Superman's Workout

If there is one thing that has amazed over the years in the fitness industry is the amount of workout variations that there are. Here is Henry Cavill's workout plan to get in shape for his new Superman movie. And let me tell you, he got in shape!

Cavill’s goal was to dip below 8% body fat and build formidable definition in his abdominal muscles. His training was based on Tabata principles, using high-intensity intervals to burn maximum fat in the least possible time. Perform this bodyweight routine every day to build a legendary physique and the eight-pack to match.

Instructions Your goal is to perform five rounds of this four-exercise circuit. Do that and you’ll complete 500 reps of body weight exercise in a single session, with only 4 minutes of sustained rest. Build up to this target. “I could only do one round and a half, slowly, when we started,” admits Cavill.

Hindu press-ups x25

1) Place your hands and feet on the floor, feet wide apart and hands shoulder-width apart. You should be in an inverted V-shape, bent at the hips with your back straight.

2) Simultaneously bend your arms and drop your pelvis towards the floor. Move smoothly through the standard lower press-up position and then arch your back, keeping your pelvis low so that your head comes up towards the ceiling. Return to the starting position and repeat the move.
Rest: take 8 slow, deep breaths

Hindu squats x25

1) Stand with your feet hip-width apart, arms stretched out in front of you, palms facing down. Keeping your back straight, squat down low so that your glutes almost touch your heels.

2) As you move down into the deep squat, bring your arms to the side and drop them down to your ankles, swinging them back up in front of you in a rhythmical, circular motion as you rise back up. Perform each squat quickly to keep your balance.
Rest: take 8 slow, deep breaths

Bicycle crunches x25

1) Lie on a mat with your abs tucked in and the small of your back pushed hard against the floor. Bring your shoulders and head off the floor, keeping your fingers lightly touching your temples throughout.

2) Bring your knees up at right-angles so that your shins are parallel with the floor. Now push your right leg forward and bring your right elbow to touch your left knee. Repeat for the other side. That’s one rep.
Rest: take a 1 minute rest then repeat the circuit a maximum of five times

Burpee x25

1) Crouch down with your knees tucked into your chest and your hands flat on the floor, slightly wider than the width of a normal press-up position.

2) Kick your legs out backwards until they are straight, then bring them back to the start position. Push up quickly off your toes and do a star jump. Return to the start position. That’s one rep.
Rest: take 8 slow, deep breaths

Dorian Yates Back Attack

On this edition of Mr. Olympia workouts, we will see a complete opposite of Arnold's training style. Dorian Yates was famous for workouts lasting 30 minutes and only 1 working set per exercise.

Here is a back workout for encouraging improvements to lagging backs recommended by six-time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates, who was ranked as having the second-best back in bodybuilding history in the March 2008 FLEX.

The back is the biggest and most powerful muscle group of the upper body. It is better to focus on the interaction of all the muscles in the back, rather than trying to compartmentalize and develop the largest muscles (upper lats, rhomboids, lower lats, trapezius and teres major) separately. Think of the back as one whole unit when you train, instead of breaking it down into its individual parts.

Technique is the single most important element of a successful program. Get a full stretch and contraction for every exercise. Growth and stimulation require a squeeze during the contraction. You must arch your spine when pulling the weight to achieve a full contraction. This comes into play for dumbbell rows by using muscular strength with an arched back to contract the lats at the top instead of relying on momentum.

Start with curl-grip pulldowns. A curl grip places the hands under the bar or handle (like you would hold the weight when doing curls) instead of over the handle. This will allow you to get your elbows farther back at the midpoint to ensure a complete stretch and contraction. Grip the overhead bar with an underhand grip, and bend your elbows slightly. Arch your spine and slightly lean backward, pulling the bar toward you until you get a complete contraction. Pause to squeeze with the bar just below your chin, before returning the load in a slow and controlled manner.

The pulldowns are followed by barbell rows. Focus on pulling with your lats. Bending your torso so that it is at a 70-degree angle to the floor instead of the conventional 45 degrees can facilitate this.

Seated cable rows will thicken the teres major and rhomboid muscles. Keep your elbows out, use a wide overhand grip on the bar and pull it to your lower chest.

Finish with deadlifts or hyperextensions for the spinal erectors. This workout should be done every six days; the single working set for each exercise should be to failure in the eight- to 10-rep range

Dorian Yates workout:

1 set x 8 reps of pulldowns

1 set x 8 reps of barbell rows

1 set x 8 reps cable rows

1 set of 8 reps hyper extension 

Arm workout from the Oak

We all have different ideas and theories on training. Are their right and wrong answers? Yes… Maybe… No….

Over the next few days, I will post workouts from top bodybuilders who could not have had any more of a different workout plan but managed to make an ideal one for their body.

Today… Arnold. The Oak.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's guns are arguably the most famous in human history, and rightly so. Stretching the tape to a full 22 inches, they weren't just the biggest of his day (the late-'60s to the mid-'70s) but also the most ideally shaped.

Arnold kept things basic and brutal yet made sure to cover his bases by including exercises that he considered mass builders, and others that isolated the biceps.

Cheating barbell curls were a favorite exercise that he included in his regimen from the time he was a teenager. "The cheating barbell curl stands alone for building mass," he once stated.

