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Contact us today 1-800-344-3404 or Heather@Parrillo.com

Team Extreme – Mike Fuelner and John Parrillo

Personal Training – Cincinnati, Ohio – Trainer, Heather Bear and Parrillo Performance

May 6, 2010
Personal Training – Cincinnati, Ohio – Trainer, Heather Bear and Parrillo Performance
Call 1-800-344-3404

I am a wife, mother of two young girls and a personal trainer in Cincinnati, Ohio. Even though I am a trainer, I needed an extra push to make some significant changes to my butt and legs.  I have always worked out at home with my two girls, right by my side.  I have a great nutritionist by the name of Mike Feulner from New York.  Mike had me looking amazing only four months after delivering my youngest daughter.

Mike Feulner is a true believer in Parrillo products. He had me start on their supplements two weeks after delivery.  My daughter was still in the NICU when I made my first order.  After working with Mike for one year, he suggested I go do a leg workout with John Parrillo at the Parrillo Headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio.

I was very nervous but excited for my first session.  I think that may have been my longest hour drive ever. After a few hours at Parrillo Performance, I realized that I learned more in that few hours than I had in all of my years working as a trainer.  John didn’t just show me what to do, but why I should do certain exercises. He discussed nutrition, and explained the reasons why I need to eat certain amounts of the right calories to make changes I wanted.  He showed me how to get the most effective workout with the time I have.  John introduced me to the BELT SQUAT!  I am still talking about that experience with all my friends.

When I was finished with my workout, he asked me when I wanted to come back. I was now even more excited because he invited me back for more.  After two months of training legs once a week, I have made significant changes to my entire lower body.  I may not be able to walk the day after leg day, but all the hard work is paying off.

The staff at Parrillo Performance is very customer friendly.  I always feel welcome as soon as I walk through the door.  I owe a lot to John Parrillo and Mike Feulner for the changes that I have made to my body, both mentally and physically.

I now pass along the “Parrillo philosophy” to all of my clients. I highly suggest Parrillo Performance supplemental products to anyone looking to make changes in their body.

For more information on personal training, diet and exercise facilities call 1-800-344-3404.

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Mike Feulner/John Parrillo – Team Extreme Photos

Parrillo Training Camp Pictures

Training “around” an injury & using nutrition to accelerate injury recovery

By Duke Nukem

If you lift weights with the ferocity and intensity needed to trigger muscle growth, sooner or later you will pull, tear or rip a muscle. Lifting weights isn’t ping pong or croquet. At some point every serious iron pumper incurs an injury. If you perform cardio on a regular basis and attack it with the intensity needed to melt off fat, sooner or later you are going to pull, rip or tear a muscle. When it comes to hard training, be it weight training or cardio, injury comes with the territory. A sissy or a poseur will use the risk of injury as an excuse to avoid result-producing training – and that’s why sissies and poseurs never progress past a certain level. As Mike Tyson once said about boxing, “Boxers get their noses broke and sooner or later lose teeth and get knocked unconscious…and I’m just the guy to do all three!” On the other hand, by training hard and training smart, by staying true to technique and not being reckless we can keep training related injuries to an absolute minimum. What is smart weight training? Staying within the technical boundaries of a
particular lift; 99% of weight training injuries occur when the bodybuilder loses the proper form as he/she tries to squeeze out an extra rep. In order to complete that rep they might contort, bend or twist and that’s usually when the injury occurs. Examples of bad, potentially injurious techniques include: letting the butt come up off the bench while benching, bouncing the bar off the chest on benches and inclines, rebounding off the floor when deadlifting, pushing or pulling in an uneven fashion, how about jerking a barbell to get it moving, using excessive backbend in the overhead press or bending forward when squatting? These are the usual ways in which we self-inflict injuries.

Stay within the proper technical parameters of a lift, learn how to miss a rep safely and not succumb to ego and attempt to lift poundage you are clearly incapable of lifting. Insofar as cardio, if it is done on a machine the usual injury culprit is attempting to go way too fast, way too far or continuing to push after intense fatigue sets in. While we all seek to equal or exceed personal bests, the majority of aerobic machine injuries occur when the athlete pushes way past their realistic limits. Outdoor cardio is a minefield of potential injury: step in a hole on a trail run and twist or break an ankle; run on pavement and create shin splints; perform interval sprints and rip or pull a hamstring…the injury possibilities are limitless for the hard-charging athlete. So the question becomes, what is the serious bodybuilder to do when the inevitable injury occurs? The worst solution is to quit training altogether and the stupidest solution is to continue to train as if the injury never occurred. The smartest solution is to “train around” an injury and use Parrillo-style nutrition and supplementation to accelerate the injured muscle’s healing and recovery. As one famous Parrillo athlete said after breaking his leg in a freak skiing accident, “In some ways this is good – it forces me to concentrate on bringing up my lagging upper body.” The broken leg required this elite bodybuilder to embark on a long overdue upper body specialization program. That man knew how to make lemonade out of lemons.

