We want to see your photos and hear about your Be sure to add … · 2018-08-01 · self at Quads...

Post your Photos &

Progress Updates

on Parrillo’s

Facebook page!

We want to see your photos and hear about your progress! Be sure to add your pics and tell us about your progress in the gym or how you did at your competitions on Parrillo’s weekly Facebook progress posting!

FINALLY did it, 1st place!!

Getting back into the game and lifting big again...Feels great!

� October 2013 / Performance Press 1-800-3��-3�0� www.parrillo.com �www.parrillo.com 1-800-3��-3�0� Performance Press / October 2013

Photo by Jeffrey Sygo


Gary Deckard

Clinton, Iowa

The atmosphere at Quads fires Gary up and also offers an opportunity for him to touch bases and confer with his bodybuilding coach and competition preparation trainer: Cameron Mitchell. “He and I meet at Quads Gym; Cameron is a big advocate of Parrillo Performance Products.” Gary actually has his own history with John Parrillo. “In 2003 I accepted a teaching position in Cincinnati. In a strange quirk of fate, I needed and sought out chiropractic care for my fam-ily and I. Pat and Paul Baker were high profile chiropractors in the Cincinnati area; they owned a small chain of train-ing centers, one of which was located in Fairfield literally in John Parrillo’s headquarter fa-cility.” As anyone that has ever been to Parrillo headquarters, it is a Mecca to training: the weight facility is stuffed with customized Parrillo training equipment; custom benches that force the user to bench properly; FxStretch devices for self-inflicting fascia stretches between sets; the infamous Parrillo Belt Squat platform, complete with ‘puke bucket,’ conveniently located adjacent; the vibe in the training facil-ity is heavenly for the hard-core. Gary fell in love with it. “I wanted to become a Parrillo

certified personal trainer. I was in-trigued with John Parrillo’s totally unique approach to bodybuilding. He obviously obtained results for his clients and students and I really

Gary Deckard:

�www.parrillo.com 1-800-3��-3�0� Performance Press / October 2013


You would have to search long and hard to find the combination of skills and

interests Gary Deckard possesses. “I live in Clinton, Iowa, on the Mis-sissippi River and I am an Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Reli-gious Studies at Ashford Universi-ty.” Professor Deckard tries to relate the abstract concepts of philosophic thought and might expound on com-parative religious doctrine to col-lege students during the daytime. In the early and late hours and on weekends you will find Gary ham-mering away at his “first passion,” bodybuilding, in relentless fashion. To get a good gauge on the degree of his commitment to bodybuild-ing and the bodybuilding lifestyle, twenty weekends a year Gary drives 2.5 hours to the famous Quads Gym, owned by Dave DeYoung, in Chi-cago to train. After shattering him-self at Quads (the training lair of the greatest powerlifter in history, and longtime Parrillo Product user, Ed Coan) with a super-intense Parrillo-style weight training session, after melting himself pedaling for upteen miles on one of Quads’ recumbent bikes, Gary gets back in the car and travels for another 2.5 hours to ar-rive home. Asked why he goes to all the trouble to travel to Quads when he trains at a fine facility in Iowa. His terse, monosyllabic response was opposite what one might expect of a college prof. “Results!”

Professor of BodybuildingCollege professor and competitive bodybuilder sports

a 3.5% body fat percentile - at age 57!By Marty Gallagher

� October 2013 / Performance Press 1-800-3��-3�0� www.parrillo.com �www.parrillo.com 1-800-3��-3�0� Performance Press / October 2013

wanted to understand John’s train-ing and approach to nutrition.”

Gary mentioned that he trained with “the Master Blaster” on many an occasion. It was an eye-opening experience into how the Big Boys trained. “I obtained my Parrillo Personal Training Certification and served as a personal trainer at the B.E.A.T. gym located in the Fair-field Parrillo Facility. I trained and lifted with John on many occasions. I will never forget the intensity of the workouts and the special strength training equipment designed and constructed by John.” In a Parrillo supervised workout, the participant

will usually find John prefers “long-chain” Giant Sets; John might start with paused dumb-bell flat benches, taken to failure with additional forced reps. Then immediately to pec dec…then barbell inclines…cable crossover before finish-ing the first 5-exercise Giant set with machine presses. Each exercise would include forced reps and between each set an intense pec stretch would be performed. Parrillo might per-form 3-5 of these 5 exercise giant sets, seeking to increase poundage on each successive set. “John redefines the mean-

ing of effort and inten-sity.” It seemed only natural that a man as smart and motivated as Gary, having, through luck and circumstance, ended up at a Mecca of bodybuilding would become a competitive bodybuilder. Gary had to overcome a mountain of maladies in his quest to compete.

“I have had seventeen ortho-pedic surgeries. I played foot-ball in high school and I suf-fered a catastrophic knee inju-ry. Since then I have had eight major surgeries. I was given bad advice early on when the orthopedic surgeons all for-bade me to weight train – or jog or do anything really. So I took their ‘take it easy’ advise and every year I added more body fat. In around my 44th birthday (while I was com-pleting my Doctoral Degree) I spent many hours at a local coffee shop. In another fortu-itous twist of fate, I happened to meet a national level body-building competitor named Mark Loy. After we got to

know each other a bit, he comment-ed about my limp. The cumulative surgeries had left me crippled. He jarred me when he said, ‘Hey – in order to lose the limp – why not lose a lot of bodyweight?’ I weighed 230 standing 5’7” and he offered to help me lose weight. With his help and a renewed determination, I started on a strength-training program. I lost a significant amount of weight and de-veloped muscle mass I didn’t think was possible. My chance encounter with Mark got me on my way. Mi-raculously, the more leg training I did (against doctor’s advice) the less I limped; the more bodyweight I lost, the less I limped. Pretty soon, the limp was gone; the doctors were shocked and amazed. The body-building lifestyle gave Gary a new

lease on life and it seemed he had a gift for it. His personality takes to the disciplined aspects of the bodybuilding lifestyle with great ease. “Bodybuilding includes many aspects and disciplines; to be suc-cessful you must exert effort and precision in a variety of related dis-ciplines; weight training, cardio, nu-trition, supplementation, etc. I find I am continually motivated to train intensely and diet with discipline.”

Gary is no spring chicken. “I will turn 57 on October 26th, 2014. I com-pete in the lightweight division. In competitions I weigh down to 150. Out of season, my normal weight is 180-185 pounds. In the spring of 2003 at the age of 47, to the surprise of my trainer, I competed in two successive bodybuilding competi-tions, one in Canton and the sec-ond in Columbus, Ohio. Mark Loy worked with me as my trainer at the time. At the 2003 Mr. Canton I took 7th out of 23 competitors in open class. I was thrilled with whole ex-perience.” Skip ahead ten years and

Gary competes at the NPC Grand Rapids championships, put on by

Mike Vruggink, on May 25, 2013. After a period of intense preparation with Quads trainer Cameron Mitchell, Gary took 1st place in the novice lightweight division and 2nd in the 50+ years of age Master’s division. “Cam-eron took all the guesswork out of bodybuilding – rather than waste time and effort sorting through different training strat-egies and diets, Cameron elimi-nated all the guesswork. ‘Here’s the training split, here’s the diet, let’s get started!’ Once I had the plan, for me, execution was less of a problem. I am disciplined by nature.” Gary is married to Sally and they live and work together at Ashford College in Clinton, Iowa. They have a 22-year old son Kyle. Gary consid-ers bodybuilding as one of his many and varied ‘interests.’

