45 degrees and
lock yourself in. Now sit up by flexing your abs and rolling
your back until you begin to hunch.

144
Again, your femur should not pivot in the hip; the move-
ment is accomplished by rolling your spine. Keep your
quads flexed and locked. At what you perceive to be the
midpoint of the movement, slightly roll one shoulder toward
the opposite knee. Come to a complete and deliberate stop
with your abs totally contracted. This is another opportunity
to use your finger tips to pinpoint the muscle contraction.
Return to the start position slowly and come to a complete
stop before you begin the next rep. Do as many controlled
deliberate reps as you can, alternating sides every other
rep. As simple as this movement is, this is as painful as it
will become.
Do four sets to failure.
145 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Twists:

This always seemed like a stupid exercise for a lot of

guys until they grew to understand it. Once they did, most
lament all the years they didn’t do them. Seeing someone
with a broomstick across their shoulders twisting into infin-
ity is not a rare sight at most gyms. Unfortunately, most of
the mooks doing the twisting are wasting their time. The
purpose of this exercise is to strengthen the abdominal
walls so they perform the same function as a girdle and
hold your stomach in, thus reducing the girth of your waist.
You can only accomplish this by starting and stopping the
movement both in the center and at each lateral extreme.
Wind milling back and forth won’t do a thing.

146
Lay a broomstick across your shoulder blades and wrap
your wrists around each end. Stand with your feet a little
greater than shoulder width apart and face the mirror. Twist
in one direction ultimately locking down all the muscles on
the side of your ribcage to your oblique and lat until you
come to a complete stop, as far to one side as possible.
Then, flex your rectus abdominis and twist back to center
coming to a dead stop with your abs flexed.

Repeat it on the other side. Basically, you will be twist-

ing in one direction until you stop, twist back to center and
stop, twist in the other direction until you come to a stop,
then twist back to center and stop.

Do four sets of at least 100.

Going to failure here is pretty much impossible.

147 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
FLEXING FOR “DYNAMIC TENSION”

The final part to this physical commitment may seem a bit

narcissistic, but it is certainly valid. Flexing, or “posing,” is
an integral part of a competitive bodybuilder’s final prepa-
ration for a contest. Bodybuilders must be able to hold
their compulsory poses during the comparison rounds of
a bodybuilding competition, thus training for this aspect of
competition is essential. We came to find that the very act
of flexing and holding a pose was actually a whole other
workout evoking something on the order of Charles Atlas’
dynamic tension principle.

A half-hour of posing can give you quite a pump. It also

serves to ingrain the mind/muscle connection. The more
you flex and study a muscle in the mirror, the better you
will be able to manipulate it while training.

Your abs can benefit from this as well. Learning to flex your
abs and display their various aspects can be just as much
of a workout as dozens of sit-ups. Obviously you are going
to have to be pretty lean for this to mean anything. If you’re
not yet trimmed down enough to see anything, this will give
you something to look forward to.

Before you go to bed, check your gut in the bathroom mirror. Face
148
front and flex your abs. See if you can ad-
just your movement to call more of them
into play. Blow all your air out and crunch
them as hard as you can and hold it for as
long as you can. Looks pretty cool, huh?

Do the same thing standing to the side with
your body rotated slightly toward the mir-
ror. Reach up and grab the back of your
neck and pull your elbow down toward your
oblique. Blow out all your air and rock your
hip up slightly as you crunch down your rib-
cage. Watch what happens and try to ad-
just your movements until you can see as
much detail as possible. See how long you
can hold it. Turn around and do the other
side. Repeat the whole thing for four or five
revolutions. Then climb into bed knowing
you did everything right; the burn ebbs as
you drift off to sleep.

149 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
 For access to
video library for
training abs
click below.

150
Chapter 06
CARDIO FOR FAT BURNING

151 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Cardio is the holy grail of dieting.

However, the goal is to do as little as possible. . .

In a perfect world, you should be able to manipulate

your diet and training in such a way that you wouldn’t
need to do any. But this world is far from perfect and if
your aspirations are aimed at the stage, or anywhere
close, you’re going to find yourself on a stair climber, a
treadmill, rower, bike, etc. Back in the Arnold era, there
were guys who actually did no cardio, but you can’t
compare the condition those guys brought to the stage
to the level of my generation. Clearly, there was a big
difference, and the biggest difference was the addition
of cardio to the routine.

152
Too much cardio can sacrifice muscle and way
too much cardio can actually cause your body
to hoard fat! And, of course, not enough will
not get you ripped.

So, there’s a fine line you have to tread here, between

enough, not enough and too much cardio.

The cardio implementation barometer is always going

to be your sticking point. You have to pay close atten-
tion to how your fat level is dropping with weekly
monitoring. While the mirror, and even another set of
eyes, are great measures of body fat, the best, and
most accurate, is taking weekly body fat measure-
ments.

How you do that is quite simple. Forget those compli-

cated contraptions such as bio impedance machines,
Bod Pods, scales that measure body fat, etc. These
things are never accurate and never consistent. The
best way to measure body fat is by some kind of skin
fold caliper. They range in price and complexity from
$9.00 for a simple plastic, spring loaded caliper from
153 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
China, to the $400 digital Skinned model, and a variety
in-between. Any of them will do. Obviously, the more you
spend, the more accurate the total measurement will be,
but you really don’t need that.

What you need is to see the skin fold measurements at

the various testing sites go down, week by week. It really
doesn’t matter what the total percentage is. The key is get-
ting good at taking the measurement. Getting a good skin
fold measurement is an art and it takes practice to get it
right. Thankfully, there are plenty of good videos available
on You Tube to show you how.

It’s important, for accuracy’s sake, to take your measure-

ment on the same day of the week, at the same time of
day, under the same circumstances – before or after you
train, or do cardio, take a shower, weather or not you’ve
been in the sun or the tanning bed, eat, etc.

Almost everything affects the water content under your

skin, and the leaner you are, the greater the variance will
be. Learn to take a good skin fold measurement, do it con-
sistently, and you will get a good idea of which way you’re

154
going. All you want to see is the skin fold measurements
going down. There are various sites you should test.
There are various formulas out there requiring anywhere
from three to seven sites.

What I’ve learned is that most accurate areas that

indicate measurable change are:

• Biceps
• Triceps
• Oblique
• Sub scapula
• Thigh

Having someone take these measurements for you is real-

ly the most preferable. Taking the biceps and triceps mea-
surements by yourself is a bit difficult and the sub scapular
is impossible to take on your own. Most, if not all, gyms
have trainers or diet centers that take body fat measure-
ments. Or, you always have your training partner.

155 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Before you go jumping on a piece of cardio equipment,
there are a couple of things you should try first when you
hit the inevitable sticking points.

First, change up your workouts by picking up the pace.

Add in an unrelated exercise between sets of your main
exercise (super sets), reduce the rest period between sets,
add in drop sets, giant sets, high rep sets, etc. Anything to
get your heart rate up and increase energy expenditure.

The next thing you can do is adjust your diet. In the diet
chapter, I mentioned something about adjusting your diet
when you hit a sticking point and that I’d cover it in this
chapter. I talked about lowering your total daily calories.
You can even do something as simple as taking the carbs
out of your last meal, or the last two meals. But at some
point, you can only reduce your total calories so much;
you’ll eventually either go out of your mind or run out of
food. Before you hit that wall, it’s time to do cardio.

Because you stayed relatively lean in your off season,

you shouldn’t have to add very much cardio to get the job
done. Remember, you want to get away with as little as
possible.

156
Now, there’s two kinds of cardio: steady state, or low inten-
sity cardio, and high intensity interval training (HIIT). I start
off with low intensity and then graduate to HIIT as I get
closer to the show and the sticking points get tougher to
push through.

First I’ll start off by adding three cardio sessions a week,

of 20 min each. You’ll want to do these sessions either first
thing in the morning, on an empty stomach, or after you
train. This is when your glycogen levels will be the lowest,
forcing your body to liberate fat stores for energy. Your
heart rate is going to be an important indicator, because if
it’s too high the immediate energy requirement will be more
than the liberated fat can satisfy, causing your body to con-
vert protein to glucose for its faster burning energy needs.
Because you’re running on empty, that protein is probably
going to come from muscle. The proven range for opti-
mal fat burning occurs when your heart rate is beating at
70 – 75 precent of your maximum heart rate. To make that
calculation, you simply subtract your age from 220. That
number is then multiplied by .70 and .75 to calculate your
optimal fat burning range.

