I haven’t posted here or sent a newsletter in a long time, so I apologize for not keeping these posts or emails going on a regular schedule, but I have some very important news today…

Bodybuilding secrets blog was not always active, at times it was completely dormant, but over all the years since I started it in 2004, it has been a gold mine for serious bodybuilding enthusiasts.

Nevertheless… I’m closing down this blog here at the Bodybuilding secrets website. I know that seems like purely bad news, but I can explain why I’m doing it and how it comes with good news.

At one point I was running a dozen websites, burning the candle at both ends, trying to keep up, and not doing a very good job at it. One day, a reader emailed me and said she had tried to “follow me around the web” but couldn’t keep up.

That’s when it hit me and I realized, if neither of us can keep up, I need to focus on one thing and stop scattering myself all over so many different sites and blogs.

So I started to retire all my other side-project websites and put my attention on my number one priority and core brand: Burn the Fat and Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle

I decided to maintain only one blog (Burn the Fat Blog),as our public hub and home base, and our private members-only site, the Burn the Fat Inner Circle.

The official public website (and only blog) of best-selling author and bodybuilder, Tom Venuto:
www.BurnTheFatBlog.com

The official private members-only website for Tom Venuto and the Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle community:
www.BurnTheFatInnerCircle.com

These are now my central ‘home base’ where the public and members, respectively, can find everything Tom Venuto related:

Bodybuilding has two sides – getting lean and gaining muscle, so don’t let the name “burn the fat” fool you, I am covering “burning” AND “building” on the Burn the Fat sites henceforth, as well as general fitness, health and motivation tips.

Here’s the good news:

I have re-launched the bodybuilding secrets blogs / column… (on another website)

The bodybuilding secrets column is back, better than ever and now offered as a part of our Burn the Fat Inner Circle members-only benefits.

What’s more, I’ve started updating, revising and expanding many of the old, original posts and adding them to the archives at the new bodybuilding secrets home in the Inner Circle website.

The most recent bodybuilding secrets columns from this past month include;

* Rest pause: The advanced high-intensity training technique that literally forces your muscles to grow

* The 1 to 10 method: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Favorite bicep builder, explained

And much more is on the way.

More good news:

This weekend we are holding our end of summer – labor day weekend $1 promotion: www.burnthefatinnercircle.com/public/1-Trial-Private-Invitation-Special-Offer.cfm

I’d like to invite you to try out the inner circle and check out not only the new home of bodybuilding secrets, but also everything else the site has to offer:

* Personal coaching directly from me on the member’s only forums (solve all your fat loss or muscle gaining problems with quick personal answers)

* Burn the Fat meal planner software (push-button software that quickly and easily helps you create fat burning, muscle building meal plans, meals and recipes… stores all your customized favorites too)

* Entry to the burn the fat challenge transformation contests (get the motivation you need to reach the best shape of your life and win great prizes like a trip to Maui)*

* Vast archives of nutrition and training advice and knowledge – right at your fingertips… get accurate information instantly without having to sift through the confusing and conflicting advice on the public web.

Learn more and see how to take the $1 trial membership here

www.burnthefatinnercircle.com/public/1-Trial-Private-Invitation-Special-Offer.cfm

One more thing: lots of people have been asking me….

“What will happen to this bodybuilding secrets website now?”

Am i closing it down? Just letting it sit there? Selling it?

Actually, Im keeping this website and re-building it next year. There won’t be a blog here, just an email newsletter, but in 2014, the bodybuilding secrets site will become the home page for the long awaited bodybuilding secrets book series.

Bodybuilding secrets, the book, volume one. is due out before summer of 2014. I would have it for you sooner, but until then, all my time will be spent on the North American book tour for the new version of Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle (BFFM)

The new BFFM drops on December 10th, 2013 in bookstores everywhere and you can pre order it from Barnes and Noble or amazon now:

 ===> New! Burn the Fat, Feed the muscle in hard copy- order now

Train hard and expect success,

Tom Venuto,

Publisher, BodyBuilding Secrets, now at: www.burnthefatinnercircle.com/members/bodybuilding-secrets.cfm

Author, Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle (order the new hardcopy, now):  www.burnthefatfeedthemuscle.com

I can summarize the whole strategy here like this:  To emphasize thickness, deadlift and row (horizontal pull). To emphasize width, pullup and pulldown (vertical pull).

A really good basic thick and wide workout then, might be deadlift and pull up or barbell row and pullup. That would do the trick for most beginners and intermediates. Advanced bodybuilders usually hit at least three different exercises for upper back, sometimes four.

My “thick and wide” workout had FIVE exercises, plus one extra for lower back. With the little “fun tweak” thrown in for the first two exercsies, it’s brutal. Call it “ultra advanced.”

