With Bodybuilding Forums “As With Everything In Life You Get What You Pay For…”

There is no doubting the quality of the information available to you on the No Bull Bodybuilding Forum – and you KNOW that I am always on there – always available to you. I’m not new to this game. I have been advising athletes at all levels on bodybuilding, training and steroids for many years. This is information you can trust!

There will be no 13 year old kids, no idiots – just serious people, real knowledge, and the security of knowing that you can speak with someone who has trained 80 first placed athletes in the last 4 years alone. Now ask yourself a question. Where else can you do that?

“Act NOW – Prices WILL Increase Later”

I said it above, but let me repeat it so that you are completely warned. This bodybuilding forum is still relatively new, and will improve with time as the “database” of “questions & answers” and knowledge grows. As a result I will definitely be raising the prices in the future. So take advantage now of this offer, and give your training the edge it needs – REAL NO BULL KNOWLEDGE

Don’t wait, it just doesn’t make any sense at all to wait, not for the money we are talking about. When you subscribe right away you will lock in your $14.95 per month for as long as you remain a member… irrespective of how much we increase prices you will NEVER pay more.

Just a collection of like minded people from around the globe, Sharing their opinions and experiences. And without the holier than thou attitude seen elsewhere.

It’s all done with respect and good humor, I’m hooked.

Taff
Board Member

Learn How You Can Instantly Access The Greatest Bodybuilding Forum, With Easy To Understand, 100% Useful, Bodybuilding And Anabolic Steroids Advice Ever Crammed Into One Place…

(IMPORTANT NEWS — SAVE $49.95 — for an EXTREMELY LIMITED TIME ONLY I am going to waive the $49.95 initial fee, see full details by clicking on the next link below)

No Bull Bodybuilding Forum – www.MickHart.com/Board.html

Train hard and be strong,
Mick Hart.

“For anyone considering steroid use” This is a MUST READ… Layman’s Guides to Steroids I and II

WARNING: Don’t read this unless you are ready to GAIN Serious Lean Muscle> “Layman’s Guides to Steroids 3.0“

So, here we have it, straight from the mouths of No Bull Online Bodybuilding Forum members, some very real reasons why you should be joining us to get your Steroid Advice…

“This is direct access to one of the world’s top training experts…”

There is not another bodybuilding forum anywhere on the Internet that is managed and moderated by someone who has coached 80 first placed athletes in the last 4 years alone. I’m not trying to “blow my own trumpet” here, it’s just a fact.

This means that the knowledge available to you here is simply not easily available anywhere else, and I won’t hold anything back, that’s just not my style.

You can ask ANYTHING, we can openly discuss ANYTHING; steroids, nutrition, supplements, suppliers, cycles, stacks etc. There will be no censorship…AND you can be assured that I will be watching and controlling the content so that no one gets false information or ripped off.

“… if you are looking for QUALITY information on ALL aspects of bodybuilding along with a friendly environment and a collective of like minded individuals then this is THE place to be. The internet is full of bodybuilding forums offering useless (often dangerous information) and you certainly won’t find any of that here. Most bodybuilding forums operate purely as an advertising medium and are biased in their opinions, often with their profits in mind.

I have been on many bodybuilding web sites and this is the only one I would call home. Real people with real lives who will help you achieve your hopes and dreams as well as share all of your troubles and misfortunes; all with an added touch of humour and friendship. We are here because bodybuilding is our lives…” Darren. Board Member

“Like Having Hands On 24/7 Personal Coaching..”

I do offer personal “one on one” coaching – but I know that many people are not yet at the stage where they need such a level of consultation. However, many people do need, (and have asked me to offer), a certain level of coaching – answering questions about training, nutrition, drugs, all kinds of stacks and cycle advice – and YES steroid supplier information.

So this is exactly what the new bodybuilding forum is all about. More than just a discussion bodybuilding forum – a real “Uncensored Questions and Answers” on any topic you wish to ask – including ALL steroid confidentialities, and you can be guaranteed that the information is as good as it gets.

I would consider myself one of the many fans of No Bull Board. For me the bodybuilding forum has all the information that I would want in a way that actually makes me want to read it. With some of the other body-building / training websites and forums the information is delivered in a format not to educate but seemingly to show how intelligent the writer is and how ignorant the reader is.

This one gives you the information straight to the point but with a healthy attitude of humour in itself. The best thing that I find is as was mentioned before the information comes from real people who are as genuinely interested in your success as you are yourself. Davyk. Board Member

Learn How You Can Instantly Access The Greatest Bodybuilding Forum, With Easy To Understand, 100% Useful, Bodybuilding And Anabolic Steroids Advice Ever Crammed Into One Place…

No Bull Bodybuilding Forum – www.MickHart.com/Board.html

Train hard and be strong,
Mick Hart.