157 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
If following this plan for a week or two doesn’t yield results,
bump it up to four days a week at 30 minutes a session.
Then you can bump it up to six days a week for 45 min-
utes a session. The goal here is to add cardio as your body
changes, slowly increasing it as your body hits plateaus.

Eventually, right at about the hour mark, rather than in-

creasing your time on the treadmill, you’ll switch over to
HITT. The easiest way to modulate your HIIT cardio is to
divide a minute into a 20 second and a 40 second interval.
We’ll call that minute a “set” and endeavor to start out with
15 of them. Five days a week.

158
First walk on a treadmill at your regular 70 – 75 precent
pace for five or ten minutes to warm up. Then, set the
treadmill at a decent angle, probably five or six, and set the
speed of the belt so that when you run on it, it’s an all out
100% sprint, as fast as you can possibly go. Do that sprint
for 20 seconds, then grab the side rails and jump your feet
to either side of the belt. Rest there for 40 seconds. Then,
jump back on the belt and sprint for 20seconds, rest for
40 seconds, etc., until you hit 15 of those, 20/40, one min-
ute sets. You can add sets, and/or another day, gradually,
if your fat burning slows down or stops. HITT is far more
exhausting than steady state, but the trade off is that you
don’t have to do as much. You’ll probably never have to do
more than 20 sets (20 minutes), six days a week.

Cardio is one of those things that will cause your body to

strive for efficiency. If you do 30 minutes of steady state
cardio on the treadmill with your heart rate at 75% of your
maximum, eventually your body will accomplish this work,
utilizing fewer and fewer calories. That’s why we change it
up. The goal is to keep your body confused.

159 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Chapter 07
RECOVERY

160
REST IS THE SECRET TO SUCCESS

Even God rested on the seventh day.

You need to rest too.

Building the ultimate body is brutally hard work. You not

only have to follow a very strict diet and make sure you get
all your nutrients in the right combinations, but you also
have to take your intensity in the gym up to a level you’ve
never reached before. You have to train like a beast - a
crazed wild beast.

Going to the gym and getting this work done is serious

business. While you’re there I want you thinking of me – I
want you to be as serious as I am and train as hard as I
do. I want you to leave nothing on the gym floor.

Nothing.
161 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
So, training and dieting like a bodybuilder – like me – is
hard work. It’s seriously hard work. But, I’m going to let you
in on a little secret. An incredibly simple little thing that’s a
whole lot easier than sticking to your diet and working out
like an animal. Pay close attention, because if you ever
pay attention to anything I tell you, this is it. I know a lot of
hardcore bodybuilders already know this—but, some ac-
tually forget it, or ignore it. Unfortunately it catches up with
them when it’s show time. You might already know the se-
cret too. But, if you’re like countless others I’ve trained and
counseled over the years, you don’t think it’s a big enough
deal and don’t pay attention. And, while it’s probably the
easiest thing you could possibly do, it’s still overlooked at
every level of bodybuilding and fitness training.

Are you ready?

Can you handle it?

Can you take it on with the same sense of urgency and

importance as you do your workout?

Here you go -

162
You have to rest.

If you don’t make recovery a priority you’re not going to

succeed. It’s not just a nice break from the action, and
it’s not optional. It’s imperative. You have to take days off
from the gym. And, even more importantly, you have to get
enough sleep. In fact, I would argue that ignoring the need
for sleep is having a devastating effect on our society at
large. I have a friend in the medical profession who swears
that Americans do serious damage to their health due to
lack of sleep.

Trust me. When I showed up in Venice Beach, California,

the opportunity to go out and have a good time was ev-
erywhere. I was young and single and always happy to go
out and have a good time. One of the hardest things in the
world was to say no to everyone wanting to go out and hit
the clubs, and go home and hit the sack. But I knew I had
to let my body heal. When it came time to compete, I de-
stroyed guys who had a lot more natural size and ability
than I had.

Why?

163 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
They worked hard in the gym, but then they went out and
partied all night. I know a lot of young people feel it’s their
duty to run the streets at least a couple of nights a week.
There’s an even bigger temptation to do that as you see
your body starting to getting bigger and leaner. The more
jacked you look, the more you want to go out and show it
off and see what kind of trouble you can get into.
Remember the TV show, Jersey Shore? I grew up there
– l was one of those guys (Only bigger, leaner and less of
a Guido) I can tell you that what you see on TV is the way
it’s done there. It’s a real lifestyle. And living it will not make
you a champion. Run the streets like those guys and you
won’t reach your goals. Period.

I’m not your dad and I can’t tell you what to do. And, I don’t
want to. But I can tell you that your body is not made to
be pushed to its limits and not be given a chance to rest.
That’s why I recommend you schedule at least TWO off
days per week if you really want to get big and ripped.
Lowering your intensity on workout days so you can add in
another workout day isn’t going to give you what you want.
Get in the gym, go balls to the wall, then get out of there.
When it comes to sleep, you have to get at least eight
hours. When I made the jump, at age 22, to be a profes-
sional bodybuilder, I knew I needed my sleep. Lee Haney

164
taught me how to get the most out of my workout without
destroying my muscles.

But no one had to tell me to get to bed at a reasonable

hour and let my body recover. Everything I’ve learned in
my career has simply been a confirmation of what I already
intuitively knew. Especially when it comes to sleep.

Sleep does two things for you.

First, it lets your muscles heal from the beating you’ve giv-
en them in the gym, allowing them to get bigger, leaner,
harder, and more defined. Secondly, it lets you recharge
your nervous system so that you don’t drag in the gym
during your next work-out. Instead, you can go in there
with determination on your face, ready to make an assault
on the weights.
I get a lot of credit from my peers for having the absolute
best work ethic they’ve ever witnessed. I’m proud of that.
But what a lot of people don’t realize about my approach
to bodybuilding is that I was just as serious about resting.
Days off were days off. Nighttime was for sleeping. I even
took a solid, half-hour nap every afternoon to make abso-
165 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
lutely sure my body was getting all the rest it needed. I can
guarantee you that if I had run around all night like every-
one else, I would have accomplished next to nothing as
a bodybuilder. And I seriously doubt I’d be the owner and
CEO of a $100 million supplement company.
On your day of rest do something special with your loved
ones—wife, children, significant other, friends. Do some-
thing normal. If you’re allowed a cheat meal, have it on a
rest day. It keeps you well rounded so that you don’t get
tired of the gym. It also keeps those who are special to you
if not satisfied, then maybe at least appeased.
I know bad habits are hard to break and changing them
can be a real challenge. But getting adequate rest is ab-
solutely imperative. Start making it a priority to get more
rest, even try sneaking in a thirty minute catnap if you can.
When it’s time for bed, turn off the computer, the televi-
sion and all your devices, get in bed and close your eyes.
If there are things you didn’t get done today, don’t worry
about it right now. Get your sleep and you’ll get more done
tomorrow—in life and in the gym.

Remember, life is all about choices. You can choose to be

like all the other young guys and run around until sunrise,
or you can choose to sleep and give your muscles the op-
portunity to repair the damage you’ve inflicted on them in
166
the gym, so you can keep growing bigger and better. Al-
ways remember that you stimulate growth in the gym, but
you grow outside the gym, while you’re resting, especially
while you’re asleep. Being diligent about getting the
rest you need between workouts is the only way those
intense training sessions will ever bear fruit in the form
of massive biceps, triceps, pecs, lats, quads, hams, delts,
and calves. You simply can’t build your ultimate body
without proper rest.

167 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Chapter 08
NUTRITION

168
YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

Whether you want to take your physique to the stage or

no further than the beach, diet and nutrition are what’s go-
ing to make the biggest difference in how you look. You
have to weight train to put on muscle and you have to diet
off body fat so that you can see the muscle you built. You
can’t have one without the other. Well, you can, it’s just not
going to look good.

A lean physique that has next to zero muscle mass is

hardly impressive; Marylyn Manson, Mick Jagger or the
scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz come to mind. Before
you go out of your way and suffer for weeks to get ripped,
you better have some muscle under that fat or you’re just
going to look like a bag of bones. Back in the day, we used
to say, “you can’t carve a twig!” So, it’s kind of important to
have built some muscle before you diet down, otherwise
you’re going to look like you spent the summer in a gulag,
not the gym.
169 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Building muscle is first and foremost a product of adequate
nutrition. You can workout until the cows come home, but
unless you have the right nutritional building blocks on
board, it will all be for nothing. You can’t build muscle with
empty calories from a bad diet.

