The 5 foods to avoid if you want a six pack

Carrying a spare tire around your belly? You're not alone: Fifty-four percent of U.S. adults now have abdominal obesity, up from 46 percent in 2000, according to a recent report in the Journal of the American Medical Association. If you fall into that category (male abs are considered fat if the waistline measures more than 40 inches), it's time to consider cutting down your consumption of these five foods:

1. Refined grains

Not sure what a refined grain is? It's an ingredient found in foods like white rice, white bread, and regular white pasta. The unrefined stuff (whole wheat, brown rice and quinoa) is always healthier. Pennsylvania State University researchers found that people who ate whole grains in addition to keeping a healthy diet—of fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy and protein—lost more weight from the abdominal area the group of people who kept the same healthy diet but ate all refined grains.

2. Potato products
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine followed the weight changes of more than 120,000 men and women for up to 20 years. The participants were checked every four years and, on average, they gained 3.35 pounds each time—so almost 17 pounds by the time the study was finished. The foods associated with the greatest weight gain? You guessed it—potato chips and potatoes.

3. Red and processed meat

The same 20-year study found that people who ate more red and processed meat gained weight, too—about one extra pound every four years. In another study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers worked with more than 370,000 people and found that folks who ate the equivalent of a small steak a day gained about five pounds in five years.

4. Frosting

Those cupcakes your coworker makes for special occasions? Yeah, don't eat them. While the FDA has basically declared war on trans fats, store-bought frosting still contains a not-so-healthy dose of the stuff. How bad can trans fats be? Researchers at Wake Forest University gave groups of monkeys two different diets; one group ate trans fats and the other ate unsaturated fats.

The results: The group eating trans fats upped their body weight by 7.2 percent in six years and the other only gained 1.8 percent. Not only did the trans fats add new fat, it was also responsible for moving fat from other areas to the belly. Check for trans fat in other foods like pre-made baked goods, snack foods, and frozen pizzas.

5. Diet soda

It's easy to get fooled by the zero-calorie label, yet sodas made with sugar substitutes are believed by many to play a role in weight gain. A new study published this month found that people who drank diet soda gained almost three times the amount of abdominal fat over nine years as those who didn't drink the no-cal stuff.

Sure, that study only looked at adults ages 65 and older, but consider this: Recent research from the Weizmann Institute of Science found that mice drinking water with artificial sweeteners (saccharin, aspartame and sucralose) became vulnerable to insulin resistance and glucose intolerance—two things known to lead to weight gain.

Being negative and lazy is a disease that leads to pain

Being negative and lazy is a disease that leads to pain, hardship, depression, poor health, and failure. Be proactive and give a damn to achieve success! ----- Phillip Heath

DETAIL RECORD OF MR. OLYMPIA TITLE NOW AND THAN

2016 Mr. Olympia Qualified

NAME	COUNTRY
Bonac, William	Netherlands
DeAsha, Nathan	United Kingdom
Elssbiay, Mamdouh	Egypt
Greene, Kai	USA
Heath, Phil	USA
Jackson, Dexter	USA
Kuclo, Steve	USA
Lenartowicz, Josh	Australia
Levrone, Kevin	USA
McCarver, Dallas	USA
McMillan, Cedric	USA
Osladil, Lukas	Czech Republic
Rhoden, Shawn	USA
Winklaar, Roelly	Curacao
Wolf, Dennis	Germany

Men's Open Point Standings

PLACING	NAME	COUNTRY	POINTS
1	Rockel, Ronny	Germany	16
2	Compton, Justin	USA	10
3	Beyeke, Lionel	France	8
3	Martinez, Victor	Domiican Republic	8
3	Maxx, Charles	USA	8
3	Warren, Branch	USA	8
7	Jaramillo, Rafael	USA	5
7	Lockett, Michael	USA	5
7	Morel, Juan	USA	5
10	Fateev, Vitaly	Russia	4
10	Jackson, Kenneth	USA	4
10	Raymond, Jose	USA	4
13	Abiad, Fouad	Canada	3
13	Curry, Brandon	USA	3
13	Kefalianos, Michael	Greece	3
13	Obiad, Essa	UAE	3
13	Piotrkowicz, Robert	Poland	3
18	Bannout, Moe	Lebanon	2
18	Centopani, Evan	USA	2
18	Freeman, Toney	USA	2
18	Jackson, Johnnie	USA	2
18	Lomeli, Manuel	Mexico	2
18	Pakulski, Ben	Canada	2
18	Rivera, Alex	Puerto Rico	2
18	Smalls, Fred	USA	2
26	Almeida, Paulo	Canada	1
26	DeLaRosa, Jonathan	USA	1
26	Dell'uomo, Emiliano	Italy	1
26	Heirati, Sasan	United Kingdom	1
26	Ray, Brandon	USA	1
26	Shabunia, Aliaksei	Belarus	1