Training around
an injury:

Bobby Bodybuilder severely pulled his upper pectoral muscle at the delt/pec tie-in during Tuesday’s chest workout. It happened when a dumbbell got slightly out of position on his third set of incline flyes. Foolishly, he ignored the stab of pain that shot through his chest and fought through the pain to complete the rep. When he sat upright on the bench he knew something was seriously wrong. “Stupid!” he thought, “Why didn’t I just drop the bells the instant I felt the pain?” Why indeed: what would have been a minor pull had he bailed out on the rep instead of finishing the rep, was now a major pull that would take weeks to heal. If it was any consolation, he was damned lucky he didn’t rip the muscle clean off the bone. A too-heavy set of incline dumbbell flyes ripped Mike Mentzer’s upper pec clean off the bone and prematurely ended his bodybuilding career. Bobby immediately iced the muscle and drove home. He awoke the next morning and rubbed the “sore to the touch” pec/delt tie-in. He walked into the bathroom and examined the injury in the mirror. At least there was no visible discoloration or blotches of purple beneath the skin; discoloration is a sure sign of a ripped muscle, usually requiring surgery. “Now what?” he thought as he prepared for work. By day’s end he had arrived at a workable solution: he would embark on a leg specialization program designed to bring up his thighs and disproportionally small calves. He devised a “work around the injured muscle” training regimen. While his upper body was healing, he would bring up his legs.

Day one:  Legs
Cross-handed front squats	warm-up, then four sets of 8 reps using a static weight
Leg presses	warm-up, then four sets of 8 repsusing a static weight
Lying leg curls	four sets	12 reps
Standing calf raises	six sets	15 reps
Donkey calf raise	four sets	12 reps

Three days later he would blast his legs again, this time using different exercises and higher reps. Bobby could not perform back squats: his pec pain was too intense if he tried to back squat, or front squat using the standard clean grip. Front squats using the no-stress cross-handed grip allowed him to squat pain free. On his second leg specialization day Bobby performed the following
routine…

Day Two:  Legs – Six Phase Parrillo Giant Set
Squat machine	15 reps	move immediately to…
Seated calf raise	100 reps	move immediately to…
Hack squat	15 reps	move immediately to…
Standing calf raise	50 reps	move immediately to…
Leg extensions	20 reps	move immediately to…
Standing leg curls	20 reps	rest before repeating the cycle

He would hit each successive exercise with no rest between sets. Bobby started off performing two Parrillo Giant Sets and after a few weeks he added a 3rd Six Phase Giant Set. After completing three giant sets, his legs, particularly his calves, were so fried that walking down the gym stairs to the street after the workout required he hang onto the handrail with all his might to avoid collapsing and falling down the steps. Still, after the first week, he could see the improvement and knew he was onto something. Bobby trained legs twice a week and on his two other training days Bobby performed a series of upper body exercises that did not affect the injured pec/delt.

• one arm machine bench press with his good arm

• one arm overhead dumbbell press

• one arm lateral raise

• two arm seated curls (no pain in the bad shoulder)

• two arm tricep pushdowns (no pain
in the bad shoulder)

• one arm lat pulldowns

• one arm seated cable row

• one arm Hammer Strength pulldowns

• Prone hyperextensions

It took Bobby six full weeks to nurse his injured pec/delt back to complete normalcy. In six weeks he brought his thighs up almost two full inches while adding a badly needed inch to his skinny calves. After he was able to recommence regular training, the thought occurred to him that his severe pec pull was the best thing that ever happened to his legs. One day his training partner was marveling at Bobby’s “new legs” as he posed them in the gym mirror. The training partner said only half joking, “Maybe you should let me break one of your legs so you can bring up your lousy chest.”