Likewise, Arnold loved incline dumbbell curls. He would set the incline bench to an angle of about 45 degrees to ensure maximum stretch throughout his biceps. Arnold considered one-arm concentration curls to be the ultimate movement for adding peak to the biceps.

Although the shape of one's biceps is largely determined by genetics, concentration curls do target the outer head of the biceps, which is the one that creates arm height when flexed.

The Oak would finish off his biceps with standing alternating dumbbell curls, which he'd sometimes do with a device called an arm blaster. This would help him keep his elbows pinned to his sides, isolating his biceps even further.

In the end, he performed between 20-and-26 sets of this grueling work twice per week, on Tuesday and Friday evenings.

 

Arnold's Basic Biceps Routines

 

Barbell Curl

5-8 sets of 8-12 cheating reps

Incline Dumbbell Curl

5-8 sets of 8-12 reps

Concentration Curls

5 sets of 10 reps

New IFBB in the house!

Monster Gym would like to introduce our newest trainer, IFBB Pro, Claude Groulx. 

I am attaching Claude Groulx bio page from his website:

I grew up in Montreal where from a very young age, I started practising many sports like Hockey, skiing, judo and karate. I felt very attracted to individual sports like martial arts and later one bodybuilding, where you learn discipline and get self confidence.

I first experienced weight lifting at the age of 16 years old, when I bought myself a Joe Weider weight set and training program. My goal was to gain weight since I was too skinny, but after a few weeks I lost interest in it. It is only 2 years later when a friend at work who was a bodybuilder asked me to go the gym with him. From that day I felt in love with the sport of bodybuilding and it became a habit for me to go to the gym on a regular basis.

After about 3 years of training, I moved to a bigger gym and the owner who was a champion bodybuilder asked me if I ever consider competing as he saw that I had a good symmetrical body. A year later I found myself in the bodybuilding competition Mr. Montreal were I took the second place in the class of 80 kg. This was such a reward to me for all the hard work that I promise myself that I will win the next show. I went on and win most of the shows that I enter in the following years.

In the meantime I finish my Bachelor degree in Business Management and Marketing. I worked for seven years as security manager for the Grand Hotel in Montreal.

I decided to start my career as a professional bodybuilder after I won Mr. Canada overall title for the second time in 1994. My first pro show was the Niagara Falls Classic 1995 and I was so nervous that I forgot my tanning cream so my color on stage was terrible and I placed 11th out of 26 athletes. Two weeks later in the Montreal IFBB pro show I took fourth place and got invited by Wayne Demilia to compete in the Night of Champions in New York.

The next year I moved to Los Angeles with my wife to try to get more exposure as a pro bodybuilder. I worked in the Gold’s Gym in Venice Beach as a personal trainer. In 1998 I signed an endorsement contract with Weider and compete in my first Mr. Olympia.

 Career highlights

1995  Best rookie of the year  -  Flex Magazine

1997  Most improve athlete of the year  -  Flex Magazine

1998  First qualification for Mr. Olympia

2003  Master Olympia title

I competed 5 times in the Mr. Olympia and overall I did about 45 pro competition with many top 5 placing. In 2003 following my victories in the Master Olympia, I launched “Final Touch” my competition tanning cream which I have use for most of my career. I started working with the Private Trainer Association two years ago, teaching courses for training and nutrition. As a PTA director, I hold academy for them to certify private trainers and nutrition consultants. I also took a job offer in Kuwait as recreation manager for The Palms Beach Hotel & Spa. My last achievement is the birth of my son Maxxim which is more precious then anything else.

About Claude

Date of Birth : June 24, 1962

Place of Birth : Montreal

Nationality : Canadian

Status : Married

Career : Professional Bodybuilder

Check out his website at http://www.claudegroulx.com 

Satus : Married

Career : Professional Bodybuilder

Shoulder workout from Hell!!!

Shoulder Workout: 9 Moves for rounder delts

Round, shapely shoulder caps make our waists look smaller and our summer tank-tops fit better. Here’s the workout you need to build your own pair of sexy, summer shoulders!

Super Shoulder Workout

For this shoulder workout, I have also included cardio bursts and ab exercises. All movements will be performed in tri-sets. Your heart rate should remain elevated throughout the workout so you can torch some extra calories while you're blasting your shoulders to sexy, shredded perfection.

Triset 1: 1 warm-up set, 3-4 working sets, rest 30-60 seconds between sets

Arnold Dumbbell Press

12-15 reps

Russian Twist (Weighted)

12-15 reps

Overhead Medicine Ball Slam

1 minute (Substitute jump rope, if you prefer.)

 

Triset 2: 3-4 working sets, rest 30-60 seconds between sets

Alternating Dumbbell Front Raise and Upright Row

10-12 reps/exercise

Burpees

12-15 reps

Jackknife Sit-Up/Tuck w/ Exercise Ball

25-30 reps

 

Triset 3: 3-4 working sets, rest 30-60 seconds between sets

Side Lateral Raise

12-15 reps

Double Kettlebell Windmill

15 reps/side

Seated Bent-Over Rear Delt Raise (Performed standing)

12-15 reps