Franco Columbu’s Complete Book of Bodybuilding Read online

  The human brain is the most complex organ of the body. It’s actually made up of billions of nerve cells. And if you think computers are sophisticated, consider this: If you could build a computer of the tiniest microcircuitry, each circuit to correspond to a brain cell, and you wanted that computer to be the equivalent of a human brain, you would still need a space about 100 stories high to house your computer

  Another nervous system, the autonomic nervous system, controls the smooth muscles, heart, and glands. The pituitary gland acts as a kind of First Sergeant among the glands; it produces a hormone that stimulates all the other glands. The pituitary gland feeds solely on carbohydrates and oxygen. That’s why it’s a mistake, even among bodybuilders, to sacrifice carbohydrates in favor of very high protein diets. Carbohydrates are the source that supplies you energy for training. The food and oxygen contained in your blood are supplied to the brain by the carotid artery, and in the final analysis, healthy brain cells are more important than healthy muscle cells. Increase your protein intake if you want to, but be sure to include carbohydrates in your diet to stay healthy and strong.

  Other important glands include the endocrine system of eight glands, which secrete hormones; the thyroid gland, which ultimately determines how fast you gain muscle definition, not to mention how it regulates your metabolism; the parathyroid, which controls calcium for your entire body; the pancreas; renal; pineal; and the ovaries (in women) and testes (in men).

  There are 31 pairs of spinal nerves exiting the spinal cord through the vertebrae (8 pairs in the cervical spine, 12 in the thoracic area, 5 in the lumbar area, 5 in the sacrum, and one in the coccyx or tailbone). Joint and muscle problems are frequently caused by a malfunction of nerves supplying the injured area. In my practice of chiropractic care, I have found vertebral relationships to upper-body problems in 80-90 percent of the athletes I’ve treated. In these cases, naturally, I treat the injured area so the athlete gets relief from pain, but I work to free the nerves involved at the same time, which often speeds recovery. Let’s look at one example of that, relating directly to bodybuilding.

  Not long ago, I had a patient whom I also knew from the gym. He came to me not because he was in pain, but because he was losing size in his thighs despite some heavy squatting in his workout program. My examination showed some pinched nerves in his lumbar area (the lower back); bones were compressed, thus displaced — from all the squatting he had been doing — and were cutting off an appreciable amount of nerve supply. As I pointed out earlier, it doesn’t take much of that kind of loss to weaken a muscle, and his loss of an inch in his thighs was dramatic proof of such weakening.

  I made adjustments in the lumbar area — not the thighs — along with a recommendation that he cut back or eliminate his squats from his routine. He followed my advice and his thighs began to grow again — almost at once. Unfortunately, he took that to mean that everything was all right, resumed his heavy squatting, and was back in my office on weakened thighs in no time. After a few such stubborn cycles, I convinced him to give up squats altogether. Leg presses and thigh extensions then got the job done.

  Circulatory System and the Heart

  The circulatory system complements the nervous system, and is almost as important to the bodybuilder. Proper circulation brings enzymes, proteins, vitamins (which are really co-enzymes, and can only function beneficially if enzymes are around), defensive mechanisms, minerals, and oxygen to all body parts.

  An average human has about six liters of blood, and the heart pumps that much every minute. That’s why a sensible weight program will include some running or other high repetition exercise for the cardiovascular system. Bodybuilding itself is of some cardiovascular benefit, especially if you train quickly with minimal rest between sets.

  If you can lower your pulse from 72 (normal) to 50, you can save a billion heartbeats over your lifetime. And, if all else goes well, add up to 25 years to your life.

  It is true that athletes develop larger hearts, but in and of itself that is quite all right. A bigger heart can pump more blood more efficiently than a smaller heart and therefore has more time to rest.

  The oxygen content of your blood also is important to training. We normally breathe 16-18 times a minute, quite a bit fewer than the number of beats of the heart but it is still a sufficient rate. Man has about 3 liters’ volume in his lungs; exertion will increase that another half-liter or so, and under force, the capacity can be almost doubled — in other words, your lungs can do a lot more than you think. So breathe deeply, increase the volume of your lungs and the amount of oxygen in your blood, and exhale hard to get rid of as much carbon dioxide as possible. The more oxygenated your blood, the better job it can do of nourishing your muscle tissues and helping them grow. You will discover just how enjoyable your “pump” can be.

  Body Types

  Finally, let’s consider the three basic body types, and the basic differences in their fundamental approach to training. The types are ectomorphic (thin), endomorphic (heavy), and mesomorphic (muscular). Any one of the types can be a successful bodybuilder, and every mortal who ever drew breath has at least some — even if minimal — traits of all three types, no matter how dominant one type may seem to be.