“Bodybuilding takes up more of my free time than any other of my in-terests. I quite enjoy camping, mu-sic (I play guitar; my musical tastes are quite eclectic) and I regularly at-tend sporting events, especially Big Ten football.”

Monday chestTuesday backWednesday offThursday shouldersFriday armsSaturday legsSunday off

Weight Training:Having had eight knee surgeries, back surgery, hav-ing had bicep tendon repair and rotator surgery, having had a total Gary’s Before Photo

�www.parrillo.com 1-800-3��-3�0� Performance Press / October 2013� October 2013 / Performance Press 1-800-3��-3�0� www.parrillo.com

JOHN PARRILLO’S PERFORMANCE PRESS GarY DeCkarD: Professor of Bodybuilding

Professor Gary Deckard dressed in his academic robes at Ashford University.

“I find I am continually motivated to train intensely and diet with discipline.”


“Once I had the plan, for me, execution was less of a problem. I am disciplined by nature.”

Gary’s Weekly Training Split

8 October 2013 / Performance Press 1-800-3��-3�0� www.parrillo.com �www.parrillo.com 1-800-3��-3�0� Performance Press / October 2013

of sixteen surgeries, I feel I am an expert on melding bodybuilding with a damaged body. In my case, using heavy poundage in training is not an option. Moderate weight and higher reps are ideal for me. It is all about ‘feel’ and making the mind/muscle connection than it is about ego. Both John Parrillo and Cam-eron made heavy use of Giant Sets. I have found that for me this type of training leads to hypertrophy and builds and strengthens muscles without risking further injury. I will never forget going through different “push/pull” workouts with John Parrillo. He might have had us alternating, back and forth, between chest and back or, on another day, quads and hamstrings. Regardless the exercise pairing; any and every

training session with Parrillo left me exhausted, pumped and fired up! With Cameron, we used giant sets as well, focusing on specific muscle groups. We use high-inten-sity/high volume Giant Set train-ing that engorges my muscles with blood and has a strength/endurance aerobic aspect as well. I weight train five days a week and perform cardio three times each week.

Cardio: I have had so many surgeries that I have to be exceedingly careful in selecting my aerobic mode. Any type of high impact cardio is out of the question – my reconstruct-ed parts cannot take the pounding without breaking. I am so fragile in this regard that even something as innocent as walking on a treadmill causes me knee pain and is not an

option. However, I have found that if I use an elliptical machine or a re-cumbent bike I can perform cardio pain free. Swimming is another no-pain alternative that I will use pe-riodically. I limit my aerobic train-ing to three times a week. Frankly, since I walk around carrying a 13-14% body fat percentile and get down to 3.5% pre-competition, any more than three weekly sessions is excessive.

Nutrition: When people see how lean I am they naturally assume I starve myself to achieve that degree of leanness. I routinely get down to 3.5% body fat preparing for a show. My trainer Cameron has me eating quite a bit, even at my leanest. The trick to becoming lean is not limit-ing or slashing calories, rather the key is to confine your calories to ap-proved bodybuilding foods. Protein is obtained from lean meat; I eat a lot of fish and green vegetables. Cameron has me alternate between two low carb days in a row followed by one high carb day. I supplement with Parrillo Hi-Protein Powder™, Parrillo BCAA’s, Parrillo Creatine Monohydrate™ and of course multi-vitamins. When it comes to prep-ping for contest Cameron insists I use Parrillo CapTri®. The butter flavor is awesome! The famous Parrillo bars are delicious; my cur-rent favorite is the new Peanut But-ter Soft Chew™. I love the taste of Parrillo’s peach-flavored Hi-Protein Powder™.

Gary intends to compete for a long time to come. “Why quit? Quit from what? Living the bodybuilding life-style? It suits me – why would I re-tire from something I love to do and something that keeps me young.” Gary added, “My trainer Cameron has been a source of inspiration and support. The best advice that I could give anyone – especially in the over 40 category – is find a rep-

utable and knowledgeable trainer. Find a trainer that not only talks the talk but walks the walk. Your train-er should have a physique to match their rhetoric. I never could have stepped out on stage without the ex-pertise and guidance of Cameron, my coach.” The professor ends by waxing philosophical. “We are our bodies! Who doesn’t want to look good, look healthy, look fit and be active? I watched my grandfather and Dad lose their quality of life be-cause they lost their mobility. Their legs atrophied due to injury and age and I came to the realization that

once a person loses their locomo-tion - the quality of life diminishes greatly. With my multiple injuries, I assumed that would be my fate. Through determination and com-mitment I changed that future and created a new future for myself.” Keep in mind that other than for a chance meeting at a coffeehouse with a friendly bodybuilder, Gary might still be a fat man with a se-vere limp, or even worse, resigned to getting around in one of those electric carts. Bodybuilding allowed Gary to recast his future.

Gary’s Experience Working with Trainer Cameron Mitchell: I am deeply indebted to my trainer Cam-eron Mitchell at Quads Gym in Chicago. I was fortunate to land a national-level bodybuilding com-petitor that had the know-how and the experience to help me. Cam-eron designed my work-outs with great attention to detail, keeping in mind any limitations posed by my many surgeries. With his knowl-edge and experience, he could make necessary adjustments so that I could both develop and avoid in-jury. Cameron’s diets were packed with delicious foods and his dietary plans were relatively easy to follow. They provided the right amount of protein, carbohydrates and fat that enabled me to maintain my muscle mass and still lose bodyfat. Cam-eron advocated the use of Parrillo’s CapTri® MCT oil – which became a vital part of my diet as the contest drew near. Weekly photos allowed Cameron to study my progress; he would then make any necessary ad-justments. This precise approach to diet and workout paid off. I was ripped the day of the show. Camer-on was right there with me to guide and help me --- all the way to the stage! This brings me to the com-petition itself; Cameron devoted a tremendous amount of time to pre-paring me for my posing routine.

On the weekends leading up to the competition, we would practice my posing routine, sometimes for hours. Cameron’s knowledge of my physique, as well as his posing ex-pertise, enabled me to showcase my muscularity to its fullest advantage. Cameron is truly a supportive and dedicated coach. He worked with me at Quads gym on the weekends and remotely through the week, via texting, emails and phone calls. He and his wife, Julie, welcomed me into their home to help defray the cost of my training trips to Chicago. Following Cameron’s directions to the “T” was the foundation of my success. My advice to those who plan to compete is to find someone like Cameron Mitchell. I have built a friendship with Cameron. I still train with him even though I am not preparing for a contest! Simply put - he is the best!

�www.parrillo.com 1-800-3��-3�0� Performance Press / October 20138 October 2013 / Performance Press 1-800-3��-3�0� www.parrillo.com

JOHN PARRILLO’S PERFORMANCE PRESS GarY DeCkarD: Professor of Bodybuilding

“Regardless the exercise pairing; any and every training session with Parrillo left me exhausted, pumped and fired up!”



“Through determination and commitment I changed that

future and created a new future for myself.”

