Let's talk - Natural Mr Olympia gives advice

[Quelly]

Thanks Eric, I appreciate that. Yes, I've always been very honest when it comes to bodybuilding. I am so tired of reading b.s. interviews and not getting the full truth and I think everyone else is also. I hope to bring that honesty and integrity to Natural Bodybuilding Radio and I think the show is going to be a fantastic show also. Thanks again for listening!!

no problem, it was my pleasure, it was also awesome to hear how you want to get the presidents of the ABA, INBF, OCB, NGA etc on to talk about unity and possibly getting natural bodybuilding a more national and long term view...I have to say I think if there was one dominant natural bodybuilding organization that could draw from the pool of all the nanbf, inbf, ocb, nga, aba etc athletes the shows would become MUCH more competitive and I think seeing things like Phillip Ricardo Jr, Jim Cordova and Dave Goodin all on the same stage would just promote us to be that much better.

I put up a link to the show in my log which has a decent following and I have pmed the show page to all the natural guys on here who have a big following in their logs, I think this forum can be a BIG promotion tool for the show, I'd suggest get Layne Norton involved and some of the other natural pros who frequent this board involved because they have a lot of forum members following them. PM me if you want any suggestions on that, I'd love to see this show take off and succeed as intended, the interview with Dave Goodin was awesome!

[Natural_O]

no problem, it was my pleasure, it was also awesome to hear how you want to get the presidents of the ABA, INBF, OCB, NGA etc on to talk about unity and possibly getting natural bodybuilding a more national and long term view...I have to say I think if there was one dominant natural bodybuilding organization that could draw from the pool of all the nanbf, inbf, ocb, nga, aba etc athletes the shows would become MUCH more competitive and I think seeing things like Phillip Ricardo Jr, Jim Cordova and Dave Goodin all on the same stage would just promote us to be that much better.

I put up a link to the show in my log which has a decent following and I have pmed the show page to all the natural guys on here who have a big following in their logs, I think this forum can be a BIG promotion tool for the show, I'd suggest get Layne Norton involved and some of the other natural pros who frequent this board involved because they have a lot of forum members following them. PM me if you want any suggestions on that, I'd love to see this show take off and succeed as intended, the interview with Dave Goodin was awesome!

Thanks, I appreciate the comments and the suggestions and thanks also for creating a link to the show from your website. That was awesome! I think the show will get bigger and bigger and I'm really looking forward to having a lot of great guests on the show and see where it will all lead.

[Natural_O]

Thanks for the feedback John. I listened to your 1st bodybuildingradio segment, I remember those crappy concrete filled weights. I didn't lift weights in high school but my father bought a set around then, which sat in the back yard and rusted (well the bar did).

That's funny! I think we all started out with those weights, at least those of us who were lifting at home during those years (1970's). It wasn't long before the plastic started to crack and cement weights would start falling apart. LOL

[str8flexed]

yea john, glad to see you got that up and running, kudos for you for taking the initiative. I have always wanted to do something similar but just too many irons in the fire, glad to see someone is getting it done.

[Natural_O]

yea john, glad to see you got that up and running, kudos for you for taking the initiative. I have always wanted to do something similar but just too many irons in the fire, glad to see someone is getting it done.

Thanks Layne! You must have been reading my mind because I was just thinking of contacting you to have you as a guest on the show. Send me an email and let me know when you are available and we can schedule an interview.

[Natural_O]

Our third show on Natural Bodybuilding Radio is live today! Check out my interview with the current WNBF Champ Jim Cordova. Jim talks about his preparation for this year's contest on November 8th in New York City as well as his diet, his training and his background in bodybuilding. Check it out at www.naturalbodybuildingradio.com.

[allworknoplay]

Hi John, Im glad there's a place where I can ask the author of a book questions directly. I had read your book a month ago, and was a bit lost as to what to do for beginners since you state that your routine is for someone whose got 6-12 months under their belt.

Im wondering why wouldnt you recommend a 4 day split illustrated in your book for a beginner? And that being said would you say a beginner should do a full body routine for the first 6-12 months?

[jrjt27]

john, after hearing nothing but good things, i wanna start supplementing with extra antioxidants, it seems like a good idea with me as a natural bodybuilder. Which antioxidants do you feel to have the best effects on the human body? What dosages would be safe and effective?