Mr. Olympia Winners

2015	Phil Heath	Las Vegas, NV
2014	Phil Heath	Las Vegas, NV
2013	Phil Heath	Las Vegas, NV
2012	Phil Heath	Las Vegas, NV
2011	Phil Heath	Las Vegas, NV
2010	Jay Cutler	Las Vegas, NV
2009	Jay Cutler	Las Vegas, NV
2008	Dexter Jackson	Las Vegas, NV
2007	Jay Cutler	Las Vegas, NV
2006	Jay Cutler	Las Vegas, NV
2005	Ronnie Coleman	Las Vegas, NV
2004	Ronnie Coleman	Las Vegas, NV
2003	Ronnie Coleman	Las Vegas, NV
2002	Ronnie Coleman	Las Vegas, NV
2001	Ronnie Coleman	Las Vegas, NV
2000	Ronnie Coleman	Las Vegas, NV
1999	Ronnie Coleman	Las Vegas, NV
1998	Ronnie Coleman	New York, NY
1997	Dorian Yates	Los Angeles, CA
1996	Dorian Yates	Chicago, IL
1995	Dorian Yates	Atlanta, GA
1994	Dorian Yates	Atlanta, GA
1993	Dorian Yates	Atlanta, GA
1992	Dorian Yates	Helsinki, Finland
1991	Lee Haney	Orlando, FL
1990	Lee Haney	Chicago, IL
1989	Lee Haney	Rimini, Italy
1988	Lee Haney	Los Angeles, CA
1987	Lee Haney	Gothenburg, Sweden
1986	Lee Haney	Columbus, OH
1985	Lee Haney	Brussels, Belgium
1984	Lee Haney	New York, NY
1983	Samir Bannout	Munich, Germany
1982	Chris Dickerson	London, England
1981	Franco Columbu	Columbus, OH
1980	Arnold Schwarzenegger	Sydney, Australia
1979	Frank Zane	Columbus, OH
1978	Frank Zane	Columbus, OH
1977	Frank Zane	Columbus, OH
1976	Franco Columbu	Columbus, OH
1975	Arnold Schwarzenegger	Pretoria, South Africa
1974	Arnold Schwarzenegger	New York, NY
1973	Arnold Schwarzenegger	New York, NY
1972	Arnold Schwarzenegger	Essen, Germany
1971	Arnold Schwarzenegger	Paris France
1970	Arnold Schwarzenegger	New York, NY
1969	Sergio Oliva	New York, NY
1968	Sergio Oliva	New York, NY
1967	Sergio Oliva	New York, NY
1966	Larry Scott	New York, NY
1965	Larry Scott	New York, NY

The Ultimate Beginner's Full-Body Workout

Beginners, here are the 10 most important training elements you must master, and eight-week full-body beginner's program to start you off on the right foot.

What, you ponder, do you have in common with bodybuilding greats like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Jay Cutler, or even with a successful fitness model like Whitney Reid?

Each of those men, like you, had modest beginnings. None was born with six-pack abs and none came into this world with a 250-pound bench press. But like you, they had a desire for self-improvement and undertook resistance training as a means to build up their physique.

All of these men committed serious mistakes along the way, but fortunately we've compiled a summary of the 10 most important training elements so that you, as a beginner, can learn from others' errors. To get you started off right, we've also put together an eight-week full-body beginner's program that's built to challenge you as you get stronger.

After that break-in period, you'll have one more thing in common with those superstars: None of you will be a rank beginner any longer.

10 KEYS TO BUILDING MUSCLE

There are a lot of guys long on desire, but without the know-how who use the show-up-and-lift-it method, working any and every exercise in the gym every single day and hoping that something happens. Something usually does: They usually quit after about a month because nothing's happened. Fortunately you're on Bodybuilding.com and won't be making those same mistakes. Here's the info you need to understand to get started.

1

WORK THE MAJOR MUSCLE GROUPS

Chances are you started lifting to get a bigger chest and arms, or strengthen your body for a particular sport. But working all the major muscle groups—chest, back, shoulders, quads, glutes, hamstrings, biceps, triceps (smaller muscle groups include the forearms, calves, abs)—allows you to build a symmetrical physique. This complete training also prevents muscular imbalances that can arise when you favor some body parts over others. Imbalances are no joke: They can lead to serious injuries.

