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IFBB Zhanna Rotar Pro 2021 Results
Complete results from the IFBB Zhanna Rotar Pro 2021.
The IFBB Zhanna Rotar Pro 2021 took place on Saturday, July 24 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, CA. This was the site of a competition that handed out some qualifications for the 2021 Mr. Olympia, which will take place Oct. 7-10 in Orlando, FL.
This competition is named after Zhanna Rotar, who passed away in December after being involved in a vehicle accident. Rotar had a passion for nutrition and this carried over into a career in fitness. She began competing in 2000 and earned her pro card in 2005.
The Zhanna Rotar Pro 2021 was a small style competition but there was plenty to watch and a lot on the line for competitors. Check out our full breakdown of the results below.
Results Breakdown
Generation Iron wishes to congratulate all the great athletes who earned a win at the IFBB Zhanna Rotar Pro 2021 and qualified for a spot in the Olympia. Make sure to check out our full IFBB Pro results page from this year and previous years right here to catch up on any action you may have missed!
Classic Physique
First Place – Desiree Alferes
Second Place – Anca Bergen
Third Place – Jill Braxmeyer
Fourth Place – Kim Clark
Fifth Place – Rachel Cuccia
Sixth Place – Esmeralda Diosdada
Seventh Place – Karina Grau
Eighth Place – Jessica Heath
Ninth Place – Ashley Howells
Tenth Place – Spomenka Miller
Generation Iron wishes to congratulate all the great athletes who earned a win at the IFBB Zhanna Rotar Pro 2021. Make sure to check out our full IFBB Pro results page from this year and previous years right here to catch up on any action you may have missed!
Greg has covered the four major sports for six years and has been featured on sites such as Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports, SB Nation, NJ.com, and FanSided. Now, he is transitioning into the world of bodybuilding and strength sports.
Powerlifter Otis Perkins Has Passed Away
Otis Perkins, who was involved in a car accident last week, has passed away.
Powerlifter Otis Perkins has passed away from complications from pneumonia on Saturday. Perkins was involved in a car accident on July 11 and rushed to the hospital. He sustained major injuries from the accident and required surgery.
Otis Perkins caught a high fever and ran into complications with his lungs during his time in the hospital. There was not enough air getting to his lungs because of the pneumonia and this caused his heart to fail. Perkins passed away on Saturday morning.
Following the accident, there was a GoFundMe page set up where all of the proceeds were to be send to Perkins to cover medical expenses and long-term care.
Larry Williams, a powerlifter and friend of Perkins, took to Instagram to pay tribute to Perkins.
“@black_tom_cruiseThe man brought laughs everywhere he went. Funniest man I ever met. He possessed all the traits of a GREAT friend.I love him and hold him closer to almost anyone I know. It hurts to accept he’s gone.No matter what life threw at him he kept a smile and his head held high. Otis Perkins you will be missed”
Otis Perkins made a name for himself in the powerlifting game by performing great feats of strength, both in competitions and on Instagram. He grew as a well-known figure in the sport and made many friends while competing.
Generation Iron will continue to update this piece as more information becomes available as no official source has confirmed the death or details at this time.
Generation Iron send out condolences to the friends and family of Otis Perkins during this difficult time. For more news and updates, follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Greg has covered the four major sports for six years and has been featured on sites such as Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports, SB Nation, NJ.com, and FanSided. Now, he is transitioning into the world of bodybuilding and strength sports.
4 Reasons You Should Have Olympic Lifts In Your Bodybuilding Routine
Olympia meets Olympics.
Bodybuilding is all about hypertrophy. Building muscle is the reason for exercise after all and that means working your muscles hard until they experience hypertrophy. This, of course, promotes growth. Because a dedicated bodybuilder is going to want their entire body to be proportionate – that means working multiple muscle groups with a number of different exercises that will ensure the overall package is well defined.
But despite shaping an aesthetic physique bodybuilding does little in the way of increasing your overall strength. As an athlete, a bodybuilder should want to make improvements to more than just their physique. For that reason, adding some Olympic lifts to your routine is a great way both improve your strength as well as gain muscle.
