edited by ray klerck

Edited by Ray Klerck

www.menshealth.co.uk

Personal TrainerBecause fi t is the new rich

Key

211 JUNE 2006 MEN’S HEALTH

Pack a punchPrep yourself for the beach with this full-body move

Ball breakerUse Bosu balls to strengthen your abs

6/06

Chest in showFollow our plan for a torso that’d make Superman jealous

222

218

Bulk up Slim down Punch Save time The planDine on time

Fair means or fowl?A devilish twist on post-workout food

214

Ready to rumble?The right fi ghting moves to win

212

220

YYePG.Proudly.Presents,.Thx.For.Support!

http://www.menshealth.co.uk

Your workout starts here

Lower body circuit Get a solid core for powerful punches 1

Duck walkWorks glutes, calves and thighs1

It’s a knockout

Upper body circuit Speed and power will keep you in the ring2

Wrestles Works glutes, hamstrings, core and shoulders 1

50MINWORKOUT

Randy Couture’s a man who knows about rucking – he’s the fi rst person to have held world titles in two weight divisions at the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC), a professional mixed

martial arts organisation. “We need to teach our muscles to move quicklyand accurately,” he says. “A great fi ghter has a unique combination of strength, speed and fl exibility.”

Using Couture’s six-week plan will get you the explosive power you need to prove your credentials to even the biggest bouncer. Kick arse 2-3times a week with one day’s rest between sessions.

The UFC 60, Royce Gracie vs Matt Hughes, will be on Bravo at 10pm, 28 May.The Ultimate Fighter will be on Bravo throughout June

Punch above your weight, not below the belt

arm’s length. 2 Lower the bar towards your left leg while pivoting your feet left. When the weight is an inch from the fl oor pull up to the start position with your chest and arm, pivoting your feet back. Repeat on right side. Do 6 sets of 5 reps each side.

MEN’S HEALTH JUNE 2006212

Bring left arm high behind your head

then lower it, fast. Perform 100 reps

forward and once you get in motion stay in motion. Execute the move quickly and forcefully. Perform 3 sets of 10 steps on each leg, resting for 90 seconds between each set.

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, a single dumb-bell or kettle bell in front of your right shoulder, with your wrist facing away from you. Takea step forward with your right leg, letting its knee drop down to the ground. Stay in the crouched position and slide the other leg forward. Drop your left leg’s knee and repeat. Look

1 2

1 Place a weight plate on the end of an Olympic bar, wedging the other end in a corner. Gripthe weighted portion in your left hand, holding the bar at


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6/06 Fighting fit

BoundingWorks legs and upper body2 Pop-ups

Works legs, core, arms and chest3 Lateral skatersWorks inner thighs and ankles4

2 Bring your knees forward and your upper body up, landing on your feet in a crouch position. Do 4 then sprint 50 metres – that’s 1 set. Perform 4 sets, resting 45 seconds between them.

1 Start by getting on your hands and knees on the fl oor. Keep your toes on the ground with your feet perpendicular to the fl oor. Bend your arms slightly and push yourself up with your hands and the balls of your feet. This will get you airborne.

1

Medicine-ball press-up shuffl esWorks chest, triceps and abs2 Super fl y press-ups

Works chest, triceps and abs Medicine-ball throwsWorks chest, shoulders, triceps and abs3 4

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Lie in a press-upposition, your right hand on a medicine ball, left hand on the fl oor. Keep your arms extended and with back straight, bend your elbows until your chest touches the ball. Explosivelypush up and off with both hands, moving

across so your left hand lands on the ball. Keep feet hip-width apart and core tight during the move. Perform 3sets of 5 repetitions on each arm, resting for 60 seconds between sets.

www.menshealth.co.uk JUNE 2006 MEN’S HEALTH

■MH

213

set it for 30 seconds of bounding and 2minutes of running at a lower speed. Repeat 8 times, resting 45 seconds between sets.

Run for 5 minutes to warm up. Markout a distance of about 100 metres. Run normally but drive the knee that’s being lifted upward until that thigh becomes parallel to the ground. Jumpwith each step. Itshould look like a bouncy run with long strides. Run for 90seconds after each 100 metres. Repeatthis 12 times. Ifyou’re on a treadmill,

2

20 seconds and record that number. Rest for 1 minute by running slowly then repeat and attempt to better the previous number of reps. Repeat this 10 times.

Start with both feet together and push off laterally with one leg. Uponlanding, immediately push off in the opposite direction and continue the drill for a specifi ed amount of time; to develop quickness,perform as many reps as you can for

lower body off the ground. Clap your hands together mid-air and land with your body weight on your arms then let your legs touch the ground. Perform 6 sets of 6repetitions, resting 60 seconds between each set.

