TRICEPS/TRIZEPS

            This month, we investigate what our beloved behemoth, our friendly neighborhood Freakazoid, Markus Rühl, does for triceps. This muscle group is one that has been a challenge for him since he began training well over a decade ago. It might seem ludicrous to suggest even for a moment that Ruhl's triceps are a "weak" body part, but when you are discussing men at the elite level of the top five at the Olympia and Arnold Classic, you have be overly critical. In comparison to his mountain-peak biceps, which do indeed resemble the jagged Swiss Alps near his native Germany, Markus' triceps are not quite as impressive.

In most poses this isn't readily apparent. Only when he puts his arms straight down at his side, as in the side-triceps pose (either with the other arm gripping the arm being displayed, or not) and the side relaxed stance during quarter turns, do you notice that his triceps just don't sweep out in a round, full bulge like they ought to. They aren't so miserable as to look completely flat, of course, but they do lack the round shape that nearly all the other competitors are fortunate enough to have. I deliberately say fortunate because as Markus himself muses during this portion of his training DVD that it's not for lack of effort or due to improper training techniques that his triceps aren't the greatest. 

            The Synthol Insinuation

            I also want to point out a couple of things while I'm at it and have the chance. One, Ruhl's triceps have come up noticeably since he first burst on the pro scene at the 1998 NOC. Two, Markus takes a lot of flak for looking "shot up" and lumpy, the insinuation being that he is a frequent practitioner of site-injecting with either steroids, Synthol, or both (the lines here are so hazy, because nearly all top bodybuilders inject their steroids into areas like the delts and triceps these days, in addition to the traditional pincushion location of the glutes). I won't go out on a limb and say that Markus has never stuck a needle into his triceps. Perhaps he has. But after carefully watching this tape several times, I can state that if he has, it sure hasn't been excessive, and it doesn't look to me like anything as long-lasting as Synthol was used. If he had wanted to make his triceps significantly larger via that route, he surely could have, and he would be sporting triceps like Ernie Taylor's. (Actually, Ernie's seem to have gone down in ridiculousness over the past few years, so whatever he was doing to them must have been stopped). 

Obviously there is no way I can know what Markus has or hasn't done, but using my objective powers of observation after having scrutinized many thousands of physiques over the years, I'd have to say his triceps don't look "funny" to me at all. And after watching the sheer effort he pours into his triceps training in "Made in Germany," I am further convinced. Why would he go to all that trouble if his true "training regimen" consisted of slamming three cc's of Pump ‘N Pose into each triceps once a week? Wait, I know someone will bring up his triceps tear in the summer of 2003, the one that forced him out of that year's Olympia. In fact, one top pro confided to me his theory shortly afterward, that the injury had been a direct result of shooting into the triceps. OK, but what about all the pec tears that happen in our sport? Is that because guys are jamming syringes into the pec-delt tie-ins?

 I don't think we can "pin" Markus' triceps tear on site injecting. (Pin is a slang term for syringes among the hardcore set). Instead, I think it's more a case of the muscle outgrowing the supportive ability of the connective tissues, combined with the overuse of heavy volume training over the course of many years. But enough theorizing and speculating; let's get into his triceps workout. 

            "I love to train triceps; I know that it's one of my worst body parts, but I love to train it," Markus tells us in voice-over as he wraps his wrists with ragged canvas supports that have seen better days. His girlfriend Simone and he stand side by side like bookends and compare triceps before hitting a side chest and bursting out laughing.

            French Press (Skull Crushers)

            "I start my triceps workout with French press," he says, as he settles back on an incline bench, rather than a flat bench as most American bodybuilders use for this exercise. "I make just four sets French press, because it hurts very in my elbows. That is a problem of a lot of bodybuilders. I start with a warm-up set of 50 kilograms, that's 80 pounds, and put on 20 pounds each set ‘til I make my main set with 95 kilograms, or 200 pounds."

            We are not shown any of the warm-ups or the first two sets, which explains why Ruhl was breathing heavily and already pumped when we started this portion of the DVD. His comment about suffering from elbow tendinitis made me wonder why he doesn't bother to use elbow wraps. Guys like Ronnie and Real Deal have them on all the time when they train chest, shoulders, or triceps, the pushing muscles. The first set we see is with the EZ-curl bar plus three quarters on each side, or 150 plus whatever the bar weighs. Apparently, he only counts the weight added to the bar for these. Simone hands him the bar (can your woman do that?) and helps him gently at the sticking point of each rep as he completes a set of 15. 

            "I make a lot of reps, between 10 and 20 each set," he comments. When he finishes his set, Simone does hers- with the same weight. Considering that Markus is over 300 pounds and she can't be much more than around 170, this is staggering to witness. But to nitpick, which is what I'm paid to do, she only gets six reps and Markus is helping quite a bit. As she does a couple of times in this DVD, Simone is using far more weight than she has any business handling, especially three weeks before her competition when any bodybuilder is more vulnerable to injury. As a fellow bodybuilder who has been prone to the show-off mentality at various times myself, I'm guessing these stunts are only happening because there is a video crew taping the workout. After her set, she and Markus add another quarter to each side of the bar for his last set with 200 pounds on the bar. 

            "My triceps only look good when it's pumped," he says. "I try so many different styles of triceps workout, but it really doesn't grow." He does his final set, getting eight reps, and expending inhuman effort in doing so. This is a lot of weight for him and he feels the need to explain why he doesn't train lighter:

            "I train triceps twice a week in the hope that it gets bigger. I tried a couple of weeks to train with a very easy weight, and the result was that I lost two centimeters from my arms. So, I go back to my real workout with heavy weight and I think it works much better for me."