  Ectomorphs are naturally built along slight and linear proportions, with long muscles and, usually, long arms and legs. Gaining weight is a particular problem for ectomorphs and, of course, you simply cannot gain muscle size without gaining weight, too. So it makes sense for athletes of this body type to add extra protein to their diets without sacrificing natural carbohydrates. Their training routines should favor more sets with heavier weight, but fewer repetitions in general. Ectomorphic bodybuilders also must put in extra work on those long arms and legs to achieve proportion. And because their muscles are usually longer, ectomorphs must warm up more thoroughly with stretching exercises before training. The good news is that athletes of this body type can develop tremendous muscular definition with hard work.

  Endomorphs are built along much thicker lines — thick arms, legs, muscles, even bones — and generally have a slow metabolism, which allows them to get fat more easily than the other types. Endomorphs’ problems are pretty much the opposite of ectomorphs’. Diet is critical; intake of fats should be severely limited. Since muscular definition, or “cuts,” represents the endomorphs’ most difficult goal, their training routines should incorporate less sets with lighter weights and higher repetitions. They also should do a greater variety of exercises per body part, with an absolute minimum of rest between sets (no more than 60 seconds). These individuals should set out to reduce fat first, then build muscle. The endomorph who succeeds in disciplining himself through that sequence is well on his way to attaining contest stature, should he desire that. “Trim first, build second” is a marvelous concept for contest training even though many bodybuilders mistakenly believe the opposite.

  Mesomorphs are built like me; that is, they have thick, rugged muscles and combine the best features of the other two body types. Mesomorphs, then, are the most naturally muscular body type. They generally tan well and enjoy good skin tone. Along with their healthy skeletal structure, they indeed have a head start on other beginners. These athletes should balance their diets with protein, fats, and carbohydrates, and train with heavy weight, medium repetitions.

  Most of us are combinations of the different body types. It is important to be aware of what body type you have, but do not be overly concerned because each type or combination can achieve a champion goal.

  Application of Anatomy to Training

  Bodybuilding today is far more industrialized than it has ever been. We are now in “The Space Age of Bodybuilding,” and it is moving ahead at rocket speed. Companies are working closely with research physiologists to develop equipment according to the mechanics of the human body. However, you will still have to analyze your own particular body type and structure to find out what machines work best for you. You should note how your muscles respond after
training. Trained muscles should feel good and a good pump should also develop.

  What is a pump? When you train a muscle, stimulation takes place which brings extra blood to that area. The extra blood gives the muscle the appearance of slight swelling and this is called a pump.

  Speaking of the pump, one of the best tips I can give you is this: During training, try to visualize your muscle becoming pumped full of rich, oxygenated blood. Watch your muscles in the mirror as you exercise them; watch them directly when you can (such as during curls); or merely try to visualize the phenomenon without looking anywhere. The bodybuilder who masters visualizing his pump will enjoy measurably better results than the one who doesn’t, even if they train with identical routines.

  Always make sure that in every exercise you are working the muscle directly involved. There is more than one exercise for every body part so that the muscles will be worked from different angles. Some of the basic exercises are done better with free weights, but you can also use machines for each of the training programs in this book. All forms of weight training and bodybuilding depend upon the law of gravity, except the new hydraulic machines. The hydraulic system gives resistance from every direction.

  The first step in applying your training to your own anatomy is to analyze your body type. Endomorphs, for instance, must anticipate routines with 3-5 more repetitions in every set; ectomorphs should plan on doing fewer reps but with more weight. And equally important, you should keep careful track of which of your muscles grow the easiest, and which ones grow the least. This is critical to your individual routine for two reasons:

  • Sometimes the muscles that you decide are your slowest growers should be trained first. This gives you maximum energy at the start, and those stubborn muscles benefit from the first and best nutrition your blood has to give.

  • Muscles which grow easily for you will very likely grow just as well no matter where in your routine you schedule them.

  So, if you detect a muscle weakness (and virtually every bodybuilder does have that kind of imbalance to some degree), change your sequence from what will be suggested here. If your shoulders are coming along better than your arms, try working your arms first, even though the opposite would normally be recommended.

  Anatomical individuality also makes it perfectly OK to cheat the exercise, within reason, using slightly more weight. You’ve just got to feel out any given exercise in that specific muscle to decide whether swinging the weight, as opposed to lifting it slowly and strictly, might be the boost you need.

  Your first exercise for any body part should be the most effective and the one that permits the use of the most weight. Your second exercise should be your second most effective, and so on. Therefore you must learn which exercises work best for you. But in changing your routine, for the sake of variety and for keeping your point of view fresh, you should leave your first and second most efficient exercises as they are and make adjustments from the third exercise on down.

  Number Ones — Exercises by Priority

  I’m going to provide you with a table listing, in order of most-efficient exercises, exercises for every major muscle group. I have determined this order after many years of experience in weight training and my chiropractic education. More bodybuilders have benefited from giving priority to certain exercises than from any other weight training technique. Still, you may find that lower ranked exercises feel better and produce better for you than my recommendations. If that happens because of the individuality of your build, increase emphasis on those exercises.

  I think you’ll find that my list of Number Ones is far and away the best-working exercises you’ll find.