I started out with a superset: Bent over barbell rows followed immediately by deadlifts. I used straps and a belt for both. By all rights, this has got to be the worst idea ever for a guy with my history of low back pain, but on the other hand, my lower back strength has been better than ever in my life this year and this combo has been starting to stimulate so much growth for me, I’m ready to go back into my first dedicated “bulk” in a long time (and hoping my back stays strong for continued deadlifting and squatting, since I know that’s going to help me put on solid bodyweight the rest of this year).

After warming up with a few lighter weight sets, I loaded the bar to 225 and rowed for 12 reps. Pronated grip this time – not “Dorian rows.” It was not total failure but close to it. The form was not 100% strict, but not sloppy – the weight was under control and I got a tight contraction. I then quickly slapped a quarter on each side of the bar for 275 lbs and deadlifted (conventional – double overhand) for 12 reps.  No rest between sets except the time it takes to add the weight – it’s a superset.

Set two, same weight on rows but 295 on deads. Set three, 315 on deads. I barely got 8 reps on that last set – it felt heavy.  That was three brutal supersets. Man, was this an ass-kicker! you’ll be sucking wind after this, even if you do cardio. (if you haven’t been doing any cardio… heh… you’ll be coughing up a lung, lol). 8-12 reps was the target rep range.

I often do 5’s (4-6 rep max range) for strength work on other exercises, but I think one of the reasons I’ve had success with deads this year is I have never tried to max out. I’ve just been training the dead like any other bodybuilding exercise – in the bodybuilding rep range. I think the risk level is exponentially higher on trying max lifts or even under 4 rep maxes, at least that’s how I feel about it and what my history of back health or back injury has indicated.

No doubt about it, this style of superset – what I call a “compound superset” is the toughest superset you will ever do (two compound / mass builder exercises together). It’s time efficient too. Supposing you weren’t “down” with the higher volume training that I enjoy and respond to – you could probably hit the row – dead combo and walk out of the gym and still call it “good to grow.”

I think the only compound superset that is harder is a squat supersetted with a deadlift. My former “evil trainer” Big Richie, had me do squats (with ascending set overload) supersetted to heavy romanian deadlifts once. (That was the day I realized he was evil).

Anyway, that was the “thick part.” That’s right, that was just the beginning. Next it was on to the “wide” part.

Next movement was heavy pulldowns.  Usually I keep this one stricter and really go for both the stretch and the contraction, but for this program I allowed a little body English and went for the extra weight. Four sets at 230 X 15, 240 X 12, 250 X 12, 260 X 10.  Fortunately we have the 300 lb pulldown stacks at both of our gyms  or we would have gotten topped out at 250.

Fourth exercise (2nd width / vertical pull exercise) was wide grip pullups (a little wider than shoulder width, pronated grip). This one we usually strap weight around our waist, and also usually do it first. It’s a different animal when you do it well into your workout, with the back already fatigued. We went with just body weight and very strict – stretch and contraction – as many reps as possible, to failure, which was only about 10-12 after everything that came before.  (by the way, none of that kipping shit. That ain’t a bodybuilding pullup!)

Fifth exercise… the old school Nautilus pullover machine aka “Dorian’s exercise” … aka “The Torture Rack.”  Once again, fortunately BOTH of our gyms have this machine (if you aint got one… guess you gotta come to Jersey!).

I don’t even remember how much weight we used. I was delirious by that point. Only memory was the pain of muscles stretching.. contracting… and burning. My training partner Kostas “The Greek Statue” LOVES this machine and loves to blast the intensity on this one – never lets me get up until there is nothing left… if i leave anything on the table, for the next week (until the next back session where my chance to redeem myself occurs), I must tolerate a barrage of insults about my lack of “hardcore-ness”….

That did it for upper back, but, there was more. One of the changes I’ve made to my program in the last couple years is to religiously train my lower back twice a week. I hit it on back day and I also hit it on hamstring day (it fits in nicely with that whole posterior chain thing). Lots and lots and lots of hyperextensions – of all varieties. Some days I do reverse hypers, but today it was hypers aka back extensions with 25 lbs behind the head, then ditching the weight and  with just body weight (drop set).

The next day… holy mother of Crom! My back was sore in three dimensions! From top to bottom… left to right… inside and out.

Next time… I think we will superset the pullups and pulldowns… that sounds like another level of fun.

By the way, it should go without saying its nuts for someone without good lower back strength, let alone a history of any low back problems to do a bent over row + deadlift combo. “Why did YOU do it then Tom?”, you ask?  Hey man, I never said this blog was for training instruction.   This blog is the crazy exploits of that manic, Venuto…. or, as Cypress Hill once said… “Don’t you know I’m Loco?”