            Like the good gym members they are, Markus and Simone strip down the bar and put everything away where it belongs. Let that be an example to any of you morons half his size who think you are so big and bad that it's okay for you to leave your shit all over the gym.

            Cable Press-down

            "Triceps cable (he pronounces it cah-bl) press is my next exercise." Simone hands him a lat pull-down bar, which he clips onto a high pulley, rather than use a shorter straight bar attachment. He does his first set with a slight forward lean, letting his elbows stay several inches in front of his torso. His grip is as close as can be, on either of the bar's swiveling points. Ruhl's form is perfect, nice and controlled with a pronounced squeeze at the end of each rep, for 21 reps. This set was done in the standard style of cable pushdowns, with his arms extending and only his forearms moving.

            "The first two sets I don't use heavy weight," he informs us. "I make the exercise very correct. Only the last two sets I put more weight, to get a better pump... I have two different styles to make this cable presses. I prefer this one ‘cuz I can put on more weight and I feel it much better in my triceps. It was not the correct one, but it works better for me."

Here Markus is describing what is more like a close-grip press-down, similar to an inverted close-grip bench press in function. He lets his elbows flare out and his arms are not extending as in a French press, but more accurately pushing. It's an awkward exercise, as the cable is right up alongside his head, which has to be shifted over to one side to make room for its path. He gets 20 reps and then Simone does a set. He waxes on her superior triceps development relative to his own and offers up his theory on why this is.

            "Simone has a very good triceps and she trains the same style like I does, so I think it wasn't too bad how I train," he says. "I think it was in my genetics that I can't get a triceps like Kevin Levrone or Lee Priest."

I hope this doesn't come across as an excuse on Ruhl's part, because even for a man this size, it is possible for one muscle group not to be as receptive to growth as everything else. His triceps probably don't have the same sheer number of muscle fibers as the rest of his body's main muscle groups. For instance, most African-American bodybuilders have weak calf development, and it's accepted that this is a genetic limitation resulting from their particular ancestry, which gives them high insertions. Most Asian bodybuilders have very good calves, with low insertions and thus, more muscle fibers to work with and increase in size. Only a fool would surmise that most Asians train their calves harder than African-Americans because their calves tend to be larger.

I get mercilessly flamed any time I point out the very real role of genetics in this sport on boards like Muscle Mayhem, but I stand by my assertions.  Markus has very big triceps, but will they ever be a standout body part for him? I don't think so. But he has made the best out of what God gave him, which in the end is all any of us can be expected to do.

            "When I train and I'm in preparation for a show, I make some Amino Acids in my water to get all the stuff I need to grow when I'm working out," he notes. Then he chugs some water and adds, "When I'm in the off-season, I make some sugar in my water, to get some carbohydrates and bring my blood sugar in the correct level."  He does his third set for 13 reps and the range of motion is just a bit shorter than before, due to the heavier resistance. Afterward, he slumps down at a preacher bench to rest for a moment before moving on. Simone affectionately runs her fingers up his hair, mussing up his Caesar hairdo and making him look like a 300-pound cockatiel.

            "Simone loves to make my haircut that I look like an idiot," he explains.  They hit a few poses side by side again and compare abs. Considering it's been well over a month since his last contest, he has kept in very lean condition- probably for the video shoot. Markus picks up his belt with "RUHL" on the back in huge block letters and talks about weight belts as he walks over to his next station.

            "I use my belt only when I train heavy," he shares. "When I take heavy weights I use my belt. But I hate it, to put it on, because it stole my breathe.  (Forgive his English, you get the idea he's trying to explain). Especially, I put my belt on when I train legs, when I make bench press, I mean leg presses."

            Rope Pushdown

            Markus clips a rope attachment to a high cable pulley and tells us what he's up to here.

            "This exercise is my last one in my triceps workout. I make it very concentrated and don't take too heavy weight. I make three sets and 10 to 25 reps." We are shown two sets of 22 and then 20 reps, with Ruhl spreading the ropes apart as he extends.

            Thoughts on this Workout

            Ruhl's workout is a good one, but in examining where he structures triceps in his weekly training, at least pre-contest, I have to question his logic.  In the off-season he trains triceps as part of an arm day, after back and before a day off from the gym. That's all well and good. But in the pre-contest phase, he trains triceps twice weekly on a day all their own, once before chest day, and the second time before hitting shoulders. Since triceps are used in chest and shoulder pressing, I have to wonder how in the world he thinks his triceps have a chance to recover from their workouts. But what do I know? You could fit my whole body into Ruhl's twice and have room left over to pack some sandwiches and a six-pack of Diet Coke.

            Next month, we'll take a look at what MD's favorite Freakazoid does for his boulder shoulders.

            Source: "Markus Ruhl: Made in Germany." © 2004 Eibon Films and Markus Ruhl.

Official web sites: http://www.markus-ruehl.de/ (extra e in last name is intentional); http://www.ruhl-movie.com/.

SIDEBAR

Training Split*

Pre-Contest

Sunday                      triceps

Monday                      chest

Tuesday                     back

Wednesday               biceps

Thursday                   triceps

Friday                         delts

Saturday                    legs

Off-Season

Sunday                      OFF

Monday                      chest

Tuesday                     back

Wednesday               arms

Thursday                   OFF

Friday                         legs

Saturday                    delts

            *Traps are trained twice a week and calves are trained three times a week, both in the morning. Abs are trained every third day. Cardio is done 30 minutes every training day in the off-season and this is increased to 70 minutes a day total pre-contest.