When I first got serious about working out, I was working out seven days a week doing body parts two or even three times a week. Yeah, I know, I was stupid. Well, I wised up. A friend told me about the once-a-week program and my strength on all exercises has doubled, if not tripled. But I have concerns. I wonder if I'm under-training, or waiting too long, to hit each body part again. I mean, seven days is a long time before doing something like biceps again, especially if they didn't get sore from the workout. I agree totally that a bigger muscle like the chest or the legs needs a week of recovery, but I feel like my biceps, calves and triceps may be getting smaller from waiting so long. Should I continue what I'm doing? I mean, I'm getting stronger, but my size doesn't satisfy me. Tell me if I got a good start. I just got out of high school.  I'm 18 now, with 15 1/2-inch arms, 16 when I work out. My chest is 42-43 inches. I just want results and I'm willing to give it 100 percent dedication.

            You definitely have a good start just by being so dedicated to your training at 18. For every young guy who is serious about bodybuilding, there are at least 10 who tried it for a little while and gave up too soon when results weren't immediate and dramatic. Before I get into how frequently you can train smaller body parts, I want to talk briefly about patience. When you say your size doesn't satisfy you, I have a very strong feeling you're comparing yourself to the guys in the pages of MD like Lee Priest, Chris Cormier and Johnnie Jackson. For one thing, these are among the best bodybuilders in the world today, who are at the top of their game. It's like a high school football quarterback comparing himself to Tom Brady. For another thing, each one of these men I mentioned has been training for over 20 years, or a few years longer than you have even been alive! Let that sink in for a moment. 

Don't be so unrealistic as to think a year or so of training is going to result in your body looking remotely like theirs. Muscle growth is a very gradual process and depends on making tiny, almost imperceptible gains over many years. There will be times, particularly in your first few years, where you will have "bursts" of progress and can notice a few pounds on the scale or an inch gained, but most of the time, I assure you, the growth process is too slow to perceive. It's like a tree. You plant an acorn in your front yard and the next spring you have a little sapling. No big deal at all. And if you watch that little tree all the time, you won't even be impressed at how fast it grows. But one day that little acorn does grow into a huge oak tree. You have to think about your physique that way too. The workouts, meals and rest are like water and sunshine to a tree. It's great to be dedicated to bodybuilding, but you also have to cultivate a sense of patience. It's impatience that makes quitters out of most guys. Got all that, junior? 

OK, now we can talk about your question. I agree with you that the smaller body parts such as biceps, triceps, abs and calves recover faster than larger muscle groups and can benefit from being trained more frequently. I seriously doubt your arms and calves are getting smaller from only being hit once a week, but there is a high likelihood that they do need more training to grow. Calves are a stubborn muscle group for many athletes I have known and worked with, and growth has often been seen when training them two or even three times a week. The biceps and triceps can be hit twice a week, as well.  Here is one possible way to arrange your training week so both your arms and calves are worked twice, while all the larger muscle groups are hit once:

Monday:         chest and triceps

Tuesday:        back, calves

Thursday:      shoulders and biceps

Friday:            legs, calves

Saturday:       arms

            I would be sure to do two different types of workouts for the arms. On the day they're being trained with the larger body part, use heavier weights, straight sets and only six to 10 reps. On the day you train arms by themselves, go with more moderate weights, supersets and drop sets, and sets of 10-15 reps. This will take a bigger toll and require more recovery, but in the schedule above, I have allotted a full day off from the gym after the arm day for this. I strongly recommend being as "lazy" as possible on your two days off from the gym, eating and sleeping a little more than usual. Speaking of eating, you need to be eating at least five times a day to fuel all this growth you crave. Keep reading MD and you should start getting a sense of how top bodybuilders put it all together. In the meantime, you have made a good start, so just stay consistent and be patient. Before you know it, you'll be one of the big guys.

            I'm curious about your opinion on something. People always talk about how much better the bodybuilders of the ‘70s and ‘80s would have looked if they took all the same illegal "supplements" as the guys today. But what about the difference the over-the-counter stuff (like you find at GNC) would have made? I'm talking about things like creatine, nitric oxide, whey protein, glutamine, protein bars, MRPs, tribulis terrestris, and let's even throw ephedra and prohormones into the mix, though they are banned now.  What impact do you think all the supplements we have in 2005 would have made on the bodybuilders in 1975, or even 1985? 

            I want to comment on the illegal stuff first, because as an "old timer," I get that question a lot. It's true there are some things around today that didn't exist in the ‘70s and ‘80s, but most of the performance enhancers in use today have been around at least that long. The difference today is that bodybuilders are more scientific about how they use these products, they use greater amounts of them and they use them far more often than yesterday's athletes. In the ‘70s, it was almost unheard of for bodybuilders to ever be on a cycle in the off-season. They trained naturally most of the year, then would use gear in the final two months or so before a contest, just as a way to maintain their muscle mass while they dieted down. The muscle was all built with hard training, for plenty of sets and reps with very heavy weights. Even into the ‘80s, this was the mentality. 