“For anyone considering steroid use” This is a MUST READ… Layman’s Guides to Steroids I and II

WARNING: Don’t read this unless you are ready to GAIN Serious Lean Muscle> “Layman’s Guides to Steroids 3.0“

There’s no need to waste your time anymore because as a member of the No Bull Board Bodybuilding Forum you will only ever receive USEFUL information

Let me give you an example; just in case you doubt what you can achieve when you access real information. Take a look at what I did with my son Chris in just under 1 year, with only a tiny bit of steroids! (If you have seen this pictures before on my site(s) forgive the repetition, it’s just to make a point)

Now it wasn’t the steroids that did this, they were merely the icing on the cake, it was the fact that Chris followed a plan I made for him, one which took him from zero to British Qualifier in less than 12 months. And that plan meant he used the best resource available to build your body… information that works

You see I have already learned most of the lessons that bodybuilding can teach, and I simply passed them onto him. And below you will read about exactly how you too can access that same advice 7 days a week – like having a resident bodybuilding expert “on tap” waiting to answer all your questions!

Most bodybuilders are insane… are you?

It’s true, most bodybuilders are actually insane. Albert Einstein defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. This perfectly describes the dogmatic training and eating habits of most bodybuilders.

Many times you will see a bodybuilder in the gym who has not changed his / her appearance one bit in several years and yet is perfectly content to continue on with the same training practices, nutrition habits etc.

If you are not making gradual progress then you need to change something, and if you’re still following the same advice that got you little results then unless you change that – you already know what to expect in the future; yup, more of the same, and expecting anything else would be insane.

So if you REALLY want to take this sport seriously, then you need to change the advice you follow.

Cut out the learning curve by going directly to the “Holy Grail” of bodybuilding information

If you really want to achieve something in the gym then you have to quit wasting time, and I mean NOW. You see we get lazy, most bodybuilders don’t have (or follow) good advice, and often they get lulled into thinking there’s plenty of time, but you know what – there isn’t.

You need to start following serious muscle building advice NOW, and not waste even 1 more workout listening to fools who make no progress. This is where the No Bull Board Bodybuilding Forum can help you…

Learn How You Can Instantly Access The Greatest Bodybuilding Forum, With Easy To Understand, 100% Useful, Bodybuilding And Anabolic Steroids Advice Ever Crammed Into One Place…

No Bull Bodybuilding Forum – www.MickHart.com/Board.html

Train hard and be strong,
Mick Hart.

“For anyone considering steroid use” This is a MUST READ… Layman’s Guides to Steroids I and II

WARNING: Don’t read this unless you are ready to GAIN Serious Lean Muscle> “Layman’s Guides to Steroids 3.0“

Need proven muscle growth tips? You are about to discover the best online bodybuilding forum that discusses the use of Anabolic Steroids in Bodybuilding, so real bodybuilders sharing their own particular muscle growth tips.

So here is what Paul has to say about his own personal experiences as a No Bull board member…

“When I first joined the No Bull discussion board, I posted a thread and explained that I did bodybuilding 20 years ago, I started in 1980. I trained for 7 years on and off mostly on. In those days Anabolic Steroids were a taboo subject most of the guys that were on would never admit it, so it was hard to get the info needed.

I’d been training for 7 years and did a few local comps but never came anywhere, okay, the first comp in 1983 I placed 3rd but there were only 3 competitors in my group. So I then decided to go on gear! Knowing people now knew me, it was a bit easier to get information required. To cut a long story short I finally in 1987 went on Dianabol, I was 2 weeks into the course when I had a bad car accident and ended up in a wheelchair for 3 long years, which ended my bodybuilding until 2003.

My story really begins during 2002, a work colleague asked me to play squash, knowing I had metal plates and 10 screw in one ankle and 4 screws in my other, you can imagine what my reply was. After a short time I thought about the offer of a game of squash, I needed to try and do some kind of sport as I had put on a lot of weight (I was a fat bastard). “OK, when?” I replied to the work colleague. That same week we went for a game, too my amazement my ankles held out better than the rest of my body.

I took a complete thrashing but really enjoyed it, must admit I did find it hard to walk for a few days. I started to play a couple times a week and after a couple of months I started to give him a game, it took me 6 months to actually beat him, after that he would not play me again (shit head), so I decided to join a league, within the next 6 months I was in the top league and playing really well.

Then at the end of 2003 near Christmas, my wife and I were looking through some old photos, and low and behold there was a picture of me on stage in 1983, this started me thinking, I wonder… my wife then said I know what you are thinking. “Why don’t you give it ago again”, that was all it took I went to the nearest gym the next day. The gym I went to is called The Power Mill, in Middleton, Manchester, England for our overseas friends, owned by Baz & Mark Bardsley.

I spoke to Baz this particular night, Baz showed me his photos on the wall, Awesome and the guy is only an inch taller than me. “I’ll never be able to get like that” I said. “Why not?” replied Baz, so I explained about my accident and so on. Baz then promised me that he could have me competing within 3 years.

He spoke to me for about 2 hours, what a guy. I left there so motivated and enthusiastic, I just couldn’t wait to start. The big day came Jan 4th 2003, I arrived at the gym and Baz was waiting for me, he gave me a workout sheet and took me through the exercises, he did this with me for several nights until he was happy that I had an idea of what I was doing.

What I couldn’t understand was how things had changed so much since 1987. Every one who I suspected of being on gear, admitted they used and gave me more info on training and gear than I could handle, so armed with this info and 2 stone lighter I decided to go on gear. The changes in my body were excellent, Baz looked at me every week i.e. checked my weight, body fat and training, I was asked about competing the following year, It was then decided, “Yes if you think I’ll be ready” I replied. With the aid of my new training partner, I trained like a man possessed.