Get into the press-up position with your hands slightly wider than your shoulders. Hold a slight bend in your knees. Keep your back fl at and lower your body until your upper arms are lower than your elbows. Quickly straighten your arms and knees to lift both your upper and

it returns. Tenseyour abs a second before you catch. Trywith 1 arm to make it harder. Do 4 sets of 12 repetitions, resting 30 seconds between sets.

Stand 2 metres from a wall, holding a medicine ball to your chest in both hands. Straighten elbows to throw it against the wall. Catch it when


mailto:[email protected]


214 MEN’S HEALTH JUNE 2006 www.menshealth.co.uk

Go fi gureThe average man’s chest size is 41 inches. Top that with our workout programme

Pump it upThe average guy can bench-press 93% of his body weight, so get pumping



215JUNE 2006 MEN’S HEALTH

6/06Muscle

You’re one page away from a better body

Your goal The perfect chestThe routine on the next two pages attacks the primary cause of puniness: “The mistake most men make when looking for more chest size and strength is always sticking to the traditional eight-to-12-repetition principle,” says strength coach Jason Ferruggia. His fi rst rule: Change your repetition schemes and emphasise lower-repetition, heavier-weight sets. This allows you to target your body’s fast-twitch muscle fi bres, the ones with the greatest potential for growth.

At times, this workout also calls for you to lift only your body weight. Think gymnasts, who build rock-hard bodies without ever picking up a dumb-bell. “Moving your body through space is more taxing to your central nervous system than normal weight-training,” says Ferruggia. This will train your body to recruit more muscle in every exercise.

The pay-offFewer crunches The press-ups and single-arm bench press challenge your core stability while building your chest, so your midsection works just as hard as in any ab exercise.

A stronger upper bodyThe heavy weights you’ll use in this workout develop muscle fi bres that produce strength and power. This added strength improves performance in many upper-body lifts.

Extra muscle This routine uses several body-weight moves that train stabilising muscles in addition to your largest muscles, so you end up working more muscle overall.

Perform the Phase 1 workouts (overleaf) for 4 weeks, working your chest twice a week with two separate routines (Day 1 and Day 2). Do the exercises here as the chest portion of your upper- or total-body routine. Rest at least 2 days between workouts. Complete the Phase 2 workouts in the next 4 weeks.

Simply the chest

Push it goodThe total amount of press-ups the average guy is capable of doing in one go is a mere 27 – easy!

Eight weeks into this schedule to get a chest to beat the rest, head for the beach, peel off your T-shirt and reveal an upper body that’ll have ladies falling off their lilos

40MINWORKOUT

A BIGGER,

BETTERCHEST IN 8 WEEKS


Your workout starts here

1 Lie on your back on a bench with a heavy dumb-bell in your left hand alongside your chest, palm facing in. Hold the other arm out to the side for balance.

2 Push the weight up so your arm is above your chest. Pause, then slowly lower the weight to the starting position and repeat using the opposite arm.

1 Lie on a bench with your feet fl at on the fl oor. Grab the bar with your hands slightly more than shoulder-width apart and hold the weight over your chest.

2 Pull shoulder blades back, then lower the bar to your chest. (Tuckyour elbows in at 45degrees; don’t let them fl are out to the sides.)Pause, then push the weight back up.

1 (Instead of the suspended press-up.)Assume the standard press-up position, with your hands beneath your shoulders. Aska workout partner to place a weight plate on your back, between your shoulder blades.

2 Keeping your body straight and your feet in the same position, lower yourself with a controlled movement by bending your elbows until your chest touches the fl oor. Pause, then push yourself back up to the start position.

216 MEN’S HEALTH JUNE 2006 www.menshealth.co.uk

Dumb-Bell Single-Arm Bench Press1

1 Lie face-up on an incline bench and hold a pair of heavy dumb-bells along the outsides of your chest with a neutral grip (palmsturned in).

2 Slowly press the dumb-bells straight above your chest, without locking your elbows. Pause, then lower them to the starting position.

Two-Hand Incline Bench Press2 Body-Weight Suspended

Press-up1 If your gym has BlastStraps or chains, try this press-up variation. Or do the weighted press-ups below. Set a bar about 1 metre from the fl oor in a squat rack. Loop the straps round the bar. Get into a press-up position.

1

Day 2

Bar-Bell Bench Press 1

Day 1

Weighted Press-up1

Day 2

Day 1 Phase 1

Phase 2

THE PLAN Do 8-12 reps, then immediately move on to the Cable Lying Fly to create a superset.

THE PLAN Do 5 sets of 4 reps at 80% of your 1RM. Increase weight but decrease reps, so by week 8 do 4 sets of 1 rep at 90% of your 1RM.

THE PLAN Do 5-7 repetitions with each hand. Complete 4 sets, resting 2 minutes after each set.

