Editor’s Letter

By Steve Blechman

Victor Martinez

The Uncrowned People’s Champion

by Steve Blechman

IFBB pro Victor Martinez has had a remarkable career, not only for its longevity of 20 years, but also for the highs and lows. Victor has overcome a lot: a pec tear, a patellar tendon tear, a broken arm (while arm wrestling a fan in Mexico), two incarcerations, the savage murder of his sister, and the deaths of many among his family and friends. Through it all, Victor has remained a favorite among fans and has become known as The Uncrowned People’s Champion, in part because of his controversial runner-up finish at the 2007 Mr. Olympia. Victor is on the cover of this month’s MD to honor his legacy as he turns a page in his career. The Dominican Dominator is finally ready to say goodbye— or is he?

In “Victor’s Last Stand! After 20 Years as a Pro, This Will Be His Final Season,” Victor reflects on his life and career, and shares with MD readers how bodybuilding saved him. “Bodybuilding was the only way I could deal with all those hard times,” the long-standing MHP athlete tells MD’s Ron Harris. “I know that if I had stopped training, the suffering would have been worse, and my life would have gone downhill fast. Hard times happen. Quitting was never an option.”

Victor will be one of four previous champions competing in this year’s Arnold Classic, when history will be made. There have been times when one or two past winners competed in the Arnold Classic, but never before have four past winners been in the same show. Find out how they stack up against each other in “Battle of the 4 Kings:History Made at 2020 Arnold Classic With Bonac, Dexter, Cedric and Victor.”

The Arnold Classic kicks off the contest season and sets the tone for who the key players may be at the Olympia this fall. The list of previous winners reads like a who’s who of bodybuilding superstars: Rich Gaspari, Shawn Ray, Kevin Levrone, Flex Wheeler, Ronnie Coleman, Jay Cutler, Kai Greene and Dexter Jackson. Who will be the last man standing in Columbus this year, with his hand raised in victory by the man himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger? Read more in MD’s “2020 Arnold Classic Preview” and go to musculardevelopment.com for updates the weekend of the show, March 5-8.

Certain bodybuilders have been favorites of those fans who respect and admire the freaks. Names like Sergio Oliva, Bertil Fox, Vic Richards, Markus Rühl, Ronnie Coleman, Nasser El Sonbaty, Rich Piana and Big Ramy come to mind. Illia“Golem” Yefimchyk, a mountain of a man who stands just under 6-foot-1, with 25-inch arms and a 61-inch chest at a lean 340 pounds, is the new face of the company that Piana founded, 5% Nutrition. You may not have heard of Golem yet, but that will soon change. Learn more in “Czech Out the New Super Freak! Illia‘Golem’ Yefimchyk Is the Newest Mass Monster.”

The whole point of bodybuilding, at its very core, is to get bigger. But you can gain muscle without turning into a chunky monkey. Even though this is your off-season and you are trying to gain weight, we always want most of this weight to be in the form of lean muscle mass. Ron Harris shares the secrets of gaining lean mass as opposed to fat in “Clean Bulk! Your Guide to Making Lean Mass Gains.”

Muscular Development is your number one source for building muscle, and for the latest research and best science to enable you to train smart and effectively. Our team of physicians, industry experts and research scientists has these reports on improving performance this month:

“Arnold Era” Diet”Fat Attack

“The Best Post-Workout Muscle Growth Stack” Nutrition Performance

“The Demise of Ephedrine and Rise of P-Synephrine” Supplement Performance

“Suit Up For Better Squat Strength” Muscle Growth Update

“Lessons from the “Arnold Era” – Big Gains From Low Doses” Testosterone

“Training Intensity and Fat Loss” Bodybuilding Science

The rest of the book is packed to the binder as usual— making MD your one-stop, most authoritative source for optimizing muscular development with the latest cutting-edge research on training, nutrition, fat loss, performance-enhancing drugs, muscle growth and bodybuilding science— and exclusive information from the industry experts, insiders and bodybuilding legends who make it all happen.

See you next month!

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