You want to make sure that your diet is composed of the

right nutrients, in the proper ratios so that the “bulk” you’re
gaining during your “bulking phase” is quality muscle, and
not like Eric Cartman in the Beef Cake commercial. I’ve
always said that if your waist is getting thick and you lose
sight of your abs, you’re way too fat. Of course, you can’t
stay totally ripped and gain quality muscle either, so you
have to walk a fine line.

I learned very early on that bulking up too much caused

me to have to diet too hard, to the point where I ended up
losing muscle. The best approach is gaining a little at a
time. Forget about trying to gain 30-40 pounds in a cou-
ple months. I guarantee most of it will be fat! A good rule of
thumb is that if you can’t see your abs and some degree of
detail in your body, you need to bulk a little less. Maybe a
lot less.

170
Trust me when I tell you that the most important piece
of the puzzle is eating. A lot of lifters will agree with me
when I say that the battle is not with the weights, the bat-
tle is with the knife and fork. Following the right diet really
matters. It’s got to be calculated, it’s got to be planned
and it’s got to be followed. I hear a lot of people say they
eat “clean.” But when I see what they’re actually eating,
they’re a mess. Their macronutrient breakdown is all
wrong, or they’re not eating enough meals with the right
frequency to keep their body in an anabolic state, or eat-
ing too much and wondering why they can’t see their abs.
You have to have a plan. Remember, fail to plan and you
plan to fail.

Now, there’s a lot of diets out there; a lot of diet coaches

and gurus too. They all have their own method. What I’m
giving you here is mine. I’m not saying it’s any better or
worse than anyone else’s. It’s the formula that I followed,
and still follow, and it’s what has worked for numerous
others; no one is using you as a lab rat. This works – if
you follow it.

171 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
The first thing you need to do is determine if you’re going
to be “bulking” or “cutting.” Both require following a specific
diet composed of a specific ratio of protein, carbohydrates
and fats. To calculate how many total calories of each mac-
ro nutrient you should be eating every day, you have to find
your starting point. Once you do, you’ll either decrease as
needed to cut, or increase as needed to bulk.

Here’s how we do it.

The easiest way to calculate is to be able to see it. And

the easiest way to do that is with a good ole pie chart. The
starting point calculation is going to cut the pie into three
macro nutrient pieces. The protein component is 40% of
the pie, carbohydrates are 45% and fats are 15%.

Protein

Carbohydtares

Fats

172
Conventional bodybuilding wisdom dictates that we should
consume one gram of protein per pound of body
weight.

For simplicity sake, lets use a 200 pound bodybuilder as

an example:
A 200 pound guy consuming one gram of protein per
pound, means 200 grams of protein per day.
Protein contains four calories per gram.
200 grams X 4 calories = 800 calories of protein per day,
which is 40% of the pie.

If 800 calories is 40% of the pie, then we’re talking about a

2,000 calorie total pie. If 800 of those calories are protein,
that leaves 1200 calories for the remaining 60% of the pie
for carbohydrates and fats.

Because carbohydrates have four calories per gram, and

fats have nine, we need a common denominator.
This conveniently works out to four equal 15% slices of
300 calories each. One of them (15%, or 300 calories) is
going to be fat and three of them (45%, or 900 calories)
is going to be carbohydrates. To see how many grams of
each, we need to do the simple math: fat contains nine cal-
ories per gram, 9/300 = 33.33 grams fat.

173 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Carbohydrates contain four calories per gram, 4/900 =225
grams carbohydrates.
To sum it up, based on our 200 pound bodybuilder
consuming one gram per pound of bodyweight, his start-
ing point is going to be 2,000 calories per day broken up
into four to five meals a day, with a total daily breakdown
that looks like this:

200gr, or 800 calories of protein

33.33gr, or 300 calories of fat
225gr, or 900 calories of carbohydrates

PROTEIN FAT CARBOHYDRATES

174
Now that we have established the baseline diet, you have
to decide if you’re going to be bulking or cutting. Lets take
bulking first.

BULKING PHASE

When I bulked up, I kept my macros at the same, 45/40/15,

split, but increased my total calories by 500 calories a day
and expanded my eating to six to seven meals a day. I’d
keep it there until I stabilized for a month and then raised
it again by another 500 calories, still keeping the macros
in the same ratio. Stabilize again for another month, then
raise the total calories again by 500 a day. I’d keep doing
this until my abs started to blur. When that happens, you
have to back off 500 calories and keep it there.

Following this method, I was able to get up to 6,000 calo-

ries a day. I have to admit, that was a bit much. I ended up
backing down to about 4,500 calories a day. That was my
“sweet spot.”

You’ll have to follow this plan and find your own. There
were guys I knew who were eating up to 10,000 calories
a day! When you get up into the 4,500 realm and above,

175 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
there’s no way to be able to eat all those calories.
You have to drink some of them. This is where careful-
ly crafted protein shakes come in handy, made with high
quality protein powder. Usually I’d throw in some oatmeal
for carbs and peanut butter for good fats. Two or three
shakes a day can really boost your caloric intake without
you spending the day chewing.

DIET TO SHRED

I never did much cardio for a contest diet. What I did was
dropped my calories back down to the starting point we
calculated above and stuck to that for about two weeks.
Then I’d vary my carbs (carb cycling) to keep my body
from getting acclimated and hitting a plateau. I’d start with
a high carb day, then a medium carb day, then three low
carb days, followed by another high carb day, then a
medium, then three low carb, etc., etc.

176
Using our 200 pound bodybuilder as an example,
the cycle would look like this:

High carb day

Carbs – 1.5gr per pound of body weight:
1.5 x 200 = 300gr carbs
Protein - 1gr per pound of body weight:
1 x 200 = 200gr protein
Fat - 10 – 15 gr total

2135 calories total

Medium carb day

Carbs – 1.25gr per pound of body wight:
1.25 x 200 = 250gr carbs
Protein – 1gr per pound of body weight:
1 x 200 = 200gr protein
Fat – 10 – 15gr total

1935 calories total

177 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Low carb days
Carbs - 0.5gr per pound of body weight:
0.5 x 200 = 100gr carbs
Protein - double body weight in grams:
2 x 200 = 400gr protein
Fat - 40 - 50 grams total

2450 calories total

On low carb days you’re obviously not going to be able

to have carbs in every meal. There just aren’t enough of
them. Try to eat your carbs around your training session –
in the meal before and the meal after.

178
Make sure you write down all these changes in your daily
journal. It helps to take progress pictures once a week, as
well as measure your body fat and your weight, and keep
those data in your journal as well. Whenever you hit a pla-
teau or a sticking point, it’s time to make a change. Don’t
be afraid to throw a cheat day in from time to time as well –
maybe once every 10 days – 2 weeks. Cheat days help to
speed up your metabolism. You have to trick your body to
lose body fat.

If you end up stuck before you get shredded, and you

probably will, you’ll have to include some cardio.
I’ll cover that in the cardio chapter.

179 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
At this point I have to warn you about a couple of
things that can cause great dieting angst.

One is the appearance of losing muscle and the other is

what dieting bodybuilders refer to as looking “flat.”

These are some of the biggest misconceptions of dieting

to shred. What looking flat refers to is, when you’re so de-
pleted from calorie restriction, that your muscles seem de-
flated. This happens before bodybuilding shows when you
purposely deplete carbs to get your muscle to give up their
glycogen stores.

The theory being, that when you reintroduce carbohy-

drates, your muscle will uptake slightly more than normal,
making your muscle look extra full and round.
Unfortunately, many times looking flat, or looking like
you’re losing muscle, is confused with the loss of intra-
muscular fat.

180
There’s three kinds of fat we worry about – there are other
types too, but they’re confined to the nervous system and
have nothing to do with how you look.

There’s intra-abdominal fat – the fat on your organs,

subcutaneous fat – the fat under your skin, and
intra muscular fat – the fat that’s marbled in the muscle
like the fat in a steak.

Most people concentrate on the subcutaneous fat,

because that’s the fat the blurs your abs and details in the
muscle. However, as you lose that fat, you also lose the
fat that’s around your organs and in the muscle. Just how
much fat you have marbled in your muscle is written in
your genetic code and you’ll have no idea how much that
is, unless you’ve dieted down to contest shape before and
know what to expect.

If you have a lot of marbled fat in your muscle and you

lose it, you’ll think you either look “flat,” or worse, are los-
ing muscle. The undeniable fact is that if you lose the fat in
your muscle you’re muscle will look smaller. This is not to
say that you might really be losing muscle or really be gly-
cogen depleted. That’s totally possible.

181 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
The key is learning the difference and learning to manip-
ulate your diet so that you’re losing fat and keeping the
muscle, and keeping your muscles full of glycogen.

