I don’t have a specific workout, but I do have a specific principle: in every shock workout, I need to be able to build such a phenomenal pump that I can actually see and, more important, feel my triceps swell to their max with new size and hardness.

Developing that sensation is not as simple as it seems. I put my mind into the skin-popping tightness of blood and the deep-burning hardness of an iron-hammered pump every time I flex that muscle, and I must never let my concentration lag.

I don’t waste a single repetition. If you’ve ever pumped or pounded away at anything–your bike tires when you were a kid, an air-hammer compactor during a summer construction job, the grease gun when servicing your car–then you know the satisfying feeling of building that pressure to the point where it’s full, solid and ready to burst. That’s the sensation I need in my muscles.

My shock workouts are fundamentally the same as my normal workouts, with my favorite exercises for my usual rep range of 12-15. The significant difference is that my triceps shock workouts are performed in giant-set fashion.

For triceps, I pick four exercises and hit them one set at a time, in sequence, nonstop, three times through. That’s 12 total sets. The only pause I may take (not always) is after each four-exercise (four-set) sequence; even then, only for a few seconds, to shake out my arms.

Neither do I use typical giant-set “pump” weight. I always go heavy. Right from the start of the set, my triceps pry away like a car jack to get that weight up there, so when I reach rep nine or 10, they’re stone hard from the pump. That tells me I’m almost there, so I grind out two, three, sometimes five more reps, then immediately start another 12- to 15-rep set for the next exercise, again heavy, pressurizing the blood even tighter and deeper into my triceps, so the knotting twisting pain of the pump builds unbearably. You learn to love it.

A typical exercise selection for a triceps shock would be two behind-the-neck extension movements, a cable pushdown and a “belly builder,” such as lying cambered-bar extensions. A lot of bodybuilders say you should start with the heaviest and most basic exercise, but I’ve found that the order of exercises has nothing to do with triceps development. If you have a hierarchy of exercises, that means some are not as good as the others, so get rid of them. They should all be the best.

My triceps shock workout immediately follows my chest workout, so that my triceps are prepumped and thus able to reach their full blood capacity quicker. It also means only one trip to the gym that day, which avoids the lactic acid buildup before a second workout.

Another thing: shock your triceps twice a week, to keep that pump in there, and change the exercise order each time.

Start with the workout I’m giving you here–it’s one of my favorites. Use good form and a full range of motion, and always keep your mind on pressurizing the pump and hammering away at that hardness.

Author Ronnie Coleman
COPYRIGHT 2005 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning

Share on Facebook

Stack these Gakic, citrulline malate & caffeine

Gakic
This acronym stands for glycine-1-arginine-alpha-ketoiscaproic acid. The amino acid glycine improves the body’s production of creatine and growth hormone (GH), and it also enhances the firing of nerves that stimulate muscles to contract stronger. The amino arginine boosts GH and nitric oxide (NO) levels. Alpha-ketoisocaproic acid (KIC) is a form of the BCAA leucine. It possesses anticatabolic properties that preserve muscle tissue, and it plays a role in energy production and aids in the removal of muscle-fatigue-inducing ammonia during exercise. Look for a product that supplies about 10-15 grams of GAKIC per serving, and take it only on workout days.

Citrulline Malate
This amino acid/energy precursor combo helps muscles produce rep-pumping energy. It improves blood flow to the muscle through enhanced NO production and helps muscles rebuild internal energy stores (ATP and phosphocreatine) between sets, so you’ll have more energy available to churn out more reps on your next set. Take 3 grams on an empty stomach in the morning and one hour before workouts.

Caffeine
This powerful central-nervous-system stimulant can keep you energized for hardcore workouts and boost mental alertness, concentration, mood and even muscle strength. The best supplement source is known as caffeine anhydrous. Take 200-300 mg 1-2 hours before workouts.