Injury healing using
Parrillo-style nutrition

Would you like a surefire way to accelerate the healing process for any injured muscle? Eat tons of nutritious bodybuilding food and fire down a ton of nutrient-dense Parrillo supplements. As any competent sports doctor will tell you, the key to healing a rip, tear or pull is to leave the injured muscle alone and supply it with loads of quality nutrients. The expert use of Parrillo-style nutrition, combined with potent Parrillo supplements, provides traumatized, damaged muscles precisely what they need to heal themselves. So what is the optimal food/fuel to help heal torn or pulled muscles? First off, starving oneself is counterproductive; to the contrary, a high calorie diet makes complete sense. Obviously if the injured athlete decides to consume the wrong type of calories in the post-injury period, a shapely athlete will become a fat athlete, particularly if the injured athlete simultaneously decides to quit training altogether. Be smart and train around the injury. CapTri® would have to be at the top of the list of supplements used during the post-injury recovery phase. Muscles are made up of amino acids and it is only logical to “heavy up” on protein consumption during recuperation and recovery. Let’s take a look at one potential post-injury recovery diet; this multiple meal eating schedule (see below) could be used in those critical weeks following a
serious injury.

Don’t use an injury
as an excuse:

The natural inclination for a lot of injured athletes is to quit training. That is the wrong course of action: if your injury is in the upper body, train the lower body. If the injury is in the legs, train the upper body. If you can perform cardio then do it! If you can train the opposite uninjured limb using machines – do it! The worst thing a true bodybuilder can do is use an injury as an excuse to quit training and quit dieting – but then again, a true bodybuilder would never consider quitting. One of the most inspirational sights is to see a real bodybuilder with a broken leg hobbling into the gym on crutches and then proceeding to knock the hell out of bench presses, incline bench presses, flat flyes, lat pulldowns, machine rows, seated shrugs, seated curls, single dumbbell tricep extensions, one-leg leg extensions, one-leg leg curls, one-leg leg presses and single leg calf raises. This truly inspiring sight puts to shame the slackers that use an injury as an excuse to quit. Nowadays every half decent gym has a terrific selection of exercise machines. An exercise machine is the best friend of the injured athlete: push or pull using two good arms – or one good arm if the other is injured. Perform all manner and type of machine exercises to work the good leg if the other leg is injured. Double down on the diet: don’t toss the diet or quit the diet; diet harder, diet stricter and above all diet smart. Remember to take in lots of calories but make sure the calories are quality calories. Take in tons of healing, regenerative protein and use potent Parrillo supplements to round out the diet. Remember the words of the champion bodybuilder that famously viewed his broken leg as the perfect opportunity to bring up his upper body. Above all else, never quit and never give up! Learn to make lemonade out of lemons!

A Sample Post-Injury Recovery Diet

Meal I	Egg white omelet with vegetables cooked in CapTri®, oatmeal
Meal II	All-Protein™ shake, Parrillo Protein Bar™
Meal III	Tuna salad, sweet potato, green beans and a Parrillo Muffin™
Meal IV	Post-workout: 50/50 Plus™ shake, Parrillo Energy Bar™, Muscle Amino™
Meal V	Chicken breasts, brown rice with CapTri®, garden salad
Meal VI	Parrillo Cake™ with Parrillo Frosting™, Optimized Whey™ shake
With each meal: 1 Essential Vitamin Formula™, 1 Mineral Electrolyte Formula™, 1 Bio-C™, 5-8 Liver Amino Formula™ tabs
Each Day: Natural E-Plus™, Ultimate Amino Formula™

Mental Acuity: The Ignored Parrillo Principle

Bodybuilding success is often dependant on the athlete’s pain tolerance

By Andre Newcomb

John Parrillo was not fooling around on this particular day. He stood directly behind the young man on the Belt Squat platform. Two beefy spotters stood on either side of the man doing the belt squatting. The muscular squatter was on rep 69 out of 100 and he was starting to fall apart. Parrillo was having none of it. “Let’s GO! We have to hit 100 reps no matter what!” John yelled into the belt squatter’s ear and then addressed the two side spotters. “Alright, we’ve got to give him more help.” The three men each had a handhold on the belt squatter’s apparatus. This allowed them to apply upward pressure on the lifter and the weight. In this way they could make the poundage lighter. The lifter was squatting his own 200+ pound bodyweight along with a 100 pound plate hanging on a belt strapped between his legs. With each succeeding rep the three men had to help the squatter more and more and more…by the 87th rep the belt squatter was completely spent. Parrillo and his boys were now picking up the entire 100 pound payload. By rep 95 John and his spotters had to pick up the entire 100 pound payload plus the squatter’s 215 pound bodyweight! The Belt Squatter’s legs were so shot, so shattered, so spent, that he could no longer stand up under his own power – he had to be picked up.

