James Llewellin's 'Arnold Classic' preparation thread

[TaintedSoul]

Originally Posted by supercell

Hi,

No, EVERY night I have between 4-5 hours sleep. I have never needed much sleep, I find it gets in the way of eating.

Energy is good and feel great. Training is flat out.

Most people sleep too much and as a result feel tired and lethargic throughout the day.

J

WTF!!! Ok will someone officially change this guys name to SuperFreak!!
I donno how you make such awesome gains and get such little sleep mate.

Man.... life begins at 8hours sleep for me. I have tried less but Thursday/Friday I am ready to kill people!!

Lucky you for gaining extra hours in the day!

[gunit]

thats what i ment by good rebound james,think every one who has competed has done the whole ankles like ballons and sock line as deep as the grand canneon!!very easy to do but u look awesome in that pic mate and u can see the quality steady gains.Nice one

Gary

ps Got to love them rumours aint ya!!

[maccer]

Originally Posted by supercell

LOL.
Taste aint too shabby either eh?:beer1:

May have contributed to the 'pump from hell' today whilst doing a pathetically small number of sets for shoulders then!?

J

Yes I am a fan of the taste. You are taking it twice a day - I only take it 3-4 times a week - should I try more often do you think? Cheers

[ProPowell]

Originally Posted by squat_this

James, you really are a freak...in a good way of course! Congratulations on the MP sponsorship, hope this helps you reach all your goals.
Apologies if you have answered this else where, but how were you training your chest "wrong" and what is involved in your new method which you feel is working it better?

Hi James,

Hope you and Nicky are well, looking spot on in the latest pic mate.

To everyone else reading this I just thought I would expand on how to actually use your chest when training it. If you dont mind James?

I would guess almost everyone on this board trains chest wrong! Even those who are genetically gifted in the chest. The reason I say this is simple, take a look in the BEEF and just look how many guys have fantastic front delts, poor back development and poor chests (front and side poses).

Firstly are you a bodybuilder or weightlifter? A weightlifter requires 'functional muscle' and 9 times out of 10 you can see it in their physique. A bodybuilder (competitive) is someone whose physique is developed purely for cosmetic reasons. (That is what it is being judged on anyway, the judges don't give a **** how much you can bench or lift anything else for that matter).

Once you have decided what road you want to take the you must apply the correct method of training i.e. for bodybuilding purposes we concentrate on 'Hypertrophy' or an increase in size and appearance of the muscle.This means checking the ego at the door and relearning how to work the desired muscle you want to grow/improve.

Running my own gym and having trained virtually all over the world in the past 10 years, most people who train chest, use predominantly the front deltoids, triceps and lower pec's and to some extent the lat's, plus go far to heavy. WHY? It is only natural. The body will always find the easiest route to lift a weight, to limit damage and basically conserve energy. This is why we walk instead of run evreytime we go somewhere, use remote controls for neary everything etc we are incredibly lazy bastards, especialy bodybuilders

So with bodybuilding you have to do what doesn't feel natural e.g. saying no to cheese cake when dieting when your mind is trying to convince you that you need it.

Training is exactly the same, when training chest the body must be 'contorted' in such a way that as much stress is put on the chest as possible. This is the exact opposite of what the body wants you to do.

How to you contort the body in such a way? Well having trained with Milos Sarcev this year, this man is the master at isolating the muscle to be trained, doesnt give a f***k about weight and values every second spent in the gym not be wasted but to constantly improve.

To train the chest properly here are a few tips:

1. Pull the shoulder blades back as far as possible then lock them down. ( keep this position through the entire set).

2. Arch the back when on the bench keeping the ass on the bench and the traps fixed solidly at the top of the bench.

3. Breathe in and expand the chest as much as possible trying to lift the chest to the bar without coming off the bench.

4. Use a thumbless grip.

5. Go very slow on the negative and dont push from the bottom just simply contract the Pecs hard so the bar will automatically begin to rise, then at the top squeeze the pecs as hard as possible.

6. Lower the bar to either the bottom of the neck or if that is too uncomfortable then the middle of the chest will be ok.

7. Do between 10 to 15 reps to failure and put the mind in the muscle - concentrate.

But most of all train F****n hard like your life depends on it or don't train at all.

Hope this helps.

By the way anyone who wants to come and learn more for no charge then pay a visit to my gym and I'll show the techniques to isolate the muscle being trained.