300 Percent greater strength gains experienced by HMB users vs. those taking a placebo
5.5 Percent increase in V[O.sub.2] max in subjects who were taking cordyceps

Authors Jim Stoppani and Eric Velazquez
COPYRIGHT 2006 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2006 Gale Group

Share on Facebook

The logical solution, then, is to train muscle groups more frequently, but not every week. The following program pairs large and small bodyparts (chest and triceps, back and biceps, etc.), which in a four-week period get trained twice a week for one week and once a week for three weeks. This lets you focus on specific areas each week for greater growth of all muscle groups over the course of the 12 week program. It also allows you to continually alter the order in which you train each bodypart, which will shock the body and result in greater gains. The training splits look like this:

Frequent gainsThe bodyparts you train twice a week benefit not only from more frequent training but also the greater focus you can place on them. This allows you to approach each of the repeated workouts (Monday and Friday) differently that week to target various areas of the muscle groups and accomplish different objectives.

For example, one workout will emphasize strength by using heavy weight and low reps, while the other will focus on building quality muscle with moderate weight, higher reps and high-intensity training techniques such as pre-exhaustion, supersets, drop sets and rest-pauses.

Taking chest as an example, during Weeks 1, 5 and 9, the Monday workout will focus on strength and the middle chest. Your reps will be mostly in the 6-8 range, and you’ll perform predominantly pressing exercises on a flat bench. You’ll also work in some isolation moves at the end, as well as some incline work for balanced growth. The Friday chest workout flips things around by employing pre-exhaustion–instead of performing basic multijoint moves first, you’ll start with isolation exercises. This routine also focuses on the upper chest by incorporating more incline work.

Your triceps routines (in the same workout as chest) will be similar, only flip-flopped. On Monday of Weeks 1, 5 and 9, you’ll do pre-exhaust and higher-rep training to focus on growth and the triceps’ long head, and then on Friday you’ll emphasize strength and the lateral head.

All other bodypart pairings should follow suit during the weeks they’re trained twice. For shoulders, focus on the middle and front deltoids on Monday and the rear and middle delts on Friday of Weeks 2,6 and 10. (The upper traps are a small enough muscle that there’s no practical way to focus on any specific part of them.)

Your first back workout in Weeks 3, 7 and II will target middle back thickness and lower lat mass, and the second will zero in on lat width. For biceps, your focus will be the outer (long) head on Monday and the inner (short) head on Friday.

For legs, during the Monday workout of Weeks 4, 8 and 12, quad training will emphasize the outer sweep with front squats and hack squats–especially difficult when the feet are close together. The outer hamstrings will be targeted in that workout as well. On Friday, the “teardrop” of the quad (vastus medialis) will be the focal point with half squats and leg presses. (Like the traps, the calves are too small to target specific areas.)

During the weeks in which a given muscle group is trained only once (which will be three out of every four weeks), you’ll be three out of every four weeks), you’ll do straight-set workouts–forgoing any intensity-boosting techniques–and simply go to failure on the last set or two of each exercise. This permits ample recovery for each muscle group both before and after training it twice in one week and allows you to better focus on the muscle groups you’re training twice that week.

So go ahead, keep manipulating your other training variables–exercise selection, reps, volume, rest, etc.–to pack on size, but don’t forget what a jolt added frequency can give your mass-building efforts. It’s just too simple to be overlooked.

COPYRIGHT 2008 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning

Share on Facebook

Protein powdersProtein is the core of your nutrition program, and it should also be at the center of your supplementation plan. Often, it’s hard to get all the protein you need from whole-food sources. Make it easier to get the protein you need–up to 1.5 grams (g) per pound of bodyweight daily–by using protein powders. They’re the most concentrated source of protein available, and they are easy to digest. A high-protein diet also supports the production of growth hormone, insulinlike growth factors and thyroid hormones necessary for growth and repair.

Suggested dose: At least 1 g of protein per pound of bodyweight each day. The majority should come from whole foods, with the balance from protein supplements. For best results, take in about 50 g of whey protein postworkout, and rely on casein-based proteins when supplementing at other times of the day–especially before going to bed, when you have a long fast ahead of you.

Creatine
Unless you’ve been living under a rock or you just started bodybuilding, you already know that this stuff works. Creatine is an energy molecule that contributes to muscle strength. When you get stronger, you get bigger. Creatine also drives water into muscles, which enhances their ability to grow. Bookend your workouts with creatine plus moderate amounts of whey protein and plenty of fast-digesting carbs, such as dextrose-containing products or foods, including white bread, Cream of Wheat cereal mixed with honey and fat-free muffins. The combo–whey with fast carbs–kicks up insulin levels. Experience has shown that insulin helps to enhance creatine uptake by muscles.