Our brave belt squatter, a man capable of a 600 pound back squat, was shocked physically and shattered psychologically. He was helpless, like a child being propelled along in some horrible, never-ending carnival ride. On rep 97 he collapsed. He went completely limp and began flopping about like a rag doll: the entirety of his carcass and the poundage had to be hoisted and lowered by the three spotters on those final reps. Done, John and his now-exhausted and huffing spotters gingerly sat the belt squat apparatus down and peeled our half-dead squatter out of the harness: they were like a ground crew helping a wounded pilot out of a World War I bi-plane; the flying ace having been shot up and shot down in a dog fight. “Quick!” Parrillo commanded, “Someone get the puke bucket over here before he barfs all over the gym floor.”  Everyone knew exactly what John was talking about. Every one of them had gone through an identical 100-rep belt squat torture ritual; it was an Iron Rite of Passage in Parrillo World. Quite a few had to make use of the Parrillo Puke Bucket, a moderate-sized tin trashcan with a handy disposable plastic liner. Sure enough, the instant someone shoved the Puke Bucket under the comatose belt squatter’s nose, the instant those limp hands accepted the bucket, the squatter jerked erect and pulled the bucket under his mouth just in time for him to hurl everything he had eaten in the last 24 hours. The squatter, leg dead and bone tired, now felt as if his lungs were now being ripped out. Psychologically the 100-rep Parrillo Belt Squat procedure resets the lifter’s Mind and increases mental acuity.

John Parrillo once described mental acuity as “The ability to push past previous limits.” This belt squat procedure not only builds the body, it builds the Mind. The lifter is forced to redefine what they are capable of in training and in life. Surviving a 100-rep belt squat enduro creates a new yardstick by which to measure all future training efforts.

Muscle growth is not triggered by polite training; muscles need to be blasted past capacity in order to trigger hypertrophy. The belt squat is all about determining what lies past capacity. Mental acuity is a prerequisite for engaging in intense, body-shocking, result-producing training. John Parrillo also describes mental acuity as “The ability to continue to train after pain and discomfort sets in. Some people have a very low pain tolerance and quit at the first sign of discomfort. The inability to continue to crank out those critical, growth-producing reps when discomfort sets in betrays a lack of mental acuity. It is as much a mental as a physical ability to continue to push or pull with all one’s Might after real discomfort sets in.” Mental acuity, to Parrillo’s way of thinking, occurs when the Mind overcomes the body’s exhortations to quit. Champions have an ability to will their body to continue to work when the natural inclination is to stop. To train as hard as Parrillo insists requires lots of determination and mental toughness. To diet with the disciplined exactness Parrillo demands requires determination and mental toughness. To make real, tangible gains we need to continually, routinely and purposefully bump up against training limits. Equaling or exceeding weight room and aerobic limits is what stimulates muscle growth and fat loss – assuming you have your nutrition squared away.

Real gains do not occur as a result of performing an easy set with comfortable poundage. The real gains always lie just beyond our current capacity – continually seeking to exceed limits requires a disciplined and determined mental approach. Training hard and training intense, in both lifting and cardio, on a consistent and continual basis, requires a Mind of steel. The surest way to increase muscle size and muscle mass is to consistently push up against or past current boundaries and limits. To trigger dramatic improvement requires dramatic training: train like a demon; eat with complete discipline; never miss a meal; never binge and never miss a training session. How does one go about improving mental acuity? How do you build up the ability and capacity to work in the pain zone on a consistent basis? One surefire way to improve the ability to operate for long periods of time in the Pain Zone is to go there frequently and stay awhile. The best way to improve the ability to handle the intense discomfort associated with result-producing training is to take frequent and extended trips into the Pain Zone. The more you visit, the longer you linger, the better becomes your ability to endure extended periods of intense discomfort.

One common and constant comment heard from people that have trained under John Parrillo’s direct supervision was recently summed up by one of his students, “I thought I was a hard trainer; at least I did until I started working out with John Parrillo. He had me going through workouts so hard and so heavy and so long and so intense that I thought I would pass out. Not coincidentally, these were also the best, the most result-producing workouts of my entire life.” A big part of the Parrillo Philosophy is about attitude – not in any street gang sense, but attitude as in getting psyched up for a training session, psyched up for a particular lift or psyched up for an aerobic session. In the Parrillo Philosophy there is an emphasis on intensity-boosting training tactics: forced reps, drop sets, negatives, high-rep sets, belt squats, high rep exercises, the Parrillo 100-rep Extended Set. These intensity-amplifying methods are guaranteed to take any bodybuilder past their current limits and capacities. By exceeding current limits, the body is forced to “adapt.” Unless the adaptation process occurs, no new muscle growth or strength can or will appear.