10 October 2013 / Performance Press 1-800-3��-3�0� www.parrillo.com 11www.parrillo.com 1-800-3��-3�0� Performance Press / October 2013

A BODYBUILDER IS BORN: GenerationsJOHN PARRILLO’S PERFORMANCE PRESS

11www.parrillo.com 1-800-3��-3�0� Performance Press / October 201310 October 2013 / Performance Press 1-800-3��-3�0� www.parrillo.com

Most young guys in the gym simply don’t un-derstand what it’s like

to be injured, or to have chronic issues like arthritis, tendonitis, and constant pain in areas like the lower back, shoulders, or knees. How could they? In your teens and early twenties, you are practically bullet-proof. Superman ain’t got sh*t on you! You can wrench your lower back by rounding it with a 400-pound bar on your back for squats, and a couple days later you’re bopping around again ready to try 450. That was me back in the old days. For years, there wasn’t a weight that was too heavy for me to try, and injuries were nothing to worry about since I seemed to bounce back from them quickly every time.

As I write this, I am less than a month from turning 44, and my perspective has changed drastically. When I and others over 40 who have been

training since our teenage years get together and the subject of injuries, aches, and pains comes up, it’s a lot like that scene from

the classic movie Jaws where a drunken Captain Quint (portrayed by the late Robert Shaw) and the

younger Hooper (Richard Drey-fuss) compare scars, noting where in the world and by which ocean predator they were made. We too

can rattle off our vari-ous physical afflictions from fighting the war against the iron, often even pointing out surgi-cal scars where knees, elbows, and shoulders have all been repaired by orthopedic special-ists. Many of us still bang away in the gym every day, albeit with lighter loads than in days gone by and often avoiding great basic ex-ercises that were once our bread and butter for mass and power gains; but now tip far more toward the risk side of the continuum than re-ward. Few men over 40 or 50 are still doing bench presses, squats, deadlifts, military presses, weighted dips, or barbell rows. And if they are, even fewer are able to safely go heavy

anymore. But give them all credit, because for every one of those battle-scarred and grizzled veter-

ans you see in the gym, there are 100 others who simply quit train-ing altogether long ago. Many of them figured since they can’t lift heavy anymore and can’t do their favorite exercises, why bother?

I can certainly sympathize with them on that. It’s tough for me not to feel alternately sad and bitter about being a shadow of my former self when it comes to many exercises. I wax nostalgic about 315-pound military press-es, squatting with 5-7 plates each side (the depth being question-able at best on those), dips with four 45’s hanging from my waist, deadlifting five plates, etc. Ah, those were the days when I was

a true stallion, a beast that ruled the gym floor! In my own mind, at any rate. But here I sit, a broken middle-aged man now who has trashed his shoulders and lower back, and torn a tri-ceps. I dare not use more than 315 on deadlifts now, and 365 is as heavy as I go on squats. Weighed dips? A fond memory. Military presses - every once in a while when the stars are lined up just so, but I pay for them for many days later in shoulder pain. That will happen when your cartilage is worn down to almost being bone on bone. But did I ever stop training? Do I even enter-tain the concept of quitting the gym? Can I get a

‘hell no?’

Since I refused to give up on doing what I love and what keeps me sane, I’ve had to look into oth-er ways to stimulate the muscles and believe it or not, not only maintain my size but actually improve on it - all without mega-heavy weights. Two ar-eas I had hardly ever ex-plored were higher reps and shorter rest periods. These are two techniques I’ve made use of over the last couple years that any-one who can’t train safely with very heavy loads

anymore, or at least not on all ex-ercises, should definitely try.

SevensHany Rambod is best known as a ‘prep coach’ who has guided both Jay Cutler and Phil Heath to multiple Mr. Olympia titles. He also developed a training sys-tem called FST-7, the best part of which in my opinion is Sevens. Usually done as the last exercise for a given bodypart, it involves seven sets of anywhere from 8-15 reps with the same weight, with just 30 seconds rest in between. The first 3-4 sets aren’t so bad, and you think maybe you should have picked a heavier weight.

“Physiques take years to build, and your joints can take a beating in the process.”

“There comes a time when very heavy weights offer more

risk than reward.”

“Muscles don’t know weight, they only know tension.”


Ron Harris

is the author of

www.ronharrismuscle.com

Real Bodybuilding, available at

JOHN PARRILLO’S PERFORMANCE PRESS

12 October 2013 / Performance Press 1-800-3��-3�0� www.parrillo.com

Soon the pump and lactic acid burn build to excru-ciating levels, and by the time you complete the final set you are experiencing one of the most pronounced pumps of your life. That makes sense, considering you just did as many as 105 reps in the time you nor-mally do two typical sets of 8-12 reps. Sevens are meant to be used mainly for weak bodyparts, but you can cer-tainly use them for every-thing as long as you are being diligent about eating and resting enough to re-cover from your workouts.

TORQThis is something I picked up on much more recently, developed by former AAU Mr. America Doug Bri-gnole and improved on by Ironman editor Steve Hol-man. TORQ stands for Tension-Overload Repeti-tion Quantity. The reps are higher, and the rest periods are a bit shorter. Here’s how a TORQ set looks:

Pick a weight with which you can crank out 25 to 30 reps, and get 30. Go to failure. Rest 45 seconds, then go to fail-ure again, getting 15 to 20 reps. Rest 45 seconds and go all out one last time, hitting failure between 10 and 15 reps. Ideally, your reps will go 30, 20, 15. By hitting those rep numbers, your muscles are kept under continuous tension

much longer than in a standard set of 8-12 reps. Research is start-ing to show that 40-90 seconds is the optimal time under tension to promote muscle growth, while the shorter tension time of the stan-dard set falls short. I can testify that I have seen excellent results with TORQ sets in only a month of using it, though I still include a couple exercises done for straight sets of 8-12 too at every workout. My weight is up to 226 from my Masters Nationals weight of 201 shortly before, and I look better

at this weight than I ever have before. What’s more, my shoulders, elbows, and lower back all feel fine. No pain, all gain!

If your joints and connec-tive tissues simply won’t tolerate heavy weights anymore due to injury or just plain overuse from de-cades of banging away at the iron, give higher reps and shorter rest periods a try. You should also be tak-ing a product like Parrillo’s Joint Formula™ that con-tains glucosamine sulfate, shark cartilage, and several other nutrients to help your joints heal and get stronger. What are you waiting for? This is something you can get started on right away. And if you’re like me, the results will have you kick-ing yourself for not trying this years ago!

“With higher reps and shorter rest periods, your workouts - and physique

- can have a second chance.”

1� October 2013 / Performance Press 1-800-3��-3�0� www.parrillo.com 1�www.parrillo.com 1-800-3��-3�0� Performance Press / October 2013

Everybody and anybody remotely connected to bodybuilding wants big arms. Is there any doubt that

the most highly coveted body part is a humongous pair of bodacious biceps sat atop an equally outsized pair of ti-tanic triceps? Yet very, very few are ever able to construct the massive guns they seek – this despite more articles being dedicated to arm training than any other single body part. So what is the problem? Why can’t John Q. Body-builder build those outsized, massive, proportional, powerful arms that they covet above all else – and devote more training time to (in most cases) than any other body part? What is the rea-son that your arms suck?? Well we are going to give you TEN reasons why your arms suck and within each of the ten critiques lies buried a clue as to how you can avoid these commonly made mistakes.