Suggested dose: Take 5 g before and after training with 25-50 g of whey protein and at least 40 g of carbohydrates.

GlutamineThis amino acid is especially beneficial when a body is under a lot of stress. If you’re training with the intensity that it takes to grow, you’re a candidate for glutamine. It helps the body store glycogen, the surplus carbohydrates held in muscles. In general, glycogen stores are related to growth. When they are full, you’re more apt to achieve a positive nitrogen balance (read growth state).

Glutamine also attaches itself to muscles, lowering the total amount of cortisol that reaches them. Cortisol is a negative stress hormone that rises with hardcore training, and it can trigger muscles to break down, coaxing the body to burn protein–not the outcome a bodybuilder seeks. Supplementing with glutamine will help curb this effect.

Suggested dose: Consume 5 g upon rising, 5 g before and after training and 5 g before bedtime.

BCAAs
Branched-chain amino acids are found in all protein foods; if you eat a high-protein diet, you’ll get plenty of them. Still, consider adding them as a supplement to your mass-building plan because, when taken before training, BCAAs have been shown to support testosterone levels. In addition, one of the aminos–leucine–is now believed to be a key signaling agent for muscle-protein synthesis (i.e., growth). Leucine also increases insulin levels independent of carbohydrates. In other words, carbs raise the amount of this muscle-building hormone in the body, and leucine can do the same through a different mechanism. One idea holds that BCAAs added to a pretraining drink can boost insulin levels, helping a bodybuilder avoid the catabolic state brought on by working out.

Suggested dose: Take in 3-4 g of leucine, plus 1 g each of isoleucine and valine before training, or approximately 5 g of a BCAA product that has a high amount of leucine (about double that of its valine/isoleucine content).

Potassium plus vitamin C and E
Potassium is important for muscle contraction. It also plays a major role in helping to store carbohydrates as muscle glycogen and influences protein metabolism. Taking potassium after training may also superhydrate, or “volumize,” muscles because it helps with water retention.

Vitamins C and E are strong antioxidants. They fight free radicals, indirectly helping to keep a body in an anabolic state by fighting the tissue inflammation that comes with hard training. Taking vitamin C after training has been shown to lower cortisol levels. Supplementing with vitamin E helps decrease creatine kinase activity. Creatine kinase is a marker for muscle damage, and lowering it helps optimize recovery and growth. Vitamin E can also help muscle uptake glucose from the bloodstream to maximize glycogen storage.

Suggested dose: In your first solid meal after training, take 500 milligrams (mg) of potassium, 500-1,000 mg of vitamin C and 400-800 international units of vitamin E.

ZMA and Tribestan
ZMA is the zinc-magnesium complex that has been shown to support testosterone levels. Zinc has long been known to bolster testosterone, and magnesium has been shown to support muscle strength and promote restful sleep, which enhances hormone levels. Combining the two can yield increased testosterone and strength, to ultimately help build more muscle mass.

Tribestan is an herb (Tribulus terrestris) that stimulates the body to increase its production of luteinizing hormone. Luteinizing hormone exerts a direct effect on testosterone. Tribestan and ZMA pack a powerful punch for bodybuilders seeking to get huge.

Suggested dose: During the day, take a total of 750-2,000 mg of Tribestan, dividing that amount into two or three doses consumed with meals. Take a ZMA product that delivers about 30 mg of zinc and 450 mg of magnesium just before bedtime.

If getting big is your goal, then you need a multipronged attack. Hard training is essential, but you won’t achieve your desired results unless you also follow a good nutrition program. With both of those key elements in place, you can take your gains to new heights by following the supplement suggestions offered here. With proper training, nutrition and supplementation, your body will optimize its muscle gains.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning

Share on Facebook

What’s your background? How did you get started in fitness?
I have to credit my favorite fitness magazine/s for sparking my interest in competing. I dreamt of building a physique like the models who graced the cover/s, and finally realized that the best way to reach my goal was to stop being a cardio bunny and train like these fabulous, athletic women! I started researching what my local area had to offer, and chose a show twelve months away to compete in. My dedication and determination through one of the most challenging years of my life proved worthwhile – I loved hitting the stage to show off my new body and fitness routine skills, and was thrilled & shocked to win!!