John is a champion of cardio intensity. Parrillo preaches that the fastest way to burn off body fat is to implement the Parrillo Nutritional System and combine a squared-up metabolism with lots of intense, early morning cardio. John will often recommend a second fat-burning cardio session later that same day. Aerobic effort needs to be intense. Labored breathing is the Parrillo intensity benchmark: the ability to motor along for extended periods, breathing hard all the while, is demanding physically and demanding mentally. Really effective cardio needs to be lung-searing and heart-pounding, with sweat pouring out of every pore. Mental acuity keeps the athlete going when every fiber of his being screams, “STOP!” Intense cardio done consistently causes the human body to reconfigure the fiber profile of a working muscle. Mitochondria (cellular blast furnaces) are constructed in reaction to intense and repeated aerobic exercise. More mitochondria mean more capacity to burn energy: an elite athlete has muscles loaded with mitochondria; a sedentary obese person has a very few mitochondria.

A Parrillo-influenced bodybuilder weight trains four or five times per week and engages in five or more weekly cardio sessions. The Parrillo-style bodybuilder uses intensity-amping techniques on just about every top set of every lifting exercise.  Parrillo-style cardio requires the athlete breathe hard for extended periods. A killer mental attitude allows the elite bodybuilder to push hard in training. Mental acuity embraces the pain associated with forced reps, drop sets and labored cardio. It sounds cliché to say, “No pain, no gain!” So we might rephrase that cliché by saying, “No discomfort, no gain!” It is not “pain” that the bodybuilder experiences as he marches deeper and deeper into a forced rep set; factually he experiences acute discomfort. Real pain occurs when an athlete twists, breaks, rips or tears bone or muscle – or gets knocked out! That’s real pain. Physical discomfort associated with intense weight training or intense cardio exercise is overcome by mental acuity. The Mind can override your body’s intention to quit, assuming you have an intense mental desire to continue. People with a low pain tolerance (discomfort tolerance) never make it far in the world of elite sports and those with a low pain tolerance never progress past a certain point in their bodybuilding efforts.

If you are serious about maximizing muscle mass, if you are serious about burning off as much body fat as possible, get serious about training psyche. Learn how to increase your quotient of mental acuity. If you loaf through training you’ll obtain negligible results. If you learn how to harness mental psyche and continually push deeper and deeper into the pain zone on a regularly reoccurring basis, results will occur very, very quickly. Champion bodybuilders and professional athletes understand that a man’s mind can be his biggest asset or his worst enemy. The first step towards improving and increasing mental acuity is to make a commitment to work in the Pain Zone; the more you visit, the longer you linger, the better tolerance becomes. Mental acuity, as it applies to nutrition-related issues, refers to “disciplined consistency.” It takes a strong mind to overcome taste temptations; it takes a strong mind to get it together to make mountains of nutritious foods ahead of time; it takes willpower and tenacity to never miss a meal and never waver in eating the right foods at the right time in the right amounts. Those that are able to acquire, improve and properly utilize mental acuity have a tremendous opportunity to build that fantastic physique they have always envisioned. Those unwilling, unable or incapable, those that cannot overcome their abhorrence of physical discomfort, those that cannot eat with discipline or consistency – all are doomed to eventual failure, or, at the very best, partial success.

Is your Mind your best friend or your worst enemy?

Parrillo Contest Cookie Mix!

John Parrillo announced the introduction of his latest nutritional supplement on July 1^st, 2009. “Contest Cookie Mix™ is a powder that is mixed with CapTri^® to create delicious cookies. Each 10 gram cookie contains 70 calories, 6 grams of protein, and 3 grams of carbohydrate, with no fat or sugar. Make them by the batch and create 12 cookie batches in seven to nine minutes. Now the bodybuilder, the dieter, the individual looking for a sweet treat that is ‘acceptable’ can eat delicious Butter Flavor Shortbread Cookies^™ (literally to their heart’s content) and still stay true to all the tenants of disciplined nutrition.” The new product has gotten rave reviews from those lucky few that received the first canisters.

“Amazing,” said Stacy O’Neal, former Ms. Maryland, “I thought Parrillo Pudding^™ was the most incredible ‘legal treat’ I had ever eaten but these Parrillo Butter Flavor Shortbread Cookies^™ are unbelievably good – they taste so good it’s hard to believe that they are completely acceptable even on the strictest diet.” Order a canister of Parrillo Contest Cookie Mix^™ today.