He was actually impressed – and this  guy doesn’t impress easily. I had never done anything close to that lift before -ever in my life – for fear of my 4th lumbar disc popping out of my lower back and shooting across the gym like a spud from a potato gun. Somehow I pulled the  PR weight for 7 when my best only 6 months prior to this was 355. He recanted. Well sort of…

“I didn’t mean you don’t TRAIN hardcore anymore, what I meant was you don’t WRITE hardcore anymore!”

“What ever happened to those bodybuilding articles you used to write on the bodybuilding secrets blog? That was the best thing on the Internet – EVER!  That shit was classic!  Now all you do is that mass market weight loss stuff. Dude! Your last article was about…. WALKING!  WTF?  Come on man!”

I went off on a long rant about how bodybuilding secrets was just a hobby site – it never even paid for the hosting fees, let alone the rent – and how weight loss, not bodybuilding, had become my “day job” – my “real business.”  He just kept shaking his head and busting my chops more. And that was just this particular Monday in the gym. This abuse had been going on all year long…

“Face it. You’ve gone soft man…  revive the bodybuilding blog again!”

“Gimme a break!” I defended, “More people need help with weight loss than with muscle gain…”

“And besides, what the hell am I supposed to write about? I’ve been doing this TWENTY FIVE FREAKING YEARS – there’s nothing else to say – it’s all been said! You know as well as I do it’s basically just lift the damn weight, eat like a horse, rest and repeat… with more weight.”

He wouldn’t let up…

“Dude,  all you have to do is write the same way you did back when you started bodybuilding secrets – I’m telling you, that stuff was classic. I never missed a post. That’s when I first became a fan. That was the real you.  Let the beast out again, man…  ”

He was on a roll at this point… (And I was knowing he was right).

“Worst case scenario, you don’t have to think of anything clever to write – all you have to to is write up these workouts we’ve been doing. You’ve been killing it lately – your training lately has almost been like the good old days.”

“How about that back workout you just did with the deadlift row supersets? That was brutal. Sick man. Start with that one. I swear a ton of people will start following the blog again.”

What could I say?

“Alright man, you got me. I’ll try. But you do realize I am the world’s worst bodybuilding blogger. I haven’t posted on that site with consistency since my last contest and that was more than 6 years ago.”

“Maybe you should compete again.”

How did I know that was coming?

“Yeah, we’ll see about that.  You know I’m retired.”

“Yeah, and we also know bodybuilders don’t retire. You guys are masters of the comeback… When’s the next show, Tom?”

“OK,  I tell you what. I’ll write a post on that back workout tomorrow. Watch for it. You’ll see.  Hardcore training. Hardcore writing. That’s double hard core!”

Today, September 1st, 2011 marked an official beginning of a 4 month MASS building phase for me. I’m on a mad quest to get bigger than I have ever been in my life. Never mind that I’m not 25 anymore. Age means nothing. In fact, I’m seeing some of the best natural bodybuilders in the sport today continuing to peak at lifetime bests in their late 40’s.

My weight was fairly steady around 189-191 for a long long time as I had been experimenting with staying leaner and doing body recomposition protocols which I published in my new book, the Holy Grail Body Transformation system.

Using that program I had successfully stayed very very lean but my muscle gains came very very slowly. That was predictable, not a surprise by the way. Body recomp is a tough goal to achieve and you have to be a patient man to succeed with that approach. For the next 4 months, I’ll be doing a somewhat modified mass gaining protocol which still uses the holy grail nutritional periodization techniques (calorie cycling), but is aimed at being somewhat more aggressive in the muscle gains.

My body fat may creep up a bit more, and as long as there are at least some abs showing and I don’t turn into fat bastard, I’m at peace with that. After a long period of time weighing under 190 lbs, hearing the taunts of my training partner about how “small” I was (damn him!), I finally started cranking the food up again. I’m currently about 196 (On the gym scale today, I weighed in just under 200 lbs today with shoes on, fully clothed and fully fed (high carbs) and fully hydrated.

Heaviest I have ever been: Two-o-fat. Er, I mean 205. Yes, the truth is, my body fat was too high last time I was at that weight; it wasn’t ideal. For me to get up to 206-210 without getting as soft as the stay puff marshmallow man will be a monumental achievement, and absolutely new territory.

Alas, THAT IS THE GOAL DAMMIT!

You think it’s hard to get ripped? I find that simple and predictable if not easy. Hitting a higher lean body weight than you ever have in your life, naturally seems more of a challenge to me. If I don’t keep forcing food down my gullet, I tend to immediately drop under 200 lbs. Its a very unnatural weight for me, but I like challenges and I’m determined to enter new territory this year.

That brings us to the first workout. Day one of MASS PHASE: Back day…. second only to leg day for putting on sheer body weight… and if deadlifts are in the mix, back day could arguably exceed leg day as the superior bulk builder.