Refusal to gain bodyweight: the biggest single reason the mod-ern bodybuilder fails to add any

significant size to his arms is their ut-ter and complete resistance to gain-ing any bodyweight during the arm-building process. Classically, arm size was built in conjunction with a mass-building phase. In the olden days of Grimek and Pearl, Park and Arnold, men “bulked up” to bring up their arms. Today’s politically cor-rect bodybuilder thinks he can take

his puny 15-inch drainpipe arms and turn them into 18-inch storm-drains without adding even a pound of body-weight. They are so concerned about their “conditioning” and their “six-pack” and their “beach muscles” that the thought of gaining three extra pounds and blurring their pec/delt tie-in veins is completely unacceptable. The old school rule of thumb was the

bodybuilder needed to gain 10 pounds of lean mass to increase their arm size one full inch. If you are serious about adding arm size, get on a Parrillo off-season mass-building regimen and be-gin an arm specialization program. No need to get fat during the mass phase if you are nutritionally disciplined and eat only Parrillo-approved bodybuild-ing foods.

We train like sissies: another arm myth of gargantuan pro-

portion is the idea that somehow

we are going to grow massive arms training them once a week for 3-5 sets. Really? If that were possible, hell, we’d all have ripped 20-inch guns. Arnold used to hit biceps and triceps three times a week! Not only that, but in each of those three arm training sessions he would perform 30 sets of biceps and 30 sets of triceps…five bicep exercis-es, five tricep exercises, 5-6 sets each. Plus, he trained forearms three times a week for 12 sets in a separate session! Sergio, Robbie, Pearl, all the old time arm giants, all of them used a lot of volume, lots of weekly sessions, lots of exercises, lots of sets and reps. Nowa-days it is fashionable to work biceps once weekly and triceps once week-ly, usually 4-5 sets of each. In order to spark arm growth where none ex-ists, try instituting a radical increase in arm training volume. Man up and train arms a minimum of twice a week and how about three exercises for five sets each – that seems about right for a serious arm effort.

Shortened range-of-motion and rep strokes: go to any commer-

cial gym and secretly watch the macho men as they train. What they have all learned is that by shortening the rep stroke on all their exercises they are able to handle a lot more poundage. Never mind that the muscle

building benefits deflate in direct pro-portion to how short the rep stroke is shortened. It is so much more impres-sive to bench press half reps with 315 than to take it all the way down to the chest, pause the weight and push it to full and complete lockout. 225 done right will kick the 315 half reppers’ collective ass. Short rep strokes dur-ing bicep and tricep training is disas-trous…results fly right out the window. Oh, if I only had a dollar for every oaf I’ve seen with 150 pounds loaded on the E-Z Curl bar; performing ridicu-lous reverse heaves and calling it a curl – of course he has to scream and grunt on every rep to draw attention to himself. Ever notice how all these guys’ arms suck? Lighten the poundage, use full and complete range-of-mo-tion; feel the poundage over ev-ery single inch of the raising and lowering. Less is better if less is technically perfect. Parrillo has his arm fanatics “pull the weight downward” on curls and actively resist the lowering on all triceps exercises.

Try some different ex-ercises: the definition of insanity/stupidity is doing

the same things, over and over, and expecting different results. As that relates to arm training – you need to try new exercises on a periodic basis, find new exercises and find new angles of resistance for the old ones. Open your mind and stop doing the same favored bicep/tricep exercises over and over and over…We all favor certain exercises over others because they are fun, comfortable and we have a good feel for that particular exercise done in that particular way. The mistake trainees make is they make a religion out of certain favored movements. What they need to do is develop a wide range of bicep/tricep exercises, find the “feel” in all arm ex-ercises. Periodic rotation of exercise

movements is a must! Whatever you are doing, stop! Put the favored ex-ercises back on the shelf and develop some new favored exercises.

Alter sets and rep strategies pe-riodically and dramatically: in the same way in which we rotate

exercises, we also need to rotate set and rep strategies. When it is time to rotate, make changes that are major, not minor. If, by way of example, you have been performing seated dumbbell curls super-setted with single-dumb-

bell overhead seated tricep extensions for four sets of 10 reps, bumping the reps up to 12 or cutting them down to 8 (while keeping these favored exer-cises) is insufficient – the body does not sense anything different. The de-gree of change is too slight, too insig-nificant. What is needed is a signifi-cant change, a change so radical and demanding that the body is shocked into growth. How about changing the exercises to preacher bench curls su-per-setted with weighted dips? How about dropping the reps from 10 to 5 and bumping the sets from four to

eight? So we now are doing 8 sets of 5 reps in the preacher bench/dip su-per-set – now that’s a real change! Al-ternately you could up the reps to 15 – the idea is to get as far away from what you have been doing as possible.

Use forced reps, drop sets and rest-pause tactics: there is a

right and a wrong way to per-form forced-rep sets, drop-sets and rest-pause sets: 99% of the bodybuild-ing population that uses any of these intensity-amping tactics perform them

incorrectly. Forced reps (in most instances) need to be limited to 1 or 2 forced reps. How many times have you seen novice or in-termediate bodybuilders giving each other endless forced reps. So let’s back off the ridiculous endless forced reps. And please stop screaming – screaming is a pathetic plea for attention. The spotter has to give the perfect amount of help: just enough to keep the bar or poundage mov-ing. Too much help or not enough help ruins the forced rep effect. Drop-sets need to be done with-out rest; generally three drop-sets are sufficient. Rest-pause in bicep training is accomplished by going to positive failure and simply letting your arms hang down, holding the barbell and dumbbells, for however long it

takes for you to recover and force out 1 or 2 more reps. Save these tactics for the final top set (or two) of each exercise.

Change rep speeds to elicit dif-ferent results: too often we train without thinking, mindlessly,

absent-mindedly meandering through our workouts. When was the last time you consciously altered, sped or slowed, the speed of a weight training repetition? Many of you have never slowed or sped up a rep – those that try it will be both shocked and ultimately

By Andre Newcomb

Reasons Why Your Arms Are Substandard

1

2

3

4

5

7


10 6

And 10 Ways To Improve Them!

The Parrillo Principles

In order to spark arm growth where none

exists, try instituting a radical increase in arm

training volume.

Change rep speeds to elicit

different results

10 Reasons Why Your Arms Are Substandard

Kevin Creeden works hard to amass one of the most symmetrical and ripped physiques in competitive bodybuilding.


WhyParrilloinsistsonhighcaloricintake: If you are a serious bodybuilder, cal-

ories can and should be eaten often in meals or snacks that are consumed 4 to 8 times per day, every single day. The calories must be of the right type and kind. We call a proper, body-building-appropriate calorie a “clean” calorie. Clean calories eaten in ample amounts boosts the metabolism and supports the hardcore weight train-ing and the copious cardio John Par-rillo insists we do if we are to fulfill our genetic potential as bodybuilders. We need lots of calories to promote healing and growth. A Parrillo Pro bodybuilder has large, shapely, pro-portional muscles because of what he eats, when he eats and how much he eats; the Parrillo Pro bodybuilder is able to accomplish the most difficult feat in all of bodybuilding: adding muscle size without adding body fat. Anyone can grow muscle; the trick is build muscle without adding an unac-ceptable amount of body fat.

The basic mass-building formula has been known for decades: eat tons of calories on an indiscriminate basis while simultaneously engag-ing in hardcore power training; use super heavy, very basic exercises; train heavy, eat everything that’s not nailed down and be sure and sleep a lot. Using this strategy, anyone with a pulse can grow muscle – and just as surely add body fat. Powerlifters have used this approach for eons: eat big, lift big, rest big, grow big and in the vast majority of cases, grow fat! This “see food” diet is unacceptable to the Parrillo bodybuilder. The amount of body fat accumulation is unaccept-able. Besides, John Parrillo has de-vised a devilishly clever way in which to add muscle size without adding an unacceptable amount of body fat. He bases his approach on the expert use of regular food and amplifies a clean-

•130 Calories•22g of Protein•17g of Fiber•Only 3g Net Carbs

•Deliciously soft and chewy texture

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth with the Soft Chew Bar!SOFT CHEWSOFT CHEWBAR TM

HIGH PROTEIN HIGH FIBERNEW! NEW!