The New Year arrived and the first comp was to be the NABBA at Southport in May, so I started dieting at the beginning of Jan 2004 (Diet supplied by Baz). The training was fine but the cardio 40 minutes in the morning and 40 minutes in the evening and training was hard work, I must admit there were times I set in front of the cross trainer (nearly in tears) and argued with my self to do it, I really can’t put in to words what emotions ran through me at this time, I just kept asking myself how badly I wanted it but what a feeling when the cardio was done.

So, it’s Friday evening and two weeks to go to the Southport show, then Baz asked to look at me in the posing room, “Yeah your nearly there, how about doing the comp at Barnoldswick tomorrow?” he asked, oh shit!! I thought to my self, “er, OK if you think I’m ready” I replied. I knew a few of the guys from our gym were entering that one and had wished I was as good as them, Baz must have thought so.

OK, so the next morning I got up and after getting out of the shower I looked in the mirror and saw this skinny little guy looking back at me, “Shit! What the fuck am I doing, I’m going to get laughed off stage” I said to my self, That’s it I’m not going I thought, then my training partner turned up and virtually dragged me there. All the way there, my guts were churning I felt sick! On arrival George (my training partner) went in and sorted everything out for me while I had about 10 cigs outside, several other people from our gym turned up to help with the tanning and pump ups.

Back Stage
Once I was tanned and started practising my posing in the mirror, I though who is that! It’s not the same person I was looking at earlier, I looked better than I though, confidence now building with help from others, then I heard “FIRST TIME COMPETITORS BACK STAGE PLEASE!”

Well if you had seen some of the monsters that walked in that room, well near shit myself! My confidence just blown again! I must admit, I didn’t enter this thinking I was going to win; all I wanted was not too look as though I shouldn’t be there!

Some of the things that go through your mind like I hope I don’t forget my routine, you want to try and hide your worst bits, but how do you hide everything? Is my tan right, have I picked the right colour of briefs, will they get my music right and so on. Honestly, you worry about nothing.

We were then all lined up back stage ready too go on, all looking at each other, thinking shit hasn’t he got good abs, look at the calves on him, I wish my arms were as big as his and so on, then shit! Who was first on stage, yes, yours truly…!

I remember walking on stage and looking at the audience, the place was packed, but the good thing was, with the lighting you could only see the first two rows. Then I don’t know what came over me, but all the nerves went and I started to actually enjoy being up there, with each preliminary pose my confidence grew as I could hear the crowd cheering. We were then all sent off stage and return to do our solo routines, again me first, at least I could get it out of the way.

It went without a glitch, the crown went wild, what an experience, I felt great. After all had done their routines, we were sent off to get ready for the night show; the bad thing about pre-judging is having to wait. However, my training partner said he had me in first position, but I thought no 5, a guy called Paul had first and a guy from our gym Kevin 2nd and maybe me third, but George was convincing me that I had it, others had me 1st or 2nd, to be honest, I wasn’t bothered what I got, I had been up there and done it, that’s all that mattered to me.

The Evening Show
Judging had already been done, so the night show was just to get up there and enjoy it, boy did I enjoy that second outing, the crowd was even bigger and the crowd just got behind all the competitors. Then, after the pose down, announcement time, there were 5 of us on stage and they announced the top three. In third place was Paul. In second place was Kevin and in first place was ME! I was ecstatic just to be in the top three, now I definitely didn’t care what I got, I had come in the top three.

Then the announcement for third place, before they actually called the name, I started to step forward, convinced that it would be me, “number 5 Paul”, I stepped back quickly thinking I must be second then, then they announced for second place “number 2 Kevin”, hang on! Did I hear that correctly? Kevin stepped forward, then that must mean I have won! Then they announced “in first place: number 1 Paul Howarth”, I just can’t put into word how I felt. This was one of the best feelings I have ever had in my life!!

So it took me 15 months to get to and win my first competition, since then I entered the NABBA North West at Southport and placed 6th.

* I then did the Mike Aherns show and received 2 trophies for first timers and over 40′s(Masters) 4th places.

* Warrington EFBB 2nd.

* WABBA North West at Middleton 1st place, this was a qualifier for WABBA World Championships in Greece, which unfortunately I could not attend.

* I also received another trophy at this venue, presented to me by Baz Bardsley for most promising bodybuilder in our gym this year, this trophy now has my name on it and resides at the gym on show in the reception.

At the time of writing this article, it is now mid July, I’ve started to diet again in preparation to qualify for the EFBB British Championships held in October.

During this competing period, I’ve had help from lots of people, especially the No No Bull bulletin board, reading some of the workouts, diets and gear usage that some of have done has helped me considerably. There are just some things you can’t always ask people close too you, but you can ask whatever you want on the board and in most cases get the result needed. Mick! The board is a god send; I couldn’t have done it without you all.

I will be 44 years old on the 27th of July, and I’m so proud of what I have achieved this year, it only inspires me now to go even further in the sport, my main aim now is too reach the EFBB Britain in October, if not this year then I will get there next year, and who knows one day I might even win it. Watch this space!”