Care to share some of your accomplishments with us?
I will never forget being on stage at my first competition, and the satisfaction of placing first! It is wonderful to feel the support of the audience and hear your friends & family cheering for you. Another proud moment for me was my 2008 Ms Fitness Manitoba win. I had placed second for two years in a row, and was determined to take home the title in 2008. My goal with each season is to improve my physique & performance from the previous year, and I am proud to say that in Manitoba, any competitor who has ranked above me, I have come back the next year to over-take them in the placings. I attribute that to my off-season training and focus. Finally, I am a new WBFF Pro Fitness Model, and this honor has opened up many incredible opportunities for me! I placed 6th in my first Pro show in September 2009, and look forward to climbing the ladder and continuing to reach goals. I believe that dreams do come true for those who never give up.

What do you like best about being into fitness?
Everything! The decision to make my health a priority completely changed my life. I feel better about myself both physically & emotionally – and I have been introduced to a whole new community of like-minded individuals who share my passion!

I am blessed to have met my soul-mate, WBFF Pro Bodybuilder Craig Bonnett. (We were just married on the beach in Jamaica in Feb 2010!!)

Together Craig and I have supported each other to excel in our individual competitive careers, and have successfully built a personal training and physique consulting business, ContestPrep.ca. Each day I dedicate my time to doing my best to inspire others to believe in themselves and reach their fitness goals – and many days I am motivated by my client’s results as well!

How do you stay motivated to stick to fitness and not give up?
I am a stubborn person! lol! But really, when my training and diet are in check, my life runs more smoothly, stress is decreased, and I am a happier person. Regardless of what else is going on in my life, I feel strong and at home in the gym. To touch on a sensitive topic, in Oct 05, I lost a close friend my age to cancer, and in Sept 06 my best friend was diagnosed with cancer, so I have realized that I cannot take my own good health for granted. I am awed by my girlfriend’s strength and positive outlook – she truly provides inspiration for me to continue to push myself to my full potential. I realize I am blessed with good health and am surrounded by wonderful family & friends, and I celebrate that daily!

What is your current training program like? Any specific cardio workouts you like to use?
I like to switch up my cardio program to avoid boredom and to keep my body guessing. In the mornings I usually do 30-60 minutes of fasted cardio before breakfast, and if I am leaning up for a competition or photo shoot, I add post-workout cardio, and sometimes even a third evening session. I enjoy skipping and doing plyometrics to sculpt my legs during weight training (between sets), and in previous years while competing in the fitness category, routine development was incorporated 3-5 times per week. I weight train 4-6 days per week, hitting legs twice per week as a rule.

Whats your nutrition like? Any favorite foods you like to use while dieting and when you have cheat meals?
I am a creature of habit, so my diet does not vary much from day to day. I have used different dieting techniques to cut up for competition, and will be posting more details on that subject in my blog shortly. Please subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss it! http://wbffshows.com/author/julie-coram/

Typically my diet is oats with apple/berries/nonfat cottage cheese for breakfast, a protein shake with natural pb before my workout, a shake w/ a banana immediately post-workout, and then protein/veggies for the remaining meals. I always eat before bed – often egg whites with chicken a lots of zero calorie Becel spray topping!! :)

Cheat meals – Starbucks, sushi, pizza and – if I’m being *really bad*, Boston Pizza’s chocolate explosion dessert, but that doesn’t happen too often now that I have to keep tighter year-round as a professional athlete.

Whats your supplementation like?
Always IsoFlex Protein Powder for daytime shakes (mmm – pb choc is my favourite!) and at bedtime Gaspari MyoFusion tastes great mixed into my cottage chs with sliced almonds. I use glutamine, and Fusion Bodybuilding’s BCAAs and PurpleK, as well as take CLA and a multi-vitamin daily. I enjoy pre-workout energy drinks such as SuperPump250 and Fusion’s FuBar.

