Skip La Cour - Mass Machine Bodybuilding (Training, Nutrition, Mindset, & Lifestyle)

[skiplacour]

Skip, I tend to get injured every time I start training heavy. How can I still get great results but lightening up the weight?

Here's how I explain "heavy" lifting:

"Heavy" is such a relative term. What is considered heavy to one person may not be heavy to another.

If you are injuring yourself, YOU are training too heavily--for YOU.

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[misc666]

hi skip,

did you take pro hormones before they were illegal? (no hate)

[skiplacour]

hi skip,

did you take pro hormones before they were illegal? (no hate)

No hate taken. LOL

I did. I took them when they were 100% legal by law, not banned by any organization, and sold in every nutrition store.

The next questions I get asked are "How powerful were they about 10 years ago compared to today?", "Did you pack on any noticeable muscle?", and "How much of your success was because them?"

I have absolutely no idea how powerful they were back then compared to today's prohormones. From what I read on the message boards, some people think the ones today are "just as powerful as steroids." Some others they are basically worthless. I guess it depends on whch ones you buy and from which company.

I never had any crazy muscle gains. I looked very good before and after.

Prohormones came out in about 1999. I worked hard, looked great, and won many shows before prohomones were even invented including the 1994 Musclemania and at the 1995 Mr. Universe contest that you can see in this video footage. The contest with "Ironman" in front of the stage was in 1994.The Twinlab commerical was in 1995.



If people have a challenge with what me or anyone can achieve without steroids or even prohomrmones, just look at the pre-1999 physique.

Whatever works best to get YOU in the right mindset to get the most out of your own bodybuilding and training efforts.

[misc666]

No hate taken. LOL

I did. I took them when they were 100% legal by law, not banned by any organization, and sold in every nutrition store.

The next questions I get asked are "How powerful were they about 10 years ago compared to today?", "Did you pack on any noticeable muscle?", and "How much of your success was because them?"

I have absolutely no idea how powerful they were back then compared to today's prohormones. From what I read on the message boards, some people think the ones today are "just as powerful as steroids." Some others they are basically worthless. I guess it depends on whch ones you buy and from which company.

I never had any crazy muscle gains. I looked very good before and after.

Prohormones came out in about 1999. I worked hard, looked great, and won many shows before prohomones were even invented including the 1994 Musclemania and at the 1995 Mr. Universe contest that you can see in this video footage. The contest with "Ironman" in front of the stage was in 1994.The Twinlab commerical was in 1995.



If people have a challenge with what me or anyone can achieve without steroids or even prohomrmones, just look at the pre-1999 physique.

Whatever works best to get YOU in the right mindset to get the most out of your own bodybuilding and training efforts.

thanks for the reply.

[skiplacour]

Skip--

I want more or a "peak" on my biceps. Can certain exercises change the shape of muscles?

There are no specific exercises that will actually change the shape of a particular muscle or muscle group. Until you reach your maximum genetic potential for that body part’s muscle growth, you’ll never know what the finished product will look like.

When it comes to the shape of a particular body part, muscle, or muscle group, everything is not under your complete control. Your genetic disposition has the final say in the shape of a particular body part, muscle, or muscle group.

What you can control, however, is the amount of high-quality, dense muscle your genetic disposition has to work with. Your goal is to efficiently stimulate the muscle with good old fashioned weight training in order to maximize the amount of size and mass a particular body part carries.

[skiplacour]

“Success is plodding from one failure to the next without the loss of enthusiasm.”

- Henry Ford

[skiplacour]

"The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it."

–Michelangelo

Join my ******** page at:

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[skiplacour]

12-Week Evaluation of Tyrus' Progress (1 of 8) - #23



htpp://www.skiplacour.com

[MRipped]

Hey Skip,

I am a firm believer in 45min being more than sufficient in building a great physique. If targeting one muscle group per day would you say an average of 20 sets (I know you don't like using a specific number of sets etc) during a training session of 45min would be seen as training with enough intensity ? I usually use where possible two compound movements to start off with e.g. Flat barbell bench and incline dumbbell bench on chest days 4 sets each starting off with 10 reps for the first 2 sets then going a lot heavier and using 6 reps for the last 2 sets. I will then use another 3 exercises generally with a rep range between 8-12 depending on whether I'm using free weights or cables etc. I also like changing things up a bit with drop sets, super sets just for some new muscle stimulation. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[skiplacour]

12-Week Evaluation of Tyrus' Progress (2 of 8) - #24



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[skiplacour]

Hey Skip,

I am a firm believer in 45min being more than sufficient in building a great physique. If targeting one muscle group per day would you say an average of 20 sets (I know you don't like using a specific number of sets etc) during a training session of 45min would be seen as training with enough intensity ? I usually use where possible two compound movements to start off with e.g. Flat barbell bench and incline dumbbell bench on chest days 4 sets each starting off with 10 reps for the first 2 sets then going a lot heavier and using 6 reps for the last 2 sets. I will then use another 3 exercises generally with a rep range between 8-12 depending on whether I'm using free weights or cables etc. I also like changing things up a bit with drop sets, super sets just for some new muscle stimulation. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

If you avatar is a picture of your physique, you seem to be doing quite well--whatever it is you are doing.