Paul Howarth

Thanks for that great testimonial, and I have to say that since the last date that Paul has mentioned, I can say that Paul also took the following places and trophies; all of which I can assure you were hard earned and well deserved.

* June 6th WABBA MR & MISS UK Championships Class 4 under 5ft 5inch 1st Place

* 5th Sept EFBB East of England Qualifier for the British championships Under 70k 2nd place did not qualify

* 11th Sept EFBB Nor th East Championships Qualifier for the British championships – 1st Place Qualified at last

* 3rd Oct Mr & Miss Wigan Physique Show – Over 40′s 1st Place

* 10th Oct EFBB British Finals – Under 70′s Not sure on placing most say 7th or 8th

Learn How You Can Instantly Access The Greatest Gold-Mine, Of Easy To Understand, 100% Useful, Bodybuilding And Anabolic Steroids Advice Ever Crammed Into One Place… http://www.mickhart.com/board.html

Train hard and be strong,
Mick Hart.

“For anyone considering steroid use” This is a MUST READ… Layman’s Guides to Steroids I and II

WARNING: Don’t read this unless you are ready to GAIN Serious Lean Muscle> “Layman’s Guides to Steroids 3.0“

Now first of all I’d like to thank Lawrence for sending us his muscle growth tips, and you should really have a go at his bodybuilding workout routines revealed below…

You think you know better? Well I’ll be the judge of that, but I’d love to hear what you consider to be effective muscle growth tips, so if you want your bodybuilding workout routines published on this blog, then send them to mick@mickhart.com

I have been training seriously for the past two and a half years, with reasonable progress until I hit a plateau in the past 6 months. After serious gains, going from 170 lbs. to 210 lbs., in 6 months, and then leaning up to 190 lbs. Once I hit there, I tried to increase my weight and the weights I was using, but I had hit a brick-wall (although with the supplements I was using previously – provided by Mick, I would have gone through the wall and come out the other side, but that’s a different story).

I had limited motivation and could find none in the magazines that I was reading (No Bull excepted). I thought that I would have to start using the puffy machines to gain some motivation, but then thought … NO WAY, I’M NOT A GIRL, ONLY WOMEN WHO DON’T WANT TO PUT ON MUSCLE USE MACHINES!

I started on a method of increasing my strength and my muscle mass at the same time. If you are hoping to read about some incredible routine that will give muscle mass and lean you up at the same time, this is not it. This routine will give you increased muscle mass, but not necessarily the lean part.

What you need to do is find your three-rep maximum, and also your six rep maximum. From there you can start the workout. Each time you do a set you will feel more powerful, and also quite tired, but you must continue. This bodybuilding routine should be used for a maximum of six weeks, and only every six months.

Routine 1 (Chest and Back)

Bench-press 1×3 (1×6), 1×3 (1×6), 1×3 (1×6)
Lat pulldowns 1×3 (1×6), 1×3 (1×6), 1×3 (1×6)

Incline bench 1×3 (1×6), 1×3 (1×6), 1×3 (1×6)
Cable rows 1×3 (1×6), 1×3 (1×6), 1×3 (1×6)

Flyes 1×6, 1×6, 1×6
1 arm rows 1×6, 1×6, 1×6

Routine 2 (Shoulders and biceps)

B/bell press 1×3 (1×6), 1×3 (1×6), 1×3 (1×6)
B/bell curls 1×3 (1×6), 1×3 (1×6), 1×3 (1×6)

D/bell press 1×3 (1×6), 1×3 (1×6), 1×3 (1×6)
D/bell curls 1×3 (1×6), 1×3 (1×6), 1×3 (1×6)

Lat raises 1×6 (1×12), 1×6 (1×12), 1×6 (1×12)
Conc curls 1×6, 1×6, 1×6

Routine 3 (Triceps and lower back)

Cl grip bench 1×3 (1×6), 1×3 (1×6), 1×3 (1×6)
Deadlifts 1×4 (1×7), 1×4 (1×7), 1×4 (1×7)

Pushdowns 1×3 (1×6), 1×3 (1×6), 1×3 (1×6)
Back extensions 1×15, 1×15, 1×15

1 arm ext 1×4 (1×7), 1×4 (1×7), 1×4 (1×7)

Routine 4 (Legs)

Squats 1×3 (1×6), 1×3 (1×6), 1×3 (1×6)
H/string curls 1×7, 1×7, 1×7

Leg Press 1×3 (1×7), 1×3 (1×7), 1×3 (1×7)
Lunges 1×8, 1×8, 1×8

Calf raised 1×8, 1×8, 1×8, 1×8

All of these bodybuilding routines call for supersets, for example, day 1′s first exercise should look like this:

Do B/press for 3 reps (max weight), then straight to pull-downs 3 reps (max weight), then back to a lighter weight for 6 reps on bench, then back to a lighter weight for 6 reps on pull-downs. Then you get a rest (2 mins should be long enough get all your strength back for the next quadruple giant set.

Each time you go back to do these routines, try to use a little heavier weight, and by the end of the six weeks, you should have increased the weights you are lifting by quite an amount.

When I started this routine, I was benching 130kgs for 4 reps; now, only 4 weeks later, I can do 150kgs for 5 reps. Not bad for someone who weighs 92 kgs.