While many people will say that Olympic lifters don’t look all that impressive physically, particularly when compared to a bodybuilder, the fact is that they possess great strength and can in fact build a great amount of muscle depending on how they train. The reason many Olympic lifters don’t have a godly physical appearance is because they’re focused on technique and improving the specific Olympic lifts. Usually they just want to get the bar up by performing either the snatch or the clean and jerk, both movements emphasizing strength, explosion, and speed. Because of this, the time they spend under tension is limited to a few seconds at best. Undergoing hypertrophy means having increased time under tension to really tax the muscle and get them to grow.
Despite that fact, you should definitely try adding the Olympic style training to your routine. But why you ask? Well, here’s a list of reasons on how you’ll see some drastic improvements.
Provides cardiovascular training
The explosive movements you must utilize in order to lift the bar from the ground during your training is much the same as sprinting. The distance of the bar movement while performing the Olympic lifts, several feet from floor to over head, means utilizing more of the body’s core mechanics, the same you’d use if you were running on a track. Compared that to lifting a dumbbell and you’ll see which requires more cardiovascular strength.
It’s a total body workout
Olympic lifts are also a great tool for getting a total body workout. You can’t just perform the snatch and clean and jerk and call it a day. Olympic style training requires you to have good fundamentals in the deadlift and the front and back squats. You’ll be training those lifts along with the Olympics lifts which will ensure your entire body is being worked.
The increased strength and explosion
This should be a no brainer. Having increased strength and explosion in your lifts will easily translate over to improvements in all your lifts. That includes bodybuilding staples like the bench, squat, and the deadlift. Training the Olympic lifts means overall performance gains.
Easy to add to a routine
The movements can easily be added to any of the routines you do in the gym. It can be added at the beginning or the end of your training session. If done correctly they can be great for crashing through a plateau or just generally improving your abilities. Try a light form at the beginning of your workout for a great warm up or at the end to thrash an already taxed body.
Do you have Olympic lifts in your routine? Let us know in the comments and forums. Be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.
How To Get A Six-Pack (Post Pandemic Edition)
A complete guide to sculpting the perfect six-pack abs
Crafting a six-pack is hard. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. We wish getting a six-pack was as easy as grabbing a six-pack of beer from a store. Also, we think the alcoholic beverage companies are playing a practical joke on us. Or do they want it to act like a reminder that a six-pack of beer will never let you have six-pack abs? You be the judge.
The pandemic has been rough, especially for fitness enthusiasts. The mayhem that the coronavirus caused put us in an unexpected situation. Who would have thought we would be locked in our houses for months on end. The lockdown situation didn’t bode well for our bodies either.
While we did see the WFH culture take on a new life last year, it didn’t translate the same way for the fitness scene. The reason behind it is not so hard to figure. People have a motivation to work – money, but the same doesn’t always apply to fitness.
Ways To Build A Six-Pack After The Pandemic
Now that most of us have started training at gyms again, it’s time to create a blueprint for achieving our dream physiques. Washboard abs are a result of optimal training, nutrition, and recovery programs. Falling off in any of these can throw you off track.
Read also: 5 Gym Habits You Should Follow Post COVID
If Cap’n Crunch is the first thing that comes to your mind when someone mentions crunches, you know you have some work to do. In this article, we will help you build a six-pack from scratch. Even if you’re a fitness newbie or an advanced lifter, you’ll take something away today.
1. Diet
Remember: Abs are made in the kitchen and crafted in the gym. You shouldn’t expect to build a chiseled midsection while feasting on burgers every other day. Your first step towards a six-pack should be to get your diet in order.
Your diet plan will vary depending on your current body fat percentage and the excess weight you need to shed. Everyone has abs, but most of us love them so much that we have them protected under a layer of fat.
Switch to a calorie deficit diet – meaning you need to be burning more calories than you’re consuming. Since you were in your house for a big chunk of the year, you could be running a calorie surplus.
How to Design Your Diet Plan:
Use A Calorie Tracking App – Apps like MyFitnessPal and HealthifyMe are great for logging your daily food intake. You should log your meals for at least a week before checking your average daily calorie and macronutrient intake and breakdown.
Find Out How Many Calories You Need – There are many online calculators which will tell how many calories you need to be eating based on your age, height, weight, and gender. Use this calculator to find your daily calorie intake goal and this for the macronutrient goals.
Choose Your Food – Wisely – Some people make designing a diet plan sound harder than it is. After you know how many calories you need to be eating every day, you should begin putting down food items that meet your goals in a planner. The apps mentioned above have an extensive list of food items with different nutrient values. Selecting foods that fit your lifestyle is very crucial. You don’t want to add food items to your list that are too exotic or expensive.