Manipulating your diet like this will require, in most cases,

minimal cardio to get maximal results. The less cardio you
have to do, the better. Like I said, I’ll cover cardio in the
chapter on cardio. And, I’ll cover glycogen depletion and
loading in the chapter on contest prep.

For a lot of people, constructing and following a diet like

this might seem impossible at first. Remember, it takes
planning! This definitely pertains to proper eating to gain
lean muscle mass and keeping it while you diet. Writing
down everything not only keeps you honest, but gives you
data you’ll need to make changes as needed, as well as a
point of reference in the future when you diet again.

Make sure the foods you eat consist of high quality protein
from chicken, lean beef, fish, egg whites, and some whole
eggs, plus protein powders such as Myofusion or Proven
Egg. Carbohydrates should come from unrefined complex
sources such as rice, sweet potatoes, potatoes and oat-

182
meal. I also eat gluten-free pasta, and gluten-free breads.
This is just a suggestion. I’ve found lately that I don’t get
as bloated or have as much water retention since I’ve tak-
en gluten out of my diet. I also eat fruits such as bananas,
apples, pears, strawberries, and blueberries. And lots of fi-
brous carbs from green veggies like broccoli, string beans,
spinach and other greens. You also need some good fats
in your diet, such as those found in walnuts, almonds,
whole eggs, fish oil, and olive oil.

As you can see, I believe in a wide variety of healthy,

clean, fresh food sources and stay away from the white
sugars, white flour products, or anything highly processed.

183 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Chapter 09
PRESENTATION

184
ALL YOUR WORK WILL BE FOR NAUGHT IF
YOU DON’T KNOW HOW TO SHOW IT OFF.

When contest day finally arrives you are presented with

the greatest responsibility to yourself that has ever been
invented. You have spent years thrashing your body in the
gym, prepared thousands of bland meals and humbly ate
them while everyone else was eating pizza and ice cream;
you sacrificed good times, parties and night clubs in or-
der to rest and recover; you suffered through weeks of
dieting that had you gnawing on your hand because you
were so hungry; and all the other suffering and sacrifice
that brought you to this day – your final moment on stage.
Imagine going through all that and then squandering those
two minutes you get onstage to present all your hard work.

185 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Don’t think it hasn’t happened, or that it can’t happen to
you. I can’t even count the number of guys I’ve seen over
the years go through the pain, the suffering, the blood,
sweat and tears to get ready for a show and then blow it
all because they couldn’t hold their poses, or their stage
presence was horrible. They were too nervous, their tan
sucked or they forgot to put on oil.

It might sound crazy, but the littlest thing can make a

huge difference.

You might have just read “or they forgot to put on oil”
and said to yourself, come on, how could that make
you blow it?

My response is, are you kidding?

If two guys who are close in comparison and one is prop-

erly oiled and tan, while the other didn’t pay attention to
these two seemingly minor details, guess who the judges
are going to reward? Not the guy who left out the $0.38
worth of posing oil.

186
You have to remember, not only is the judging of a body-
building contest a subjective matter - decided by a panel of
humans with varying opinions - it also, many times, comes
down to splitting hairs. You make it really easy for a judge
to do that if you forget your posing oil or have a crappy tan.
These may sound like trivial elements in the grand scheme
of things, but these are the details that can make or break a
champion – even if the guy without the oil is better!

Not only that, but buried in the judges minds are images of
who should represent the sport. They’re not only looking
for the best physique, but they’re also looking for ambassa-
dors, statesmen, representatives, people of good charac-
ter, with charisma and charm and manners and who exude
good sportsmanship. I’ve seen it happen more times than
I can count; the guy who shoves other competitors around
on stage, doesn’t follow the expediter’s instructions, doesn’t
listen to what the judges tell them to do, doesn’t take their
placing well and tears off their number and tosses it, or
kicks the trophy across the stage yelling and screaming at
the judges. I’ve even seen guys physically assault a judge!
Needless to say, these bodybuilding careers are over be-
fore they start. Not only will the judges remember this as-
shole the next time around, but what company is going to
hire them to rep their brand? I’m sure none. And can tell you
quite frankly, neither will anyone else.
187 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
188
Win, lose, or draw, you have to be your best self possible
up on stage. Off the stage too. You have to be good with
people, take pictures with them, talk to them, answer their
questions, even when all you want to do is lay down and
die because you feel so depleted, tired and hungry. Show
day is the culmination of absolutely everything you’ve
worked for, sacrificed and suffered. Don’t blow it by doing
something stupid.

POSING

This is the holy grail of presentation.

Two gargantuan errors competitors make in this regard
are: They don’t know the mandatory poses like the back of
their hand and they can’t hold the pose.

The first thing you have to do is learn the five mandatory

poses and know them so well that you can hit them per-
fectly in your sleep. These poses have to be second nature
to you. You have to be able to hit them, and hit them right,
at any given moment – without the help of a mirror. You
have to etch them into your brain so deep that when the
archeologists dig up your bones 20 million years from now,
189 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
you’re bent into a perfect side chest pose. Not only do you
have to be able to hit them perfectly, without a mirror, but
you also have to be able to hold them.

At about the eight week out mark I used to add posing into
my daily routine. I’d start with holding a mandatory pose
for 15 seconds. A couple weeks later I’d increase it to 30
seconds, then 45. By the day of the show I was holding my
mandatories for a full minute each, twice a day! This not
only guarantees that you’ll be comfortable during your call-
outs, but your poses will be solid, perfectly executed and
pleasing to the eye.

Your transitions have to be smooth, without stumbling or

shaking. You need to be able to move on stage like smoke
languidly drifting over the water. This goes not only for your
mandatory poses, but also for your routine. It’s been said
that too much of anything is no good. That might be so for
almost everything – except posing. There aren’t enough
hours in the day, or days in the week, for you to practice
too much. Remember, bodybuilding is physique art.
While nothing in this world is perfect, your posing has
to be closer than anything else possible. I absolutely
can’t stress this enough. I can guarantee you that the
guys who treat posing as an afterthought will place as an
190
afterthought. You have to wow the crowd and you have to
wow the judges. The ONLY way to do that is to practice,
practice, practice....

There is, however, a caveat to that. The old saying “prac-

tice makes perfect” is not true. What is true is “perfect
practice makes perfect.” What’s the point of practicing
a pose until it’s burned into your brain deeper than the
names of your kids if it’s wrong?

THE FIRST THING YOU NEED TO DO IS

LEARN THE FIVE MANDATORY POSES.

HERE THEY ARE:

• Front Double Biceps

• Side Chest
• Back Double Biceps
• Abdominal and Thigh
• Favorite Classic pose (No Most Muscular)

191 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Once you identify these poses, start
a Google search and seek out clas-
sic bodybuilders who you like and
who you think have the same dimen-
sions in their physique as yours. But
be realistic.

You might think Mohamed Makkawy

is the best classic poser of all time.
And there is certainly a good argu-
ment for that belief.

But he’s 5’4”. If you’re 6’ 5” you

might want to look for another guy
to emulate.

For a novice, the best advise I, or

anyone else, can give you is to hire
a posing coach. They will not only be
able to teach you the correct execu-
tion of the mandatory poses and
possibly even choreograph your rou-
tine, but they will also be able to help
you hide your weak points and
accentuate your strengths.
192
193 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Chapter 10
SUPPLEMENTS

194
I was a bit conflicted while I was thinking about this chap-
ter. On one hand, in a perfect world you’d get all the nu-
trients you need from your diet. But the realities are that
the modern food supply is managed in such a way that the
food we eat is missing, or low in, key nutrients.

Then consider the fact that intense weight training, cardio

and calorie restrictions (when dieting) add another layer of
nutritional needs for the bodybuilder, to fuel both growth
and recovery. This is why most, if not all, bodybuilders
believe in supplementing their diet with the key nutrients
which the body is either lacking or missing all together.

On the other hand, I own a supplement company and

would love it if all of you would buy my products. I was very
careful throughout this book to keep all the information I’m
sharing with you “marketing neutral.” Even so, this specific
chapter is fertile ground for a chance to plug Gaspari Nu-
trition. I will say, however, that since you’re going to take
supplements anyway, you should have a look at Gaspari
products and see how the dosages and quality match up

195 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
to the science – and that’s all I’m going to say on the mat-
ter. In consideration of the conflict I’d prefer you not as-
sume, I’m only going to recommend specific nutrients, not
product names, and I’m not going to list a wheelbarrow
full of stuff upon which you’d spend hundreds of dollars on
each month.