One last tip if you do compete then admit your weaknesses then design a program to suit YOU and turn them into strengths.

Lee
www. severnsidegym.com

[supercell]

Hey Lee.

We are both well and I trust your family is too.

Great post. This is why threads like this are so damn good. Here we have the country's top pro giving free advice in order for us all to benefit.

I will be calling very soon to come and visit.

I hope every now and again you have time to post on here. I know everyone, including myself, welcomes advice from a man that has been in the iron game for the best part of 20 years and has a wealth of experience.

Thankyou my friend

J

[supercell]

Originally Posted by maccer

Yes I am a fan of the taste. You are taking it twice a day - I only take it 3-4 times a week - should I try more often do you think? Cheers

No, Just 30g prior to meal 1, 7 days a week.

J

[Captain Hero]

Nice post Lee

[Nine Pack]

Lee, wise words there & a great way of explaining it too. James has a strange chest (no offence bud, read on) in as much as it actually looks bigger when he's relaxed, as in that pic eric took of him in the vest recently on the Leisurlee Fitness thread). He was no doubt powering through with his ridiculously powerful delts & triceps as me & John told him a while ago & he already knew it. It's taken him a while, but hopefully the changes you mention will help him recruit more chest muscle & less arms/delts.

The chest (pec major for this purpose) is one of those muscles with more than one point of origin. It originates mainly from the sternum, but also has a small portion coming from the medial portion of the clavicle (collar bone) with both parts attaching on the humerus. The small portion originating from the clavicle is often the part responsible for the upper chest thickness & needs a slightly varied approach IMHO. As the secondary function of this muscle is to medially rotate the arm (rotate inwards), it helps to utilise this motion at the point of contraction after the primary function has been used (adducting the arm).

It's easily executed on cable crossovers & dumb bell work but nigh on impossible with a bar. On cable crossovers for example, at the midpoint (point of contraction), rotating the hands so the palms are facing the floor & thumbs inwards will force more fibres in this portion to be used (even though the cable crossover is virtually a decline flye movement).

[TaintedSoul]

Originally Posted by ProPowell

Hi James,

Once you have decided what road you want to take the you must apply the correct method of training i.e. for bodybuilding purposes we concentrate on 'Hypertrophy' or an increase in size and appearance of the muscle.This means checking the ego at the door and relearning how to work the desired muscle you want to grow/improve.

This is a statement I try to say to myself numerous times. Unfortuantely the ego is stronger than the mind most times!! :(

Brilliant post Lee. See you and James mention that same technique in points 1,2 you mention.

Where is your gym located?

[maccer]

Thanks James!!

Lee that was an awesome description - something I will apply - many thanks

[supercell]

Today is friday 30th November 2007.

Weight today is 14st 1.5lbs

Looking leaner today. I am now 4 days into my 45 mins a day, 6x a week cardio. Its only an increase of 90 mins a week but its already having an effect, which is good to know.

You always wonder how your body is going to react after 'dieting' for so long and also doing cardio (maintainance) for so long.

My eating has settled into some kind of a rhythm now.

Non-training day diet

6.30am CARDIO 45 mins combo of xtrainer and incline tread (5%, 6kph)

7.30am 30g 'Pulse'

8.00am Meal 1 60g Total protein, 80g oats, 10g peanut butter, Splenda to taste, mixed spice.

10.30am Meal 2 3 whole eggs, 2 slices of wholewheat toast, 30g total protein

1.00pm Meal 3 225g chicken, 60g white basmati rice, mixed veg, 10g olive oil

4.00pm Meal 4 60g oats, 65g total protein, 20g peanut butter, splenda (blended into shake)

7.00pm Meal 5 Same as meal 3

10.00pm Meal 6 80g oats, 65g total protein, 10g peanut butter, splenda to taste

2.00am Meal 7 40g oats, 35g Total protein, 10g peanut butter

Approx totals 320g carbs, 320g protein, 90g fats Total approx k/cals= 3370

Workout/training day

6.30am CARDIO 45 mins (see above)

7.30am 30g 'Pulse'

8.00am Meal 1 100g oats, 65g Total protein, 10g peanut butter, splenda and mixed spice to taste

TRAIN

11.30am Meal 2 60g WMS, 60g Impact whey isolate, 10g peptide boded glutamine

1.00pm Meal 3 70g white basmati rice, 225g chicken, mixed veg

3.00pm Meal 4 80g oats, 65g Total protein, 10g peanut butter (blended)

5.00pm Meal 5 Same as meal 3

7.00pm Meal 6 350g white boiled potatoes, 200g steak, selection of veg

10pm Meal 7 Same as meal 1

2am Meal 8 40g oats, 35g total protein, 10g peanut butter

Approx totals 450g carbs, 400g protein, 60g fat. Total approx kcals= 3940 kcals

I will carry on in this vane until christmas and then after I will up my cardio to 45 mins pre meal 1 (as now but do 7 days a week) and also add in 30 mins post workout or late in afternoon depending if training day or not, so a total of around 1h 15mins daily.