Follow The Diet Plan – Might sound basic, but following the program can be the roughest part of dieting.
2. Training
Most people are never able to build a six-pack because they stick to vanilla ab workouts. If a few crunches and sit-ups are your idea of an ab workout, you shouldn’t even bother starting.
Break down your midriff training into sections. Your workouts should consist of different exercises to train your upper, middle, and lower abs. Oblique training is another overlooked aspect of core training. Follow the workouts mentioned below to take your abdominal to the next level.
Workout 1
Hanging Leg Raises – 3 Sets 20-30 Reps
Cable Crunches – 3 Sets 20-30 Reps
Planks – 3 Sets 1 Minute-Each
Mountain Climbers – 3 Sets 20-30 Reps
Jumping Jacks – 3 Sets 1-Minute Each
Workout 2
Flutter Kicks – 3 Sets 30-40 Reps
Alternating Leg Lowers – 3 Sets 30-40 Reps
Side Planks – 3 Sets 1-Minute Each
Glute Bridge March – 3 Sets 30-40 Reps
High Knee Running – 3 Sets 1-Minute Each
Workout 3
Lying Windshield Wipers – 3 Sets 20-30 Reps
Crunches – 3 Sets 30-40 Reps
Superman Planks – 3 Sets 90-Seconds Each
V-Ups – 3 Sets 30-40 Reps
Burpees – 3 Sets 2-Minutes Each
Workout 4
Russian Twists – 3 Sets 30-40 Reps
Ab Wheel Rollouts – 3 Sets 10-20 Reps
Push-Up Planks – 3 Sets 90-Seconds Each
TRX Mountain Climbers – 3 Sets 30-40 Reps
Squat Jumps – 3 Sets 2-Minutes Each
Workout 5
Stability Ball Knee Tucks – 3 Sets 30-40 Reps
Barbell Oblique Twists – 3 Sets 30-40 Reps Each Side
Planks Pulses – 3 Sets 1-Minute Each
Jackknives – 3 Sets 30-40 Reps
Jump Rope – 3 Sets 2-Minutes Each
Training Frequency
Many fitness newbies make the mistake of training their abs every day. You don’t need to spend hours working on it. An intense 30-minute session is enough to get the job done.
Cardio (HIIT)
Cardio sessions are a must if you want a midsection that the Greek Gods approve. You should program a HIIT cardio session at the end of every resistance workout. Also, if you want a six-pack, forget rest days. Active rest days are the closest you get to no physical activity.
3. Recovery
Since your midsection is a small muscle group, it needs time to recover from brutal workouts. As a rule of thumb, don’t train your abs if they are sore. And, if you are training your abs more than thrice a week – you are doing too much.
Some ways of improving your recovery after workouts:
Drink at least a gallon of water every day.
Never miss a post-workout meal.
Use a post-workout supplement if you need it.
Wear compression clothing.
Warm-up before weight training.
Cool-down post workouts.
Make foam rolling and stretching a part of your training routine.
Take a cold shower.
Conclusion
If you had a ripped midsection before the onset of the pandemic, you have a headstart. Your muscle memory is going to help you get back in shape in no time. On the other hand, newbies should stick to the workout, diet, and recovery programs for a minimum of six months before expecting any results.
How often do you train your abs? Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.
IFBB Chicago Pro 2021 Results
Complete results from the IFBB Chicago Pro 2021.
The bodybuilding season just keeps rolling along with another qualifier. Competitors flocked to the Grand Hyatt Atlanta Buckhead in Atlanta,GA to compete in the IFBB Chicago Pro 2021. Below, we have the complete results from the event with the winners qualifying for the 2021 Mr. Olympia on Oct. 7-10 in Orlando, FL.
Roelly Winklaar was a late addition to the competition and entered the weekend as one of the favorites in the Men’s Open division. Winklaar burst onto the scene in 2010 and made a name for himself because of his incredible size and conditioning. Over the last year, Winklaar has been in and out of competitions, especially after running into difficulties with COVID-19.
The Men’s Bodybuilding division was certainly one to watch this weekend. Hassan Mostafa and Mohamed Shaaban headlined what was a talented group. Both competitors have been aggressive in pursuit of qualifying for their ticket to the Olympia.