Try Our

Peanut Butter NEWest bar:

delighted. Let’s stick to arm training: by purposefully slowing down the rep speed on the ascent, descent or both, in any type of curl or in any tricep ex-ercise, you make the rep much harder. Now we don’t go crazy slowing down the rep, if you slow the rep down too much it completely destroys the poundage. We want a slightly slowed rep speed done in extremely concen-trated fashion. Slow down the curls and feel the biceps contract every inch of every rep stroke. When work-ing triceps, regardless if the ex-ercise is tricep pushdowns, nose-breakers, dips or kickbacks, by slowing the rep speed down just a tad, you are forced to make (and maintain) the all-important mind-muscle connection. Be aware that slowing down the rep is going to require you reduce the training poundage: don’t worry about that – the muscle-building rewards far outweigh the ego flattening that accompanies the required pound-age reduction.

Weave together nutrition and arm training: any se-rious discussion about how

to attain big arms invariably and inevitably must turn to nutrition generally and supplementation specifically. Good nutrition, body-building-style Parrillo nutrition, aids in the quest to acquire bigger arms. As we noted earlier, in order to grow your arms you must grow your body. The trick is taking in the extra calories needed to fuel recovery and growth without adding body fat in the process. The best way to make weight gain lean muscle gain is to ingest “clean” calo-ries; calories devoid (as much as pos-sible) of LCT saturated fat, sugar, and insulin-spiking foods, manmade re-fined foods and chemically drenched industrial foods. Further, through the expert use of supplements, potent Parrillo supplements, the trainee can add quality body weight, virtually fat

free, the type of weight gain needed to support a 1-2 inch gain in arm size. Always consume a serving or two of Parrillo’s 50/50 Plus™ after a savage arm training session. Blast the arms, feed the arms, rest the arms, grow the arms.

Fascia stretch those biceps and triceps: fascia is the sausage-skin that lies just below the

skin and defines and limits the outer

boundary of a muscle. John Parrillo developed a revolutionary protocol for loosening tight fascia, thereby allow-ing for easier muscle expansion. The Parrillo fascia protocol for stretching biceps and triceps is genius: the bicep stretch most often used is the final position of the skin-the-cat stretch. Those that cannot do a skin-the-cat can create a ‘faux’ skin-the-cat by as-suming the final position (feet never leave the floor) and after placing both hands on the bar, lower the body and stretch the biceps. The best tricep stretch is to lower a single dumbbell behind the head, relax and allow the bell to stretch the triceps downward. After every set of biceps or triceps,

perform a bicep or tricep stretch; each stretch should be held for 10 seconds.

Be realistic in terms of arm-ex-pectations; be realistic in terms of timeframe: a serious Parrillo-

style arm specialization program will run a minimum of eight weeks and often twelve weeks. During any arm specialization program, train arms twice weekly using 3-4 bicep and 3-4 tricep exercises. These can be super-

setted, alternated, to be more time efficient. Use different ex-ercises in each session: always start an arm session with the heaviest bi or tri exercise – ergo standing barbell curls would be done before concentration curls or machine curls; lying tricep extensions using an e-z curl bar would be done before tri-cep pushdowns or kick-backs. Additionally use alternative rep speeds (slower) to increase re-sistance. Use forced reps with great care, reserve their use for the final set or two of each ex-ercise and never do more than two forced reps. If you choose to use drop sets, simply curl a pair of dumbbells to positive failure, pick up the next lightest pair and repeat. Now do it one more time.

The rest-pause protocol is simple, go to positive failure, let the bells or bar hang at arms length until recovered, then rep again; shoot for 2-3 rest-pause reps. Make use of high reps, low reps and reps in between. If you are truly serious, sync up an arm specialization program with a Parrillo Mass Build-ing cycle. Use nutrition to fuel recov-ery and growth and use potent Parrillo supplements to augment the nutrition-al effort. Look to add a pound a week of quality bodyweight for 10 straight weeks and look to bring your arms up a full 1-1.5 inches. Everything you need to radically increase your arm size has been laid out for you: let’s get busy.

1� October 2013 / Performance Press 1-800-3��-3�0� www.parrillo.com

8

9

10

Don’t forget fascia stretching for easier muscle expansion!


18 October 2013 / Performance Press 1-800-3��-3�0� www.parrillo.com 1�www.parrillo.com 1-800-3��-3�0� Performance Press / October 2013

Calories 116Protein 24.6g Fat 1.2gTotal Carbs 0g

Fiber 0g Calcium —Phosphorus — Iron 1.0mg

Sodium 51mgPotassium 320mgVitamin A —

Try this delicious recipe idea using turkey breast:• Turkey Breast Fingers

Nutritional Information for 100g, raw:

Training Tip of the month:

tipsof the month

tidbits&RECIPE

spotlight

18

Questionof the month:

News & Discoveries In Fitness & Nutrition

InterestingArticle Fact:

Choline works to rid the body of toxins, poisons, and any drug residues, which is important because toxins can im-pede fat-burning. Read more in John’s article found on page 20.

Quick Tip of the month:

?

19

Spicing Up Food Can Make Up for Missing Fat

As you begin the ex-ercise, the first pull is with your shoulders. Pull the handle toward your midsection. Keep your shoulders down. At the top of the exer-cise, sit straight up, push your chest out, and pinch your scapula together. Return slowly to the starting posi-tion, stretching for-ward at the bottom of the movement.

- Institute of Food Technologists, Chicago, July 2013 (edited for length)

FooD of the month:

Satisfy your sweet tooth and mix up a batch of delicious Protein Frosting™ to spread on Parrillo’s Hi-Protein Cake and Cupcakes™. Also available in 3 other delicious flavors: Va-nilla, Chocolate, and Peanut Butter flavors.

• Great with Parrillo desserts and spread on Hi-Protein Pancakes™ rolled up as crêpes

• Packed with 12g of protein per serving• Only 1g Net Carbs, 0g of sugar per bar

Seated RowsNutrition Tip

of the month:If you think you can get into contest con-dition simply by lowering your caloric

intake, think again! To burn bodyfat and maintain muscle size, you have to build your metabolism, a feat which cannot be accomplished just by eating less. In fact, eating less usually decreases your me-tabolism. Aerobic activity is one of the best meth-ods of increasing your metabolic rate. In addition to increasing metabolism, aerobics also facilitate the removal of toxins such as carbon dioxide and other waste products that are the by-products of dieting. You can see why it is so important to do plenty of aerobics. We suggest 45 minutes to an hour of aer-obics before breakfast and the same amount some time after your last meal of the day.

Turkey Breast• Great protein source that’s low in fat• Delicious in salads, sandwiches, casseroles and stews• Ground turkey should be from all-white turkey breast

Supplementof the month:

In skillet heat the CapTri® until hot, not smoking. Put sliced peeled potatoes in a bowl and sprinkle “No Salt” on the potatoes and mix thoroughly. Carefully place some of the potatoes in the hot CapTri®. Cook until tender, remove from pan and place on a paper towel to soak up excess oil. Continue until all the potatoes are done. In a large bowl mix “Egg Beaters”, egg whites, garlic, onion and black pepper, then gently add potatoes. Place the mix in a 9”×13” pan and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, or until cooked through in the center. You can also add pep-pers, mushrooms or any other vegetable desired. Another option is to add the turkey sausage.