I didn’t deadlift today though. That will be a future challenge when my low back is a bit better prepared.

Here’s my current program: The old standby… the classic… old dependable… the FOUR DAY SPLIT.

The four day split gives me one day just for training upper back, lower back and calves. That’s a typical mash up for the body parts: one major body part (back) – which is very energy demanding, and one small minor body part (like calves), that is not demanding. It’s all about energy allocation. For example, I would never want to do legs and back in the same day. Not the way I train for bodybuilding anyway. Whatever came second would suffer.

First exercise: Low cable rows; pyramid up: 210 pounds for 15 reps, 220 for 10 reps, 230 for 8 reps, 240 for 7 reps. Stack goes to 300. Plenty of room. Love Strong and Shapely gym and dem big ass weight stacks! Try to find that at Planet Fitness!

Last set was one ultra strict lighter set with 1-2-3 count “mechanical” reps: from stretch position pull to stomach in one long pull, hold and contract, thats ONE! with ZERO upper body movement / ZERO pivoting at the hip, slowly extend the arms until they are straight, TWO! then pivot at the hips, lean forward and S T R E T CH! Thats THREE! then PULL all the way back to contraction… ONE! Each 3 count is one rep by the way. 140 pounds. More excruciating than the 7 with 240. Amazing what you can achieve with tweaks in form, tempo and leverage.

Second exercise: pull up medley: medium grip parallel, wide grip pronated, curl/supinated grip narrow and ultra wide grip parallel. Very strict sets of 10-12 with a hold / contract at the top of each rep. None of that kipping shit. Contractions. Bodyweight only today for very strict reps

Here’s a tip you might try in your own workouts: we are all victims of our own habit patterns. We not only gravitate to the same exercises, we gravitate to the same order of exercises. If you do pullups, do you usally do them first? Yeah me too and so do most people. Pull ups are difficult and the more fatigued you are, the the harder they are do to. But why not throw your body for a loop and do them 2nd… or even last in the workout and see what happens. You won’t lift as much weight or get as many reps, but you may get some new stimulation. Also, by rotating the exercise you do first, whatever it is you do first, you WILL hit that fresher, and hitting different exercises when you are at your strongest can also produce some new stimulation. Mix up your order of exercises more often and see what happens.

Third exercise: T bar rows with pronated shoulder width grip: Very strict with tight contraction and full stretch; 105 lbs, 115 lbs, 125 lbs. I go very heavy and do semi-cheating sometimes on some exercises, but I prefer going strict here with less weight as this exercise is a bit precarious with the lower back. its a GREAT mass builder though. If you dont have a T bar in your gym… get a real gym dammit! Just kidding… I meant to say, you can do corner bar rows. All you need is an olympic bar. Wedge it into the corner and row one end of the bar.

Rope straight arm pulldowns. 3 sets super strict. Stick your butt out, keep a tight arch in your lower back to maximize the stretch and contraction. I take a very tight contraction and squeeze at the bottom position and a full stretch at the top position on every rep – and then even an “extra” stretch on top of that (straighten out my arms and let the weight pull even more on those long fibers of the lats). You can literally feel your scapulae popping out. Drop set on last set. This is the one – this is the exercise that’s going to bring out the front lat spread. Wicked finisher

Next up was lower back. I would tell you what exercise we did, but then I would have to kill you. Sorry, ultra top secret exercise designed to bring out Christmas tree lower back, striated glutes and lower lat striations at the same time – ITS THE COMPETITION CRUSHER! What, you don’t have a striated butt and a christmas tree? Sucka! You lose!

All I can say is I must give my training partner Kostas the “Greek Statue” props for pulling this one out. NO! we’re not telling you. guess you’ll have to come to East Rutherford and spy to find out (then we’ll kill you anyway for spying).

I finished with calves: donkey calf raise machine stack + 2 45’s 4 sets of 20; will increase weight next time. Quads were so crippled from last leg workout couldnt do the seated calf machine (thigh pads crushing down on sore quads = murder)… so instead did hack-style /calf raise machine. Will do seated calf next time

I’ll be back again with more workouts soon, plus I have a “champion’s interview” on deck with Skip Lacour that I’ll publish in the next few days.

Until then, no slackin off on the holiday weekend, ya hear!

-Train hard and expect success!

-Tom V

PSIf your current goal is fat loss check out Burn The Fat, Feed the Muscle – that’s my fat loss bible and the fat loss bible for many of our readers here…

If on the other hand you are interested in “body recomposition” – gaining only lean muscle while losing fat at the same time, be sure to check out the “Holy Grail” body transformation.

ANSWER: Advice? yes, be sure to flush twice so there arent any floaters left behind.

Best regards,

– Tom Venuto

PS Ok, ok, I’m partly joking. But seriously, 97% of supplements are either a complete waste of money, worthy of dumping down the toilet, or they do not perform as advertised (advertising exaggerates, etc).