Hassan Mostafa has been near the top in all competitions he has been featured in. He finished third in both the New York Pro 2021 and California Pro 2021. Back in June, Mostafa racked up another third place finish at the Puerto Rico Pro 2021.
Mohamed Shaaban has had a similar fate. He finished second in Puerto Rico, behind Akim Williams. In California, Shaaban came up short once again with Patrick Moore edging him out for first place. Both Shaaban and Mostafa have a chance to finish near the top of the standings where the top three will automatically qualify for the Olympia.
There were a total of 10 divisions at the Chicago Pro with winners vying for a qualification to the Olympia. The full results have now been announced. Check out our full breakdown of the IFBB Chicago Pro 2021 results below.
Chicago Pro 2021: All Division Winners
A quick breakdown of the winners in each division from the Chicago Pro 2021. All winners are now automatically qualified to compete in the Olympia 2021.
Men’s Bodybuilding:
Men’s 212:
Classic Physique:
Men’s Physique:
Women’s Bodybuilding:
Fitness:
Figure: Julia Waring
Bikini:
Women’s Physique: Patricia Gosselin
Wellness: Kass Gillis
Chicago Pro 2021 Breakdown
Men’s Bodybuilding Results
Results coming soon
First Place –
Second Place –
Third Place –
Fourth Place –
Fifth Place –
Men’s 212 Results
Results coming soon
First Place –
Second Place –
Third Place –
Fourth Place –
Fifth Place –
Classic Physique Results
Results coming soon
First Place –
Second Place –
Third Place –
Fourth Place –
Fifth Place –
Men’s Physique Results
Results coming soon
First Place –
Second Place –
Third Place –
Fourth Place –
Fifth Place –
Women’s Bodybuilding Results
Results coming soon
First Place –
Second Place –
Third Place –
Fourth Place –
Fifth Place –
Fitness Results
Results coming soon
First Place –
Second Place –
Third Place –
Fourth Place –
Fifth Place –
Figure Results
First Place – Julia Waring
Second Place – Julia Di Pompeo
Third Place – Sandra Grajales
Fourth Place – Larhannah Robinson
Fifth Place – Danielle Yablin Rose
Sixth Place – Anita Davis
Bikini Results
Results coming soon
First Place –
Second Place –
Third Place –
Fourth Place –
Fifth Place –
Women’s Physique Results
First Place – Patricia Gosselin
Second Place – Lenka Ferenčuková
Third Place – Brittany Watts
Fourth Place – Elizabeth Bradshaw
Fifth Place – Katherine Hall
Sixth Place – Sheena Washington
Wellness Results
First Place – Kass Gillis
Second Place – Bruna Seredich
Third Place – Renee Jewett
Fourth Place – Daisha Johnson
Fifth Place – Mallory Myers
Sixth Place – Clarissa Sanchez
Generation Iron wishes to congratulate all the great athletes who earned a win at the IFBB Chicago Pro 2021. Make sure to check out our full IFBB Pro results page from this year and previous years right here to catch up on any action you may have missed!
The Eight Best Bodyweight Exercises for Shoulders
Photos from only a generation ago show people who looked taller. They walked with more purpose and swagger. That’s no optical illusion. These days, people are more hunched over and thus shorter from our sedentary lifestyles of sitting combined with being slouched over smartphones has produced a stooped population with rounded shoulders.
That’s not just unattractive. It’s setting us up for a chain of ailments, including back pain and hip tightness. According to the Mayo Clinic, there’s a direct link between poor posture and shoulder pain. Our shoulders have shut off, which is a shame since they’re designed to work hard. There’s a reason we call it shouldering a burden.
That’s why any shoulder workout should include bodyweight exercises that both strengthen the shoulders but also reset posture to avoid shoulder injuries while training and long-term ailments.
Here are eight of the best bodyweight exercises for legs.You can use these as part of a regular workout or as a standalone circuit. If you do a circuit, do two sets of 10.
Reverse Hand Clasp
What it does: This is a good test of your shoulder mobility.
How to do it: Stand with one hand behind your neck and your elbow pointing up. Use your other hand – or your other hand gently pulling a rope or towel held on both ends – to pull your elbow down. You’ll likely find this easier on your dominant side (i.e. right-handed people pointing the left elbow up). Unlike a lot of stretches, you can make fairly quick progress on this one if done daily, to the point where you can forego the towel or rope and gradually grasp hands on both sides.
