Olympia feedback…The Parrillo 100-Rep Five Phase Giant Set Redux…Cookie Construction…Smart Bombing is Smart!

Dear Stupid,

How can you put stone-age dudes like Bill Pearl, John Grimek and Reg Park on your all time top ten list and leave off modern greats like Jay Cutler??!! I have zero idea who Reg Park is. Bill Pearl couldn’t take 100^th place in the 2009 Mr. Los Angeles. What’s up with this stupid idea of placing old timers with lousy physiques ahead of the modern greats?  Time for you to retire

Iron Victor Steele,

I love your column but you sure make some dumb picks as far as your top ten bodybuilders of all time. How can you have Dorian “one arm” Yates ahead of Ron “eight time” Coleman, or Lee “seven time” Haney?? Get a grip!

John Lee, Greenwood, Mississippi

Steele Head,

I really liked your Top Ten BB list. I like how you handicapped the list in order to compare past to present. I would have added the most symmetrical bodybuilder of all time, Samir Banout to my list.

Jossie, San Jose

Vic,

How could you rank Haney so low? Dorian looks like a blocky powerlifter and that weird way you ranked those old guys made no sense to me. I think you were just trying to figure out a way to get your old- time buddies onto the list.

Arn, Falls Church

Iron Man,

Loved the list of top ten bodybuilders – would my list have been different? You bet! Arnold is Numero Uno! Still it was cool to see who you ranked and why.

James, New Orleans

This is just a sampling of the hundreds of replies I received regarding my ranking list of the greatest bodybuilders of all time. As I mentioned in the article, bodybuilding is completely subjective. Bodybuilding is like going to an art gallery and picking out a painting that appeals to you. The painting that you love might not appeal to me in the slightest. That is the beauty of art and that is the beauty of bodybuilding: any list I offer up is guaranteed to generate a lot of negative comments. Any of those that attacked my list could offer up their own list and trust me when I say I could pick their list to pieces with the greatest of ease. There is no single list of ten bodybuilders that would be universally praised and make everyone go, “Oh that’s a great list, a list totally beyond criticism, indisputably perfect and correct!”

Probably the most controversial aspect of my list was my ‘handicapping’ of the older guys in order to level the playing field. I happened to watch a special on ESPN yesterday titled, “The top ten National Football League pass rushers of all time.” Guess what? The top three spots were given out as follows…number three, Lawrence Taylor, a guy that retired twenty years ago; number two, Reggie White, a guy that retired a decade ago; number one, David “Deacon” Jones, a guy that retired thirty five years ago. Obviously ESPN is handicapping for pass rushers just as I do for bodybuilders. The rationale behind handicapping is as follows: if Deacon Jones of 1966 was magically transported to 2009 he would be unable to play in the NFL on account of the players being so much larger, stronger and faster. What the expert handicappers take into account is that if an ancient player were to come up in this day and age, they would have access to all the modern advantages as it relates to training, nutrition, coaching and science. As a result, they would be 10-20% better. The second factor the handicappers look at is how dominant the ancient player was in relation to the rest of the athletes of his day. I tried to do the same thing with bodybuilders and so should you. The fact that some of you are ignorant about many of the ancient greats is not my fault.

Iron Vic,

I am intrigued by what you wrote a few months back regarding the Parrillo 100-rep Five Phase Giant Set. I was thinking about using this training approach in conjunction with a summertime ‘slice-dice-and-shred’ strategy. I have a couple of months that promise to be relatively calm and wanted to link up this 100-rep weight training routine with a super-tight diet. I currently carry 14% body fat and want to get down to 9%. I want ripped abs, defined quads and that bodybuilder look – what do you think? I am so ready for a new approach. I thought I’d use the 100-rep set, with a lot of cardio. By adding a super-strict Parrillo diet to the cardio and 100-rep approach I could get shredded. Could I get the look I want in eight weeks?

Ron, Richmond

Hell Yes you could. I think this would be a perfect use of the Parrillo 100-rep strategy. There has been a ton of interest generated since the article on John’s 100-rep Five Phase Giant Set training strategy was published. This approach is unusual and I dare say revolutionary. It needs to be understood to be used properly. I think syncing the 100-rep approach up with an eight week lean-and-rip program would be ideal. Parrillo devised this approach a few years back when he was researching ways in which to reconfigure the composition of muscle fiber. Every muscle has X number of mitochondria; mitochondria are cellular blast furnaces and the more mitochondria a muscle has the greater the growth potential. In addition, a human body loaded with mitochondria is far less likely to accumulate body fat. Now the interesting thing about mitochondria is that intense and prolonged physical effort causes a working muscle to build additional mitochondria. For example, back in the 1860s railroad tracks were laid by hand, not machine, and a railroad spike driver would use a four pound sledge hammer to pound railroad spikes for 8-10 hours a day: the spike driver would develop arms, forearms and shoulders loaded with mitochondria. His legs would not. John Parrillo
devised the Five Phase 100-rep Giant Set specifically to build additional muscle mitochondria. For example, if you are training thighs, here is one way in which you could structure a 100-rep workout….