THE PLAN Perform 6-8 repetitions. Do3 sets and rest 2 minutes after each set.

THE PLAN Do as many press-ups as you can, then rest for 90 seconds. Do a total of 3 sets.

1

2

1

2

Benchmark of successHow do you measure up?The best barometer of chest strength is your maximum bench press – the most weight you can lift for a single repetition. To determine your max, you’ll need a spotter.

Grab an empty bar and perform 10repetitions of the bench press. Rest for 30 to 90 seconds, then add 5-15kg and repeat. Continue this process until the weight feels diffi cult. Then do only one repetition per set until you work up to the heaviest weight you can lift once – your one-repetition maximum,or one-rep max (1RM). Measure your 1RM at the beginning of the schedule and then again in the last week and adjust your routine for the Bar-bell Bench Press (right) accordingly.

Track Your ProgressRecord your one-rep max in the chart below. Then follow the exercises overleaf and retest yourself every 4 weeks.

Start

Week 4

Finish

1 2

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2

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2 With your hands grasping the handles, so only your feet are touching the fl oor, bend at the elbows to lower your body until your upper arms are parallel to the fl oor, then push yourself up to the starting position.



6/06Muscle

1 Place an exercise bench between the stacks of a cable crossover station and attach handles to the low-pulley cables. Grabthe handles and lie face-up on the bench. Hold your arms straight above your chest.

2 Keeing your feet fl at on the fl oor, your palms turned inwards and your elbows slightly bent, slowly lower your hands out to your sides in an arc motion, then reverse the movement to return to the start position.

1 Sit on the fl oor with your left knee bent and your right leg fl at. Hold a light dumb-bell in your left hand and rest the elbow at 90 degrees on your knee with the weight hanging down.

2 Keeping your elbow in place, slowly rotate your left arm up. Pausewhen your forearm points to the ceiling, then reverse the motion until the weight is back to its start position.

Gym assassin But if you’ve only got 4 weeks…You can blitz your way to a better chest if your holiday is only a month away, just spend two weeks on phase one and two more on phase two. You might not end up quite as ripped, but you’ll still see some results worth writing home about.■MHPH

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JUNE 2006 MEN’S HEALTH 217

Parallel-Bar Dip1 Grab the parallel dip bars and lift yourself on to them, so your arms are straight. Keep your back straight and cross your ankles.

32 Slowly lower yourself by bending your elbows until your upper arms are parallel to the fl oor. Pause, then push up to the starting position.

Dumb-Bell Incline Fly1 Lie back on an incline bench, keeping your feet steady on the supports. Hold a pair of dumb-bells over your chest with your arms straight (butelbows not locked),with your palms facing out in front of you.

22 Keeping your palms forwards, slowly sweep your arms down and out to your sides in an arc, until the weights are level with your chest. Pause, then reverse the motion until the weights are once again above you.

Side-Lying Single-Arm External Rotation

1 Lie on your left side with your left arm bent and your head resting on it. Holding a light dumb-bell in your right hand, bend your right arm 90 degrees and tuck your upper arm by your right side, the weight in front of you.

42 Keeping your right upper arm stationary, slowly rotate your right forearm until it points toward the ceiling. Thenrotate your forearm back to the starting position and do the same while lying on your right side.

Cable Lying Fly Sitting External Rotation2 3

THE PLAN Do 8-10 repetitions, rest 150seconds, then repeat the superset for a total of 3 sets.

THE PLAN Do 10-12 reps with each hand, then rest 60 seconds.

THE PLAN Do 8-12 repetitions of the dumb-bell incline fl y, then immediately superset it with the parallel-bar dip.

THE PLAN Do as many reps as you can, then rest for 3 minutes and repeat the superset with the previous move.

THE PLAN Perform 12-15 repetitions, then rest for 1 minute. Repeat the exercise on the opposite side. Do 2 sets.

12

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Loud slamming and crashing

noises mean the same thing

in the gym as they do

everywhere else: you’ve

done something wrong.

Lower your weights

slowly.

GYM

ETIQUETTE#18

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www.menshealth.co.uk

ABS INMINUTES!

218 MEN’S HEALTH JUNE 2006

Half timeBosu balls push balance to your core, creating abs you could bounce a marble on

Jump and tuck Position the Bosu rounded side

up. Stand on it with feet hip-width apart. Bend your hips and knees until they’re perpendicular to the fl oor. Push up and straighten your legs so your feet leave the Bosu while lifting your arms. Bring both knees up, grabbing them briefl y. Land with bent knees. Perform 15 repetitions.

Press-up to plank Place the Bosu rounded side down.