Click here to use Code: ClassicPhysique20

for a one time discount off any of Gaspari products

196
To that end, a recent symposium on sports nutrition con-
vened, where the sports scientists from all over the world
in attendance were asked this simple question: of all the
nutrients currently studied that demonstrate some ergo-
genic aid (performance enhancing), list the top five.

Well, that got the room chattering. A few hours later, this
list was agreed upon.

In no particular order of importance, the top five sports

supplements cited by the top sports scientists in the
world came down to:

Whey Protein
Beta Alanine
Creatine
Caffeine
Omega-3s

Distilled down to that short list, I couldn’t help but appre-

ciate – out of all the items that didn’t make the list – how
incredibly vital these five nutrients are to support increased
athletic performance. Lets take a look at them one at a
time.

197 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
WHEY PROTEIN

Whey is a byproduct of cheese production. It’s the liquid

that’s left over from milk after the milk solids (curd) have
been separated by the use of an enzyme. Prior to the sup-
plement boom, cheese manufacturers used to throw out
the whey, or feed it to livestock. Now it’s more valuable
than the cheese!

While whey protein had been around for decades, it wasn’t

until the 90s that science took a closer look at whey and
brought about a renaissance in the protein powder indus-
try. As whey demonstrated more and more benefits to the
lifting crowd, the quality of the products it contained in-
creased dramatically. But it wasn’t until the very end of the
Millennium that a company called Cyto Sport marketed the
first pure whey protein called “Complete Whey.”

I’m paying the most attention to this supplement and giv-

ing this historical account because it’s a pivotal milestone
in the supplement industry evolution. The advent of whey
protein is incredibly important. Almost immediately after
Complete Whey hit the market, a full fledged whey pro-
tein war erupted with one after another hitting the market,
knocking all other protein powders out of the spotlight, and

198
continuing their dominance to today, taking advantage of
new high technologies in filtration, isolation, concentration
and hydrolization. Whey had become the new gold stan-
dard in protein supplementation, and quickly became the
most studied supplement in the world.

Protein, and the amino acids they contain, are the main
building blocks of the human body. They’re critical compo-
nents of tendons, connective tissues, organs, hormones,
nervous tissue, enzymes, various molecules, and are the
building blocks of all your muscle tissue.

199 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
The various assemblage of proteins in the body comes
from amino acids, The body can synthesize some ami-
no acids, while others are supplied by the foods you eat.
Those amino acids that your body can’t make, or can’t
make enough of, are called “essential amino acids.” There
are nine essential amino acids and whey protein is packed
with all of them. Whey is particularly high in the essential
branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) such as leucine.
Studies show that leucine is the most anabolic (growth-pro-
moting) amino acid. If you’re lifting seriously, whey protein
is incredibly agreeable to what you’re trying to accomplish.

Whey protein is not only one of the best forms of protein

you can consume to support muscle growth, but it also
contains a slew of other nutrients, some with very potent
biological effects. First, whey is extremely low in calories,
making it even more valuable during periods of calorie re-
striction. Whey also has been shown to improve satiety,
making you feel full – which is extremely important while
you’re trying to diet.

Whey protein is also very high in the amino acid cyste-

ine, which seems to mediate a broad field of health bene-
fits. Cysteine does this by raising levels of glutathione - a
potent antioxidant in humans. Scientists believe it’s the

200
cystine component of whey that’s responsible for the nu-
merous other health benefits of whey, from lowering blood
pressure and blood sugar levels, to reducing the effects of
depression and stress. Cystine has also demonstrated to
be cancer protective, to cause an increase in bone miner-
al density, boosts immune function in HIV patients and in-
creases the lifespan of mice.

The bottom line is that the sum total of the benefits of whey
protein are vast. But to the point that interests you the
most, numerous studies show that it can help you increase
strength, gain muscle and lose significant amounts of
body fat.

201 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
BETA ALANINE
Dose: 3,200mg/day

This is an amino acid the body produces naturally. It helps

the body produce carnosine, a compound that plays a role
in muscle endurance in high-intensity exercise. Numerous
scientific studies have demonstrated carnosine’s influence
on increasing endurance, stamina, and athletic perfor-
mance, regardless of how strenuous your workout. Such
workouts cause a build up of lactic acid in the muscles
you’re working, causing fatigue.

Carnosine acts as an acid buffer, lessening the effects

of lactic acid, staving off the feeling of fatigue so you
can train harder.

So why not just take carnosine? That would be a good

idea, however, the body doesn’t react well to it when taken
orally and not much of it is absorbed into the blood stream.
Whatever amount does make it in, the body immediately
breaks it down into beta alanine and histidine. Beta alanine
is then used to make carnosine. So by taking beta alanine,
you skip a very inefficient and circuitous route to the
same end.

202
In order to build muscle, you have to torch it to a very cruel
degree. This is the only way to incite the growth stimulus.
Once in action, as long as sufficient calories and nutrients
are on board, the body will build muscle. By enhancing
your workout capacity, beta alanine, at 3,200mg/day, helps
you train harder and longer, which lessens workout fatigue
and helps you crush more weight to help you grow.

Beta alanine has also demonstrated a synergistic relation-

ship with creatine. Several recent studies on experienced
lifters have shown that, when supplementing with the com-
bination of creatine and beta-alanine, test subjects gained
more lean mass and lost more body fat than a group sup-
plementing with only creatine. These data suggest that
beta-alanine works as an effective amplifier for creatine,
providing more endurance, strength, fat loss and muscle
gain. Both supplements are very inexpensive, and just may
well represent the best bang for your buck as far as sup-
plements go.

203 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
CREATINE

Loading phase (optional):

10- 20 grams per day (in 5gr doses), for 4 to 5 days.
Maintenance phase: 5gr/day

If you’ve ever set foot anywhere even near a gym, you’ve

inevitably heard guys extolling the muscle building effects
of creatine. Your body makes creatine in your kidneys and
liver, after you eat protein. Creatine then travels to your
muscles, where it’s converted into creatine phosphate,
which helps convert adenosine triphosphate (ATP) into ad-
enosine diphosphate (ADP), which your body uses for ex-
plosive energy.

Supplementing with creatine makes the process more

efficient. Instead of consuming tons of protein, all you have
to do is take some creatine. That does’t mean creatine is
a replacement for protein. Creatine and protein work in dif-
ferent ways. Creatine leads to more strength during your
workout while protein contains the amino acids your body
needs to help grow and repair muscle after your workout.

204
ATP is not only utilized in muscle. Your brain requires a
significant amount of ATP when performing difficult tasks.
Supplementing with creatine can increase phosphocreatine
stores in your brain to help it produce more ATP. Creatine
may also aid brain function by increasing dopamine levels
and mitochondria function. In older test subjects, supple-
menting with creatine significantly improved memory and
recall ability.

Since meat is the best dietary source of creatine, vegans

often have low creatine levels. One study on creatine sup-
plements in vegetarians found a 20–50% improvement in
some memory and recall test scores.

When it comes to increasing strength, creatine - in the

form of creatine monohydrate - is your best bet for achiev-
ing improvements in strength and power, while also help-
ing to maximize gains in muscle mass. There has been
much published research on creatine monohydrate, in dos-
es of 10- 20 grams per day, for 4 to 5 days. Such a “load-
ing phase” can quickly saturate muscle, resulting in an
enhanced production of force. After the loading phase, a
5gr/day dose is what the research recommends. So over-
whelming is the science in support of creatine use, current
research has included moving on to consider that
creatine might act synergistically with other nutrients to
205 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
have an even more profound effect on building muscle.
This is where the link with beta alanine, mentioned above,
became apparent.

However, even on its own, creatine brings an incredible

array of benefits to the champion’s table. In consideration
of its muscle building effects, creatine affects many path-
ways. By helping to increase the production of insulin like
growth factor-1 (IGF-1), creatine helps in the formation
of new muscle fibers (hyperplasia) by stimulating satel-
lite cells. Creatine can also increase the water content of
your muscles. This volumizing effect not only makes your
muscles appear bigger, it also contributes to the “pump”
you generate during intense exercise. Additional research
shows that creatine may help mitigate myostatin, the mus-
cle growth regulating gene that keeps muscle from growing
out of control if it were to be continually stimulated.

206
Creatine has also demonstrated effectiveness in slowing
disease progression in certain neurological studies. Cre-
atine has been shown to mitigate the symptoms of Parkin-
son’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Epilepsy, brain and
spinal cord injuries, ischemic stroke and Alzheimer’s dis-
ease. Although more studies are needed in humans, many
researchers believe that creatine supplements represent a
notable effect in treating neurological diseases when used
alongside conventional medicines.