Parrillo Contest Cookie Mix

Multiple Meals, Thermogenesis and CapTri® EAT MORE TO LOSE FAT!

Regular people interested in upgrading or improving their physiques continually say that they don’t understand why a person should eat more food in order to lose fat. “That makes no sense whatsoever,” one lady told me recently. It seems the ladies are particularly appalled by the idea of eating five or six times a day. I had one massively overweight gal tell me just the other day, “This ‘eating all the time’ strategy is crazy! Eating all the time goes against everything I’ve ever been taught.

Read more

Rut –busting Dumbbell Training!

Dumbell Exercises

Parrillo Procedures to the rescue: John Parrillo is world renown for his nutritional products and procedures. He is equally celebrated for his innovative training tactics. A listing of a few of his more well known training procedures would have to include the infamous 100-repetition forced-rep Belt Squat, Parrillo Fascia Stretching and Fascia Planing techniques; let us not forget the Parrillo Intensity Set, Parrillo Dips or the pump-stretch-flex Parrillo Three-Phase Set. John was the first to insist bodybuilders include aerobics in their training. He was also the first to insist aerobics need to be done intensely as intense aerobics build mitochondria. Let us not forget recent innovations such as the 100-rep “Five Phase” Giant Set. On and on goes his list of unique and innovative training tactics. The Parrillo Genetic Equalizer line of standardized gym equipment, introduced in the 1990s, remains to this day the most innovative take on gym equipment ever devised. John’s patented FxStretch device allows users to self-administer fascial stretching: FxStretch was and remains bold, unique and decades ahead of its time. Even in the often boring world of conventional weight training John continually offers up revolutionary methods utilizing the oldest and plainest of training tools: barbells and dumbbells. One particular training procedure John periodically recommends is a protracted period where dumbbells are used exclusively. On every exercise in the trainee’s progressive resistance regimen, dumbbells and dumbbells alone are used. And not just for chest, shoulder and arm work – this Parrillo approach uses dumbbells for every muscle, including upper, middle and lower back; even thighs, calves and hamstrings. Dumbbell training creates extraordinary muscular stimulation and stresses muscles from a variety of unusual angles. This exclusive use of dumbbells usually lasts for two to four weeks and creates muscle growth past your wildest imaginings: physically stimulating and mentally refreshing.

Even Steven and the Muscle Stabilization factor: If used properly, dumbbells are fantastic muscle-building tools. Dumbbells force each limb to carry its fair share of the total payload and require muscles to perform equally. Dumbbells straighten out symmetrical imbalances and create proportion in disproportional body parts. Most trainees are ignorant of the fact that when they use a barbell or an exercise machine, one arm or one leg pushes or pulls more than 50% of the total payload. Perform a bench press or a row and one arm will push or pull more than the other arm or leg. Perform the identical exercise using a pair of dumbbells and the workload must be split 50-50. If for no other reason, a periodic dose of dumbbell training should be used to acquire symmetry and muscular proportionality. Make that weak muscle carry its fair share of the load and guess what? Those undersized arm, pec, shoulder and back muscles are suddenly shocked into growing. Dumbbells force muscle stabilizers into action. Muscle stabilizers prevent individual dumbbells from travelling outside the prescribed motor pathway. Stabilizers are maximally recruited when the payload is pushed or pulled using dumbbells. Exercise machines eliminate the need for muscle stabilizers to fire whereas dumbbell exercises are the Mack Daddy of muscle stabilizer activation. Dumbbell exercises also trigger something called muscle innervations. When innervations occur, muscles are stimulated to such a degree that neighboring muscles receive benefit. Athletes in rehab use innervations to keep injured muscles strong. If they have pulled or ripped a pectoral muscle, rehab specialists will recommend tricep, arm and upper back exercises to keep the muscles around the injured pec strong. Innervations keep injured muscles relatively strong without actually working the injured muscle. Dumbbells are perfect training tools when used correctly and used consistently.