2

PRACTICE FORM FIRST

Many of the basic movements presented here may be new to you. As a result, your coordination may be challenged at times. If so, don't worry. Keep practicing and rehearsing the movement pattern and soon it will feel like second nature—and that's when your gains in size and strength will take off. Until then, it's important to understand and practice the basic movements before using more challenging weights.

SEATED DUMBBELL PRESS

3

MULTI-JOINT EXERCISES ARE SUPERIOR OVER SINGLE-JOINT MOVES

Exercises can be categorized into two classes: multi-joint and single-joint. The distinction is that with multi-joint exercises, two (or more) sets of joints work to accomplish the lift. With a single-joint move, only one set of joints is working. During a bench press, for example, action is taking place at both the elbow and shoulder joints, while in a barbell curl the movement is restricted to the elbow joint. Because more muscle is engaged when doing multi-joint moves, you can use far heavier weights and they're therefore better for achieving muscle and strength gains.

4

DO MULTIPLE SETS OF AN EXERCISE

There are decades of scientific research now available on resistance training, and the evidence points to doing 3-4 sets of a given exercise for maximum benefit. Typically you should do a warm-up set or two of that movement before tackling more challenging weights.

5

TOO HEAVY OR TOO LIGHT IS TOO BAD

So how much weight should you lift? Warm-ups are always done with light weight to get the target muscles working in coordination. As a beginner, you'll choose light weights so you can do about 15 reps on each set. The last few reps should be very difficult to achieve but you should always be using "good form."

As you progress, you should use even more challenging weights, ones in which you reach muscle failure by 8-12 reps with good form. If you can do more than that number, the weight is too light. Individuals training for strength choose even heavier weights, typically doing fewer than 6 reps. Remember to never sacrifice form to lift a weight that's too heavy.

6

CONTROL THE REP

The approach you should follow on each and every rep is like this: Inhale and hold your breath as you lift the weight in a strong and forceful manner, exhaling only over the top portion of the movement. Then lower the weight under control as you breathe in. Reverse direction smoothly at the bottom position, never bouncing the weight at the bottom.

7

TAKE A SHORT REST BETWEEN SETS

Your muscles fatigue during a set. They need time to clear the lactic acid and changes in the pH that build up in the surrounding tissue. This usually takes 90-120 seconds, though larger body parts like legs and back may take longer, and smaller muscle groups like arms and calves may take less. A good measure: when you catch your breath and feel ready to go, start a new set.

8

GET AT LEAST 48 HOURS REST BETWEEN WORKOUTS

This is key: The lifting you do at the gym is the stimulus that begins a chain of events that causes the muscle to repair itself and make itself stronger the next time you hit the gym. That takes time, nutrients and rest. Clearly, then, you can't train too often, and dismissing good nutritional habits and shortchanging your rest will be counterproductive to your muscle gains. In terms of training frequency, don't hit a given muscle group more frequently than once every 48 hours. As you become more advanced and add volume, you'll want to increase that rest period.

9

STRIVE TO DO A LITTLE MORE EACH WORKOUT

If your body responds to the training stimulus by growing stronger but you do the same weight for the same reps each workout, it's just not going to grow any further. Hence, you can't fall into the rut of repeating the same workout week-in and week-out. Strive to do more reps with a given weight or increase the weight from one workout to the next—that's the progressive stimulus you need to keep making positive improvements.

10

FOLLOW THIS PLAN FOR 8 WEEKS

As a beginner you'll make noticeable jumps in strength the first two months, but typically gains start to stall when following any given program for too long. That's when it's time to make some larger changes in your training.

After the novice period, you can change your training split by re-arranging muscle groups and the number of exercises, sets, and reps on given days. Manipulating all these variables keeps your training fresh and offers new challenges to overload the target muscles. This is an exciting time for beginners because there are few other times in your training career in which you'll see jumps in strength on your basic lifts from one workout to the next.

AFTER THE NOVICE PERIOD, YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR TRAINING SPLIT BY RE-ARRANGING MUSCLE GROUPS AND THE NUMBER OF EXERCISES, SETS, AND REPS ON GIVEN DAYS.