The best you get out of todays crop of “fat burners” is a caffeine buzz (which admittedly might be worth something as
a pre-workout stimulant), a very mild thermogenic effect (not much), and possibly sometimes a bit of appetite suppression.

Abs dont come in a pill, never did never will…

Tribulus? If its real standardized extract it *might* do something in libido dept, (and for THAT, you might as well take the little blue pill instead), but I have not seen a shred of evidence suggesting this stuff boosts muscle growth. If anyone has such evidence by all means send it to me – I’ll examine the data and share the results if they’re noteworthy.

If you dig into the research you will find hardly anything on humans, but I thought it was amusing that most of the studies are on rabbits (not mice… rabbits… get it?… rabbits? oh nevermind… )

Size on? I heard of it, but I dont know what it is (If you want to put SIZE ON, try eating some more real FOOD!).

“Muscle Size supplements” often contain creatine and yes, creatine is worth taking – it’s the most studied sports supplement in history. I will do a write up on it, including a write up on why women should take it too, in the near future.

[NOTE: Will Brink is a great resource of info on creatine – it’s one of his specialties. Check out his program at www.BrinksBodybuilding.com – supplement reviews are a major strong point of this product.]

The idea of stacking supplements might have some merit. The most famous example was ephedrine stacked with caffeine, AKA the EC stack. Actually that is a drug stack not a natural supplement stack, and ephedrine sales were restricted years ago, but when it was widely available, the addition of the caffeine was research-proven to enhance the effect of the ephedrine.

After ephedra was taken off the market, supplement companies were looking for alternatives and one they found was EGCG, the active ingredient in green tea extract. EGCG at a dose of 270-300 mg per day has been proven to increase metabolism by about 80 calories in 24 hours (not much, but enough to be called significant). Long term effects on fat loss are still unclear. However, like the EC stack, more recent research has suggested that adding caffeine might boost the effects of the EGCG.

Another example is creatine. We know that creatine works, so researchers have studied creatine when taken in combination (stacked) with other supplements such as beta alanine or whey protein. Sometimes the results are favorable but the research is mixed on how superior, if at all the two are in combination as compared to taken alone.

When testing stacked supplements, researchers have to do a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial with the individual supplement versus the two supplements stacked to see if there’s any true difference.

Otherwise, it actually clouds the picture because if you take something else with creatine and the study says “this supplement works!” well… no kidding, we already know that creatine works and creatine was in the supplement. The question is, does the additional ingredient have additive or synergistic effects and that is not always clear in every study.

One area I would caution you about is those “everything but the kitchen sink” products. These have been around for decades – it’s one of the oldest supplement company tricks in the book. Basically, they just toss in a little bit of everything, cross their fingers and hope for the best. There is seldom, if ever any research on these mixed products, only (sometimes) research on the individual ingredients.

The problem is, there is only so much room per serving unless you want to choke down handfuls of “horse pills” or bucketfuls of goop. So what happens is, sneaky supplement companies just sprinkle in a little bit of the supplement – a trick known as “fairy dusting.” Now they can say an ingredient is on the label, even though its only there in a tiny amount.

Here’s my question for you: even if that supplement has research evidence supporting its effectiveness, does that little dusting come even close to the necessary dose used in the research? The answer of course is no and therefore it is nothing more than label decoration. So even if there could be some synergy between the ingredients, there’s not enough in there to do anything.

Overall, there’s not too much to get excited about in the muscle building and fat loss supplement world today. Mostly a whole lot of hype if you ask me – and I DO pay close attention to the research.

For me to review all the individual supplement stacks or combinations could take pages, so looking at other product combinations will have to the subject of future columns.

One last thing: Guys (and gals), if you want supplements reviewed through my question and answer columns DO NOT send me brand names. Send me ingredients. You cant tell whats in the product just from the brand name and I just can’t keep track of all this crap anymore…

Although, I must say, the brand names can be pretty amusing these days. They usually sound something like this: “Nitro-methyl dianabel-clenbutrox cypo-nex5! The new frontier in anabolic activators!”

Bwaaaaa hahahahahaha!… yeah, I remember when I was a gullible 16-year old too.

Flush the junk, train hard and expect success!

Tom Venuto, author of
Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle
(The “Fat loss bible”)
Holy Grail Body Transformation System
(For gaining LEAN muscle)

If you’ve watched movies like Bigger, Stronger Faster or surfed some of the bodybuilding boards online, no doubt, you’ve heard hardcore bodybuilders defend steroid use. Supporters claim that steroids don’t cause any serious health problems, only relatively minor side effects which can be easily managed.