Spanish Potato Quiche

Parrillo Cream Cheese Flavor Protein Frosting Mix™

1/2 cup CapTri®

5 medium size Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled and sliced about 1/8” thick2 tsp. “No Salt”

1 cup onion chopped2 cloves garlic, minced1/8 tsp. ground black pepper2 dozen egg whites1 container “Egg Beaters”

Question: I need some help with my training routine. I love my routine and it been great for a while, but now I’m concerned I’m not getting the results I should be. Maybe the routine I’m using isn’t the right one for me?Answer: Training routines come in many forms and many variations. There’s no single routine that always works better than another. If your routine is working, keep doing it. When you fail to get results, then change your routine. Regardless of what routine you follow, your success ultimately depends on your state of nutrition. The bodybuilders I work with train every day, often twice a day or more. Most people, however, don’t have this luxury. For the greatest results, I suggest that you work on a rotation routine, dividing your body into sections and working certain body parts on separate days. Here’s an example: On a three-day rotation, you might work your legs and abs on Day 1; your chest and back on Day 2; and your shoulders and arms on Day 3. Then you would repeat that cycle. No days are taken off for rest. If you have to take a rest day, then you’re either spacing your body parts too close together, not eating enough calories or not taking enough supplements.

Here’s another great idea from Parrillo customer Keith K. Garlic-infused CapTri®: Cut head of garlic in half width wise and slowly saute garlic cut side down with 1 cup CapTri® in skillet or pot. Keep heat at medium low to avoid smoking. If garlic starts browning, reduce heat to low. Saute for 10-12 min. Remove from heat, let cool, remove garlic. Store in refrigerator for up to 1 week. You can use a meat infuser and inject the garlic-infused Cap-Tri® into turkey before cooking. It’s also great for using in pesto sauce.

Extra-Chocolate Cake-like BrowniesHere’s a great dessert idea from Parrillo customer Keith K.: Mix together a batch of Parrillo Contest Brownies™ according to directions on container, then mix in 1 egg white, slightly less than 1 tsp. baking powder and a hand-ful of finely chopped unsweetened baker’s chocolate. Spread mixture into a Parrillo brownie kit or approx. 4” x 6” microwavable container. Microwave on 40% power for about 6 minutes.

Cut partially frozen turkey into thin slices (1” x 1/2”). Put in a bowl and toss with other ingredients, adding spices to taste. Place turkey strips on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with PAM, and bake at 400º for 15 minutes.

150 g. turkey breast 1 tbsp. CapTri® 25 g. oatmeal (rolled oats) garlic powder

paprika chili powder pepper

Adding just a small amount of everyday herbs and spices to vegetables and reduced-calorie meals may make those foods more appetizing to consumers, which could ultimately help Americans cut down on dietary fat and choose more foods in line with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. John Peters, Ph.D., presented data from an experiment he conducted us-ing meatloaf, vegetables and creamy pasta. The test group of 150 subjects tasted the meal with full fat (610 calories), re-duced fat, and reduced fat with everyday spices added such as onion, oregano, paprika and garlic (both 395 calories). They then rated the meals using a nine-point Likert scale. The meals were randomized so nobody knew which of the three they were eating.

The analysis of the experiment found: The full-fat meal and the reduced-fat meal with spices both scored the same (about a 7.0). The reduced-fat meal with no spices scored about a 6.25. Peters noted that simply adding herbs and spices was enough to improve the reduced-fat version enough that it was rated as highly as the full-fat version. The reduced-fat meatloaf with spices scored slightly higher than the full-fat version (6.75 vs. 6.50), while the reduced-fat only version was rated just above 6.0. The spiced-up reduced-fat veg-etables scored slightly above 7.0, while the full-fat version scored just under 7.0. The reduced-fat only vegetables scored a little below 6.5. Peters urged the food industry to continue studying the relationship between herbs and spices and di-etary satisfaction. “Substituting herbs and spices for fat may be a promising strategy for helping people meet the Dietary Guidelines, especially if it’s simple stuff you can buy in the store that doesn’t require any exotic training,” said Peters.

Quick DessertsIdea Corner




There has been one Par-rillo Performance supple-ment proven time and

time again over the last 25 years to support fat-burning: our Advanced Lipotropic Formula™. It has always been our center-stage fat-burner, used by bodybuilders, weight train-ers, exercisers, and athletes to get lean while preserving hard-earned muscle. Taken with each meal, this scientifically formulated supple-ment combines the following:

Biotin – a B-vitamin that makes enzymes required to metabolize fats and convert protein and fat into glucose for energy.

Choline – another B vitamin; it helps regulate fat build-up in the liver. Also, choline works to rid the body of toxins, poisons, and any drug residues. This is impor-tant because toxins can impede fat-burning.

Inositol – a B vitamin that stimu-lates the body’s production of leci-thin, a lipid-based component in the body that transports fats from the liver to the cells for energy. Ino-sitol is thus an important regulator of fat metabolism.

L-carnitine – a protein-like nutri-ent that assists the body in burning fat. Carnitine also stimulates the

adrenal glands, which help the body in using its fat reserves as fuel.

Betaine – a nutrient that helps with muscle recovery

Chromium picolinate – a min-eral that helps move carbohydrates into your cells to be used for en-ergy rather than stored as body fat and stabilize blood sugar levels (to avoid low-energy periods).

Since this groundbreaking supple-ment was created, we know about many others that assist the body in burning fat, and you can obtain them through Parrillo Performance. Thus, in addition to supplementing with Advanced Lipotropic Formu-la™, I suggest you consider the fol-lowing nutrients to make sure you get the fat-burning job done:

TyrosineThis nutrient is an amino acid in our Ultimate Amino Formula™. This amino is involved in the manufac-turing of key hormones, including thyroid hormones (which regulate metabolism) and norepinephrine (NE). NE is one of the key hor-mones in the body that stimulates thermogenesis and the breakdown of body fat. I feel that tyrosine is an important partner to other fat-burners.

If you take 2 or more Ultimate Amino Formula™ supplements with each meal (including snacks), you will harness the metabolic benefits of tyrosine.

ArginineI have discussed the virtues of ar-ginine before. This amino acid is one of two main ingredients in our Enhanced GH Formula™ (the other is lysine). Why is arginine a fat burner? Simple. It can stimu-late “lipolysis” in fat cells, which means the cells yield up fat for fuel more readily. This was shown in a study in which athletes supple-menting with arginine for only 4 weeks gained muscle mass and lost body fat without even changing their diets.

Arginine is involved in protein syn-thesis, the detoxification of ammo-

nia, and the conversion of glucose to produce energy. In addition to these physiological functions, argi-nine plays a role in the secretion of growth hormone (a muscle builder and fat burner; its involvement in the synthesis of creatine (a muscle builder); and its role in augmenting nitric oxide (NO). NO has direct relevance to exercisers, bodybuild-ers, and athletes. Because it dilates your blood vessels, more blood flows through to your muscles. And blood carries oxygen and nutrients, indirectly leading to better muscle energy and growth.

Take a couple of capsules of our Enhanced GH Formula™ prior to working out. In addition, take two Ultimate Aminos™, which also contain arginine with each meal for even more optimal results.