I will also cut my protein and carbs back on training days to around 350g each (50g pro and 50g carbs each meal over 7 meals) and on non training days I will knock them down to 300g each (50g pro and 50g carbs each meal over 6 meals)

The extra meal on training days will be my PWO shake

On top of those figures I will have around 25g of protein during the night when I wake mixed with 5g glutamine peptide, so the carbs I have in here presently will be dropped.

I will follow this until the time comes to reassess when i will drop my PWO shake in favour of a solid meal and the carbs will be lowered (if necessary)

With now just 12 weeks to go (until 1 week out) its time to really get serious and even if I come in condition early I am not bothered. The earlier the better really.

My knees, esp my right knee is now aching when rested/sitting down with the leg flexed (bent). I have a little tendonitis in the patella tendon in both kness and is, I am sure, a result of resuming heavy leg training. All the time I was training light and infrequently I had no problems at all.
It's rather strange in that there is absolutley no pain when walking or even when I train, it is only when I am sitting. In a way that is good because i dont sit much anyway (except typing this) and when i relax its mainly in a horizontal position (asleep!!)

Yesterday I trained legs and decided to do leg press. I did a lot of high rep work with as heavy weight as possible. I did 6 sets of 20 reps then on the 6th set I did 15 reps with 400kgs. Then on the 7th and final I did this again but then dropped the weight 3 times doing a total of around 40 reps. I was somewhat fcuked after that but then went onto hacks and did 5 sets total and worked up to 200kgs for a total of 12 reps and then dropped and did another 10.
I then moved onto hams and did a total of 10 sets, 5 on lying and 5 on seated leg curl and went heavier than I ever have keeping the reps in the 8-12 range, on the lying curls. The seated curls were done with a lighter weight but the emphasis here was to slow the movement right down and concentrate on squeezing hard at the point of contraction.
My legs were battered after and by yesterday evening they were begining to tighten up. Cramp is now very infrequent indeed after being very common during and after the first couple of leg workouts. I have suffered no cramping at all this week.
Today they feel tight, not too sore but I know I have trained them hard.

Tomorrow Tom is coming down to London so we will be hitting back and probably some calves and then obviously Nandos afterwards. It will be good to see Tom again and train as the last time we trained was around 11 weeks out from the British this year.

Today I am just chilling and relaxing whilst running a few errands which makes a nice change.

J

[Tinytom]

Excellent Chest advice from Lee Powell.

James will be good to see you tomorrow, dont think I'm getting any photos with you though, I'll look like a right podge next to you.

[shorty]

james a few questions mate... you do cardio in the morning..then you have pulse which is a pre workout drink..... how come you take it after the cardio?

also what are the benifits of taking after the workout rather than before?

last q.... do you take it before you weights workout as well?

sorry for all the q's....

ta bud!

[supercell]

Originally Posted by shorty

james a few questions mate... you do cardio in the morning..then you have pulse which is a pre workout drink..... how come you take it after the cardio?

also what are the benifits of taking after the workout rather than before?

last q.... do you take it before you weights workout as well?

sorry for all the q's....

ta bud!

The reason I take it after cardio is that I seem a lot more recpetive to the ingredients within it before I have eaten anything. With meal 1 being at 8am and then training at 9.30-10 I find that the oats are still digesting and the absorbtion isn't as good (my stomach isn't empty)

I find ALL N.O products best taken on an empty stomach, the only thing you dont benefit from are the stimulants in it as these are subsiding by the time you train.

No I dont take another lot before weights, just 30g every morning (workout or not) on an empty stomach. Doing it this way keeps me fuller too.

I take it after cardio as doing it before cardio would mean that it would take longer to tap into fat burning as my body would be burning off the carbs present in the pulse instead of using my fat stores for energy.

Hope this answers your Q's

J