Frank Zane
click pics to enlarge
Bobby Pandour
Several Indian physical culturist/muscle control fellows
I do not have all the names for.
Year after year nondescript bodybuilders suddenly blossom into super stars. In previous meets they have been huge and not too muscular, but one day they appear in a contest and it looks as though they are pure muscle. Many pounds of definition-obscuring bulk is gone and the man's muscles look almost as though he has had his skin peeled off.
Ron Thompson is a good recent example of this type of metamorphosis. Last year nobody had heard of him. He was big and shapely, but seemed to lack the good cuts necessary to win more than just local titles. Prior to the 1972 Mr. America contest, though, Ron really concentrated on a definition program and the results were remarkable. Within a few weeks, he had cuts to spare and he has since gone from success to success, finally winning the Mr. World title.
How do men like Ron Thompson make such tremendous changes in their physiques? I might as well tell you now that it takes a great deal of disciplined training and strict dieting. If you are championship material, though, you should have the fortitude necessary to stick to it until even . . .
Mike Dayton
. . . would look twice and ask you how you did it. Basically speaking, diet will constitute about 3/4 of your success and training most of the remainder. About 5% of success, though, can be attributed to a few last minute preparations that are neither diet nor exercise.
Before you try the schedule presented later in this article, make sure that you have been training heavily for at least a year or two consistently. If you go for cuts and don't already have a little muscle, you are going to look pretty silly. As Frank Zane has put it, well-defining skeletons just don't take the titles. If you are still a rookie at this muscle building thing, keep on bulking up for a while longer before you try for extreme contest-type definition.
Since diet is such a critical factor in attaining peak muscularity, we will cover that segment of the program first. in simplest terms, you must try to consume as little carbohydrate as possible in order that the body is forced to use up stored fats to produce energy. At the same time you have to keep your protein intake high so muscle size doesn't diminish too greatly.
The current diet on the West Coast is a meat and eggs regimen that really peels off the blubber. With this diet you can eat all of the meat and eggs you want plus a salad with oil and vinegar dressing at one of your meals. You do, however, have to avoid milk products, juices, vegetables, fruits, and anything else high in carbohydrates.
The California meat-egg diet is virtually is virtually nonexistent in carbohydrates and a month or so on it will give you cuts that you would have previously thought be impossible.
Note: a few months of very-low carbs can show you some other interesting things about yourself. Waking up in the middle of the night fantasizing about eating a single slice of plain bread. Forget cake. A grape or two. A freakin' carrot! It's real interesting and you get to find out all sorts of things about yourself, just like you can with your lifting if you'd like to.
Try to ease slowly into this type of regimen, though, as it is very severe and the body would receive quite a shock if you change too abruptly. With the California diet you can also take in a lot of fats in the form of butter and vegetable oils. Safflower oil is especially good, as it contains lipotrophic factors that help metabolize fat.
One vital factor in dieting for peak muscularity is to be sure that you try to eliminate all sodium from your diet. This element is included in many preservatives. It has a tremendous affinity for water and will really bloat up your tissues. In addition, recent research has hinted that many meat preservatives might cause cancer. You can easily avoid sodium by eating only fresh foods, as most preserved meats have sodium benzoate and other sodium compounds in relatively large quantities. Even most sugar free diet soft drinks are loaded with sodium and should be avoided. When in doubt, read the label as it will list the preservatives that have been added.
NOTE: I enjoy seeing the gradual changes that have taken place over time, the way what was considered the "way" then is not the "way" now; then, wavelike, the old way is looked at again as favorable until once again . . . I like looking at a lot of these articles, books and courses as a way of seeing the history of this hobby. I find it fascinating to have access to enough material from the past to be able to do that with nutrition and training approaches.
In addition to the low carbohydrate diet, a number of supplements should be taken. Without milk products, you will be taking in very little calcium, a shortage of which tends to cause nervousness and jitters when eating a lot of meat. It would be a good idea to take many calcium tablets and perhaps multi
Without milk products, you will be taking in very little calcium, a shortage of which tends to cause nervousness and jitters when eating a lot of meat. It would be a good idea to take many calcium tablets and perhaps several multi-vitamins, vitamin B, C, and extra E to ensure adequate nutrition. In addition, kelp and desiccated liver should be ingested several times daily. Kelp has been said to improve fat metabolism and liver is a proven energy producer. Many top West Coast bodybuilders like Larry Scott also heavily supplement their daily definition diet with choline and inositol. Both of these B-complex factors are readily available in tablet form at most natural food stores and they aid in fat mobilization and metabolism.
Doug Beaver
Most readers probably have a pretty good idea of what type of workout is best, especially if one is already considering physique competition. Since you probably have your own personal workout, I suggest that you follow it but for definition you should merely speed it up to the point where you are taking less than 30 seconds rest between sets. The high speed of training will force some of your exercise poundages down, but it is a necessity to train fast if you want to burn away intermuscular fat. Naturally you should always endeavor to use maximum poundages in all exercises in order to keep your muscle size.
One of the better training systems for definition is the old PHA or sequence system that was so popular in the mid-1969s.
Note: There's some PHA things on this blog that can be found.
In training with the PHA programs, you do sequences of five or six exercises, choosing movements for various parts of the body in each sequence. Four to six sequences and will really burn in those steel cord cuts. With PHA a very fast pace can be maintained as the same bodypart is never exercised twice in the same sequence, thus keeping one fresher than with conventional set training.
In addition to weight training, daily road work for the last two or three weeks will do wonders for getting rid of last minute excess body fat. Two or three miles a day will peel you right down to bone and muscle cuts. When doing the running, it is a good idea to have several hours between your weight workout and your run, or it will be extremely difficult to do justice to either. A good plan might be to train in the morning on the weights and then run in the late afternoon or early evening.
A good tan, removal of body hair and trying to curtail liquid consumption during the final two days before you wish to hit your peak will also be useful.
Well, this is pretty much the type of definition program that brings out peak muscularity among the West Coast guys. If you follow it, you should be able to achieve the results you want, but only if you really discipline yourself.
A single slice of bread, an ice cream cone, or even a glass of milk will set you back. Keep it pure and directed, or you will not reach much of a peak.
Also, a word of caution. Once you hit your peak, revert back to a more normal diet. This program and this diet are a bit too severe for long periods of time. Staying on it, attempting to maintain a peak condition for too long or indefinitely will cause harm to your body.
Enjoy Your Lifting!
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