Back squat

one set of 20 reps – proceed
immediately to…

Leg extensions

one set of 20 reps – proceed
immediately to…

Front squats

one set of 20 reps – proceed
immediately to…

Sissy squat

one set of 20 reps – proceed
immediately to…

Leg presses

one set of 20 reps – rest, then

repeat this cycle 1-2 more times

Now that is one tough workout! It gets even tougher when you take into account that you perform 2-3 of these Five Phase Giant Sets – do the math – that’s 200 to 300 cumulative reps for a single muscle in a single workout! John is quick to point out, “You have to use poundage light enough to allow you to make all 100 reps – however, once you select the poundage you never drop the poundage from one cycle to the next. Don’t get too ambitious and start too heavy. If you make all the 20-rep sets, do not slash the exercise poundage on the subsequent cycles. This is not ‘drop set’ training.”

I would suggest you start off by using the Parrillo 100-rep Five Phase Giant Set for one or two body parts per week. In order to effect muscular reconfiguration you will need to stay with this strategy for a minimum of four weeks. Eight weeks is recommended. You don’t build new mitochondria in a single workout; this is a strategy that needs to be used consistently and for an extended period of time. You MUST eat big and eat clean if you train this way. I would suggest in the strongest possible terms that as soon as you are finished with the workout you consume a double (or triple) serving of Parrillo’s magnificent post-workout smart bomb supplement, 50/50 Plus™. Then, a few hours later, have a second “recovery meal.” If you train this hard and under-eat, if you neglect post-workout supplementation, you will end up in a world of hurt. I would suggest you combine several 100-rep weekly workouts (say legs on Monday then chest on Thursday) with consistent, torrid, early morning cardio and a tight, Parrillo-style nutritional program. In eight weeks, assuming you do it right, I guarantee you will drop from 14% body fat to 9% body fat.

Vic,

I got a canister of the new Parrillo Contest Cookie Mix™ (butter-flavor shortbread) and had a tough time getting it to mix evenly – do I need a blender or a food processor to mix my cookie dough prior to baking? My dough comes out lumpy…I am sure I am doing something wrong. What’s the right procedure?

Deidra, Pontiac

I talked with Parrillo HQ about this and Dominique Parrillo (who is directly responsible for bringing so many new Parrillo products into the marketplace) suggested the following cookie dough prep procedure…

“Use a fork and a bowl. No need for a mixer or blender; place two scoops of dry Contest Cookie Mix™ into the bowl and add four tablespoons (not teaspoons) of CapTri® to the dry mix. Work it in with a fork, mashing the liquid and powder together. Allow the putty-like mixture to sit for a minute or two; then knead the “dough” with the fork for another minute. At this point the mixture should be even in consistency. If not, try adding another tablespoon of CapTri®.”

I have found that Dominique’s “fork method” works superbly. I like to make my cookies LARGE. Instead of the recommended twelve per batch, I end up with about a half a dozen per batch. The bigger the cookie, the longer they need to bake. I will flip them over after five minutes in order to get them crispy on both sides.

Hey Vic,

How important is post-workout supplementation? What is the best time to ‘smart bomb?’ Before, during, or after the workout? I understand that the ideal smart bomb needs both protein and carbohydrate – how much should you consume in relation to bodyweight? I would assume a 220 pound man would need a bigger post-workout smart bomb than a 120 pound woman or a 150 pound guy. What is the best balance between protein and carbs? Whey? Caseinate? Is regular food okay as a recovery meal? BTW -Great column – you be da’ man!

Bam, Columbus

First and foremost: if you blast away at your weight training as hard and heavy as you are supposed to, a post-workout ‘smart bomb’ is indispensible. It is a remarkable thing when you think about it: by eating or drinking the right combination of protein and carbohydrate after a workout, you actually obtain better results than if you performed the identical workout and neglected to smart bomb. Optimally the ingredients are pure and potent; truth be known, most commercially available products start off using weak protein concentrates and add chemically-drenched filler to fluff up the final finished product. Parrillo Performance Products created 50/50 Plus™ specifically as a post-workout supplement. 50/50 Plus™ uses the finest, purest, most potent protein isolates in combination with low-glycemic, slow-release carbohydrate powder. Each serving contains 150 calories and provides 21 grams of protein along with 17 grams of carbohydrate. No sugar, no fat, no chemically-drenched toxic filler crap. I think a single serving of 50/50 Plus™ is fine for a trainee weighing 200 pounds or less; the heavyweights need 1.5 or 2 servings.

I throw two servings of dry 50/50 Plus™ into a Parrillo shaker cup and toss this into my gym bag. When I’m ready I just fill it up at the drinking fountain and shake it up. I like to drink my 50/50 Plus™ shake about halfway through my workout. This eliminates energy nosedives that usually occur towards the end of a killer workout. Ever notice how the last exercise in a tough session usually suffers and you lose reps or have to drop the poundage? Consume a serving (or two) of 50/50 Plus™ mid-workout and watch how your energy stays high all the way through until the end of the session. Yes regular food can be eaten and used as a post-workout recovery meal: I prefer the liquefied 50/50 Plus™ shake because it is ready to go and circulates to the shattered muscles far faster. Optimally, take a 50/50 Plus™ shake halfway through the workout and as soon as possible afterwards have a Parrillo meal, a food meal consisting of a portion of lean protein, a portion of fiber and starch carb. Be smart and understand that smart bombing improves workout results. I always take a handful of Parrillo Muscle Amino Formula™ capsules after every workout: MAF provides a concentrated dose of branch-chain amino acids and accelerates recovery; MAF “spares” muscle protein breakdown by providing BCAAs.