Creatine has also demonstrated benefits in controlling

blood sugar levels. Short-term blood sugar response to
a meal is an important marker of diabetes risk. The fast-
er your body clears sugar from the blood, the better. Re-
search suggests that creatine may lower blood sugar lev-
els by increasing the production of a transporter molecule
that delivers glucose to muscle. The effects were partic-
ularly notable after a high-carb meal. In most of the re-
search, subjects who combined creatine and exercise were
better at controlling blood sugar levels than those who only
exercised

In short, creatine is one of the most notable and effec-

tive aids in the strength athlete’s arsenal of tricks.

207 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
CAFFEINE
200-400mg/day

Almost every culture throughout the world has a practice

of ingesting some form of caffeine. In the US, it’s estimated
that over 90% of the population consumes caffeine regular-
ly. Among athletes, caffeine is regarded as one of the most
popular performance enhancing supplements. Its benefits
not only include its stimulant effect on energy levels, but
also include improved muscle strength, mental alertness,
as well as reducing the perception of fatigue during bouts
of intense exercise, which can help athletes perform faster
and for longer periods of time.

A single dose of caffeine (200mg) can not only sig-

nificantly improve exercise performance, but also
enhances mental acuity (focus) and fat burning. The
US Military even uses it to enhance performance and
awareness among combat troops.

208
Currently, ongoing research in athletes demonstrates
positive effects on endurance, strength and fat loss using
doses of 200 – 400mg of caffeine.

That’s the equivalent of 1 – 2 cups of strong coffee. Such a

dominant effect, while exhibiting relative safety, makes caf-
feine – or it’s herbal equivalent – a standard ingredient in
most pre-workout formulas.

209 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
OMEGA-3
2,400mg/day fish oil at 70% DHA/EPA
(950mg EPA, 700mg DHA)

Like essential amino acids, there is a group of fats the

body needs to maintain numerous functions in the body.
However, the body can’t make them, or make enough of
them, requiring you to get them from dietary sources.

These fats are known as “essential fatty acids.”

The group of essential fatty acids in humans are the

omega-3 fats found in fish, and to a much lesser degree
in some plants (some plants, nuts and seeds contain
alpha-linolenic acid [ALA]. Along with docosahexaenoic
acid [DHA] and eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA] these make
up the three essential omega fats.

The only omega fats the human body can utilize are DHA
and EPA. ALA must be converted to DHA and EPA. That
conversion is extremely inefficient and yields very little
omega fats the body can use). While omega-3 fatty acids
are necessary for healthy brain, eye, heart and immune
function, one of the main benefits of omega-3’s to the
athlete is their effect on joint inflammation. Intense training,
or an injury, can tax joints and connective tissues.
210
The body responds by sending fluid to these regions to
protect them. The problem is, the fluid causes inflammation
which in turn makes the joint stiff and painful. Omega-3s
are anti-inflammatory and absolutely necessary to main-
taining joint support, both in the acute phase of an injury
and long term.

211 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
SUPPLEMENTS FOR PRE CONTEST DIETING

If you think back to the training chapter, I identified two

basic phases of training – mass building and contest prep
(refining). You might think that these two phases require
different supplement protocols. And, you’re partly right. The
reality is, however, there’s a lot of cross over. Many supple-
ments are good for both phases, but sometimes for differ-
ent reasons. Very few compounds are going to be
exclusive to one group or another.

Creatine is an exception.

Creatine works best with carbohydrates. When you’re diet-

ing, carbs are generally reduced, which will mean that cre-
atine will take longer to be absorbed. And may not be ab-
sorbed to the same degree as when a high dose of carbs
were taken with it. It will still get into the muscle, however
the effect will not be as profound.

If you’re prepping for a bodybuilding competition, you will

want to remove creatine from your supplement intake in
order to prevent the water retention you experience while
taking it.

212
EAAs
9gr/day (including 6gr BCAAs in leucine heavy ratio
of 4:1:1, (leucine: valine: isoleucine, respectively)

A good replacement for creatine while dieting is an essen-

tial amino acid formula. When we eat protein, it’s broken
down during digestion into individual amino acids, which
are then absorbed into the blood stream and recombined
to form the various proteins which help the body complete
numerous processes, such as building muscle, burning fat,
repairing damaged tissues and regulating many processes
in the body.

Of the 20 individual amino acids required to form “com-

plete” protein, nine of them are termed “essential.” This
means that although the body requires them, we don’t pro-
duce them in adequate quantities and, therefore, must get
them from our diet. As with the essential fatty acids, if you
go long enough without essential amino acids, the deficien-
cy can cause a number of illnesses, such as accelerated
aging, muscle loss, fatigue and even death. Yes, you could
actually die.

213 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
The nine essential amino acids are: histidine, isoleucine,
leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryp-
tophan and valine. Even if one essential (or non-essential)
amino acid is missing, the remaining 19 cannot be utilized
and the body eliminates them, which can lead to a neg-
ative nitrogen balance in muscle. Exactly the opposite of
what the athlete needs.

What are the benefits to the dieting athlete who take

EAAs?

Lean Muscle Growth

EAAs, particularly leucine, helps the body grow and re-
pair muscle by improving and regulating protein synthesis
in muscle. EAAs are absolutely necessary for building and
repairing muscles that are broken down during intense ex-
ercise.

Fat Burning
EAAs have demonstrated, in scientific study, an increase
in body fat oxidation, particularly belly fat. In fact, a recent
study demonstrated a 50% increase body fat oxidation
supplementing with EAAs over a whey protein shake,
and 2.5 times more than athletes who consumed a carbo-
hydrate sports drink.

214
Better Gains In Lean Mass
The scientists who measured body fat burn, also measured
the change in a ten rep maximum strength test using free
weight squats and bench presses. In both cases, athletes
taking EAAs saw significantly greater strength gains than
athletes using whey protein or carbohydrate shakes.

Prevent Muscle Protein Breakdown

Athletes who insist on lifting weights or doing cardio “fast-
ed” run the risk of body breaking down muscle tissue for
fuel. EAA supplementation an hour prior to training will help
jumpstart protein synthesis in muscle.

Increased Endurance
The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness pub-
lished a study that demonstrated EAA supplementation de-
creased muscle fatigue by almost 20% in glycogen-deplet-
ed athletes by increasing transaminase activation which
assists in lipolysis (fat burning).

Muscle Recovery
Numerous scientific studies have overwhelmingly demon-
strated that EAAs can improve muscle recovery post-work-
out because of their bioavailability, which improves muscle
protein synthesis.

215 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Ease Muscle Soreness
Intense weight training causes micro tears in the muscle
fibers. Healing these tears rebuilds the muscle to be stron-
ger the next time around. Known as “delayed onset muscle
soreness” is caused by these micro-tears. EAA supple-
mentation helps increase muscle protein synthesis to start
repairing muscles faster and shorten recovery time.

Science has clearly demonstrated the numerous benefits

of EAA supplementation, particularly for athletes subjecting
themselves to calorie restriction. Any carefully crafted sup-
plement regiment for a dieting athlete must include all nine
essential Amino acids.

216
BRANCHED CHAIN AMINO ACIDS
3.3mg/day, leucine heavy ratio of 4:1:1,
(leucine: valine: isoleucine, respectively)

Three of the essential amino acids – valine, isoleucine and

leucine, are termed “branch chain amino acids” (BCAAs).
Of the three, leucine, has been shown to be the key
nutrient for turning on protein synthesis when present,
and turning off protein synthesis when absent. If you want
to maintain nitrogen balance, it’s important to make sure
you’re getting enough BCAAs before, during and after
your workouts.

A recent study showed that resistance-trained individuals

who consumed BCAAs experienced significantly greater
gains in lean body mass, compared to subjects who con-
sumed whey protein. The BCAA group gained 4 kilograms
of lean body mass compared to the whey protein that only
gained half as much. Another recent study conducted on
athletes showed that short-term BCAA (3.3 grams/day) is
scientifically supported, however, to be effective, the re-
search demonstrates a leucine heavy ratio of 4:1:1, (leu-
cine: valine: isoleucine respectively) to maximize muscle
growth and recovery.

217 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Honorable Mention
Dieting athletes can also benefit from other key nutrients.

GLUTAMINE

3.5gr/day

Supplementing with Glutamine can help reduce the

amount of glutamine that is lost from the muscles during
the recovery process. Glutamine can also help main-
tain cellular hydration, and maintain muscle anabolism or
growth. Glutamine is also a powerful anti-oxidant which
boosts immunity which also aids in recovery. In the gastro-
intestinal tract, glutamine not only fuels enterocytes (cells
lining the inner surface of the small and large intestines
which aid in absorption), but also helps to support the in-
tegrity of gut barrier function.

