Last month we published the first installment of Derek Cornelius' 'Be a Free Radical: Don't Succumb to Them,' which stressed the lifesaving importance of free-radical scavenging. In Part 2 he gets to the heart of the antioxidant cocktail that can keep those dangerous elements under control. The state of the art in antioxidant knowledge continues on page 214. If you believe that health is an indispensable component of bodybuilding, Derek's series is must reading.
'Home-Grown Legs' gives you something truly different and very productive: an entire leg routine built around dumbbell exercises. Turn to page 116 and see how dumbbells'or better yet, the PowerBlock selectorized dumbbell set'can rejuvenate your leg workouts.
Estrogen has long been the bane of steroid users and aging bodybuilders alike. Too much of it is counterproductive to your bodybuilding efforts, not to mention likely to bring on the scourge of gynecomastia. This month's IRONMAN Research Team presents a product that's destined to change the way excess estrogen is purged from the system so you get bigger gains without estrogen-related side effects. For a view of the future of estrogen control go to page 248 .
I have great empathy for the summer-training saga Bill Starr describes in his Only the Strong Shall Survive, which begins on page 130. I've trained in my share of sweltering garages, YMCAs and basements, and his advice will help keep your training productivity high under hot and humid conditions. As a side note, the iron guru Vince Gironda reveled in the thick air and heat that enveloped his famous gym in Studio City, California, in the summertime. He believed that it enhanced muscle growth. He also felt that a sip of tepid water between sets was part of a strategy for maximizing muscle growth, and that was 30 years before anyone in the exercise world used the word hydration.
We have two great articles from David Young this month: a classic how-to feature on maximizing muscle gain and fat loss through proper meal placement on page 222 and an in-depth interview with pro bodybuilder Bob Cicherillo on page 196. Bob's so-called X-frame proportion and muscle shapes are what make his physique. He's worked for years to create that look, and now he reveals the whys and hows of his training philosophy. It's a thought-provoking Q&A that clearly shows the way exercise choice influences a physique's final look. It's interesting to note how closely Bob's ideas follow the Gironda logic. While some of the old guys didn't get it all right, Vince was one who got almost everything right when it came to bodybuilding.
As for contest reports, Ruth Silverman provides a close-up view of the IFBB Ms. and Fitness International contests. As usual, the reports are insightful, and Ruth highlights all the action. To see more of those competitions, visit www.ironmanmagazine.com and click on Contest Coverage, where you'll find thousands of photos, including many from the Arnold Fitness Weekend.
As always, I welcome your feedback. Write to me at [email protected].
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