Care to share what your daily routine is like with us?
Sure! Here’s a quick snapshot of a typical day in the life of Julie Bonnett: Wake up, head downstairs for morning cardio on my bike or treadmill while watching tv, shower, eat breakfast, respond to client emails or revise ContestPrep.ca client programs, then eat my second meal before heading off to do my weight training workout with my husband. Head back home, get ready to meet with clients to review their progress and re-motivate them to keep focused on their own fitness goals, then relax and watch either So You Think You Can Dance or Conan’s Tonight Show (I miss you, Conan O’Brien!!!!). Back to work for a few hours, and finally bedtime by 2 or 3 a.m. (I’m a night owl!!), and repeat the following day. If I am nearing a contest, more cardio sessions could be thrown into the mix, or routine & posing practice with my competitive clients. On a special day, I might be rockin’ a photo shoot, which is a whole other regime completely – check out videos of a few of my shoots on YouTube!

David Ford Photo Shoot with Julie Bonnett

Whats the best advice you’ve ever received? And what’s the best advice you’d like to give to people regarding fitness?
There is so much great advice out there – I think that if you’re struggling for motivation, hit the web and google inspirational quotes! Personally, I believe that you should always start *today* – it’s too easy to put change off until tomorrow, then the next day or the next week… create the improvements you want in your life NOW! Life is hard – and each of us has own our own story about what we overcame to find success… so simply don’t use the excuses. Kids, work, money… all valid excuses about why you cannot put yourself first, why you can’t make your health the priority it should be. But don’t use those excuses, don’t allow yourself to say you can’t and instead believe and know that you can.

What are your current plans and goals for the future?
I strive to be a better person each day, in some way! A stronger athlete, a thoughtful wife, a more supportive friend/sister, a better trainer, a more courteous driver – I take pleasure in small efforts and believe that they add up over time. In terms of my competitive career, I am working toward placing amongst the top 3 in the WBFF Pro Fitness Model category, and of course, would love to hold the title of the WBFF Pro Fitness Model World Champion!!

Any favorite quote or saying you like to use?

“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.”
- Arnold Schwarzenegger

www.juliebonnett.com
www.contestprep.ca

Picture Gallery of Julie Bonnett

Share on Facebook

Failing science
Aussie scientists performed two studies to address the failure question. In the first, they had athletes perform either four sets of six reps (with failure being reached on the last set) or eight sets of three reps (without ever reaching failure) on the bench press. At the end of the study, the failure group demonstrated double the strength increase (about 10% vs. about 5%) of the group that did not train to failure. The second study looked at the amount of failure required to maximize strength. Three groups of athletes trained for six weeks on the bench press. Group 1 trained with four sets of six reps (reaching failure about four times per workout), Group 2 trained with eight sets of three reps (reaching failure about two times per workout) and Group 3 trained with 12 sets of three reps (reaching failure about four times per workout). Despite the difference in the amount of times they reached failure in each workout, all groups had an increase in strength of about 6%.

Success in failure
This graph shows the percent increase in bench-press strength observed in relation to the number of times failure was reached. Although this graph uses data from two different studies, it’s easy to see which method works best to maximize strength. Training to failure is a must, but too much is counterproductive.

How to fail to succeed
Based on the research from AIS, if you’re training to maximize strength, consider going to failure only on the last set of the exercise. Training to failure more than once will not lead to better strength gains and may actually limit your progress. Not going to failure at all also appears to limit the amount of strength you will gain.

Author JIM STOPPANI, PHD
COPYRIGHT 2004 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group

Share on Facebook

Share on Facebook

Yes, and here are the basics about these all-important supplements. There are three branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs): leucine, isoleucine, and valine. All three are essential amino acids, meaning that they must come from the foods we eat because the body cannot synthesize them from other amino acids.

BCAAs serve very important purposes in the body. First, high levels of BCAAs in blood help conserve stores of glutamine, a nonessential but major amino acid with regard to muscle growth. Second, BCAAs serve as a significant fuel source for skeletal muscle during periods of metabolic stress. If you are exercising intensely, you are experiencing metabolic stress. When the body is under stress, BCAAs act directly on muscle cells and promote protein synthesis (muscle growth)–the goal of all bodybuilders. Third, BCAAs help prevent protein catabolism (muscle breakdown) by acting as a readily available fuel source for hard-working muscles during intense exercise.

An exciting new theory about the ratio of tryptophan to BCAAs in the bloodstream may give you another reason to supplement with them. Tryptophan is an amino acid that serves as a precursor to the neurotransmitter serotonin. Elevated levels of serotonin are closely associated with fatigue. By ingesting BCAAs, the proportion of them to tryptophan is increased, which means proportionally less serotonin and, in turn, a reduced feeling of fatigue. Supplement with BCAAs and you may be able to finish your long intense workouts because you might not fatigue as quickly.