Perhaps that might be true if these drugs were used in the dosages and durations for which they are prescribed for medical use. Perhaps it might be true if they were used under medical supervision. Perhaps that might be true if users regularly got their bloodwork and health checked. However, that’s not how steroids are being used today at the most elite levels of the game, is it?

Because of their status as controlled substances, steroids are usually purchased on the black market, so the buyer does not always know what he or she is taking. The drugs are self-administered, often at the advice of the dealer or local gym drug guru. Some bodybuilders take them for years. Almost all bodybuilders use multiple drugs. Many are not using drugs, they are abusing them.

With the assistance of chemicals, pro bodybuilders today are continually setting new standards, pushing the envelope on muscle mass, many of them crossing the 300 pounds barrier.

As such, it would be extremely naive to think that steroids are not without more serious risks than mere gyno, acne and testicular shrinkage.

Non-natural bodybuilders don’t just use steroids, they often use a cocktail of drugs including, but certainly not limited to growth hormone, insulin, cytomel, clenbuterol, DNP, and one which perhaps is more responsible for kidney problems than steroids – diuretics.

I am not a doctor or an expert on steroids or performance enhancing drugs. However, I do have theory about why we keep hearing about bodybuilders and kidney problems.

What about the combination of steroids, very high protein diet, unusually high muscular bodyweight, extremely low pre-contest body fat, precontest dehydration and diuretics….could that be a veritable PERFECT STORM for a kidney malfunction or other health problem – even in the absence of genetic predisposition?

Add previous medical history or heredity into the mix and using the standard precontest drug cocktail might be nothing short of playing with matches while doused in gasoline.

How much each one of these factors contributes to the kidney dysfunction, I have no idea, but for those who claim that it was only the high protein or diuretics or genetics might want to know that the new study says there are potential direct nephrotoxic effects of anabolic steroids.

I thought this recent Times story was interesting, and so was the new study, so I wanted to share them with you. The Times story included quotes from bodybuilding luminaries such as Ken “Flex” Wheeler, King Kamali, and Bob Cicherillo. It also featured an interesting video by Patrick Antonecchia, who ended his steroid use and career about a year ago after diagnosis of kidney disease.

Here’s the link, and be sure to check out the video too:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/10/sports/10steroids.html

The research paper was published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology and was conducted at Columbia University. The abstract of the paper can be read on Pub Med at:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19917783.

I read the full text of the study. The “Index patient” in the study suffered from focal segmental glomeruloscelrosis, a form of kidney disease. They showed his photo (body) in the journal full text and his physique was clearly that of a pro competitor (nearly 300 lbs). His profile was as follows:

• 30 years old, male caucasian
• 6 feet 1 inch tall, 295 pounds
• Professional bodybuilder
• consumed 550 grams of protein per day
• supplements: creatine, glutamine, BCAA, multivitamins
• drugs: injectable testosterone, oral methyl-1 test, GH, insulin & ephedrine/caffeine
• Anabolic steroid use for 10 years
• blood pressure at time of first hospital check in: 145/80
• patient put on medication and told to desist from bodybuilding
• 2 months after quitting bodybuilding, lost 40 pounds. 8 months later lost another 40 lbs – (215 lbs)
• blood pressure dropped to 110/75, renal health improved, but he suffered from severe depression related to changes in body image (perceived himself as “skinny and weak”)
• Patient resumed training and high protein diet, drug free, weight climbed to 267 lbs
• Against dr’s orders, patient resumed drugs and climbed to 296
• Patient had relapse of kidney problems, leading doctors to propose a form of focal segmental glomeruloscelerosis (kidney disease) was directly a result of steroid use combined with the unusually high lean body mass/body mass index
• (no mention of diuretics)

Some people might figure, yeah, this is just a rare case study – and it was in fact just a case study. But there were 10 subjects in the cohort and it was published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Most of us in bodybuilding have heard “locker room talk” about kidney problems and drug-using competitive bodybuilders for decades. More anecdote, Yes I know. But I haven’t just read about this. I’ve seen it.

A friend of mine, earlier this year, was forced to end his bodybuilding career after he was rushed to the hospital – on the day before his contest – with kidney failure. Thank God he recovered without permanent damage. But his doctor, who said she had seen many bodybuilders in her emergency room before, told him he had to quit the steroids… And competition. Forever.

It hits you quite a bit harder when it happens to someone you’ve known for years – someone who had no known genetic predisposition for kidney trouble, no medical history and who claimed to be very careful about his usage. He was also under 200 pounds.What does it take for the bodybuilding community to start to rethink this?

Train hard, train natural,
Tom Venuto, author of
Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle

By the way, for liability protection, my friendly disclaimer: Don’t try this at home kids. This is a workout program for 1% of the bodybuilding population – psychos like us. This blog is for entertainment purposes only. If you want a normal workout, I DO write workouts for normal people: http://www.mensfitness.com/fitness/workout_routines/541

Ok, for all you psychos left, who have not left for Mens Fitness dot com, here’s how the Doomsday workout went down:

I arrived at the dungeon (one of the gyms where I train with Richie – no one works there, you just get a key to front door), and started warming up while Richie was finishing off his last victim.