I have enjoyed writing my first article for Mick, and can quite honestly say that Mick has been a great mate and also someone to turn to, to bounce ideas off, not just for bodybuilding training, but also supplement and nutrition ideas.

Well cheers Lawrence, you really know your stuff!!!

Remember if you want your bodybuilding workout routines published on this blog, just send them to mick@mickhart.com

Train Hard, Learn & Be Strong,
Mick Hart.

“For anyone considering steroid use” This is a MUST READ… Layman’s Guides to Steroids I and II

WARNING: Don’t read this unless you are ready to GAIN Serious Lean Muscle> “Layman’s Guides to Steroids 3.0“

Now as I recently mentioned the Laymen Steroid Guides 1V are on their way to the press, and that I wanted to explore ways to help the over 60s be able to get those muscles that they have always dreamed of. So as an introduction, I’ve decided to share this great testimonial by then 67 year old Alan Brown. It really is a great read and includes some great bodybuilding training routines, so here we go, and many thanks Alan…

“It’s 27 October 2001 and I enter a bodybuilding competition for the first time. Big deal! Hey, wait a minute, it’s taken me some 47 years, since I first put my hands to a barbell … and I’m 67 years young!! In the words of a Kiwi friend of mine – “What kipt ya’, mate?”

When I retired from work in Feb ’99, my retirement present to myself was to go around New Zealand on a guided motor bike tour – EVERYONE should try it!! Fantastic country – God’s own. Wonderful folk. Simply brilliant, but how do you follow that, being turned out to graze to the end of time? All those hours to fill and with parents who passed on at 89 and 93, my gene pool might suggest I’ll go on for ever! I had always kept myself in good shape and had no health problems whatsoever.

I’ve much to keep the old brain cells up to the mark – lots of interests, not least my singing with a prestigious amateur choir. There was still the bike of course, although doubts were already creeping in here, because of the havoc its riding position was causing to my old back bone and, I had to admit, I was beginning to lose my bottle anyway, becoming more accident prone. It could give me lots of fresh air, certainly, but not real physical exercise and I WANTED to stay really fit, to enjoy life to the full with my grand-daughter, born ten years to the day that my wife had died.

In fact, the very day she was born, I enrolled at a local authority fitness centre and took up basic weight training, after a lay-off of about 20 years. I had first hit the weights when doing National Service in the early ’50′s – 3 of us found a few weights in a bunker that served as a sports centre – and, when at home, I rigged up a makeshift barbell with a broom handle and buckets of sand!

My brother bought a set of weights, to use in his bedroom until we dropped a loaded bar and cracked the plaster in the living room below. I went up to university in 1955 and found an almost unused weights room at the gym. You HAD to be a bit odd to do that kind of thing and I wouldn’t dare to say that I was “bodybuilding”, just weight training. I got started with Oscar Heidenstam’s “Bodybuilding for Beginners”, printed in successive issues of “Health & Strength”, circa 1955 – pages which I still have today!

Thereafter, wherever I worked – Corby/Kettering, Slough, Sheffield, Cambridge – I looked up a gym and trained perhaps once or twice a week. Nothing serious – it was just an interest. After all, I didn’t have the potential to do much, did I? – certainly not sufficient to think of competitive bodybuilding. I scarcely acknowledged the fact that I was any kind of bodybuilder, just a guy who worked out for fitness.

There was a bit of a hiatus, involving meeting my one-and-only on holiday in Greece and courting for two years by holiday “commutes” between the UK and Denmark! Then, after we married, I returned to university for a higher degree – and we had twins. It wasn’t until we came to live in Croydon in 1969, and the children got to school age, that I found my way back to a gym, just twice a week, as before. Back to that same beginners’ course, in fact.

I would have been about 38 then. I always say that it did my marriage a power of good, because I used to go home as horny as hell and my wife appreciated all the attention she got. BUT trouble struck after some two years of this, when I twisted my lower back very severely (from pruning an apple tree!!) and the various medics I saw said that I should never, ever, “lift” again. My old bones could take no more !!

But that was 1974, or thereabouts. Between then and 1999, I did no weights work and had several incidents involving problems with worn vertebrae, not least with my motor bike, but also as a result of too ambitious DIY or gardening. I always retained an interest in the Iron Game and bodybuilding in particular, so, come retirement, I thought I might venture back, cautiously, to training once more.

In fear of doing irreparable damage to myself, I determined that I would do this only under the supervision of a personal trainer … HA ! Some hopes ! I have now been through THREE such gurus, with little long-term guidance of any worth. This is a very real problem for an old ‘un like me – keen to do things, full of commitment, willing to work hard and time to do so, but who can take such as me seriously? Who has EVER trained someone twice their age? Who UNDERSTANDS this old man’s body, both structurally (as in weight training) and metabolically (as in diet/nutrition). I have yet to meet anyone who knows more than I do about myself.

The first guru writes for a well-known muscle magazine. I travelled to Birmingham for an assessment and, for a fee, he set me up with a Mike Mentzer-style ultra-brief schedule – single sets to failure stuff, twice a week, with a 5-6 meals a day diet sheet. The result? My early, rapid gains simply melted away and I was back where I started. And the diet nearly choked me, I almost had to push the food down with a stick!