How many? 2 sets of 10-second holds on each side.
Hand Walks
What it does: Though this is a full-body move that lengthens your hamstrings and calves while opening up your ankles and lower back, it also stabilizing the shoulders,
How to do it: Stand with legs straight and hands on the floor. Walk your hands out. Keeping legs straight, walk your feet back to your hands using short steps from your ankles.
How many? 2 sets of 10 reps with 30 seconds rest between sets.
Bent Over Ys
What it does: This move not only strengthens the back and shoulders, it counteracts the effects of sitting by pulling your shoulders back and down where they belong.
How to do it: Stand bent over at the waist with your back flat and your chest up. Squeeze your shoulder blades back and down and lift your arms above your head to form a Y. Keep your thumbs up and initiate the movement with your shoulder blades, not your arms.
How many? 2 sets of 10 reps with 30 seconds rest between sets.
Bent Over Ls
What it does: Like the Bent Over Ys, this move strengthens the back and shoulders by pulling your shoulders back and down where they belong.
How to do it: Stand bent over at the waist with your back flat and your chest up. Squeeze your shoulder blades back and down, lifting your elbows to the ceiling as they bend to 90 degrees, and rotate your hands to the ceiling, palms down. Return to the starting position and continue for the prescribed number of reps.
How many? 2 sets of 10 reps with 30 seconds rest between sets.
Side Plank
What it does: Your shoulder is the underrated engine of this movement – and so many movements in life.
How to do it: Start on your left side with your left forearm on the ground and your elbow under your shoulder. Push up off your elbow, creating a straight line from ankle to shoulder. Your hips should be off the ground and only the side of your bottom foot and your elbow should be on the ground. Hold for 30 seconds or do 10 reps of 3 seconds each.
How many? 2 sets of either of the above options.
Acceleration wall drill/holding
What it does: This promotes core stability through the shoulders, hips, and torso.
How to do it: Stand leaning forward with your hands on a wall. Your ears, shoulders, knees, and ankles should be in a straight line. Lift one knee and foot toward the wall. The foot should be directly under the thigh with toes dorsiflexed (pulled toward your shin).
How many? 2 sets of 30 seconds per side with 30 seconds in between sets.
Pushups – Feet Elevated
What it does: This version of the pushup places more emphasis on the shoulder, thus packing on more muscle.
How to do it: Assume a pushup position with your feet on a stair, bench, or Swiss ball. (This being a bodyweight routine, let’s stick with natural equipment such as a staircase or park bench.) Lower while inhaling until your chest nearly touches the floor. Exhale as you push back up.
How many? 2 sets of 10 with 30 seconds in between sets.
Reach, Roll, and Lift
What it does: A variation on yoga’s familiar child’s pose, this stretches your shoulders and upper back.
How to do it: Sitting on your heels, extend your arms and the back of your hands on a foam roller. Roll the foam forward while keeping your hips back, dropping your chest toward the ground. Lift and hold the stretch for 2 seconds. Return to starting position.
How many? 2 sets of 10 reps
Pete Williams is a NASM-CPT and the author or co-author of several fitness books, including Core Performance and Every Day is Game Day. His work has appeared in publications such as Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, and USA Today.
Talking Huge With Craig Golias | EP 8: Surgery Mishaps, Travel Diet Tips, & More
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Craig Golias discusses the tragic death of Odalis Santos Mena, training to failure, and how to maintain a bodybuilding diet while traveling.
Welcome to another episode of Talking Huge – a weekly digital series in which Craig Golias talks in-depth with Vlad Yudin on the latest trending topics in bodybuilding. Raw, honest, and uncut – Craig Golias shares his opinions on all things bodybuilding. In this episode, Craig Golias talks about the tragic and recent passing of Odalis Santos Mena, training to failure, and diet trips for bulking while traveling.
There were a lot of topics to cover in this week’s episode of Talking Huge after a busy week and as the bodybuilding season moves closer and closer to Olympia weekend. The top of the week was met with tragedy in the bodybuilding world. Odalis Santos Mena sadly passed away at just 23 years old due to a botched surgery. Craig and Vlad discuss the situation and open up the conversation to surgeries in bodybuilding as a whole. They also discuss training to failure, how important it is in bodybuilding, and tips to properly train to failure without injury. Other topics include how to stay motivated after taking a break from the gym, the best supplements for bodybuilders, and how to properly diet while traveling without losing gains. There’s a lot to cover so let’s jump right into it.