And I have to say, there seems to be some selective amnesia going around about the physiques back in the ‘80s. There were some true monsters around back then, who not only equaled the guys today in size, but crushed them on muscle density. Jeff King and Bertil Fox are two great examples. Bertil was incredibly thick, but more importantly, he had a dense, hard look to his muscles. A lot of bodybuilders today have size, but lack that muscle density.  Two guys that come close, off the top of my head, are Johnnie Jackson and Branch Warren, and that's because they train like powerlifters with very heavy weights. 

I see I have meandered away from the question about supplements then and now. There is no doubt that supplements have come a long way, but we did have some very useful products back in the day. They just weren't as convenient and tended to taste like sewerage. We didn't have whey protein, but we had amino acids in liquid form. We also were big on predigested proteins, and using choline and inotisol to cut up. Creatine wasn't around as a supplement until the early 1990s, but bodybuilders have been getting it from red meat for over 70 years. Bodybuilders of the past didn't have RTDs and protein bars for convenient meals, so they carried around jugs of milk, cans of tuna, hard-boiled eggs and bananas. No doubt this was crude in comparison, but those guys were big and very strong long before anybody was using steroids.

 The original question makes the assumption that the physiques today are superior on the whole compared to the physiques of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but I don't agree. As far as I'm concerned, the average pro bodybuilder today may be a lot bigger and heavier than his predecessors, but you can't tell me today's guys look better than Arnold, Sergio, Serge Nubret, Frank Zane, Lee Haney, Bob Paris, Lee Labrada and many more of their contemporaries. Only someone who is convinced that bigger is always better would feel that way.  Not me. I say "better is better." Today's supplements do give the average bodybuilder an edge, but nothing will ever take the place of God-given genetics, incredibly hard work in the gym, and a devotion to proper eating and rest. If that weren't true, we would certainly have a lot more world-class physiques around today than we do.

            I've been lifting since the beginning of summer, 2004. Maybe that's not too long, but I've done great since I started. My bench max is currently up to 225 with perfect form and my squat is at 315. I've got a pretty small body size, though. People really can't seem to tell I lift weights. I've managed to add some muscle, but lately it just seems like nothing will grow. I'm taking creatine and I eat like a horse, but nothing. I know size doesn't grow on overnight or anything, but I'm curious if maybe you have any ideas. When I work out, I lift as heavy as I can for sets of three to five reps. I'm in weight training at high school, so I've got five days to work out. I've also got a bench press at home that I max out on every night before I go to bed. Do you have any ideas about what I should do that would maybe pack on the muscle? I'm currently at 150 pounds at six-foot and I want to hit 165-170 before I start Junior year this fall, which gives me about seven months.   

Man, I like the easy ones once in a while! I see two issues that are probably holding you back from growing. When you say you eat like a horse, a red flag goes up because I've heard that same expression used 1,000 times from similarly frustrated lifters. Once I delve a little deeper, I generally learn that they are stuffing themselves three times a day, eating the traditional breakfast, lunch and dinner. Even though they're eating a lot of food in one sitting, there is too much time elapsing between meals, and thus, a steady stream of nutrients is not being provided to the body. If you want to gain a significant amount of muscle, three meals a day won't cut it. Instead, you need to shoot for five, six, or even seven meals. Obviously, they aren't going to be huge meals and they don't even all need to be solid food. If you're eating seven times a day, that can come out to four whole-food meals and three shakes. What this does is keep a constant supply of amino acids and glycogen in the form of protein and carbs streaming in so your muscles have the needed building blocks to repair muscle tissue and rebuild it to a larger size. 

Of course, that's only going to happen if your training is stimulating growth and your current style of lifting is not. Three to five reps is fine for powerlifters and Olympic lifters who are solely concerned with being able to lift more and more weight. But if you want to cause your muscles to grow larger, you need to train within a higher rep range, around eight to 10. You can go as low as six reps on your heaviest sets and as high as 12 on your lighter sets, but stay within those parameters.

Also, you need to keep recovery in mind. Don't train the same muscle groups two days in a row. You can split up the muscle groups in many ways, but always observe that one key rule. Don't be tempted to bench press every night, either. It may feed your ego, but it won't do anything for your chest. So, to recap, eat more frequently, bump the reps up and allow your muscles to rest, and I'm very sure you will start seeing a change in your physique.

Have you seen the Gazelle from Tony Little? It's a no-impact cardio machine.  A guy I know is selling one cheap and I figured it may be good to do at home when I can't get to the gym. Just wanted your thoughts on that if you've seen it. I also know a guy with a stair stepper he wants to get rid of. That could be good too, right?  