Numerous clinical trials have demonstrated that a dosage

of 500 mg/kg (34 grams for a 150-lb person) improved in-
testinal barrier and other situational effects. The most typ-
ical dosages used in clinical practice for a wide range of
immune support study vary from 5 to 30 grams per day.

218
CARNITINE
2,000mg/day

Carnitine is a naturally occurring amino acid widely avail-

able in supplement form and often used as a fat loss sup-
plement, as well as having a purported positive effect on
brain function. Carnitine transports fat to the mitochondria
of the cells to be burned as fuel. About 98% of carnitine
stores are found in muscle, along with trace amounts in
your liver and blood.

Carnitine can improve muscle recovery, enhance oxygen

storage, reduce the buildup of lactic acid, and increase
stamina. This clearly can give you benefits in the gym. Car-
nitine not only delivers fatty acids to your muscle mitochon-
dria to be burned as fuel, but it also directs your metabo-
lism to fat burning while you workout.

During periods of calorie restriction, carnitine becomes

very important for burning fat. Dieting, especially with low
carb intake, you’re insulin levels are suppressed. This sig-
nals the mitochondria to turn to fat for fuel. The problem is,
the fatty acids have to get to the mitochondria in order to
be burned.

219 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
They grab onto stored body fat, or the fat you eat, break it
down into fatty acids, and send the fatty acids to your mi-
tochondria. Your mitochondria turn those fatty acids into
ATP (energy) that powers your cells. You need carnitine to
metabolize fat. If your carnitine level is low, less fat gets to
the mitochondria, and you struggle for energy, making you
feel weak and lethargic. This is why carnitine supplementa-
tion has been so popular among dieting bodybuilders, and
there’s plenty of research to back up its use. In addition to
its fat burning quality, science has demonstrated other use-
ful effects of carnitine for the athlete.

Increased strength: A recent study showed that weight

training athletes who took carnitine 90 minutes before in-
tense exercise realized a notable increase in power output,
as well as lower levels of lactic acid. Lower lactic acid lev-
els not only stave off fatigue, but also speed up recovery
time. Decreased lactic acid also enables the athlete to train
harder and longer, resulting in more muscle stimulation.

Boosts testosterone utilization: Scientists looked at hor-

mone receptors after intense weight training and found that
the test subjects who took carnitine after their workout had
more dense hormone receptors in their muscles, which
may have improved their testosterone uptake. That doesn’t
mean carnitine’s increases testosterone, but rather makes
you better at using the testosterone you have.
220
COLLAGEN FROM BONE BROTH
15gr from bone broth collagen concentrate

For guys with more miles on the clock, who have subject-
ed themselves to intense training for decades, collagen
offers much needed support for bone, tendon and con-
nective tissues. After age 30 your body naturally produces
less collagen. Add to that, the inevitability of the fact that
intense training for long periods puts tremendous stress on
your joints. Collagen has demonstrated effective bone and
joint support in numerous clinical studies. Together with
omega-3’s, collagen protein provides a formidable defense
against the inevitable.

221 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
MULTI-VITAMIN/ MINERAL COMPLEX

Of course I’d be remiss if I didn’t state that a potent

multi-vitamin/ mineral supplement is necessary for overall
health. The benefits in bolstering good health and a strong
immune system aside, for hard training athletes, particular-
ly older hard training athletes, taking high doses of vitamin
C and B complex are known to combat the effects of phys-
ical stress, and vitamin D and minerals such calcium, mag-
nesium potassium support good bone health.

Click here to use Code: ClassicPhysique20

for a one time discount off any of Gaspari products
222
Chapter 11
DRUGS

223 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
Now it’s time to address the 8,000 pound gorilla in
the room - drugs.

Specifically steroids, androgens, growth hormone, diuretics

and insulin. Today these drugs are prevalent in most body-
building pursuits. On the professional level, it’s 100%. This
is despite the fact that these drugs are banned by the fed-
erations, as well as the fact that, buying and selling them
constitutes a felony, on both the state and federal level.
Because they’re banned and illegal, but necessary, creates
an interesting conundrum. There are no medical profes-
sionals that are going to monitor you and advise you while
you use them to bodybuild, or enhance your performance
in other sports. But, somehow, you need to learn how to
use them, if you’re going to use them. For better or worse,
this is where the gurus come in. The better choice is learn-
ing about them yourself. There are tons of good info avail-
able online – along with tons of bad info. I’m not going to
tell you how to use drugs, but I am going to tell you a little
something about them.
224
One of the biggest differences in the bodybuilders of my
era and the open class bodybuilders of today is the amount
and duration of the drugs used. In my day, no one used
insulin, no one used growth hormone, few people used
diuretics and steroids were regular prescription items,
not schedule 3 narcotics, as they are classified today. Be
that as it may, the guys I knew who used them, as well as
myself, used small amounts and we only used them lead-
ing up to a show, and got off them several weeks before
the show to get rid of all the water they caused you to re-
tain. Not me, nor anyone I knew, used drugs in the crazy
amounts bodybuilders are purported to use now, nor did
they use them all year long – for years on end.

This proliferation of increased drug use is, in my opin-

ion, what’s responsible for the physiques that prompted
the creation of the classic physique division. The advent
of increased dosages, plus the use of insulin and growth
hormone runs concomitant to unaesthetic mass, gyneco-
mastia, poor condition and bloated guts that have become
prevalent. It might just be a coincidence, but I doubt it.

225 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
For better or worse, drugs are always going to be part of
bodybuilding. Using them correctly has become part of the
deal. Just as you must know how to correctly train, do car-
dio, diet, pose, dial in, etc., you also must know how to use
drugs.

In using them, the focus should be more on what they don’t

do. We can all agree that some drugs help with recovery
and help retain muscle mass while dieting and can help
build muscle while bulking, but they are not the
“magic pill.”

More drugs do not make up for less work. Drugs do not

compensate for poor genetics. And drugs are not going
to make up for cheating on your diet. I can’t tell you how
many guys I’ve seen over the years spend the night of the
contest in the hospital, rather than the stage, because they
ODed on diuretics, thinking they could compensate for
them not being lean enough. I know some guys who died.
Ultimately, drugs have their place in bodybuilding, including
Classic Physique; I’d be lying to you if I told you otherwise.
However, since I’m telling you the truth, I’m going to go
ahead and tell you that, as far as drugs go, less is more.

226
Chapter 12
PRE-CONTEST PREP

- THE DIAL IN PROCESS

227 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
This chapter outlines the last two weeks leading into a
show. It’s pretty much an open topic. These days, most
competitors rely on a “guru” to bring them into a show and
they all have their own method, and most of those meth-
ods involve diuretics. I never really used a guru. The one
time I sought some pre-contest advice, it was recommend-
ed to me that I use a diuretic. And they didn’t work for me
at all. Using them messed up my prep; I looked smooth
and flat. To the untrained eye, it looked like I was actually
holding water! Now that I know better, I know exactly what
happened. Glycogen in muscle and the liver is stored in a
hydrated form, composed of four parts of water per part of
glucose. This poses two potential problems with diuretic
use. First, if your muscle is full of glycogen, it’s full of water.
You need water to store glycogen. So if you overly restrict
hydration, your muscles can’t get full.

228
Next, a diuretic does not preferentially target “the water
under your skin.” The diuretic process is systemic; the wa-
ter you’re forcing your body to get rid of is coming from
everywhere. Because muscle is one of the greatest stores
of water, much of it’s going to come from muscle and, be-
cause there is so little, less from the fat under your skin.
The more ripped you are, the less water you have under
your skin (there’s no bladder of water sloshing around be-
tween the under surface of your skin and the underlying
muscle). The water is in the fat cells. Most of it is in your
muscles. So when you’re shredded, like I was, using a di-
uretic pulled most of the water from my muscles, making
them look deflated and flat,
and no amount of carb
loading was going to do
any good while I was
dehydrated. The body
can’t make glycogen
without water. Had I
known that, I could have
saved the two contest
placings that lapse in
judgement cost me.

229 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
This is not to say that I haven’t used some herbal diuretic
tea, or some uva ursi, but never would I ever recommend
that you use Aldactone, Diazide, Aldactazide, Lasix, etc.
These are powerful drugs. They will absolutely affect the
water under the skin, but most of it comes out of the mus-
cle. Haven’t you ever seen pics of guys two weeks before
a show and they look huge and grainy and shredded, then
they show up at the show looking much smaller, softer and
with less detail? That’s all diuretics folks. Which are totally
unnecessary if you’ve done your homework.

