Building a Power Frame

Back before there were pretty machines, extra pulleys and well greased Smith machines, there were power pads and squat racks.  I was taught how to lift weights in dark dungeons with sawdust on the floor.  My first lifting coach only let me start with three movements: Squat, Power Clean and Bench Press.

At the time all I wanted was to lift to get stronger.  I had no idea that my coach's plan was to provide me with a powerful frame. To this day I thank his plan and include a heavy amount of Olympic and Olympic training movements.  It makes for a much more athletic build and and aesthetically pleasing symmetry.

All of my early Bodybuilding idols began or had a strong history of using power movements.  These exercises helped me at sports on every level.  They have also kept me younger looking and more active then 95% of the men my age.  I pride myself in my ability to create new and challenging workouts and even exercises, but I always come back to basic power movements.  I promise they will make future muscle growth much easier once you have a stronger base to build upon.

-Alex

The Importance Calorie Counting and Label Reading

Ever met those type of people who have that established high metabolism and seem to be able eat whatever they want, and lead sedentary lives?  Well I am not one of those.  I have been actively in a gym for the past 26 years and until around 2008 I thought I ate well.  I played many sports and was never really concerned about size as long as I could play my position and remain strong.  

I then took a good look at my self, and decided that I needed to dramatically cut my fat percentage and the first thing I did was start counting my calories and reading labels.  The pictures below are of me during my rugby playing days weighing in around 220lbs and me now at 182lbs.  I am just as strong, but considerable less round.

The best thing is research the foods you plan on buying and or eating. Also looking into the "built" in Laboratories that you have around you.  Pick a guy out at the gym who has the physique you want to attain and ask him his eating regimen.  This does not mean it will work for you but it can start a though process that leads you to the right answer.  The other bank of information you have is your genetics.  Look at you family and what they eat and how if effects them.  Chances are if you eat and are active like your father, you will look similar. 

I find for me that I need to live by a few rules.

• Eat every two hours no matter what.  I vary the calories by my goal. The higher the amount: the more mass I am trying to add. I average between 200-400 calories every 2 hours.  (on a building phase, I will eat every hour from 11am-6pm).
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• It is OK to sub in a protein shake or bar as a replacement meal.  I recommend Natural and HydroWhey products from Optimum Nutrition.
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• Don't trust the USDA and FDA.  They have lobbyist that effect their decisions just like every other US agency.  A lot of what they allow food companies to put in packaged food is downright bad for you. (i.e. Hyrodrogenated oils).
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• Fat is OK and necessary. I try to get the majority of my fat from Nuts and Olives.
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• You need carbohydrates, but make sure they are the right ones.
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• Stay away from all bleached products (sugar, flour, etc).
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Just remember you only get one body and know one else is going to take care of it like you can.  And don't be more picky about what you put in your car then what you put in your body.

-Alex 

The Timeless Wisdom of Franco Columbo

As I prepare for my first Bodybuilding competition at the ripe old age of 39, I have gone back to some of the first bodybuilding books I ever owned, Franco Columbo's Complete Book of Bodybuilding.  Being 5'7" tall, Franco Columbo always provided me so much inspiration.  I share a love of power lifting as well as bodybuilding that makes our frames quite powerful looking for someone under six foot tall.  But I will stop gushing about a personal hero.

Franco was a strong advocate for smaller meals at a much more frequent pace as well as an overall smaller diet then most of his counterparts.  He was blown away by how much American Bodybuilders ate when he first arrived in the United States.  In his book he preaches about the need for a balance between digestive, circulatory, skeletal and nervous systems as well as muscle training.  If one of these is sacrificed, your health is at stake.

My decision to compete started as a "bucket list" thing.  Then I noticed that, like Franco, my power lifting frame from heavy power lifts training for football, wrestling and rugby had give me a great frame in which to build upon.  I spent 3 years rebuilding and reshaping my body over the past three years.

At the right side of the top of the page is a set of pictures.  One is me in Feburary of 2008 and the other is this past July prior to calorie loading for this December contest.

On this blog I will post video, pictures and blogs about my last 8 weeks and discuss the modern versus the classic bodybuilders  (Pre-1997).

Stay tuned and work hard.
-Alex