THE 8-WEEK BEGINNER'S OUTLINE

• Do one exercise for each of the major muscle groups.
• The first two weeks you practice your form so the weight should be light. Do additional sets if you want to keep rehearsing the motion.
• The second two weeks you'll add another set. Start with a light warm-up set, then choose a slightly heavier weight for each of your next two sets. You should approach muscle failure by the target rep listed. Don't sacrifice good form to do more reps if the weight is too heavy. You know you reach muscle failure when you can't do any more reps on a given move with textbook form.
• You'll start with a light warm-up set during the third phase (weeks 5-8), then choose a more challenging weight for your second and third sets. Try to choose a weight so you can just reach the target rep; if you can do more reps the weight is too light, and if you can't reach the target rep the weight is too heavy.
• As you get stronger over the course of the program, do more reps and/or increase the weight to progressively challenge the working muscles.
• If a given barbell or dumbbell exercise is too difficult, find its machine counterpart and practice on that before going back to free weights.
• Follow this workout three times per week on nonconsecutive days (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays).

bulk-your-legs-german-volume-training

bulk-your-legs-german-volume-training

Except for a few fringe HIT holdovers, the lab coats and those in the trenches unanimously agree; higher volume training protocols build greater amounts of muscle. It’s a dose-dependent relationship up until a point; no one knows exactly where that point of no return is.

Generally, trainees with this mindset, when training the legs, start off with a heavy squatting variation, then a heavy supplementary movement like a leg press and then on to multiple sets of isolation movements to beat the legs into submission and make them grow.

The goal with this type of workout is to reap the benefits of a core movement and then to hit as many muscle fibers as possible by attacking the muscle from a variety of angles with a variety of movements. This approach has built many achampionship physiques, it works!

But there is an alternative—which also works! It’s called German Volume Training. I recommend using it one to two times per year performed in blocks of three to six weeks, performing this workout once a week.

THE GVT ALTERNATIVE

German Volume Training was popularized by legendary strength coach, Charles Poliquin.  Poliquin learned this protocol from Eastern German weightlifters whom used a similar approach to bulk up to the next weight class when needed. 

Furthermore, bodybuilding guru, the late Vince Gironda, used a similar approach training bodybuilders and to beef up Hollywood hunks.  Iron game immortals ranging from Bill Kazmaier to Bev Francis have trained with German Volume Training.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

German Volume Training is a protocol of 10 sets of 10 repetitions of a compound movement, using a 20-repetition max, or approximately 60 percent of the athlete’s one-rep max. Rest periods of 60 seconds up to three minutes have been advocated; however, rest depends on the movement being performed, the load used, and the anaerobic capacity of the athlete.

In the event of not being able to complete all of the repetitions, reduce the load by 2.5–5 percent; so if you were using 200 pounds and did not complete the final rep on the seventh set, use 190–195 pounds on the following set.

While this reduction is quite minor, we want to keep the intensity as high as possible for maximum muscle growth. If you attempt to keep the weight the same and continually miss reps because of fatigue, you won’t reap the intended benefits of GVT.

Performing only five reps on your last set, even if you had made every rep until that point, you have reduced the total volume of that set by 50 percent! Done over multiple sets, the protocol has been significantly compromised, which destroys the intended training effect. German Volume Training is 10 sets of 10 repetitions.

HIGH VOLUME FOR MAXIMUM GROWTH

Because of the high volume training load, short rest intervals, and moderate load, this method produces a very anabolic natural growth hormone response.

The idea, as Poliquin has written, is to attack the same muscle fibers over and over with the same movement for extremely high volume, and this will force the muscle fibers to experience major growth.

FINAL THOUGHTS

In world of eight-minute abs and shake weights, German Volume Training sounds draconian---this old school, blood and guts staple is one of the most successful mass-building programs of all-time.  Nothing cute, nothing fancy, just results oriented!

Do this workout once a week, for three to six weeks, and after you achieve the prescribed weight, add five to 10 pounds the next week. Even if you have limited time, this workout very easily can be accomplished in an hour; the path has been laid out, time for you to blaze it.

BIOGRAPHY OF ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER

This world-famous athlete and actor was born in Thal, Austria in 1947, and by the age of 20 was dominating the sport of competitive bodybuilding, becoming the youngest person ever to win the Mr. Universe title.

By generating a new international audience for bodybuilding, Schwarzenegger turned himself into a sports icon. With his sights set on Hollywood, he emigrated to America in 1968 and went on to win five Mr. Universe titles and seven Mr. Olympia titles before retiring to dedicate himself to acting. Later, he would go on to earn a college degree from the University of Wisconsin and proudly became a U.S. citizen.