Dumbbell training for the entire body: Let’s assume you are convinced and have decided to give an all-dumbbell training routine a test ride: how would you set up such a routine? Our training strategy is always based and rooted in the Parrillo Performance resistance training approach and uses the classical Parrillo procedures: the Parrillo procedure for attacking any muscle has three distinct parts. Every time we perform a weight training set, regardless if the ‘implement’ is a barbell, a pair of dumbbells or an exercise machine, the bodybuilder uses the Parrillo Three-Phase Set. The athlete first performs the resistance training set. Immediately they perform a Parrillo Fascia Stretch. Fascia stretching loosens and makes pliable the sheathing that surrounds every muscle. By performing an intense stretch, the constrictive muscle sheathing is stretched and loosened and this allows the targeted muscle more room for expansion. Muscle growth is made easier. The athlete concludes the Three-Phase Set by flexing the target muscle hard and repeatedly. The three phase procedure, pump/stretch/flex, is used on every set of every exercise for the entire workout. If you were training shoulders and performing overhead dumbbell presses, the three-phase procedure would go as follows: rep out with the dumbbells using the appropriate poundage for the appropriate number of reps. After concluding the overhead presses immediately perform a facial shoulder stretch. John likes the skin-the-cat stretch and will have his students hold this intense fascia shoulder stretch for 10-20 seconds. The instant the stretch is completed the third phase of the three-phase set to flex the deltoid muscles hard and flex them repeatedly. You might flex using the “most muscular” crab pose to expand pumped deltoid muscles against newly loosened fascia. Consult the Parrillo Training manual for a complete and comprehensive list of fascia stretches. How would you set up the weekly dumbbell-only training schedule?

The All Dumbbell Training Routine

Monday legs & shoulders

Tuesday chest & triceps

Wednesday back & biceps

Thursday off

Friday repeat Monday

Saturday repeat Tuesday

Sunday repeat Wednesday

Ideally each muscle or muscle group is worked twice a week. You may use the same exercise twice a week or you may use different exercises in each session. Individual sessions are kept relatively short and are extremely intense. Sessions are kept fresh, interesting and innovative by incorporating the pump/stretch/flex procedure. Lower reps and heavier weights are recommended in the first weekly workout. Higher reps are used in the second weekly session. Smart Bomb with a Parrillo 50/50 Plus^™ shake after every workout. Drinking 50/50 Plus^™ actually amplifies workout results. No partial reps please!

Recommended Dumbbell Exercises and Techniques

Legs

Deep squats with dumbbells: Heavy dumbbells are held in each hand at your sides as you squat down. Use a narrow stance and maintain an upright torso. Past a certain point and poundage the grip becomes a problem; holding huge dumbbells as you squat can become unmanageable and top bodybuilders will wear lifting straps as they squat with heavy dumbbells. This makes it possible to continue squatting long past the point where the grip tends to give out. A truly strong man can squat with a pair of 100s (wearing wrist straps) for 4-5 consecutive sets. For maximum muscle stimulation lightly touch each bell to the floor on each rep. Use the narrow squat stance and don’t lock out between reps: stand to a point just shy of lockout; this no-lock technique creates continual thigh tension. Lower with control. Dumbbell squats are terrific thigh blasters. Squat twice a week: in the first weekly session hit 4-5 sets in the 6-8 rep range. In the second weekly squat session perform 4-5 sets with lighter weight and up the reps to 12-15 per set.

Dumbbell Calf raises: Find a stairway and perform single leg calf raises while holding a dumbbell in your ‘off’ hand. If you are doing a right leg calf raise, hold the dumbbell in your left hand. Use your right hand for balance as you go up and down. 4-5 sets of 20-25 reps are recommended in the week’s first calf session. In the second weekly session, lighten the dumbbell and shoot for 4-5 sets of 50+ reps. Go high up on the toe on each rep and really stretch the calves in the bottom position. Alternate legs and alter toe position. One recommended procedure is to perform a dumbbell set for each leg then drop the dumbbell and perform a concluding high rep set of 100+ reps using both legs and with no weight for a burn set. You may super-set squats with calf raises to save time.

Dumbbell Hamstrings: The Romanian deadlift was originally an Olympic lifter assistance exercise. Take a shoulder width stance and stand erect holding two fairly light dumbbells at your sides. Keep the knees unlocked yet flexed. Keep your back arched and lower forward until the dumbbells touch the floor. As you lower, allow the butt to push rearward. The arms are limp, not flexed. When the two bells touch the floor come erect ever so slooowly! Done properly, this exercise is superior to leg curls. The trick is to come erect in super slow fashion using the hamstrings alone to power the raising of the tensed torso. 4-5 sets of 6 reps are recommended in the 1^st session. Kick the reps up to 12-15 in the second weekly hamstring session. Trainees can create a tri-set by alternating dumbbell squats, dumbbell calf raises and Romanian deadlifts.

deltoids

Dumbbell overhead shoulder press: Perhaps the finest single deltoid exercise, overhead presses using dumbbells, has been the premier shoulder exercise for decades. Either alternate arms or push both bells upward simultaneously, your call. Hold the lockout and contract the delts hard. The most common error is the partial rep overhead dumbbell press; the bells are never fully locked out and never fully lowered. Partial repping is a crime. Perform 4-5 sets of 6-8 reps on the heavy day and 4-5 sets of 12-15 reps are recommended on the second light delt day.