BCAAs are definitely worth considering as part of your supplement regimen, but they can be expensive. Luckily, BCAAs are found in foods, as well. The best dietary sources are red meat, dairy products, eggs and whey protein. Supplemental BCAAs range from one gram (g) up to 10g per dose. Early in the day, 30 minutes prior to intense exercise and again immediately postworkout, take dosages of 5-10g.

Share on Facebook

10% drop in weight
A 10% drop in weight may seem like a lot if you’re squatting with 400 pounds (a 40-pound drop), but if you’re using 50-pound dumbbells, that’s only a five-pound reduction per dumbbell.

20% drop in weight
A 20% drop in weight is a good reduction for both light and heavy weights without removing too little or too much. For example, if you’re using a pair of 50-pound dumbbells, that’s a move down to 40s, and if you’re squatting 400, that’s a drop of 80 to 320.

30% drop in weight
A 30% drop in weight is more dramatic. It would mean after using 50-pound dumbbells you would use 35-pounders, and you would drop from 400 to 280 on the squat. THE EVIDENCE The Weider Research Group studied trained bodybuilders to determine the drop that worked best–10%, 20% or 30%. The subjects performed dumbbell flyes, dumbbell lateral raises, pulldowns, dumbbell biceps curls, pushdowns, leg extensions and leg curls to failure using their 10-rep max. Immediately after reaching failure with that weight, they dropped down in weight by 10%, 20% or 30% and continued doing reps till failure.

The findings
We discovered that when they lowered the weight by just 10%, they were only able to complete about six reps on the drop set for most exercises. When they lowered the weight by 20%, they were able to complete about nine reps; at 30%, they were able to complete about 11 reps for most exercises. When doing drop sets, your goal should be to perform as close to your rep range as possible without going over. So if you are using a rep range of 10, you should try to find a weight that allows you to hit as close to 10 as possible without going over.

The verdict
Drop sets are a great intensity tool that encourages muscle growth via different ways, including boosting growth hormone levels. Still, using drop sets optimally requires more than just grabbing a random weight and continuing a set. Too few reps or too many reps on the drop set will prevent you from getting all you can out of this technique. For best results, try to match the rep range you were using in your original set. For most exercises, this appears to be a weight that is 20% lower than your starting weight.

COPYRIGHT 2008 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning

Share on Facebook

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is competition in its most raw and absolute form; it’s the Super Bowl of mixed martial arts competition. Only the best in the world come here to be tested. They risk grievous bodily harm and, to them, worse yet, the loss of dignity and respect that comes with being physically dominated by another man.

Suddenly, the noise level from thousands of bloodthirsty voyeuristic fans becomes deafening as the first fighter comes into view and makes his way toward the Octagon. This is the challenger and he is the first to enter the cage. As he nervously moves about the space that will soon become a battle zone, the crowd becomes even more inflamed, their pounding and deafening beat heralding the champion’s entrance. It’s a deadly symphony luring him toward his prey, the waiting challenger. The tension becomes unbearable. In this world where words mean little and men are measured only by their actions, introductions are made, but pleasantries are dispensed with and the deadly dance begins.

It was in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on June 4, 2005, and just over four minutes into the first round, without what seemed like much exchange, Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski had won a technical knockout over challenger Justin Eilers. Arlovski appeared untouched, while Eilers had reportedly suffered two broken hands, a broken foot, a broken nose and a knee injury that made it impossible for him to continue the fight.

It was a rout like every other fight Arlovski has had in the past two years, and the only challenger he has not had the chance to steamroller is the injured-yet-reigning heavyweight champion Frank Mir. When Mir was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident last year, Arlovski was named interim heavyweight champion. Mir is expected to return to defend his title later this year. (A bout between the two tentatively scheduled for October 1 was in doubt at press time.)

When the two men do meet, speculation as to who is the best heavyweight UFC fighter in the world will come to an end. Many believe that Arlovski is improving and maturing as a fighter at a rate that will make him unbeatable by the time he meets Mir in the Octagon.