CapTri®

CapTri® is our medium-chain tri-glyceride (MCT) oil, a special type of fat that the body uses for energy because it is burned like a carbohydrate. MCTs are not stored as fat, unlike conventional fats. Both of these attributes make Cap-Tri® effective in a low-carb diet, which works well for fat-burn-ing. Also, MCTs consist of shorter (medium-length) chains as their chemical structure. This structure accounts for the ability of MCTs to stimulate metabolism and ther-mogenesis, two factors involved in burning fat.

Scientific studies have shown that when lipids like CapTri® are used in place of carbohydrates, body fat stores are lower. And fewer car-bohydrates are converted into fat,

even in the presence of insulin. In-sulin is an anabolic hormone which is released from the pancreas in response to an increase in blood glucose (sugar). Insulin causes cells to absorb glucose and amino acids, thereby stimulating growth. Unfortunately, insulin also causes fat cells to absorb glucose and fatty acids, stimulating fat storage. Fat storage enzymes are less active when lipids like CapTri® are added to the diet, even under conditions of insulin stimulation.

CapTri® is the most highly refined, ultrapurified MCT on the market. The formulation of CapTri® was specifically designed for people who want to be as lean as possible. CapTri® is available exclusively from Parrillo Performance. So if

you’re looking for a good source of calories to provide energy while dieting, try CapTri®. Start with one tablespoon a day, and after several days, add in another tablespoon or two.

Try all these supplements to tur-bo-charge your fat-burning. For information on diet and training, make sure you follow the recom-mendations in the Parrillo Nutri-tion Manual and the Parrillo Train-ing Manual – and you’ll turn into a lean, ripped, sculpted machine in no time.

ReferencesCampbell, B.I., et al. 2004. The er-gogenic potential of arginine. Jour-nal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 1:35-38.

Drink Your Fat Burners

• Green Tea: Green tea contains several healthy compounds called catechins. One of these is EGCG. It has been shown to boost energy expenditure by about 4% per day, which translates into more fat burned. To harness the fat-burning powers of green tea, drink at least 4 cups of the tea daily.

• Coffee: Don’t like green tea? Try coffee. As you know, it contains caffeine. Therein lies its fat-burning effect. Caffeine binds to fat cells and triggers the extradition of fat. Plus, it bars fat cells from storing excess fat, and increases fat-burning during exercise. Have a couple of cups of java a day!

FAT-BURNING: BEYOND LIPOTROPICS

Tyrosine is involved in the manufactuing of

norepinephrine, which is one of the key

hormones in the body that stimulates

thermogenesis and the breakdown of

body fat.


IRON VIC SPEAKS By IRON VIC STEELE

Mr. Vic Steele, I am a 22-year-old, male, ex-gym-nast who got into bodybuilding af-ter college and would like to make the leap from gym rat to actual competitor. I am 5-6 and I weigh 145. I am very lean and always have been. I have never had my body fat measured but would sus-pect I would be 10% or less. As a gymnast I have really good upper body development and poor legs. Skinny legs. I want to compete – should I jump in? Or wait until I bring my legs up? Also – what type of leg specialization would you recommend?

Ron, Paris (Texas – not France)

So you want to be a competitive bodybuilder…BCAA timing… Hope for the heavy?...Whatever happened to Nautilus?

I’d jump in now. So many wan-na-be bodybuilders put off com-peting until they are ‘ready’ and you guessed it, they are never, ever ready. I knew one very, very

promising young teen body-builder who had an absolutely outstanding physique with one glaring exception: his calves. To make a long story short he never

successfully brought his calves up and he never competed. Even with his subpar calves he would have wiped the floor with any competi-tor at any local or regional show. Even at the national level compet-ing at the NPC amateur level (the most elite amateur bodybuild-ing organization in the world) he would have done very, very well, if not won outright. He was our “bench day” training partner for years: the guy was short, maybe 5-5 and weighed a super lean 205. He could bench press 450 pounds raw any damned day of the week. He was built like a lean tank. Yet his ego prevented him from com-peting, based on a petrifying fear that his calves would cause him to lose to some local yokel. We

23www.parrillo.com 1-800-3��-3�0� Performance Press / October 2013

He was built like a lean tank. Yet his ego prevented him from competing, based on a petrifying fear that

his calves would cause him to lose to some

local yokel.

Chocolate™Mix

HIGH FIBER

To order, call Parrillo at 1-800-344-3404Order online at www.parrillo.com

Yes, you can have Chocolate Syrup even if you’re on a

strict diet! With Parrillo’s High Fiber Chocolate Syrup Mix, you won’t blow your diet because one serving is only 20 Calories, has no fat or sugar, plus you’ll be getting 12g of prebiotic fiber. It’s deli-cious on Parrillo Ice Kreem, Cakes, and Brownies! For an extra spe-cial treat, how about this: a Con-test Brownie or slice of Hi-Protein Cake, topped with a scoop of Par-rillo Protein Ice Kreem and driz-zled with Chocolate Syrup! Now that’s the way to diet.

• Only 20 Calories• 0g Fat and Sugar• 12g of Prebiotic Fiber

Just add water!

Chocolate syrup on a strict diet? That’s right!


JOHN PARRILLO’S PERFORMANCE PRESS IRON VIC SPEAKS By IRON VIC STEELE

continually urged him to jump into the fray and his canned re-sponse was, “I’m not ready!” He was never ready and all of a sudden he was 34 with a wife and a small child and a mortgage and bye-bye bodybuilding! He is wracked with regret to this day, tormented by what he didn’t do when he was capable of do-ing it: so compete!

Here is a factor my calf-deficient friend could not get through his thick skull: competing causes a man to take his training effort and training intensity to the next level – you only think you’re training compared to when you are three weeks out from a competition and you are a little behind sched-ule. Had the calf-challenged bodybuilder jumped in he’d have really started blasting those deficient calves using a degree of volume and train-ing intensity that could have added that extra inch or two he needed to bring them into proportion with his mas-sive thighs (500 pound 5-rep squat, no gear other than a belt, below parallel) his tiny wasp-waist and his massive torso and “pro” arms. Don’t be like my buddy; don’t let ego prevent you from compet-ing. Also – there are two types of novice bodybuilders: those that quit bodybuilding after their first competition and getting their ass kicked onstage (good riddance poseurs) and those that use defeat to fire up their training and redou-ble their efforts. As far as a solid, leg specialization program goes, here is a super basic template. The real bottom-line for build-

ing big thighs is you must build a big squat. Shoot for 450 raw with just a belt for reps weighing 165 carrying an 8% body fat percen-tile. But you don’t wait to achieve those numbers before competing – you compete now and the resul-tant energy and drive will accel-erate your attainment.

Day 1Squat: work up to three top sets of 8 reps using a static weight – push poundage upLeg extension – super set with…Leg curls – 5-6 sets of 8-12 reps

Day 2Leg press: work up to two top sets of 8 reps using static weight – push poundage upHack squat: work up to two top

sets of 8 reps using static weight – push poundage upLeg extension – super set with…Leg curls – 5-6 sets of 8-12 reps

Warm up before tackling the top, static sets. Take 2-3 warm-ups and really groove in the tech-niques before hitting the top,

static sets. Each week try and add weight to the bar or machine. I would strongly suggest using this approach in combination with a Par-rillo mass-building cycle. I would look to add one pound of bodyweight per week for ten consecutive weeks. Big clean, Parrillo-style eating is the perfect compliment for a leg specialization program. Bring up your legs and you’ll rule the world – at least the local world.