The Tragic Passing of Odalis Santos Mena
Odalis Santos Mena’s death this past week hit the bodybuilding world hard. Not only is any death sad – but to pass away at such a young age (23 years old) is truly heartbreaking. Additionally, the death was seemingly preventable. Odalis Santos Mena underwent a procedure to stop sweating. A strange, and rare procedure indeed. Unfortunately, it was a procedure she would not survive. Though there has yet to be an official investigation – signs point towards the anesthesia as the main attribution to her death. Was it due to a freak accident, malpractice, or something else? We’re not quite sure at the moment.
Craig Golias and Vlad Yudin send condolences out to friends and family of Odalis Santos Mena. They also talk about how much more sad it feels when a death happens so randomly as this one. All deaths are tragic. But seemingly sudden and simple ones such as this feel heavier on the heart. Of course, the sad truth is that there is always an inherent risk to any procedure or surgery that requires anesthesia.
Craig and Vlad talk about other surgeries that are popular in bodybuilding and the risks involved. Is this kind of surgery culture bad in the big picture? Is the risk, even when minimal, not worth it when an outcome like this could happen? Craig and Vlad break it down.
Craig Golias’ Tips On How To Travel And Stay Huge
Craig Golias is a bodybuilder who values staying huge above all else. He has admitted previously to doing unhealthy things with his diet just to achieve that in the past. More recently, he has become more educated on how to properly bulk with clean meals, stay huge, and keep himself healthier.
But when it comes to traveling – a lot of healthy options get thrown out to of the window. If you have a six hour flight or even longer, how do you maintain the mass amount of clean meals required to keep bulking? Is it okay to take one day off? Or does it throw off everything completely?
Craig Golias breaks down his tips and tricks to staying huge and staying on diet while traveling. The truth of the matter is, sometimes you have to do some things that are less pleasurable when it comes to taste and comfort in your diet. Pre-prepped meals are always the way to go. If you need to eat over 6,000 calories in a day – make sure to bring pre-prepped chicken and rice on your flight.
Craig recounts having to cut up his cooked chicken into small cubes and breaking it down into tiny bags so that it would pass security on check out. He would then scarf down little cubes of chicken on the plan every few hours. It wasn’t glorious. It felt like work in fact – but sometimes that is what is necessary to maintain a bodybuilding diet.
Ultimately, Craig Golias states that anyone who is serious about their bodybuilding lifestyle and diet will see food as a means to an end rather than a pleasurable dining experience. Like Jay Cutler once said, “I don’t eat for taste, I eat for function.” Traveling is not an excuse to break your bodybuilding diet. It’s simply a challenge you’ll have to overcome.
Wrap Up
There are far more topics discussed in this episode than we can cover in this article. You can watch Craig Golias and Vlad Yudin discuss other topics such as training to failure and tips on how to avoid getting injured. They also discuss the best supplements that all bodybuilders should take who are looking to bulk up. You can check it all out in the latest episode of Talking Huge above! Make sure to check out Talking Huge every week on Friday – only on the Generation Iron Fitness Network!
How To Put Together The Ultimate Workout Plan For You
Putting together a workout plan can be hard, but knowing what you want out of it is just half the battle.
We all know we need a good training routine to give us the best for our gains and putting together the ultimate workout plan for you will be huge. By taking the time to plan out your own workout, you will begin to see that you do have the ability to form a solid training plan to see big gains. By choosing the exercises you want and fitting it into your schedule, it will be much easier to go through your day while still having time for other things you love.
Let’s take a look at how to form the ultimate training plan so you see those gains you want most. With a little research and the proper tools to start, you will be well on your way to forming a great plan with the results you want most.
Your Workout Plan Options
When it comes to choosing between how to plan your workout, you do have some options.
1. Hire A Trainer
Hiring a personal trainer can work wonders for your gains as they know exactly what to do. They’ve done it all before and have seen results with past clients, plus it gives you someone to be accountable to and who you can ask questions to. This option can get expensive though.
2. Look To Professionals & Athletes
Looking to those professionals and athletes that you admire can also prove to be worthwhile for your gains. They are living proof of what can happen when you put your mind to it and have already structured out great workout routines that have worked for them. From past bodybuilders like Frank Zane, to actors like Kumail Nanjiani, or fitness models like Michelle Lewin, they know exactly what you need to do to thrive inside and out of the gym. This option does limit you to the exercises that they want to do which you may not enjoy.