  Training Intervals

  However your exercises are ultimately combined, you must remember that a basic bodybuilding principle is: Today You Train, Tomorrow You Recuperate. That’s why beginners should train only three times a week — to get at least one day of rest in between workouts. That three-times-a-week schedule assumes that you’re training your entire body those three times. Should you increase your schedule to four workouts a week, each body part should be trained only twice. Ideally, you’ll give the exercised muscle groups more rest, because in a four-times-weekly routine, you should be doing more exercises per body part. For example, if you train your upper body on Monday and your lower body on Tuesday, then take Wednesday off completely. Repeat the sequence on Thursday and Friday. Take a close look at this schedule and you’ll see that it actually allows each muscle group two days’ rest in between workouts.

  What is the correct order in which to train the various muscle groups? Is one of the most commonly asked questions from beginners. The best answer is that it is not quite as important as most people think. I’ve probably tried every mathematical permutation of exercise combinations that exists. Some combinations were better than others, but other factors are much more significant, such as the order in which you do the specific exercises for any given muscle group and how correctly you do them.

  In general, a good idea to help you create a body-parts sequence is that larger body parts (back and chest) are easier to train at the beginning of your workout than at the end, because they need more sets. As to what muscle group should follow, it’s usually effective to train a muscle group that was receiving blood secondarily while you were exercising a muscle group close by. For instance, most exercises for the chest will help you achieve a partial pump in the shoulders, so they would be a good group to train next. Shoulder exercises will affect the triceps, so triceps exercises would be a logical next step; and so on.

  You’re not going to want to take the same routine into the gym forever and ever; you should switch your muscle-group sequence around every now and then, both to stay fresh mentally and to have a better chance of shocking the muscle groups. (Muscle growth slows down drastically if the muscle group becomes accustomed to the exercise you’ve planned for it. You’ve got to surprise your muscles periodically.)

  The flexibility you have in choosing a body-parts sequence does not mean that you’ve got carte blanche when it comes to the sequence of the exercises themselves. It’s extremely important for you to do the best exercises first for the various muscle groups as I prescribed in the previous section.

  Needless to say, when an exercise actually hurts you (as opposed to merely making a muscle sore), you must find another way of accomplishing the same move. Pain means something is wrong and is only going to get worse if you do not make a change. Try to determine which exercise is the real cause of your pain, not merely which muscle hurts.

  Here’s another way to look at training intervals between workouts: Three times weekly is the ideal, should your objectives be both size and definition gains. If you train each body part twice weekly, your principal gains will be in size, not definition. Once a week will net you gains mostly in size. And if you train each body part four times weekly, you’ll gain in definition, and less size.

  A beginner whose fat content is high should train more often (and watch his or her diet). A beginner who comes to the sport thin (with a very low fat content) should increase the amount of weight he or she uses and train no more than two or three times per week. But the majority of beginners are somewhere in between.

  Most, but not all, body parts respond very well to a regimen of being trained three times in one week and two times in the next. Calves and abdominals can be trained up to four or five times a week. But the arms — and this may surprise you — respond best to being trained twice a week. Your arms get a pretty fair workout doing all the other upper-body exercises, and since arm muscles are smaller to begin with, it’s easy to overtrain them.

  Now, let’s take a closer look at a year’s worth of training prior to a physique contest — not because you aspire to competitive bodybuilding but so you can see how the body responds to an ideal routine. If I had a year to get ready for, say, the Mr. Olympia contest, I would spend the first six months emphasizing my weak body parts and merely maintaining my stronger muscle group
s. For the next three months or so, I would round out the routine so that the exercises would be better balanced between weak and strong parts. (I would maintain a well-balanced nutritional program with vitamin and mineral supplements.) And that would leave me roughly 100 days — the first 20 for complete rest and recuperation from minor injuries and mental staleness and the last 80 to blast ahead at maximum weight and full power. Within the first three weeks of those last 80 days, I would be at the absolute peak of training, doing as many sets of as many reps with as much weight as I could handle. Along with that, I would increase my protein intake, and take all the vitamins I thought I would need.

  A point I would like to make here is that the last three months out of a year of training are the right time to supplement your exercise with increased nutrition. I have found it most beneficial to have a complete blood study done along with a hair mineral analysis at this time so that I could better balance my supplements (vitamins, minerals, and enzymes). These tests are available at most chiropractic centers and through most holistic practitioners.

  You should not go overboard on these supplements — that is why I recommend the tests and consultation with a nutrition specialist. The hair mineral analysis is especially effective since it fluctuates less in its findings than does a blood study. For a modest cost ($35-70), such a test can save you hundreds of dollars on unnecessary vitamin and mineral supplements.

  Once you’ve maximized your training in that last 100 days or so, you should train for 30 days and then rest completely for 4 or 5. You don’t want mental staleness or any other form of negativity around when you’re training that hard, and the 4 or 5 days off that you allow yourself are a great refresher, The ideal training schedule for the last week before a contest is this: train heavy on Monday, light on Tuesday, very light on Wednesday, posing practice with no training on Thursday and Friday. This sets you up to achieve your best overall pump on Saturday, the day of the contest.