The importance of a suitable diet

I have to stress to all my readers the importance of a good diet and supplementation plan. Getting your perfect physique is 80% nutrition ! Keep checking my site for diet plans and articles, or if you want to see the best improvements message me on facebook or email me at darrynsolimene@gmail.com for a diet and supplementation plan especially suited to your goals.

Building your chest !

Here's a basic chest training routine that should elicit great gains in any motivated individual:


• Flat Dumbbell bench press – 4 sets of 10
• Incline Dumbbell Bench press – 4 sets of 10
• Incline Dumbbell flyes – 4 sets ( 14, 12, 10, 8)(Choose one weight)
• Dips (weighted if necessary) – 3 sets
• Cable Cross (3 sets to fail, lighter weight each set)

For the first 2 exercises alternate between dumbbells and bar for each chest sessions.
Focus on pushing as heavy as you can for the first 2 excercises, whilst making sure you are lowering the dumbbells or bar all the way. Increase the weight for each set of these exercises.
Make sure you have someone spotting you, especially on bench press.
Ensure that you squeeze your pecs together at the peak of your movement on flyes.
For dips go as low as possible and lean forward so you use more chest and less tris.
Cables is used as a finisher to get as much blood to your muscles as possible - only rest for 30 seconds betweens sets here.

Kai Wins the NY Pro!

As I predicted Kai Greene took first place at the New York Pro, exhibiting some great mass and freakish definition. He has definitely established himself as a huge threat to take the Olympia title later this year. Runner up was Ronny Rockel and in third place was Craig Richardson, both showed great proportion and size.Defending champion Roelly Winklaar who I had high hopes for dissapointingly finished in eighth place.

Check out Kai's interview after winning at: http://www.flexonline.com/news/contests/kai-greene-wins-ny

image is courtesy of flexonline

IFBB New York Pro Predictions

The New York pro is happening tomorrow and here are my predictions for the top 3 of the overall mens division :

1: Kai Greene
2: Roelly Winklaar
3: Ronny Rockel

Not too sure about 2nd and 3rd but Kai was looking bigger than ever in his facebook photos from 5 days out, and he should definitely take it if he is able to shed that last bit of water ( which is where he messed up his prep for the last Mr.Olympia )

5 Gym Mistakes That You Might Be Making

Many people feel that they are doing everything the can to improve their physique, however in reality what they blame on poor genetics is in fact lack of knowledge! Here's a quick list of some common mistakes that are often made by rookie gym goers.

1. Having a poor diet: You can train with the intensity of an IFBB pro all year long, but if you aren't eating properly you might still look like you haven't touched a weight in your life! Looking good is 80% based on your diet, so if you aren't getting the results that you want then the first thing that you should look at is improving your diet. Go to a dietician, research diet plans online, or ask for help on any bodybuilding forums to ensure that your diet is suited to your goals.
2. Overtraining: Overtraining is a trap that's easy to fall into. If you don't give your muscles a rest then they will never have time to repair (and thus grow), and by training them before they are repaired you are actually breaking them down and putting your body in a state of muscle catabolism. A good general rule of thumb is to take a rest day every third day, and avoid training one bodypart more than once per week ( abs is an exception).
3.   Believeing in "miracle" supplements: One of the first things that you should learn is to never believe the claims of supplement companies! The supplement industry falls into a grey area in that it is not regulated by the FDA, therefore they are technically allowed to say anything! One of the companies that abuses this to the fullest extent is Muscletech ; they would have their customers believe that a simple whey protein or bcaa supplement will give results that mirror those of anabolics! This is completely ridiculous! There is no substitute for hard work, and while supplements may improve your results to a slight extent, they will never give you any results if your diet and training aren't spot on.Don't think you can slack off and still get results just because your "on" the latest "breakthrough" from whatever supplement company.
4. Ego lifting: Many men fall into the trap of trying to impress their fellow gym goers by swinging around big weights by utilising momentum and poor form. This can easily lead to injury and not very easily lead to muscle growth! You need to put your ego aside in the gym and use weights that allow you to execute your sets with perfect form whilst still causing you to strain on those last few reps. I have personally seen much greater results by doing slow reps curling 20kg dumbells than by swinnging around 35s.
5. Lifting too little: This is a mistake that is commonly made by women who fear getting "too big and muscular". They do all their weights training without breaking a sweat and insist they only want to "tone up". What needs to be realised is that women's testosterone levels are nowhere near that of mens, and so they are pretty much incapable of resembling any of the olympia competitors without heavy anabolic assistance. The only way to succesfuly "tone up" is by using weights or rep schemes that require you to push as hard as you can. Also if you do get bigger than you want do due to some sort of superhuman genetics then its as easy as stopping gymming for a bit to lose the muscle and reach your preffered look.

Sickest Abs Training Workout

This is my favourite ab workout, which I was doing 2-3 times a day when my abs where in their best condition. Video is courtesy of Keith1985nYc from youtube.