Hold edges, in a press-up position. Bendelbows to lower. Just before your chest hits the platform straighten up again. Next, lower, and rest elbows on the platform for 10 seconds. This is 1 repetition; perform 8.

2

Bosu back lungePlace the Bosu rounded side up and

stand on the ball with feet hip-width apart. Step back with your left foot and land with its heel fl at on the fl oor while keeping your right knee over its toes and in the middle of the ball. Push down on the ball of your foot to bring your left foot to the start position. Repeat with your right. Perform alternating repetitions, 9 on each leg.

Roll-upsPlace the Bosu rounded side up.

Stand in front of it, feet hip-width apart, back straight. Roll onto the ball until your shoulders touch the fl oor behind it, then roll back into the squat. Next, get into the press-up position, with feet on the ball. Perform a press-up then return to the squat. This is 1 repetition; perform 12.

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34

Warm-upUse the cross-trainer for 3 minutes on level 8, then row for 4 minutes at a slow to moderate pace. Then do the following circuti twice, 2-3 times a week.

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6/06Fat-burning

219JUNE 2006 MEN’S HEALTH

Gym assassinIf you’ve only got 20 mins...

Bosu burpeesPlace the Bosu rounded side up and

stand in front of it, feet hip-width apart. Bend your knees so you’re sitting on your heels. Place your hands shoulder-width apart on the ball. Rest your weight on your hands and thrust your legs straight out behind you. Bring legs between your arms. Jump up while keeping your arms at yoursides. When you land, return to the squat and start again. Perform 18 repetitions.

V cycles Place the Bosu rounded side up.

Sit on the ball, knees bent, feet off the fl oor. Your thighs should be perpendicular to the fl oor. Keep your arms at your sides, palms facing your body. Extend your legs so they’re at a 45-degree angle from the fl oor and raise your upper body. Straighten arms. Hold this position and bring your left knee in, then extend it out. Repeat with your right leg. Perform 14 repetitions.

Bosu curlsPlace the Bosu with the rounded

side down and stand on it with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold a dumb-bell in each hand at arm’s length in front of your thighs with your palms facing you. Keep your back straight and bend your elbows to curl the weights towards your shoulders. Pause, then slowly lower it to the start position. Preform 15 repetitions.

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6

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Bosu pike press-up Place the Bosu ball rounded side

down. Get into a press-up position, holding the edges of the Bosu. Walk your feet forward until they’re a metre behind your hands, hips in the air. Keep legs straight and bend elbows to lower yourself as far as you can go in the press-up. Straighten your arms to return to the start position. Perform 12 repetitions.

7

Complete the circuit once doing 14 repetitions at each station. Rest only 30 seconds between each exercise. ■MH

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Six for one 6/06

www.menshealth.co.ukMEN’S HEALTH JUNE 2006222

One-punch wonderGet a six-pack, a barrel chest, solid legs and big biceps for the beach with this split squat to chest press

Reps Sets Rest Times per week Lifting tempo

…thinner 15-20 4 45 secs 3 2 secs up, 2 secs down

…stronger 3-5 6 120 secs 2 1 sec up, 3 secs down

…bigger 8-10 5 60 secs 2 1 sec up, 4 secs down

PUNCH WITH POWERAdjust your workout planand use the split squat tochest press to get…

1AbsOn the cable

crossover weightstack attach a singlehandle to a setting justbelow chest height.Stand with your backto the stack. Hold thehandle overhand inyour right hand. Yourright foot should beforward and the othera metre behind you.Tense abs to keepyour torso upright.

2 Front thighsStart to slowly

straighten your rightknee but make sureit’s in line with yourtoes. Keep themovement slow andsmooth so that yourknee doesn’t wobblefrom side to side.Keep the heel ofyour left foot raisedand then beginto straighten yourleft knee.

3GlutesKeep rising

upwards but don’tlock your right kneeat the top of themovement. Keepinga slightly bent kneewill keep the tensionin your legs andglutes. Tense your absas well – this willensure you don’t leanforward. Don’t start topress the handleforward yet.

4ChestStart to straighten

your elbow to pushthe handle out in frontof your chest. Keepyour right wrist tightand locked to stopit from bendingbackwards. Wrap yourthumb around thehandle to give extrasupport to your wrist.Do the movementwith the form ofa straight punch.

5ObliquesKeep your lower

half completelystraight and solid.Only your upper bodyshould be moving atthis stage. Continueto straighten your armbut at the same timestart to turn at yourwaist towards your leftfoot. This should putthe power of yourentire upper bodybehind your right arm.

6TricepsKeep your chin

up and straightenyour right elbow,flexing your triceps.Aim for your righthand to finish in linewith the middle ofyour chest. Keep yourupper body upright.Pause for a secondthen slowly releaseback to the startposition. Switch sidesand repeat.■MH

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edited by ray klerck

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