After she limped out of the gym, Richie sauntered on over to the squat rack where I was getting loose with some light sets, and all of a sudden it starting getting really dark outside.

I looked out the window and dark clouds started blowing in and looming overhead. I’m talking BLACK! Did you ever see that show, Stormchasers. Yeah. Like that! I swear with god as my witness this is a true story. IT was PITCH BLACK out as I got ready for my first set.

I figured this was a real BAD omen… there was a foreboding feeling, like the end of the world was coming. Truth be told, it would shortly be the end of something: my ability to stand up.

So I warmed up with 135, then again with 185.

We slapped weight on each side of the bar and I cranked out 15 reps with 225. My strength hasn’t been what it used to be, and I’ve had to watch my lower back (ruptured L4 comes back to haunt me sometimes), but it felt pretty easy for 15 reps.

245 for 12. No problem, but I started feeling it because Richie gave me barely a minute rest. less than 60 seconds later, 265 for 10. I felt that one. Still not all that heavy, but I admit it, I was sucking wind because the slave-driver wasn’t letting me get full recovery between sets (that’s always part of his evil, cold, calculated plan by the way).

I figured 285 then 315 was coming, but nope, he got me off guard. Drop set. Actually, I should have known it was coming because he had the bar filled up with 10s – a plate, a quarter and 4 tens on each side: 265, drop weight, 245, drop weight, 225, drop weight, 205 drop weight… then I dropped.

He didn’t let me lie there on the floor for long though. Again, just about 60 seconds, maybe I had 90, but it didn’t feel like any rest at all, and back to the rack. Usually you figure three heavy sets, then a drop set and you’re done. But noooooo. Not the M.O.P.

It was ASCENDING SET time!

If you guys only do DESCENDING SETS (aka drop sets), but not ASCENDING SETS, then be thankful for what you are missing….

225 6 reps, NO REST, slap a ten on each side, 245 for 6 reps, NO REST, slap a ten on each side 265 for 6 reps… BARELY got six and I think he spotted me.. can’t seem to remember. By the way, it’s no coincidence that the reps were 6-6-6. This man is evil.

And by now all HELL broke loose outside. It was a torrential downpour. lighting. thunder. Stormchasers. End of the world stuff.

Richie looks down at me; dark clouds behind his head, and says, “Venuto, you look like a squirrel I ran over with my truck last week.”

“Thanks richie. I feel like one.”

I’m telling you, if this doesn’t look like much on paper, with those admittedly moderate poundages, then bring your ass out here to Jersey and do it with us… at the pace we did it, then yap all you want.

I swear, that would would be enough quads for a lot of people, but that was just the beginning… over to the smith machine for split squats. Just one plate per side – and you know the bar is counterbalanced, so thats not even 135 – couldn’t be so bad eh? Hmpf!

You would hardly notice it unless you have a keen eye for form, but the slightest shift in your upper body position can make a split squat sheer torture. Most people lean forward and that throws a ton of stress on the powerful glutes and lower back. Not in Richie’s world.

Smyth Split Squats: Chest is up and out, torso is TOTALLY vertical. You have to position yourself properly under the bar to do this and then there is absolutely no forward trunk inclination whatsoever. Hips thrust forward. Up and down – slowly – like a piston, only 3/4 reps, 1/4 of a rep short of lockout. rep to Total failure and stop RIGHT at the point of failure. Three sets on each leg. Very brief rest intervals.

The burn cannot be described, it has to be felt.

I remember watching a Milos Sarcev Video once from Bodybuilding dot com and Milos (a bonafide psycho in his own right – hats off to you Mr. Sarcev), displayed a PUKE-O-METER on the screen. Instead of red mercury rising, there was green vomit rising. When it hit the bulb at the top, the camera man followed Sarcev’s victims out to the parking lot to catch the action.

You should be proud of me. I didn’t lose my breakfast. I’m good about that. Remember: when you’re “bulking” you don’t want the movement of valuable calories in the wrong direction.

But I felt close. I also felt the acid meter rising. I swear that it felt like the lactic acid was rising from my legs all the way up into my face until my face was flushed with acid. the second I racked the bar, it was like the acid drained out and down. Weird.

If I were training by myself, I know at this point I’d be taking like a 5 minute breather. I know myself and I admit it. But nope. No relief. Quickly over to the dumbbell rack.

THIS I wasnt expecting. Sumo squats. I grabbed a 120 pounder. Not a heck of alot for a Sumo squat. But At this point, it might as well have been a ton. About 12 or 15 reps. Then NO REST, I grabbed a pair of 80’s and did dumbbell stiff leg deadlifts.