The local authority gym lasted only a few months, being closed for refurbishment. However, I responded well to the basics and it showed ! Sometimes, I went for a swim after my workout and had young Dads asking me about my training; suddenly, I found myself called a “bodybuilder” at age 65 and it seems that I was an inspiration to a number of guys, who started back to training themselves as a result of seeing me.

I moved to a local YMCA, with excellent facilities of all kinds and got taken in hand by a “fitness instructor” who nearly finished me off with the most horrendous heavy duty routines. Loads of CV, stretches, then four weights routines, each of which could take me up to TWO HOURS to complete, plus cool-down CV and more stretches. I got so tired, that I would fall asleep over my meal when I came home. Also, more and more things took me back to a physiotherapist or osteopath – like a torn rotator cuff and bursitis of the knees – I was falling apart!! Then, this young Turk had the cheek to say, “Well, I knew that if I had given that to anyone over 50, it would have killed them … but I thought you were up for it !!”

Then to my second guru, who promised well, initially and gave me some excellent bodybuilding routines, with which I kept, more or less, for the past year, up to that show. He started me at my present gym – Muscle-FX, in Croydon – and got me to a good osteopath, to right the damage from working at the Y. But, I still experienced difficulties in coping with his diet recommendations. Sadly. this fellow had serious personal problems and had to give up training me; he was decent enough to return his fee – I miss his sure counsel.

Muscle-FX is a real hard-core gym and the guys there are so friendly and helpful. I’m probably twice as old as any other regular but I’ve so often been called “inspirational” and even “motivator” by youngsters who like the way I put my back into training. The gym manager soon suggested that I should consider competition but, somehow, I couldn’t take this seriously. Then, trainer number 3 took over – he refined slightly what was already a successful set of routines and also brought up the possibility of competition.

So, when I read about the Mr Hercules show to be run by Scott Horton and Terry Fisher at Colchester, I said I’d give it my best – very much tongue in cheek! However, instead of saying “Great!! This is what we have to do.”, trainer no.3 sort of melted away and left me to get on with it. In consequence, my diet and attempting to cut back up to the day of the show was pure guesswork on my part; indeed, I got more help and ideas over the ‘phone from Scott himself, than I did from my paid-up trainer. Actually, I all but chickened out but, while on holiday in Yorkshire, I sat in on the Mr Harrogate show and thought “Yes, I could handle this..” and the rest, as they say, is history.

The show was a fantastic experience. I went up to Colchester totally alone – didn’t even have anybody to help me with oiling down, pumping up and all the other things you have to do before going on stage. Fortunately, I had had two coats of ProTan before hand, from a gym colleague and I can’t thank Damar enough, for the time he spent with me, going through the compulsories and working out a simple pose routine for me to follow. May he do well at the All Stars show.

The camaraderie back stage was great and I had no nerves or stage fright whatsoever. When I went into my pose routine, the noise coming from the punters was so great that I couldn’t hear the start of my music. Although well supported out front, it was a pity to see so few competitors – and I was with just one other Senior on stage a “young” man 21 years my junior and in training twelve years.

Needless to say, I was second (i.e. last !) and felt such a fraud, walking off with a cup. But I was assured that it was well deserved; I was very flattered, even more so after the show, when I got mobbed by so many would-be wanna-bees about my performance. I learned A LOT from this first time … and … yes, I will do it again, God willing and a following wind. But, who can say what’s in the offing, at nearly 68?

So, how had this come about? Setting aside the traumas of my first year back in the gym, my training in the 13 months up to the show has stayed very much to the same formula. Four days a week, each session – excepting Friday’s quads/calves routine – preceded by CV warm-up, either on a treadmill (3 mins walk/5mins run/2 mins cool-down) or stationary bike (up to 20 mins), followed by stretches for the whole body. My bodybuilding routines followed the following pattern”…

Monday : Chest / Biceps
1. Incline dumbbell press (1 x 15, 12, 10,
2. Flat barbell press (1 x 12, 10,
3. Machine flyes (1 x 12, 10,
4. Barbell curls (1 x 15, 12, 10)
5. Reverse cable curls (1 x 12, 10,
6. Ab crunches – chair (3 x 25)
Cool-down (treadmill – 3 mins) and Stretches.
Variations on above : Decline barbell press (4 sets) every 3rd week. Flat dumbbell press, supersets with flat dumbbell flyes.

Tuesday : Back / Hamstrings
1. Pull-down to front (wide grip) (1 x 12, 10,
2. Incline bench dumbbell rows (1 x 12, 10,
3. Straight arm cable pull-downs (1 x 15,12, 10)
4. Hyper-extensions with dumbbell (1 x 12, 10,
5. Leg curl (1 x 15,12, 10,
6. Dumbbell stiff legged dead-lift (1 x 10, 8, 6)
Cool-down and stretches as above.