[percussion8903]

Is it better to eat 500 calories of monounsaturated fat that are good for the cardio or is it better to burn 500 calories DOING cardio

[Natural_O]

Hi John, Im glad there's a place where I can ask the author of a book questions directly. I had read your book a month ago, and was a bit lost as to what to do for beginners since you state that your routine is for someone whose got 6-12 months under their belt.

Im wondering why wouldnt you recommend a 4 day split illustrated in your book for a beginner? And that being said would you say a beginner should do a full body routine for the first 6-12 months?

The reason there was no beginner's routine in the book is that the publisher wanted to make the book for the intermediate bodybuilder and up. I originally submitted a routine for the rank beginner but they took it out of the final edition. If someone is brand new to weight training, they should do a beginner's routine, which would consist of one exercise for each major muscle group in the body (chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, quads, hams, abs and calves) and do 3 sets of 10-12 reps for each exercise. You could do this routine 2-3 days a week, gradually building up your strength and muscle mass each week. Here is an example:

Bench Press
Lat Pulldowns
Shoulder Press
Tricep Pushdown
Bicep Curls
Squats
Leg Curls
Calf Raises
Sit-ups
Leg Raises

If someone was in good shape or they were an athlete from another sport, they could definitely start off training on a four day a week routine, training each bodypart twice a week. If you are really out of shape, the beginner's routine will work. Most of my personal training clients start out on a beginner's routine and they stay on that routine because that is all they need to get in shape and stay in shape. Most of them are not interested in building up their body any more than that.

If you started on a beginner's routine, you don't have to follow it for 6-12 months. You can do it as little as 3 months before you move onto the intermediate routine (training 4 days a week, each muscle group twice a week).

[Natural_O]

Is it better to eat 500 calories of monounsaturated fat that are good for the cardio or is it better to burn 500 calories DOING cardio

You lost me a little there with this question. Monounsaturated fats are good for your health but they will not burn off stored bodyfat. So, eating 500 calories (over 55 grams of fats) will not help in any way to burn off bodyfat and you may likely gain fat by eating too much fat if you added the 55 grams of fats to your normal diet. Burning 500 calories doing cardio will help you lose weight and fat.

[JAWS22]

Props John your a beast!

[italianplaya30]

Hey John What would you recommend to bring up the lower lats?

thanks

[Natural_O]

john, after hearing nothing but good things, i wanna start supplementing with extra antioxidants, it seems like a good idea with me as a natural bodybuilder. Which antioxidants do you feel to have the best effects on the human body? What dosages would be safe and effective?

Anti oxidants are great for combating free radical damage, which is important to anyone engaged in intense exercise (a stress to the body and it's tissues). I think you should look for a supplement that has Vitamin A (beta carotene), Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, Lycopene, Lutein, Coenzyme Q10, Glutathione (an important amino acid) and Alpha Lipoic Acid.

[Natural_O]

Hey John What would you recommend to bring up the lower lats?

thanks

Any chin or pulldown with a close grip. I like using the V-bar handle for close-grip chins or close-grip pulldowns. Also, doing barbell rows with an underhand grip and bringing the bar into the lower abs instead of the upper abs or solar plexus will work the lower lats also.

[NaturalLoco]

Hey John,

My lagging muscle group at the moment is my calves.. I train them twice a week with two days rest before i work them again.. I generally do 6-9 sets.. They are not growing.. would you suggest that I am overtraining or do i need to just persevere and keep going?

thanks

[Natural_O]

Hey John,

My lagging muscle group at the moment is my calves.. I train them twice a week with two days rest before i work them again.. I generally do 6-9 sets.. They are not growing.. would you suggest that I am overtraining or do i need to just persevere and keep going?

thanks

The rest days and the amount of sets sound right but you didn't say how many reps you are doing or what exercises you are using. The calves need a combination of heavy weights and high reps. I like doing standing, seated, donkey and leg press calf raises. I do high reps on the seateds (12-20) and then do standing calf raises heavy after that (8-12 reps). On my next workout, I do high reps on donkey calf raises (20-25 reps) and then go heavy on the next exercise, leg press calf raises (10-12 reps). It's this combination of heavy weight and high reps that make the calves grow, in my opinion. Also, make sure you do donkey calf raises because that is the best calf exercise you can do.

[Natural_O]

im just taking animal pak as far as antioxidants , was gonna add 2g's vit c and 800 iu's of vit e, would that be as effective?