3. Make A Plan Yourself
This option may seem challenging and incredibly daunting, but it is possible and can make you feel fulfilled in the end knowing you’ve personalized a workout just for you. Saving money and only performing the exercises you love can be great, especially when it comes to boosting your gains in an enjoyable way. Knowing exactly what you want out of a routine will prove to be worthwhile as you seek that massive and shredded physique.
How To Build The Ultimate Workout Plan
Following these steps will allow you to form a great workout plan so you thrive inside and out of the gym.
Know Your Goals
When looking to make a training plan, knowing your goals is key. What you want out of your training will be a deciding factor on how you structure it. For those looking to lose weight and tone, that requires a certain type of exercise, as well as volume and intensity. Those looking to bulk will look to other exercises for that. You can also get niche about what you want, whether that be endurance-based or something more along the lines of power and total output (1).
Manage Your Schedule Overall
We live busy lives and being able to manage our schedules effectively will ensure we get the most out of all our time. Finding a window in your day to work out will tell you how long you have, which may affect what exercises you include and how many sets and reps as well.
Choose Those Exercises You Enjoy Most
The beauty about making your own plan is you get to choose the exercises you want to perform. If you don’t like a particular exercise, but you know you need to work that muscle or set of muscles, then look for variations that you will enjoy that can still get the job done.
Look Into Volume & Frequency
This is important for you will know what your body needs. If you want higher reps and lower sets, you can program that in. For those looking for lower reps and more of a max capacity lift, that is another option to look into (2).
Have Back-Ups To Vary Your Routine
You always want to give your muscles some confusion so they are constantly growing and your gains don’t plateau. Having some back-up exercises will add variety so you avoid that dreaded training plateau and always see the growth you want most.
Featured Supplement For Pre-Workout Gains
With so many supplements, it can hard to choose exactly which one you need. Thankfully, you can pair them together for ultimate gains. A protein powder is great for growth and recovery and an intra-workout BCAA will be perfect mid-workout, but you need a pre-workout supplement to boost your gains before you even start (3).
Kaged Muscle Pre-Kaged
Code GENIRON10 For 10% Off
Kaged Muscle Pre-Kaged is great for those looking to increase performance and intensity with a high-quality pre-workout. Great ingredients and a quality blend make this unstoppable for your pre-workouts needs.
Increase the performance and intensity of your workout with this high quality pre-workout powder available from Kaged Muscle. Kaged Muscle Pre-Kaged is unmatched in terms of ingredient quality and synthesis of the blend of proteins. Kaged Muscle lab tests every batch to make sure each is fully loaded as advertised — 274 mg pure caffeine, 2 g taurine, 6.5 g fermented BCAAs, 6.5 g pure l-citrulline, and 2 g of their patented betapower blend. It’s an unbeatable combination that is guaranteed to supercharge any workout with great pre-workout ingredients from supplements to increase muscle and promote weight loss.
Price: $39.99
Use code GENIRON10 to save 10%! Check out our individual review for Kaged Muscle Pre-Kaged here!
Check out our list of the Best Pre-Workout Supplements for more great pre-workout products!
Wrap Up
Putting together a training plan can be hard, but it is absolutely possible and will prove to be worthwhile in the long run. By saving money and working on inputting what you want, you are well on your way to seeing the gains you want most. Don’t neglect a good training routine and don’t forget that you have the power to control what you want so you see those massive gains take place for a shredded physique others will envy.
Let us know what you think in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
*Images courtesy of Envato
References
Haff, Gregory G.; Nimphius, Sophia (2012). “Training Principles for Power”. (source)
Mangine, Gerald T.; Hoffman, Jay R.; Gonzalez, Adam M.; Townsend, Jeremy R. (2015). “The effect of training volume and intensity on improvements in muscular strength and size in resistance-trained men”. (source)
Kedia, A. W.; Hofheins, Jennifer E.; Habowski, Scott M.; Ferrando, Arny A.; et al. (2014). “Effects of a Pre-workout Supplement on Lean Mass, Muscular Performance, Subjective Workout Experience and Biomarkers of Safety”. (source)
Dexter Jackson Is Still Killing It In The Gym, Vows to Stay Shredded Forever
Dexter Jackson is in incredible shape in retirement.