Victor,What’s happening! What lit-tle trick-of-the-trade can you pass along that we might not be aware of; what little se-cret of the elite is there that people that never come in contact with top bodybuild-ers might not know – search your mental vault and see if there are any little hidden nutritional nuggets rattling round in your big head.

Barb, Maryland

Hmmm…here is a tip that I ac-tually overheard Parrillo talking about with one of the many mon-ster bodybuilders that routinely track thru Parrillo HQ. The topic was the use of branched-chain amino acids in relationship to the workout. As you know, Parrillo makes a kick-ass BCAA supple-

ment, Muscle Amino™. John was outlining this really cool strategy designed to maximize workout results – actually enhance and amplify training results, solely through the use of supplementa-tion. Here was Parrillo’s strategy: BCAAs are ‘muscle sparing.’ If a muscle is stuffed full of amino acids before a savage training session then that muscle is going to be made anabolic going into the workout. The work-out itself is going to burn through amino acids like a drag racer burns through nitrous oxide. As soon as the workout is over, the smart bodybuilder then washes down another handful of Muscle Amino capsules, along with a re-plenishing 50/50 Plus™ shake. The rationale was pretty convincing: if we know that muscle subject-ed to intense training runs through its amino content at an accelerated rate, and further if we know that in order to heal and grow muscle needs amino ac-ids (depleted by the work out) – then why not stuff the muscle chock full of amino acids going into the workout and replenish im-mediately after? The pre-loading of amino acids prior to the work out is labeled ‘muscle-sparing’ by John. I think for those that train as intensely as Parrillo expects, this ‘muscle-sparing’ strategy is pure gold. So there you have it: a golden nugget, a little-known, seldom-practiced tip: give it a test drive and report back!

Hello,Is there hope for overweight

women? I am pretty typical. I was quite athletic in high school. I was the starting pitcher for my state champion high school softball team. Back then I weighed 120 (I am 5-5) and today at age 38 I have to starve to stay below 150. I look like every other mother of three driving a mini-van. I have done Pilates, Curves and I even hired a personal trainer (that cost me $2,000 to finally figure out

he was terrible!) I have joined Weight Watchers and have used Jenny Craig and Nutra-Systems; I have been on the South Beach Diet, the Zone Diet and about twenty other diets. Despite eating 1000 calories a day I cannot lose even 5 pounds. I binge on sweets one day a week and feel guilty all the next day. I came across this magazine in my dentist office ac-tually. I read the whole thing and

was intrigued – if I am getting this right – Parrillo advocates eating more to lose weight? That is a unique idea. Could you expand on that a bit? Ginger, Philly

Indeed, eat more to lose body fat. There are a lot of precondi-tions that need to be met. The idea behind this proven-effective

strategy is called “build-ing the metabolism.” The first step is to exercise like a maniac: cardio should be done six days a week upon arising to take advantage of low glycogen stores. Weight training has to be intense enough to trig-ger hypertrophy. Intense weight training and intense cardio build the metabo-lism, exercise amps up the metabolic burn rate. Now we turn to nutrition: we establish a multiple-meal eating schedule, 4-6 times per day you take in quality calories. Better to break our caloric intake into six 500-calorie chunks than eat it all in three 1,000-calorie chunks. The foods need to be approved bodybuild-ing foods. This is critical – this is not the pizza and

ice cream diet, this is a competi-tive bodybuilding diet and you are only allowed to eat lean protein, fibrous carbs and some starch carbs. That is it, other than po-tent Parrillo supplements. We use supplements to enable us to hit the protein benchmark (one gram per pound of bodyweight per day, seven days a week) while helping with sweet tooth cravings. Parril-lo has an army of potent protein


With the Parrillo program, there’s no need for fad diets and Parrillo’s yummy desserts solve your sweet tooth cravings easily!

Don’t let ego prevent you from competing! If you don’t end up

winning, use defeat to fire up your training and redouble your efforts.



powder formulations along with an array of high-protein foods: cupcakes, cakes and even Ice Kreem™ – all designed to provide dense nutrition while satiating the most ravenous sweet tooth. Put it all together and indeed, you will eat more (clean calories) and lose body fat – plus you add shapely muscle. To dig deeper into this amazingly effective system, pur-chase the Parrillo Training Manual and the Parrillo Nu-tritional Manual; these two books outline the ‘building the metabolism’ strategy in detail. Combine diet and ex-ercise to revamp the body. Do yourself a favor and try a sys-tem that actually works!

Hello,Can you tell me a little more about why you don’t like Ar-thur Jones and his old Nauti-lus strategies? I think a lot of the HIT (high intensity train-ing) philosophy was taken from Jones. How about the Jones ‘pre-fatigue’ strategy? How exactly did that go? I know you’re not a fan and wondered why.

Arn, San Rafael

Arthur Jones portrayed him-self as a messiah when in fact he was a slick salesman. Jones made a fortune sell-ing his massively overbuilt (laughable by today’s stan-dards) Nautilus machines. Jones conned the world into believing he had discovered a revolution-ary exercise system that would replace all other exercise tools and all other forms of exercise. He repeatedly insulted anyone that disagreed with him and used

a cowering tactic of using skewed data and bogus studies to brow-beat anyone that dared disagree with the mighty and powerful OZ – I mean Jones. He used a bunch of steroid-drenched bodybuilders and claimed incredible gains in amazingly short timeframes. In his infamous “Colorado Experi-ment” a starved down, purpose-fully emaciated and out-of-shape

Casey Viator gained something like 40 pounds in a month – of course the real challenge was not adding back the size, the real challenge was for him to get that skinny to begin with. Note that it is Nautilus and not barbells and dumbbells that have disappeared

off the face of the earth. No one practices Nautilus (the Scientol-ogy of exercise) anymore because it was bogus – it never got close to the results it promised.

Jones’ pre-fatigued strategy was lame: before a set of squats, blast the hell out of your quads with a limit-exceeding set of leg exten-sions; take the leg extensions to

positive failure, then have your training partner admin-ister 2-3 forced reps, then have your partner lift the weight to completion so you perform as many negatives as you can until you can no lon-ger control the descent. Now immediately and without hes-itation, rush to the squat rack, un-rack limit squat poundage and perform 15 reps – try not to pass out and collapse with the squat bar on your back. Jones portrayed all these he-roic bodybuilders squatting 485 for 15 AFTER going through leg-extension hell – it was all bullshit. The problem with pre-fatigue, as anyone who’s ever actually done it can attest, is that the thighs are so decimated, by the time you get to squat, a guy that when fresh can squat 275 for 15 can only manage 185 after being torched by pre-fatigue. Done the way Jones insisted on, the poundage-handling ability was so compromised that it provided disappointing

muscle-building results. Arthur Jones was all the rage for about 10 years; in the end, his system couldn’t come close to deliver-ing the results promised. Even the diehards (and he had a CULT) eventually gave up the cause after a decade of zero results.

2� October 2013 / Performance Press 1-800-3��-3�0� www.parrillo.com

The problem with pre-fatigue is that the thighs are so decimated,

by the time you get to squat, a guy that when fresh can squat 275 for

15 can only manage 185 after being torched by pre-fatigue.

PRSRT STDU.S. PoSTage

PaiDCinCinnaTi, oHPeRmiT no. 855

We want to see your photos and hear about your Be sure to add … · 2018-08-01 · self at Quads...

Documents

Transcript of We want to see your photos and hear about your Be sure to add … · 2018-08-01 · self at Quads...