MASS CONSTRUCTION

I pulled my trap about a week and a half ago and haven't been able to lift since. I know you tore your triceps awhile back and I'm just curious as to what you did with your diet while you were out, as well as how you occupied your time to keep from going crazy. I noticed my appetite is nowhere near what it is when I'm lifting regularly, so I've cut back the calories and dropped one meal completely.

Whenever I’m away from the gym, the first thing to go is my appetite, so that’s normal. Both times I got injured, I still trained legs. Because of that, my appetite wasn’t compromised too much. As for going stir crazy, I hear you, partner; being forced out of the gym is worse than capital punishment as far as I’m concerned. Those first few weeks, I sure learned the meaning of that old saying, “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘till it’s gone.” But you make the best of the situation. I was super motivated with my rehab so that I could get my ass back in the gym, where I belong. At home I used light dumbbells while watching TV. Every week my goal was to increase that dumbbell by 5 pounds (which isn’t shit when you’re starting with 5 pounds). Do whatever you can, even if it’s just cardio. The key is to stay busy and be productive. It’ll seem like an eternity, but take it one day at a time and you’ll get there (hell, you’re a bodybuilder so you know all about being patient).

Do you think it’s a good idea to alternate between using barbells and dumbbells for chest? I know barbell benches and inclines are best for size, but I see lots of dudes using dumbbells and they all have good chests.

Hell, yeah! That’s a great idea. I did it myself back when chest was a priority. I had two different workouts: one was all barbells and the second was all dumbbells. On day one, I did flat, incline and decline presses with barbells. Day two was the same thing with dumbbells. That’s something I picked up from Brian and Ronnie. I think Ronnie still does it to this day. Almost anything you do with a barbell can be duplicated with dumbbells.   

FEEDING TIME

In order to train like an animal, you have to eat like one. You need fuel in the tank to go full-throttle.

• Eat plenty of protein. At the bare minimum, at least 1 gram per pound of bodyweight.
• Eat slow-burning carbs like oatmeal, rice and potatoes to give you sustained energy.
• Eat at least two meals prior to training (I get four before hitting the gym in the afternoon, which is easy when you wake up at 5:00 a.m.).

Off-Season Chow

Meal 1:

12 egg whites with three yolks

1 cup oatmeal

Meal 2:

8 ounces steak

6 egg whites

Cheese

1 cup of hash browns

(Branch’s famous Texas Omelet)

Meal 3:

16 ounces steak

1 potato

Meal 4:

2 cans of tuna

1 cup rice

Train like a beast!

Meal 5:

Nitro-Tech post-workout shake

Meal 6:

16 ounces steak

1 potato

UNTAMED FURY

The gym is a battlefield. I go to wage war on the weights. Call it my reason for being. Each month, I’ll dive into my gym archives for an especially brutal workout that symbolizes the very essence of the sport (for me, at least). Here’s a balls-to-the-wall chest session from back in the day. Don’t try this at home— or anyplace else for that matter!

Incline Bench Presses

135 x 15

225 x 10

315 x 10

405 x 8

495 x 8

That’s five wheels on each side! This was at a time when Johnnie [Jackson] and I used to go as heavy as possible. I could get 5-8 reps with 495 any day of the week. This was also before the triceps injury. These days, I don’t go over 405 because my elbows can’t take it. But back then…this is the big daddy that packs on the meat. No fear!

Bench Presses

225 x 10

315 x 10

405 x 8

495 x 6

Reminds me of my powerlifting days as a teenager. I never did this much back then, though. Even after the inclines I still felt like I could go all day under that bar.

Decline Bench Presses

225 x 10

315 x 8

405 x 10

Usually I can move more weight with this than I can on inclines and flat, but my pecs were totally thrashed by now. And I was only halfway through. Gotta dig deep!

Flat Dumbbell Benches

120 x 10

140 x 10

180 x 8

Plus drop set

Getting those damn things into place takes as much work as pushing them up. Still got that drop set to flash-fry them, too. Nearing the finish line. No time for slowing down.

Pec Deck Flyes

3 x (entire stack)

Supersetted with

Dips

3 sets with three big-ass chains wrapped around neck (it’s funny; now I see all these college kids doing ‘em this way.)

Plus drop set

Done! I gave my all to make it memorable.

BRANCHING OUT

A True Texan

Being a Texan, born and bred, there are two things I hold dear to my heart: football and BBQ. You won’t find a better match on the planet. We play football, we watch football, we talk football and then we eat some BBQ (when we’re not on a suck-ass contest diet). We even have high school football on TV! The high school stadiums are like college arenas. Whole towns turn out for the games. Before I got into bodybuilding, football was my number one sport. I played basketball, too, but that didn’t last long. Let me put it to you this way, I played defense! I ran track, too, but being a true Texan, football was it. In fact, it was the high school weight room that introduced me to bodybuilding so you can say I discovered my sport through football. My favorite team is the Dallas Cowboys (big surprise!). When there’s no NFL, its college ball. I’m a UT [University of Texas] man all the way. Texas A&M couldn’t carry their jocks.

Words To Live By:

What does not kill me makes me stronger. —Friedrich Nietzsche