Thursday : Deltoids / Triceps
1. Cable upright row (1 x 12, 19,
2. Forward raise with barbell (1 x 12, 10,
3. Lateral dumbbell raise (1 x 12, 10,
4. Incline d/b rear deltoid raise (1 x 12, 10,
5. Triceps cable push-down (1 x 15, 12, 10,
6. Narrow bench press – Smiths (1 x 12, 10,
7. Ab crunches – chair (3 x 25)
Cool-down and stretches

Friday : Quads / Calves
1. Leg extensions (1 x 15, 12, 10)
2. Leg press (1 x 15, 12, 10)
3. Hack squats (1 x 15, 14, 12)
4. Seated calf raise (1 x 15, 14, 12)
5. Standing calf raise (1 x 10, 10, 10)
Cool-down and stretches

Okay thanks again Alan, and that is just a warm up for what is still to come in next weeks post, which will include tips on diet, vitamins and supplements for excellent muscle growth results… So until then,

Train Hard, Learn & Be Strong,
Mick Hart.

“For anyone considering steroid use” This is a MUST READ… Layman’s Guides to Steroids I and II

WARNING: Don’t read this unless you are ready to GAIN Serious Lean Muscle> “Layman’s Guides to Steroids 3.0“

In the previous articles we have taken a look at the different muscle groups and just how we can spice up those boring bodybuilding workout routines, and really impress the other guys at the gym…

Now, you can bet we have missed some muscle groups out, low back and biceps for instance, all exercised by moves mentioned. You don’t really want me to list the alternate biceps exercises do you? The whole idea is not a lesson in anatomy, but simply a suggestion to try alternative exercises now and then, swap barbell curls with seated incline dumbbell curls, for biceps, swap around your leg exercises, change reps, sets and even workout times.

(You may even make better progress if you swap gyms or workout partners. and no I am NOT suggesting wife swapping).

Does your workout partner encourage you enough or even hold you back? Too slow? Taking too long to recover in between sets? Even a repaint of your home gym, some new pictures to inspire and most of all a re-think of your motives for workout…

…(it can’t be to become rich and famous, few if any bodybuilders ever make money, and most are more likely to get infamous than gain stardom. We all know ‘life sucks’ or is it back to the hoover again?)

But you can improve YOURSELF and set your own goals and targets and sod those who run down bodybuilding. It takes a lot of guts and self control to train on a regular basis. Just make sure you are getting the most out of your bodybuilding workout routine efforts, and that you’re not sweating away for nothing.

Train Hard, Learn & Be Strong,
Mick Hart.

“For anyone considering steroid use” This is a MUST READ… Layman’s Guides to Steroids I and II

WARNING: Don’t read this unless you are ready to GAIN Serious Lean Muscle> “Layman’s Guides to Steroids 3.0“

Anyway, logically in the final of our bodybuilding training routines; but paying most attention to variety, we move down to the legs. So, onto the quads or QUADRICEPS FEMORIS, vastus internalis, lateralis and vastus medius. The latter set now often referred to as ‘tear drops’. These are the extensors of the thighs, balanced by the biceps of the thighs, which is the large muscle at the back of the thigh, brought into use when the leg is bent bring the foot to the buttocks (and very easy to cramp ..ouch)

The best bodybuilding exercises for these is the leg curl machine, usually found in both home and modern gyms. Athletes develop such thigh biceps by sprinting and other track events. As for the earlier extensor muscles of the thigh, all squatting moves, front squats, hack squats, straddle lifts, leg presses, smith machine exercises, bench squats, partial squats, unlocked squats, sissy squats and again all sporting activities like running and especially jumping.

Its easy to change your bodybuilding training routine often, yet still use the best exercises with just a little imagination and thought. Better still is to change frequency of workouts and sets and reps, shock your muscles out of that apathy. If you usually train 4 sessions a week, drop it to three and notice any change. If you improve, so much the better, if not, simply drop back to your original plan. But do give it all some thought, nothing is written in stone – see what works for you by trial and error.

At rock bottom now we come to the CALVES or gastrocnemius (Greek name from frogs bellies would you believe) with the main muscle group on the front of the shin being the tibialis. The calves are exercised almost continually, whenever we are standing (I do heel raises on the kerb when waiting for a bus, to much amusement of other passengers) or moving upright.

All sports of the running variety, especially sprinting (try running in soft sand) develop the calves, but of course bodybuilders isolate the group further and use heel raises, best on a block to stretch fully the muscles. Try a variety of foot positions for both calves and toe raising for tibialis. Calf machine raises, calf raises seated with the barbell placed across the knees, and perhaps best of all, single leg calf raises, holding a dumbbell for added resistance and with toes on a block to stretch the muscles to the max.

Next week we won’t be looking at any particular muscle group in particular, but we will be focusing on other ways to bring some variety to your regular bodybuilding training routines, so until then…

Train Hard, Learn & Be Strong,
Mick Hart.

“For anyone considering steroid use” This is a MUST READ… Layman’s Guides to Steroids I and II

WARNING: Don’t read this unless you are ready to GAIN Serious Lean Muscle> “Layman’s Guides to Steroids 3.0“

So, the next muscle group on our extreme bodybuilding workout hit list is the tank tops friend, the LATISSMUS DORSI, or as us muscle heads know it, the lats. Like the pectorals, this set of muscles respond favourably to training soon developing bigger and better than the non-weight trainer. You can always pick out a bodybuilder by his better than average lats, which adds greatly to the beach type V shape physique.