I've trained the way you do in the past--and it worked relatively well for me.

I am a firm believer that there is no such thing as a training strategy that is a "10" (on a scale from 1 to 10) making all other training strategies a "0." You are going to benefit from any type of training you do--no matter what you do. The question is "What training strategy is more effective and efficient with your time and effort?"

That being said, I do believe there are some training strategies that are better than others.

The only way you are going to know for certain if your training intensity, productivity, and efficiency is what you want is to try, compare, and contrast different ones. Plain and simple.

And when you try another strategy, you must make sure you give it your full focus, attention, commitment, and BELIEF that it will work for you. That's how much of an important role the MIND plays in the training process.

I firmly believe you can cut you volume in HALF and raise your intensity--without sacrificing your productivity. That's what I discovered through experience.

But it doesn't matter what I think--what matters is what YOU think and are willing to try.

[skiplacour]

12-Week Evaluation of Tyrus' Progress (3 of 8) - #25

After 12 weeks of Mass Machine Training, Skip La Cour evaluates Tyrus Reed's progress in all facets of the bodybuilding and training journey in this block of eight (8) videos.

In this video, Skip and Tyrus discuss Tyrus' NUTRITION habits.



You can see the all of the videos in this presentation at:

http://www.massmachinenutrition.com/mmp

]

[Lattanzio]

Sup Skip man you in contact with my buddy JG?

[skiplacour]

Sup Skip man you in contact with my buddy JG?

Go Spaniard!

[Lattanzio]

hahaha he talks about you all the time man! That's really nice that you're helping him out

[skiplacour]

Skip--

I want to enter my first contest this year. I'm not sure how much I should weigh at contest time. I'm 6' tall and all natural. Right now, I weigh 225 pounds with a decent amount of body fat. What do you think I will weigh? I see you weighed as much as 234 pounds in ripped contest shape!

Never worry about how much you are going to weigh. It's all about creating the perfect balance between muscle and degree of leanness. Let the mirror be your guide--not your ego or the scale. When done properly, that will create an "illusion" of size of stage much greater than you actually have.

I NEVER weighed 234 pounds on stage--that was just what I weighed at the official "Weigh In" that was on Thursday night.

I really started documenting everything in greater detail starting in 2002 so I could better teach my contest preparation methods to others. Not until 2002 did I start weighing myself from Thursday night until Saturday night after returning from the Night Show. I actually brought a scale with me.

I do a sodium loading/depleting, potassium loading process for weeks before the show--all while drinking three gallons of water up until that Thursday before the Friday.

Obviously, I drop a lot of water from Thursday to Saturday--but I never knew exactly how much until 2002.

That's why I weighed so much in earlier shows compared to years later--that was my Thursday night weight.

So, my "contest weights" before 2002 are not 100 percent accurate. My "234 weight" was probably about 218.

My very best conditioning were in 1998, 2002, and 2003--where I weighed exactly 216 pounds during the Thursday night "Weigh In."

Here I am in 2002 at 5' 11" 205 pounds:





Check out my Contest Preparation BLOG for lots of tips:

http://contestprepsecrets.blogspot.com/

[sk84]

Sup Skip. What's your take on Lyle Mcdonald's training style for putting on mass? He suggests an upper/lower split while training 4 x a week and hitting each bodypart 2x a week.

[skiplacour]

Sup Skip. What's your take on Lyle Mcdonald's training style for putting on mass? He suggests an upper/lower split while training 4 x a week and hitting each bodypart 2x a week.

I have not tried that training method.

[Samuli]

Hi Skip! Do you buy your almond milk ready from the store or do you make it yourself? If so, how do you make it, do you mix almonds with skin or skinless with water or skim milk? Keep up the good work!

[skiplacour]

if i recall correctly, you made a post about cutting off your carbs after working out; also, you said that feeling "flat" is all in your mind?

could you elaborate on that?

I'm not sure what you are referring to.

I never worry about feeling "flat' because that can change from hour to hour and has no relevance in the muscle-building and fat loss process. The only time I worry about feeling flat in on contest day--and that's because I need to look my best.

If you can find that quote, it would help me out.

[skiplacour]

Hi Skip! Do you buy your almond milk ready from the store or do you make it yourself? If so, how do you make it, do you mix almonds with skin or skinless with water or skim milk? Keep up the good work!

I buy it from the store.