By all accounts, Arlovski is a beast, perhaps stereotyped by those on the outside as a remorseless sadistic animal who finds joy in maiming others and is disturbed only by being unable to actually dismember his opponents during a fight. Not true. Arlovski is an athlete, a martial artist and a guy who has a sense of humor as engaging as his skills in the Octagon.

The UFC promotes mixed martial arts fights that are properly sanctioned and have rules to protect the fighters, as in boxing or other organized legitimate pugilistic sports. Unlike boxing, UFC fighters not only use their fists, but they can use feet, knees, elbows and, of course, submission holds to best an opponent.

Yes, there are dangers, and aggression is an important key to winning, but fighters such as Arlovski match their diverse skills, gleaned from a variety of martial arts disciplines, as well as boxing, against those of other fighters. It’s not like a barroom brawl or a toughest-man-in-town contest where the only goal is to win by ruthlessly injuring someone.

These are some of the best martial artists in the world and, although injuries occur in any full contact sport, ruthless beatings to the point where a fighter cannot defend himself are not allowed and will be stopped by the referee. It’s about measuring skill, endurance and heart against that of another fighter, and Arlovski has been measured as one of the best on the planet, a fact that would seem absolutely ridiculous to him and everyone in his world as little as 12 years ago.

Arlovski grew up in Minsk, Belarus, and when he was younger, bullies often picked on him and beat him up. In 1994, when he was 14 years old, he finally had enough and started lifting weights to put on muscle and, he hoped, to help him deal with bullies. It would eventually help him do much more than that.

When he was 16, he joined the police academy with plans of becoming a policeman. As part of his training, he learned and started competing in a Russian style of submission wrestling called Sambo. Arlovski had found his niche and, since his two years of weight training gave him a huge advantage over his opponents, he became harder and harder to beat.

In 1999, at age 19, he became the Sambo world champion and, shortly afterward, began fighting in mixed martial arts events. In 2000, he became European Champion and caught the eye of UFC talent recruiters. In November 2000, he made his UFC debut, defeating his opponent with an armbar submission less than one minute into the fight.

Arlovski has lost only three fights in his mixed martial arts career and, given the rate at which he is improving and by virtue of defeating every challenger who has come his way since March 2002, experts predict he may be unstoppable for a long time to come.

Video Highlight of Andrei Arlovski

Outside of the Octagon, Arlovski is no different than any other single 26-year-old red-blooded male living in America. He loves the ladies and the ladies love him, but when it’s time to go to work, there are few who train as hard as he does. In 2000, he moved from his hometown of Minsk to Chicago, so there would be fewer distractions (girls and parties) to get in the way of the work he had to do to reach his dream of being the best.

His training schedule–three separate sessions per day, totaling about seven hours, six days per week–leaves little time for playing the field. Each training day consists of two to two-and-a-half hours of boxing, one-and-a-half hours of jujitsu, one hour of Muay Thai kickboxing, 40 to 50 minutes of running and one to one-and-a-half hours of weight training. He manages to get in four meals per day, as well as protein shakes between training sessions for an average of six servings of protein.

Bodybuilding is as important to Arlovski’s success as a fighter as any other aspect of his training, because power and strength are vital to be able to strike and grapple effectively to overpower an opponent. Four weeks before a fight, he stops weight training to avoid injuries and focus on flexibility and speed, but outside of that, bodybuilding is a constant in his life, and he believes it’s a necessary part of being the best.

Arlovski has developed most of his weight training and nutrition program from what he has read in bodybuilding magazines, and he has been inspired by Ronnie Coleman, Lee Haney, Dorian Yates and others. But his favorite bodybuilder is Milos Sarcev.

In Minsk, Sarcev is a legend and everyone’s favorite bodybuilder. Sarcev, a UFC follower, is as much a fan of Arlovski as Arlovski is of him. Thus, after the introductions and some tough sets in the gym, there was plenty of clowning around as well as exchanges of mutual admiration.

The Arlovski who jokingly interacted with Sarcev appeared in sharp contrast to the overwhelming and seemingly vicious Arlovski who handily dispatched Eilers a week earlier in Atlantic City.

It wasn’t. Arlovski is simply a normal young man with an exceptional talent and work ethic, as well as an exceptional mindset that has made him the best in the world at what he does. He began lifting weights so the bullies would stop beating him up–now he may be the toughest man in the world.

Share on Facebook