The puke o meter almost topped out again. CRAP! If you only try one thing from this workout, try this superset – it will hit your quads, glutes, hams in a way that will catch you off guard. It knocks the wind out of you too. NOTE: on the sumo’s again, vertical torso – its all low back and glutes if you lean forward. concentrate on drivin through the heels WITH the quads. Stiff leg deads: very strict, butt out, back arched, head up – to failure with strict form. Three supersets.

I curse richie and all his descendants. Sadist.

But he’s not quite finished.

leg Curl machine.

I’d tell you what we did, but honestly I just can’t remember. All I really remember is that the walk upstairs was just as bad as finishing off the leg curls. SHIT! It dawned on me. I had to walk back down the stairs too.

I curse Richie and all his descendants.

Seriously though, If I dont bring a notebook with me, I sometimes cannot keep track of what he gives me on some exercises. So it was with these leg curls. Every set is different, and there are mini sets within sets. Range of motion changes. Static holds. Tempo changes. Switch from two legs to one leg at a time. Its all a blur.

Finally, we were finished. It’s 8:30 in the morning. I had a long work day ahead of me. too bad I crashed. Slept through most of it.

So that was the Armageddon workout. As I look forward to my next workout, I keep thinking about Armageddon.. .Armagettin my ass kicked.

– Tom V.

Click the play button on the audio player below to listen:

Related links

Leigh Peele
www.FatLossTroubleshooter.com

The Fitcast Show
www.TheFitCast.com

Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle: Fat Burning Secrets of Bodybuilders and Fitness Models
www.BurnTheFat.com

Download the mp3: (24 megs / 60 minutes!)
Bodybuilding Secrets Podcast #2: Carlos DeJesus – The Bodybuilding Philosopher

Carlos DeJesus is a pioneer in natural bodybuilding, one of the first physique athletes ever to compete in drug-tested competitions when they first emerged in the early 1980’s. His titles include:

1980 Natural Virginia State
1981 Natural Mr. USA
1981 Natural Mr. North America
1985 Natural Mr. World

Today Carlos works as a trainer, motivational speaker and certified medical exercise therapist. He develops conditioning programs for clients with special needs such as limited range of motion, decreased strength, lack of endurance, balance and coordination dysfunction, and diminished functional capacity for daily activities. He also continues to work with serious athletes and hard core bodybuilders.

Carlos is also an inventor of exercise equipment, including the patented quad blaster.

A thinking man’s bodybuilder, Over the last three decades, Carlos had created and organized a true philosophy for natural bodybuilders. For the first time ever, in this exclusive audio MP3 podcast, Carlos explains and articulates his beliefs about what it really takes to be a world champion.

I can guarantee you will never hear this type of information from any ordinary personal trainer or read it any mainstream fitness magazine. Only the bodybuilding world champions think this way…. that is why they are champions, and all the others aren’t.

Carlos DeJesus, natural bodybuilding pioneer
and quad blaster inventor

Visit Carlos online at: http://www.carlosdejesustotalfitness.com/

Prepare to get insanely motivated, deeply educated, and compelled to seriously triumph in your workouts (every workout)! On this mind blowing podcast you’ll hear the world’s #1 sports and peak performance hypnotherapist teach you how to get the most and best out of yourself, so you start coming on strong, and naturally train with mountain moving intensity – and start measurably packing on thick, chiseled, serious muscle.

For 30 years Pete Siegel has personally worked with major pro athletes in every sport, and bodybuilders who went on to win Mr. America, Mr. Universe, Mr. International, Arnold Classic, and Mr. Olympia titles. Pete fully reveals his incredible “Converting Mind Power Into Extreme Muscle And Power” secrets enabling you to generate the invincible confidence and drive that blasts through fear, destroys limits, conquers the pain barrier…and compels mega-muscular mass and power!

Are you ready to take the decided next step in your training and physical development? Yeah? Then listen closely to this serious results podcast, and you’ll learn the amazing mental breakthrough to forging the thickly powerful, muscle packed physique you’ve been striving for!!

Download the mp3: (one full motivation-packed hour!)

Bodybuilding Secrets Podcast #1: Turning Mind Power Into Muscle Power – Pete Siegel

A PERSONAL NOTE FROM TOM

This is my first ever podcast.Leave a comment and let me know, do you like this podcast idea overall? How did you like THIS first podcast? Would you like to hear more podcasts?

If you like LISTENING to natural bodybuilding secrets instead of just reading it, I would appreciate your feedback. Let me know what you think. (If I get no feedback, I’ll assume you guys/gals don’t want any more podcasts!)

THANK YOU!

Train Hard and Expect Success,

Tom Venuto