[skiplacour]

12-Week Evaluation of Tyrus' Progress (4 of 8) - #26



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[MHurricane]

I think it was something about you saying that you do not need carbs after your post-workout meal?

[skiplacour]

I think it was something about you saying that you do not need carbs after your post-workout meal?

I have openly talked about my concerns about intentionally spiking your insulin levels with excess amounts of "sugars" before and after your workout--simply for your pursuit of gaining what's hopefully a "few more ounces" of muscle each year.

Intentionally spiking your insulin levels on a consistent basis--especially if you get in the habit of doing this for years--could possibly have an affect on your body's own ability to regulate your insulin when you eventually stop spiking on a consistent basis.

Adult diabetes is a big health concern. It's something many young people don't think about now, but may need to deal with later.

One of the big health challenges with steroids is that, when you get off of them, have you conditioned your body to rely on artificial hormone production? How long, if ever, will your body's natural ability to produce if own hormones return?

Some experts that I have talked to question the possibility of the same negative affects of self-imposed, artificial insulin spiking.

[predator145]

I have openly talked about my concerns about intentionally spiking your insulin levels with excess amounts of "sugars" before and after your workout--simply for your pursuit of gaining what's hopefully a "few more ounces" of muscle each year.

Intentionally spiking your insulin levels on a consistent basis--especially if you get in the habit of doing this for years--could possibly have an affect on your body's own ability to regulate your insulin when you eventually stop spiking on a consistent basis.

Adult diabetes is a big health concern. It's something many young people don't think about now, but may need to deal with later.

One of the big health challenges with steroids is that, when you get off of them, have you conditioned your body to rely on artificial hormone production? How long, if ever, will your body's natural ability to produce if own hormones return?

Some experts that I have talked to question the possibility of the same negative affects of self-imposed, artificial insulin spiking.

Skip, your post triggered many questions in my head...

If an insulin spike helps with energy, strength and intensity pre workout and aids recovery post workout, why would one want to avoid it all together? We eat most of our starchy carbs pre and post workout for that reason after all.

So each time we eat anything starchy, our insulin level changes. So theoretically, aren't we spiking it everyday intentionally for muscle building purposes? And aren't normal people spiking it every time they eat one of their 3 meals in order to get their calories and energy for everyday life?

So let's say anything high in sugar would be bad spiking. But most normal people enjoy sweets regularly without any health consequences (provided they don't over eat). Shouldn't a lifter looking for a quick acting pre workout spike use something quick acting (high sugar)? A mars bar maybe? Is the timing enough to justify it? (Note that the lifter does not over eat the starch, just enough to get the job done)

The act of spiking one's insulin level for a boost in performance is widespread,mainstream and considered normal and mundane. Even elementary school boys know about that (eating breakfast anyone?) . So according to this theory, aren't a lot of active sports playing people going to suffer from diabetes sooner or later due to "regularly and intentionally spiking" their insulin level for a performance boost?

With all due respect Skip, I have yet to see the prevalence of people with active lifestyles suffering from diabetes doing the above.

[skiplacour]

Skip, your post triggered many questions in my head...

If an insulin spike helps with energy, strength and intensity pre workout and aids recovery post workout, why would one want to avoid it all together?

I did NOT advise avoiding all together. I questioned spiking it with excess sugars--especially over time. More gradual alternatives like and apple before your workout and a couple of bananas afterwards is another option.

Adult diabetes is NOT ONLY caused by inactive lifestyles and poor eating habits. It's a genetic disease as well. In either case, adjustments to diet and exercise must be made to keep it under control.

[skiplacour]

Skip, your post triggered many questions in my head...

So each time we eat anything starchy, our insulin level changes.

This is true. That's why you'll notice high profile media doctors (like Doctor Oz) say that you should avoid anything "white" in your diet. He calls white rice "pure sugar."

===================================

What really got me into doing research on this topic is when I read a posting on a bodybuilding message board months ago. We always assume that a bodybuilding diet is so "healthy" especially when we are working out without steroids or other drugs. The poster's doctor warned him that eating all of those meals every single day for years would eventually lead to diabetes later on in the life. Being into this for health reasons first and foremost, I was alarmed and starting asking knowledgeable people a lot of questions.

[adamrochester]

hey big man hows things ?

can we get some recents pics up of you ?

[skiplacour]

hey big man hows things ?

can we get some recents pics up of you ?

I'm awesome, Adam. How are you?

Check out the videos above. That last one posted was just two days ago. The other ones of me training with Tyrus are recent too.

You're not asking for pictures of me in a "banana hammock," are you? LOL

[juan072]

I'm awesome, Adam. How are you?

Check out the videos above. That last one posted was just two days ago. The other ones of me training with Tyrus are recent too.

You're not asking for pictures of me in a "banana hammock," are you? LOL

Hahaha