Yes, I have seen that machine and several others like it. I suppose the best use for them would be for trainers with severe joint pain and/or arthritis.  Otherwise, they are far too easy to use. The appeal is that they seem effortless, like you're running on a cloud, or something. I understand the idea of putting out effort turns off a lot of average people, but effort is critical if you want to see meaningful results. I much prefer cardio machines like the treadmill and stair stepper, where you're forced to support your own bodyweight. You should feel a slight burn in your legs and work up a sweat if you are trying to lose body fat and tighten up. So, by all means, pick up the stair stepper, but I would leave the no-impact devices alone.

Charles, do you think it matters what you wear in the gym? I see this ad for some supplement geared toward hardcore lifters that makes fun of people in the gym who worry about their hair and whether their outfit matches, like that makes you a big wimp. That ticks me off. I happen to take great pride in my appearance. I like to be shaved and have my hair done neatly, I do like to have new workout clothes and sneakers, and yes, I intentionally coordinate the colors so I match. And you know what? I train damn hard. I have competed at the regional level at over 220 pounds and will be doing the USA this year for the first time. Do you think I would be more "hardcore" if I wore clothes that looked like they had been bought at a thrift store, had a four-day beard growth and disheveled hair? What's your take on this argument about hardcore trainers not caring about what they look like in the gym? Ironically, the guys at my gym who dress like slobs just throw a lot of weights around and are overweight. I don't think the ‘do rags, ragged sweatshirts and generic Wal-Mart sweats are helping them any. Sorry if I rambled, but I needed to vent about this issue.

            What you wear in the gym is entirely up to you. If you are comfortable with what you have on, that's all that matters. I wouldn't worry so much about what other people think or say. Obviously, you're the owner of the best physique in your gym, so you should take pride in that. If anyone is snickering at your matching outfits, I'd imagine they are just jealous. I have seen every type of gym attire under the sun in Gold's Venice, and I can honestly say it doesn't matter one bit in the end. How well you train will determine your results, not whether you're wearing jeans, shorts, or a pink ballet tutu. Hardcore is the attitude you have toward the weights, and if the way you dress helps you get the right frame of mind in the gym, don't mess with it.

Journal, February, 2005

Superbowl XXXVIIII

            I did watch the Super Bowl and I thought it was a great game. I'm not a big gambler at all, but I did make a little wager and won by taking Philly on the points. I knew there weren't going to be a whole lot of points scored in this game. Philly needs better clock management. They wasted too much time.  And the Patriots made a lot of bad plays. They definitely weren't at their best, but it was still enough to win their third title in four years.

Almost Time to Unveil the New Me

            In just a week I will be doing my photo shoot for MuscleTech, the first photo shoot I have had in a decade. Oddly, I'm not nervous. Maybe it's because I have been around hundreds of photo shoots at Gold's over the years. I have been using two of MuscleTech's newest products, Thermogain and Pump-Tech.  Thermogain is a fat burner that also helps you build muscle and Pump-Tech is a combination of nitric oxide boosters and creatine. I've been taking five of the Pump-Tech tablets before training and five after. The results have surprised me. I started this transformation at 168 pounds and the last time we talked, I had gotten up to 174. Now, I'm 185, which is a little heavier than I was even aiming for, but it's all pure muscle. Since I still feel comfortable, I will go up to 195 and just hold that. That will be the heaviest I've been since the 1994 Masters Olympia, when I competed at 205. Keep your eyes out for the ads; they may even be out by the time you read this and might even be in this issue of MD.

            Real Deal is Ready to Rock Columbus

I am very happy with the way Chris Cormier is looking right now, less than two weeks away from the Arnold Classic. He trained much harder for this than he did the last Olympia, and I would even estimate Chris worked a good 25 percent harder with me for this Arnold than he did last spring when he lost by one point to Jay. I really hope he gets it this time.

Johnnie's Making the Pilgrimage to the Mecca

            Right now, Johnnie Jackson is in the final stages of training for a professional powerlifting meet in March, where he'll be trying to break some records. Once that's done, he will come up to LA to stay for two weeks in April and train with me. I don't think he's ever stayed in Venice that long. I'm sure he'll make the most of it by eating at the Firehouse and strolling the Venice boardwalk between getting in some killer workouts. I'm excited to see what his physique is capable of with all the little training tricks I plan to show him. 

            Joanna Thomas and the 20% Solution

            And finally, my sole professional female bodybuilding client, Joanna Thomas, is back in LA after some immigration issues that kept her stuck in England since the Christmas season. We spoke on the phone earlier tonight and she is incredibly anxious to get back training with me. The IFBB put out a memo that all female pros need to reduce their muscularity by 20 percent. This is just perfect for Joanna. Since her upper body is already big enough and it's her legs that need to grow, we can pretty much do only maintenance work on the upper body and blast her legs twice a week, full force, and get her physique nicely balanced.

            That's all for now, talk to you after the Ironman and Arnold Classic have kicked off the 2005 IFBB season.

Got a question for Charles? E-mail it to him at http://www.musculardevelopment.com/.