Choices of muscle growth exercises include all variations of pull downs on the lat machine or whatever piece of fixed apparatus you may have in your gym. Or simply practise chins or pull ups on a bar. All types of chins or pull downs from pull downs in front or back of neck, wide or narrow spaced grip, single or double arm pull downs (or chins) all work the lats and biceps, with a little help from the forearms as well. You can do lat machine pull downs with nice chrome bars, or use a thick tought rope over the handles ….it all helps!

If you still have a set, use chest expander overhead pull downs – the ultimate in full contraction from cables. Gymnasts display great lats and triceps and fully high biceps with all the rope climbing and bar work they practice. Again such things like climbing also really develop a strong grip.

Already we are half way down in our anatomy travels, and next is the waist or abdominal region, in the main being the ‘six pack’ or rectus abdominus. This area is developed by the many kinds of leg raises both with straight or more recommended bent legs, especially if you suffer with low back aches from hip muscle imbalance (shortened muscles of the ilopsoas) Use also sit ups again with legs bent, more commonly termed as crunches.

Begin from floor and work up to crunches on incline ab bench or hanging knee raises from chin bar. The abs really do move over a short range of inches or perhaps more cms. After that low back group, mentioned above, known also as PSOAS, comes into play. Although relatively unknown, it is extremely important and can result in major muscle imbalance causing many problems, the main one being ‘bad back’, limping and bad posture. So avoid any sort of old fashioned toe touching exercises unless you are anatomically suited to such movements, and few are.

Now when it comes to extreme bodybuilding workouts, for the side muscles of the waist or obliques, the most used exercise is the side bend, using a heavy dumbbell. All overhead lifting effects the obliques, so if you use free weights, chances are your obliques already get plenty of work., but diet will of course show them up to full advantage, rather then being overweight and having ‘love handles’.

By passing the sexual organs and penis enlargement methods, from vacuum pumps (how do you explain to the wife how you caught your willy in the hoover??) to Karma Sutra insect stings to swell the old sleeping serpent, we move quite rightly to the upper thighs and buttocks.

Whilst most people do not wish to enlarge the buttocks, they are mighty important muscles, and gorgeous glutes or the gluteus maximus, can and do look better with exercise, even if its just to lose unwanted obesity in that area – usually a female desire.

The glutes are exercised in all dead lifts, straddle lifts, leg presses on various machines, all types of deep knee bends and most weight lifting. High rep half squats along with sensible dieting MAY spot reduce this area somewhat, although any exercise has a toning up effect and will reduce fat so long as the calories are limited.

So that’s enough for today’s bodybuilding training routines and muscle growth tips, until next week when we will come to the end of this series of extreme bodybuilding workouts.

Train Hard, Learn & Be Strong,
Mick Hart.

“For anyone considering steroid use” This is a MUST READ… Layman’s Guides to Steroids I and II

WARNING: Don’t read this unless you are ready to GAIN Serious Lean Muscle> “Layman’s Guides to Steroids 3.0“

So let’s continue at looking just how we can add some spice to those routine bodybuilding workouts and exercises…

Also recommended for building arms are fixed machine PEC DEC and similar compressions machines found in all top gyms for those without weights or again for a change, or even warm up, try the many forms of press ups or floor dips. These too have multiple varieties of exercising, from hand spacing changes, to high fast press ups, with hand clapping in between pushes or even single arm push ups, or on finger tips. The latter used often by martial experts really impress non-bodybuilders.

For upper chest workouts, try INCLINE bench pressing, again using free weights, (make sure you have spotters around and still awake!) or machines with barbells and dumbbells or the reverse stance of floor dips with your feet raised higher than your head. For lower pecs, use the old standard vertical dips on parallel bars, adding extra resistance when you can exceed 20 reps with a weight attached to your lifting belt. Make sure you do complete full range movements and not just slight unlocking of the elbows – great also for triceps and lats.

Just think three popular muscle groups exercised in one go -must be a bargain! To gain chest EXPANSION and the lung fitness and accompanying health benefits, the best and proven exercise is the combination of SQUATS along with breathing pullovers. The prime requisite is that you perform enough high reps squats to make you literally gasp for breath, so you would need to squat for at least 20 reps, using around bodyweight in poundage, followed immediately by the pullovers, using a medium to light dumbbell, swing bell (centrally loaded dumbbell rod) end over or cross over a bench.

You can also use pulley arrangements. The main thing is to use light weights with the emphasis on stretching your rib box to the full. Aptly named because they look like the teeth of a saw, i.e. SERRATUS MAGNUS, these muscles are now noticeably pronounced in most muscular line ups, making a beautiful tie in with the abdominals.

To fully develop this group, include in your workout, prone flying exercises, and pullovers on bench. Do both straight arm and bent arm pullovers, the latter allows a lot more weight and is great also for lats. Early lone trainers often had to pull over the barbell first before using it for bench presses, and some impressive poundages have been recorded in this lift.

That’s it for today’s look at boosting your Bodybuilding workouts And exercises, so have a go to put these muscle building tips into action, and please feel free to share comments with other bodybuilders in the comments form below, or just join us on facebook and write on my wall!!!

Train Hard, Learn & Be Strong,
Mick Hart.

“For anyone considering steroid use” This is a MUST READ… Layman’s Guides to Steroids I and II

WARNING: Don’t read this unless you are ready to GAIN Serious Lean Muscle> “Layman’s Guides to Steroids 3.0“