Yes, the extra Vitamin C would not hurt and you probably don't need more than 800 total i.u. of Vit E for the day. I'm not sure how many anti oxidants are in the Animal Pak but if they don't have the antioxidants I mentioned, I'm sure you could find a good antioxidant supplement right here on Bodybuilding.com.

[jrjt27]

Anti oxidants are great for combating free radical damage, which is important to anyone engaged in intense exercise (a stress to the body and it's tissues). I think you should look for a supplement that has Vitamin A (beta carotene), Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, Lycopene, Lutein, Coenzyme Q10, Glutathione (an important amino acid) and Alpha Lipoic Acid.

im just taking animal pak as far as antioxidants , was gonna add 2g's vit c and 800 iu's of vit e, would that be as effective?

[jrjt27]

Yes, the extra Vitamin C would not hurt and you probably don't need more than 800 total i.u. of Vit E for the day. I'm not sure how many anti oxidants are in the Animal Pak but if they don't have the antioxidants I mentioned, I'm sure you could find a good antioxidant supplement right here on Bodybuilding.com.

you ever use the super antioxidants by on, figure i ask since your sponsered by them?

[Natural_O]

you ever use the super antioxidants by on, figure i ask since your sponsered by them?

Lately, I've just been taking a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement and not any extra antioxidants but it wouldn't be a bad idea to supplement with them either.

[NaturalLoco]

The rest days and the amount of sets sound right but you didn't say how many reps you are doing or what exercises you are using. The calves need a combination of heavy weights and high reps. I like doing standing, seated, donkey and leg press calf raises. I do high reps on the seateds (12-20) and then do standing calf raises heavy after that (8-12 reps). On my next workout, I do high reps on donkey calf raises (20-25 reps) and then go heavy on the next exercise, leg press calf raises (10-12 reps). It's this combination of heavy weight and high reps that make the calves grow, in my opinion. Also, make sure you do donkey calf raises because that is the best calf exercise you can do.

Wow i can't believe how fast you reply, your a legend! and yea I'm sorry I wasn't detailed enough ill explain properly..
I vary my exercises.. at the moment i have a leg split, i.e hamstrings and quads on seperate days.. that is where i do calves.. on my hamstring day i generally do higher reps (15-25) Generally, Machine calf raises, seated calf raises and a variation on the hack squat (calf raises) which i suppose are like normal machine calf raises. On my quad day I go alot heavier because i was told more blood is flushed into the legs when you work your quads i go probably (8-15) at max for reps.. My excercises are leg press calf raises, hack squat calf raises and again seated calf raises..

Unfortunatley at my gym i dont have a donkey machine.. is there anything i can do or use as a substitute? Is it possible to use anything like a smith machine to imitate donkey raises?

At my gym i can do the following excercises for calves:
-Machine calf raises
-Leg press calf raises
-Seated calf raises
-Hack Squat calf raises

Also i take from your first post that it looks like I'm doing things well?
I also use a full range of motion and dont necessarily cheat on any excercises..

Oh and one more thing.. I was wondering what I can use as a substitute for building up my lower back thickness... I am a natural builder like your good self and I really love the heavy compound lifts.. Deadlifts would be my favourite exercise... I am looking at competing next year as a junior in a natural competition, my back would certainly be my best muscle group, and I want to thicken up my lower back as much as possible to get a unique look at my age..

I was told doing heavy deadlifts will give me a "block look" a really thick midsection which will take away the X-frame, which funnily enough I believe is this case with me.. What do you suggest i do? Do you think I should continue with deadlifts or try a sub? I know that deadlifts built my back to what it is today.. what do you personally believe is a better look for someone at my age? Back mass or a tiny waist?

Sorry for the long post.. you give awesome advice
cheers

[Natural_O]

Wow i can't believe how fast you reply, your a legend! and yea I'm sorry I wasn't detailed enough ill explain properly..
I vary my exercises.. at the moment i have a leg split, i.e hamstrings and quads on seperate days.. that is where i do calves.. on my hamstring day i generally do higher reps (15-25) Generally, Machine calf raises, seated calf raises and a variation on the hack squat (calf raises) which i suppose are like normal machine calf raises. On my quad day I go alot heavier because i was told more blood is flushed into the legs when you work your quads i go probably (8-15) at max for reps.. My excercises are leg press calf raises, hack squat calf raises and again seated calf raises..

Unfortunatley at my gym i dont have a donkey machine.. is there anything i can do or use as a substitute? Is it possible to use anything like a smith machine to imitate donkey raises?