Dumbbell deltoid raise: A terrific delt builder if done properly. Most trainees use too much poundage and heave the bells upward; this turns a great delt exercise into a lousy trap exercise. Use a pair of light bells and lift them using shoulder power alone. Don’t lower the bells all the way down and relax between reps: lower ¾ of the way as this maintains continuous delt tension at all times. Raise the bells to ear height and hold the top position before lowering. On the second shoulder day try lateral raises done lying back on a 45-degree incline bench – this creates the ultimate in delt isolation. Perform 4-5 sets of 8-10 reps on day one and 4-5 sets of 15 reps using lay-back laterals on the second shoulder day.

pectorals

Dumbbell flat bench and incline dumbbell bench press: Perhaps the finest single pectoral exercise, be sure and get a big stretch at the bottom of each rep – again don’t fall into the stupid habit of only lowering the dumbbells halfway down and not completely locking out at the top. On the first chest day, push big bells for 4-5 sets staying in the 6-8 rep power-building range. On the second chest day perform dumbbell incline benches using a 45-degree bench. Feel the upper pecs work when doing incline presses. Do not arch backwards while doing incline presses as this turns incline pressing into flat benching. Use higher reps on the inclines; we suggest 4-5 sets in the 10-12 rep range.

Dumbbell flat flye and incline dumbbell flye: The dumbbell flat flye, like the lateral raise, should be performed with light poundage and a full, deep range of motion. The key to maximum pec stimulation is to allow the bells to stretch way down at the bottom of each rep. Try and touch the floor with the bells before commencing the upward lift portion of each rep. Use pec power alone to raise the weight – keep the arms flung wide throughout the set. We recommend 4-5 sets of 10 reps in the flat flye and 4-5 sets of 12-15 reps when using the incline dumbbell flye on the second chest day of the week.

back

Dumbbell rows: Row with two bells simultaneously on the first weekly back training day and perform the single dumbbell row, bracing one leg on an exercise bench, on the second back day. Perform 4-5 sets of 6-8 reps in the double-dumbbell row. Use higher reps and more control on the single arm row on day two. Again 4-5 sets on both days. Kick the reps up to 10-12 per set for the one-armed row. Make sure to pull with the back muscles. Avoid “arm pulling” while rowing; i.e., avoid pulling the weight with the biceps. Use lifting straps if needed on Day I.

Dumbbell power cleans and upright rows: A difficult, slightly dangerous and extremely effective trap, erector and rear deltoid developer. Stand between two dumbbells and pull them to the shoulders as if you were preparing to press them overhead. Lower to the floor and repeat. Make sure to pull the bells straight up. Use a little knee dip to catch the bells on the shoulders. Keep the reps low, no more than 5-6 reps for 4-5 sets. On the second back day, substitute the dumbbell upright row. Stand erect with two dumbbells; pull them in a straight line to chin level. Lower and repeat for 4-5 sets of 8-10 reps.

triceps

Dumbbell overhead tricep extension and tricep kickbacks: These can be done ‘power style’ on the first of two weekly tricep workouts: use a single dumbbell (held vertically) and grasped with two hands. Lower behind the neck and get a big stretch at the bottom. 4-5 sets of 6-8 reps are recommended in this first weekly tricep session. On the second tricep training day, try performing overhead tricep extensions while lying back on a 45-degree bench. Use two light dumbbells and use a slower, more controlled rep speed. You may substitute dumbbell tricep kickbacks on the light day. In both exercises, shoot for 4-5 sets in the 10-12 rep range. On the kickbacks make sure the upper arm stays parallel to the floor and lock fully and completely on each individual rep.

Biceps

Dumbbell curls: Twice a week hit the biceps. Perform 4-5 sets of some type of bicep curl and be sure and mix it up: rotate standing curls, incline, preacher, spider or concentration curls. Pick a curl type you like and be sure to alternate curl types on each of the two bicep days. In the first weekly curl session shoot for 8-10 rep sets using heavier poundage. On the second weekly curl session, go for higher reps, 12-15 reps per set are recommended. Make sure to open the arm completely at the start of every curl rep; and please, no partial reps and no heaved reps

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