Adding width to your back

As per a request today decided to post a great Back training routine to add width and definition to your back. This is the same way IFBB pro Al Auguste trains and its been working pretty well for me lately :

• Warm up - 3 sets of wide grip pullups (10 reps)
• Deadlifts - 3 sets (15, 10, 8 reps)
• Wide grip lat pulldowns- 4 sets (20, 15, 12, 10 reps)
• Barbell rows - 4 sets ( 20, 15, 10, 8 reps)
• Seated Cable rows - 4 sets ( 20, 15, 10 , 8 reps )
• Close grip pulldowns- 4 sets ( 15 reps ) - Same weight
• Wide grip pullups - 3 sets to fail

For each set use a weight that you nearly fail with on the final rep, and also ensure that you feel the squeeze in your back for all exercises- as it is easy to switch the focus to bis on most movements. DO NOT USE MOMENTUM TO PUSH HEAVIER WEIGHTS THAN YOU SHOULD - this is a common mistake with back training, as there is a misconception that you need to use huge weights for your back to grow.

Yates vs.Coleman vs. Schwarzenegger

The Science Behind Creatine

One of the few supplements that has truly stood the test of time, is the often misunderstood creatine. Creatine is great for increasing strength and endurance, and thus, muscle mass. Creatine is a naturally occuring amino acid, however, our body does not synthesize a great amount of it, so supplementation can be highly beneficial. Basically any creatine supplement forms creatine phosphate in muscle cells, where it provides an additional phosphate molecule. This phosphate molecule is used by the body to transform ADP into ATP ( which we primarily use for energy) . What this relates to for us is extra muscular energy in the gym - which means we can push heavier weights for longer ; this of course leads to increased muscle mass.Creatine use is perfectly natural and there is no substantial proof of negative side effects other than some slight water retention in some individuals. So that's basically how creatine works! Now onto which form of creatine to choose.

Nowadays when you go to the supplement shop though its not as easy as just buying some basic creatine - you're presented with a choice between dozens of different forms of creatines all claiming to provide the best results in the shortest time. The key difference between these creatines is the newer forms have esters attached to supposedly make you absorb more of them - but in reality there is no reason to not buy plain old Creatine monohydrate - the cheapest and most researched form available. The 2 other forms of creatine that I would recommend are Creatine ethyl ester and kre alkalyn which do not give as much water retention as what you find with regular monohydrate - however they are subtantially more expensive than creatine monohydrate.

Arming Yourself for Battle !

Time for another training article and this time its about everybody's favourite body part to train... ARMS!

Arms training is split up into 2 major parts : Bis and Tris. Forearms don't really need to be trained regularly.
It's important to understand that everybody responds differently to different types of training, but what I have found is that to add inches to your guns it's best to train with a variety of rep ranges, and incorporate many supersets, drop sets, and negative reps. What follows is my ideal arms training routine :

Biceps:

• Warm up : Light alternating DB curls (15 reps)(2 sets)
• Preacher Curl (8-10 reps) ( 4 sets - increasing weight each set, you should be near fail after about 8 reps on your last set)
• Seated Alternating Dumbell Curls Dropset (6 reps then drop, 8 reps then drop, then 10 reps) (3 sets)
• Cable Curls (12 reps) superset with bicep pullups (underhand) till fail (3 sets)
• CableCurl Dropset ( Pick 5 weights, start with heaviest, curl till fail, then drop )

With all biceps exercises its important to focus heavily on the negative portion of the rep, and make sure that you aren't using momentum to swing heavy weights - Rather go lighter and properly isolate your biceps!

Triceps:

• Cable Pushdown (30 reps )(20 reps) (10 reps) (5 reps). Increasing weight. Use a weight that you fail with at the end of each set. Rest 1 minute between sets.
• Close grip bench press (8-12 reps) (4 sets), increase weight
• Skullcrushers ( 10 reps) (4 sets) Use the same weight for all the sets- Go heavy !
• Dips ( 4 sets till fail)
• Dumbell kickbacks (3 Sets) Squeeze at the peak of the movement

The important thing to remember when training tris is to squeeze ! You want to get as much blood into ur tris as possible so ensure that you can really feel your triceps working.

Cutting Nutrition Plan

Started cutting today, first sesh was great, hit chest bis and abs- kept the weights heavy and the reps in a range of about 10-14, 30 sec rest between sets (weights felt like cardio.. cardio felt like death).
Anyways heres the basic nutrition plan for a succesful cut :

• Breakfast :Oats (no sugar);coffee with sweetener;Whey protein shake or egg whites; EFA supplement
• 10am : Protein shake (optional); lean protein source eg. chicken breast
• Lunch: 2 tins tuna ; vegetables such as spinach or brocolli
• Pre Workout: Whey protein shake
• Post workout: Whey protein shake,BCAAs, lean meat eg. chicken or tuna, slow releasing carbs eg. brown rice
• Dinner: Lean protein source ( chicken breast is best) ; avoid carbs near to bedtime
• Before Bed: Casein protein shake or Cottage Cheese

Also include caffeine wherever possible as it has a stimulatory effect on metabolism.
Furthermore if you choose to include a pre workout supplement ensure that it is low carb.