Schwarzenegger, who worked under the pseudonym Arnold Strong in his first feature, Hercules in New York, quickly made a name for himself in Hollywood. In 1977, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognized him with a Golden Globe for New Male Star of the Year for his role in Stay Hungry opposite Sally Field. His big break came in 1982 when the sword and sorcery epic, Conan the Barbarian, hit box office gold.

In 1984, Schwarzenegger blew up the screen and catapulted himself into cinema history as the title character in Jim Cameron’s sci-fi thriller, Terminator.

He is the only actor to be in both categories of the American Film Institute’s “Hundred Years of Heroes and Villains” for roles he played in the Terminator series. Other memorable characters include roles in Commando, Predator, Twins, Total Recall, True Lies, Eraser, Collateral Damage, Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines and a cameo in Sylvester Stallone’s homage to action films, The Expendables and an expanded role in The Expendables 2, among others. To date, his films have grossed over $3 billion worldwide.

He gratefully served the people of California as the state’s 38th governor from 2003 to 2010. First elected in California’s historic recall election, Governor Schwarzenegger ushered in an era of innovative leadership and extraordinary public service.

But it is Schwarzenegger’s commitment to giving something back to his state and to his country through public service that gives him the most satisfaction; donating his time, energy, and personal finances to serving others all over the world.

Schwarzenegger acts as Chairman of the After School All-Stars, a nationwide after-school program, and serves as coach and international torch-bearer for Special Olympics. He also served as Chairman of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports under George H. W. Bush and as Chair of the California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports under Governor Pete Wilson.

Most notably, Schwarzenegger made California a world leader on renewable energy and combating climate change with the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, set a revolutionary political reform agenda, and became the first governor in decades to invest in rebuilding California’s critical infrastructure with his Strategic Growth Plan. He also dedicated himself to promoting physical education and after-school programs, and continues to commit his time, energy and personal finances to charitable organizations around the world.

Schwarzenegger is currently back in Hollywood making films and working on his autobiography, Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story, due out this fall.

Chest Workouts For Mass - A Beginner's Guide!

Does your chest resemble a sheet of plywood instead of the mountains of muscle you have always wanted? Do you spend countless hours on the bench press with no gains in size? Have you started to think that you were just not meant to have a big chest? Well, stop right there, you're wrong ...

I can't promise you will ever have the chest of the great Arnold Schwarzenegger, but I can promise that you can make a difference to your chest and put some great size on it if you are willing to just hear me out.

In the article below, I will discuss the anatomy of the chest, its function and location in the body, and some exercises for each area of the chest. Finally, and what you have been waiting for, I will include five of my favorite workout programs to help turn your flat chest into massive slabs of muscle!

CHEST ANATOMY & RECOMMENDED EXERCISES

The chest is made up of two muscles that work together to make the chest function. The muscle are the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor. Basically, the pectoralis minor is located directly underneath the pectoralis major. Overall, these chest muscles start at the clavicle and insert at the sternum and the armpit area (humerous).

The three different functions of the chest muscles are the side arm pitching motion, the ability to bring your arm up and down at your sides, and the classic arm wresting motion. The basic recommended exercises for building up your chest include the bench press and flyes.

CHEST BUILDING POINTERS

Though the chest is made up of one single mass of muscle, it should be trained like it was broken into 3 parts. The upper, middle and lower portions of the chest are stimulated best from changing the angle in which you execute the exercise.

The upper chest is best stimulated from exercises done on a 30-45% incline bench. For example incline barbell and dumbbell bench press or incline dumbbell flyes are great upper chest exercises.

The middle chest is best stimulated from exercises done on a flat bench. For example: flat barbell and dumbbell bench press or flat dumbbell flyes are great middle chest exercises.

The lower chest is best stimulated from exercises done on a 30-45% decline bench. For example: decline barbell and dumbbell bench press or decline dumbbell flyes are great lower chest exercises.

I find all areas of the chest respond best in the beginning to low (4-6) or moderate (8-12) rep ranges. Rarely, I will include higher rep ranges for beginners. I believe the heavier weight helps build a more solid foundation that beginners need. I also find that free weights should be your entire focus in the beginning, especially if chest is a weak point for you. The free weights just develop the chest a lot better than machines do, in my opinion.

Now that you understand about what muscles make up your chest, their function, location and the rep range needed to stimulate them, let's give you some workouts to help you build your chest.

All exercises should be performed in perfect form because bad form or habits that you start now will follow you and will lead to lack of progress, or worse, future injury down the road. Many if not all the exercises will be new to you. So make sure you use the Exercise Guide on Bodybuilding.com to help with your form.