At my gym i can do the following excercises for calves:
-Machine calf raises
-Leg press calf raises
-Seated calf raises
-Hack Squat calf raises

Also i take from your first post that it looks like I'm doing things well?
I also use a full range of motion and dont necessarily cheat on any excercises..

Oh and one more thing.. I was wondering what I can use as a substitute for building up my lower back thickness... I am a natural builder like your good self and I really love the heavy compound lifts.. Deadlifts would be my favourite exercise... I am looking at competing next year as a junior in a natural competition, my back would certainly be my best muscle group, and I want to thicken up my lower back as much as possible to get a unique look at my age..

I was told doing heavy deadlifts will give me a "block look" a really thick midsection which will take away the X-frame, which funnily enough I believe is this case with me.. What do you suggest i do? Do you think I should continue with deadlifts or try a sub? I know that deadlifts built my back to what it is today.. what do you personally believe is a better look for someone at my age? Back mass or a tiny waist?

Sorry for the long post.. you give awesome advice
cheers

I don't use a donkey calf raise machine either, I use my partner on my back for weight and I use additional weight on a weight belt. If you have a partner, have him jump on your back for donkey's, this is much more effective than using a machine anyway.

I think heavy deadlifts are the best thing you could do to build up your lower back. If you do deadlifts from the floor, you might build up the obliques a little so if you have a blocky waist, you might want to do them only every other week. I used to alternate doing deadlifts from the floor with deadlifts in the power rack where I would start the exercise with the bar right below my knees. This would put more stress on the traps as well as the lower back without affecting the waist as much.

[princeimran86]

MR O , I salute u sir , usually i m the kind of guy who just reads from the forum but after looking at this thread and the way u have answered everyone with so much of help i really really appreciate that and thats the reason i m writing this now...

[NaturalLoco]

^^ thanks for the advice, will do

[Natural_O]

MR O , I salute u sir , usually i m the kind of guy who just reads from the forum but after looking at this thread and the way u have answered everyone with so much of help i really really appreciate that and thats the reason i m writing this now...

Thanks for saying that, I appreciate it.

[N@tural1]

Hey John, great to see the thread still going and you're still offering your advice to help others. Repped!

[Natural_O]

Hey John, great to see the thread still going and you're still offering your advice to help others. Repped!

Yes, I'm glad this thread is going so well also. Lots of great questions from you guys!

[allworknoplay]

The reason there was no beginner's routine in the book is that the publisher wanted to make the book for the intermediate bodybuilder and up. I originally submitted a routine for the rank beginner but they took it out of the final edition. If someone is brand new to weight training, they should do a beginner's routine, which would consist of one exercise for each major muscle group in the body (chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, quads, hams, abs and calves) and do 3 sets of 10-12 reps for each exercise. You could do this routine 2-3 days a week, gradually building up your strength and muscle mass each week. Here is an example:

Bench Press
Lat Pulldowns
Shoulder Press
Tricep Pushdown
Bicep Curls
Squats
Leg Curls
Calf Raises
Sit-ups
Leg Raises

If someone was in good shape or they were an athlete from another sport, they could definitely start off training on a four day a week routine, training each bodypart twice a week. If you are really out of shape, the beginner's routine will work. Most of my personal training clients start out on a beginner's routine and they stay on that routine because that is all they need to get in shape and stay in shape. Most of them are not interested in building up their body any more than that.

If you started on a beginner's routine, you don't have to follow it for 6-12 months. You can do it as little as 3 months before you move onto the intermediate routine (training 4 days a week, each muscle group twice a week).

Hey John I had a question about the routine you gave me. I was wondering would it be okay if I split it up into am/pm? so that Im doing the lower body in the am and upper in the pm?

For example
mon/wed/fri
AM
Squats
Leg Curls
Calf Raises
Sit-ups
Leg Raises

PM
Bench Press
Lat Pulldowns had to switch to rows workout at home no machines
Shoulder Press
Tricep Pushdown had to switch to skull crushers
Bicep Curls

tues/thurs/sat/sun
30 mins cardio*

* currently 220 with 25% bf with a goal of getting down to 10%

or do you feel that its best to do it as is ?

[Quelly]

john,

saw you at the natural o, didn't have a chance to say hey...
but I have to say...Phillip Ricardo Jr is one of the most amazing natural bbers out there, having him on the radio show would be SWEEET