Your job is to show up two weeks before your contest in

shape. That means shredded, no body fat, totally and
completely peeled. Anything less is a recipe for failure,
especially if you think a strong course of diuretics is going
to make up for a lack of dieting. I’ve seen numerous guys
over the years spend the finals in the ER hooked up to an
IV because they ODed on diuretics, because they were fat
and not ready. In my day, very few, if anyone, used diuret-
ics; no one I knew did. We were ripped. Period. That’s not
to say we didn’t manipulate water and carbs, but no drugs
were used.

230
Diuretics came in just after I retired. It got bad fast, coming to
a head when Mohammed Benaziza died in his hotel room in
the Netherlands during the grand prix tour immediately after
the 1992 Mr. Olympia, where he placed 5th that year. Diuretics
were to blame. But this didn’t stop anyone from using them.
While a bit more care might be taken in their use, guys – and
girls – still have gotten it wrong, with several competitors dying
the day of their show. I feel very passionate about this topic
because diuretic use is as unnecessary as the deaths they’ve
caused. It’s one of the biggest differences between what we
have today and the classic era. Put any 80’s or early 90’s
lineup against a top pro lineup today, and the diuretic body
is clearly evident. If you do your homework and show up two
weeks out in shape, you don’t need them. If you don’t need
them, you wont use them and if you don’t use then you can’t
die from them.

Shedding a bit of subcutaneous water is but one of a few

things you need to do in your dial in process. Like I said, ev-
eryone has their own way of doing it. Some guys do a sodium
load, some go off carbs completely and load up at the end,
while some guys just cruise through and change nothing. You
have to know your body to know what’s going to work for you.
That’s going to mean some trial and error. Another good rea-
son to keep a journal and write down everything.

231 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
What I’m going to tell you is what worked for me.

At the two-week out mark:

(Throughout this dial in process, I’ll be assuming that your show is
on Saturday. Pre judging in the morning, finals that night).

Drugs: Get off all oil based steroids.

Cardio: Cut back on cardio. You should be as lean as

you’re going to get by the two-week out mark. The only
cardio you might need to do is just 15 – 20 minutes a day,
just to get your blood moving. The leaner you get the more
your metabolism is racing. You have to keep an eye on
your weight. If you’re dropping too fast, you’ll have to put
on the bakes sooner. The idea is to grow up into the show.
That’s why it’s important to be as lean and shredded as
you can get, two weeks out.

Posing: Add a second posing session (to the one you add-
ed six weeks ago) so that you’re practicing your mandato-
ry poses and your routine twice a day for 20 minutes at a
time, holding your poses for 10 seconds and working up to
15 – 20 seconds. You’ll gradually need to ween yourself off
the mirror so that you can hit each pose perfectly just from
feeling it.

232
Training: Switch up your workouts - use lighter weight and
a lot more sets and reps. Do one body part per day, plus
either abs, calves or forearms. Even though you stopped
doing cardio, the added posing sessions and the higher
volume in weight training every day, will be enough to start
depleting your muscles of glycogen without having to cut
down (or cut out) your carbs.

At the one-week out mark:

Drugs: Get off all your other drugs, supplements, powders,

pills, artificial sweeteners and any other chemicals. Con-
sume water and food, that’s it.

Training: Your last leg workout is Saturday, one week out

from your show. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday split up
your body parts so that you’re hitting two or three body
parts, then on Wednesday, do a full body workout – lots of
reps, lots of squeezing, get a good pump. Thursday will be
just posing and Friday you take completely off.

Posing: Increase posing, starting Saturday, to 40 minutes

twice a day, holdimg each pose for 15 – 20 seconds. And
practice your routine. There’s no such thing as knowing it

233 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
too well. Run through your mandatories, then do your rou-
tine, mandatories, routine, etc., until your 40 minutes is up.
(It’s a hell of a workout!) Thursday, is an intensive posing
day. Add a another posing session so that you’re doing three
45 minute sessions that include practicing your routine.

Carb Loading: At this point I would be eating 200gr – 250gr

of carbs every day. The posing, the training and whatever
light cardio I might be doing (no later than Wednesday) is
eating them up, and some. By Wednesday I’ll start loading
up on carbs. I’ll eat 350gr Wednesday, 550gr on Thursday,
another 550gr on Friday. If I was losing weight, I’d increase
my carbs again by 200gr. You have to feed your body or
you’ll be flat - flat not fat. Whatever you eat over the next
three days is not going to turn to body fat.

What you have to worry about is water. When you’re hold-

ing water you can see it in your puffy ankles, or your face, or
by the white dot your finger will leave on your skin when you
poke your shoulder or your chest. You’ll know you’re flat just
by looking in the mirror.
Your body looks deflated. You can’t get a pump, no veins,
your skin is loose.
You need to fill your muscles with glycogen. The only way
you’re going to do that is by eating.

234
Sodium: Cut back on sodium, Wednesday. You don’t have
to go zero, but you do have to reel it in. Stay away from egg
whites, don’t add salt to anything, and no dairy. You’ll add
sodium back on show day, but until then, try to keep it as
low as possible.

Water: Make sure you’re getting plenty of water. At least 1

– 1½ gallons a day. Friday afternoon before the show, cut it
off. You can have little sips all day Saturday, just enough to
get down your food.

Food: morning of show – eggs, pancakes, simple carbs like

syrup, rice cakes, jelly. Pack some chicken breasts (in 3oz
portions) with your food. You need to have some protein, all
carbs might make you too gassy. Keep your portions small
and eat frequently – every hour or two in order to keep your
belly flat. Stop eating about an hour before pre judging.
Start eating again after judging, every hour or two, small
portions of simple and complex carbs and a little protein,
right up until an hour before the evening finals.

235 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
A few more last minute tips.....

The Friday before your show you’re going to drink up to

3:00pm. Up to that time, you can add a natural diuretic tea,
like uva ursi, to your gallon jug. Just make sure you drink
the entire gallon by 3:00. Then just sip water to get food
down.

Remember, if by Friday you still look flat you’ll need to in-

crease your carbs by another 150 to 200g more than what
you took in on Thursday.
Always be mindful of the fact that this is what worked for
me. We’re all a bit different. You may be more sensitive
to taking in as much carbs as I did. Or, you may have an
even faster metabolism than I do, which means you’ll need
more carbs. This is going to be something you’re going to
have to try and test a few times until you find the right fi-
nal protocol for you, but I think this is a good place to start.
You can always adjust.

Also tuck away in your memory banks the fact that we tend
to over diet and over deplete. How many guys do you see
two days after a show, after they’ve inhaled the entire
Chinese buffet, and look 10 times better than they looked
the day of the show? It happens all the time.

236
You need the complex carbs to fill back the glycogen that
was depleted from the intense training prior to two weeks
out. The reason you depleted carbs is because, after a
period of deprivation, the body will over compensate its
nutrient storage capacity. Your muscles will actually take
up more glycogen after a period of depletion than if you
had just cruised through and didn’t deplete.

But, the system doesn’t work unless you feed it.

Don’t be afraid to eat!

237 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
238
 “
By the time you’ve reached the end of
this book, you have been exposed to, and
hopefully absorbed, the sum total of all of
the knowledge I’ve learned over my entire
bodybuilding career to build the classic
physique. It’s what worked for me and now
I’m passing it on to you. Your success is
stretched before you still to achieve.

Go get it.

239 #ClassicPhysiqueBible
NEXT STEPS:
The great thing about this guide is that you can follow it in many different ways
simply by mixing up the workouts because it is a complete body program with
so many different exercises for each body part.

Maybe, you’ve noticed your body responding very well to specific exercises.
Now it is time for you to have even more fun and create your own workouts by
mixing up the exercises that are most effective for you!

1. SHARE YOUR CLASSIC PHYSIQUE

Seeing others succeed has always been a huge part of my life and I love
sharing my knowledge with you. I encourage you to share your progress.
USE THE HASHTAG #CLASSICPHYSIQUE AND LET’S LIFT EACH OTHER UP!

2. NEED HELP WITH YOUR NUTRITION?

As we all know, nutrition is 80-90% of our success or failure. I am also here to help
you get on the right path with you nutrition and training and teach you how to make
real healthy choices while still enjoying life the fullest. Dieting does not have to be
boring and it certainly does not have to feel like a punishment.

EMAIL ME AT [email protected] TO TAKE YOUR

FITNESS GOALS TO THE NEXT LEVEL!

240
#ClassicPhysiqueBible
241 #ClassicPhysiqueBible