Dexter Jackson has vowed to stay shredded until he kicks the bucket. The bodybuilding legend hasn’t slowed down one bit in retirement. In fact, Jackson is looking just as jacked and lean as ever. His recent training videos show a man still dedicated to high level bodybuilding.
The winningest bodybuilder in the history of the game, Dexter Jackson is an absolute legend. Competing since 1992, it seemed like Jackson would never retire from competition. That changed however when the veteran finally decided to call it quits in 2020. The 2020 Olympia would be the final show for Jackson and he was given a champion’s send off.
So now that he’s accomplished everything you could wish for as a bodybuilder, Dexter Jackson is now enjoying his retirement. After competing for so many years you would think that would mean taking some time off from the gym. After all, Jackson as a competitor was always known for staying in shape which meant staying in the gym. But apparently old habits die hard.
Not only has Dexter Jackson not stopped training, the veteran is looking just as jacked as ever. His recent training doesn’t show a man who is completely finished with the sport of bodybuilding but rather a man who is still passionate about his fitness. Rather than sit on the couch all day, Jackson is hefting heavy weight and still looking in top form.
Is he as massive as ever? Clearly not. But Dexter Jackson still possesses a champion level physique at an advanced age and could still give some young guns a run for their money.
It’s pretty clear that Dexter Jackson not only loved competing, but training as well. It shows in the all the hard work he’s putting in currently. And he doesn’t even have to lift a finger. Right now he could never lift again and be proud of what he’s accomplished. But bodybuilding is more than just competing for Jackson. It’s a way of life on and off the stage.
A Vow to Stay Shredded
A recent Instagram post captures the mindset of Dexter Jackson perfectly. The veteran bodybuilder isn’t slowing down any time soon. He’ll be lifting for the rest of his life that much is clear from this post.
I maybe retired from the stage but never from the gym.. Your boy gone die shredded! Lol.
Dexter Jackson is an absolute legend and should be saluted for maintaining such a impressive physique where others would just let themselves go. A true professional through and through.
What do you think of Dexter Jackson and his recent declaration of staying shredded?
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Managing Editor at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Sound Cloud for in-depth MMA analysis.
John Meadows Returns Full Interview | Training Shaun Clarida, Biggest Bodybuilding Mistakes, & More
In May of 2020, the bodybuilding world was in shock at the announcement that John Meadows had suffered a heart attack. Thankfully, he made a full recovery. Later in 2020, one of the pro bodybuilders that Meadows trains, Shaun Clarida, earned himself the Olympia title.Now just under a year after his heart attack and Shaun Clarida’s big win, we reconnected with John Meadows to look back at the entire experience, his recovery, working with Shaun Clarida, and what the future holds.
Over the past few months we’ve released multiple GI Exclusive segments from our interview with John Meadows. Beyond his recovery, we are now releasing the full length interview including additional topics such as the biggest mistake bodybuilders make, lifting heavy vs lifting light, and an analysis of the Olympia 2020.
Listen To Our John Meadows Interview On The Generation Iron Podcast
Our full length interviews are now also in podcast form! Subscribe to the Generation Iron Podcast for candid, full length interviews with the biggest names in bodybuilding, fitness, combat, and strength sports.
Listen to the full John Meadows interview here:
An Inside Look Into Shaun Clarida’s Olympia Training Strategy
John Meadows makes it clear that in Clarida’s case, slow and steady wins the race. Clarida had been making small changes to his training prep year after year. Trail and error worked towards finding the best strategy that worked most efficiently for his body.
Meadows can’t attribute the win to any sort of secret. It was simply persistence. Not only in the willingness to train hard – but also the willingness to think hard. What we mean by that is the ability to stay vigilant on the overall training plan. What can be improved? What isn’t working? What is the ultimate combination of exercises to inch up to that next level?
This is the strategy that John Meadows used on Clarida to bring him to perfection and a Mr. Olympia win. Of course, now that he’s found that perfect combination and physique – where does he go to ensure another victory in 2021?
John Meadows sticks to the same plan. There were still some tweaks that he believes Shaun Clarida can make to further tighten up even the smallest of flaws. Beyond those changes, the key element going into 2021 is intensity. According to Meadows, there is a bad habit of critics believing that intensity needs to be pulled back reaching the ideal physique. That a pro bodybuilder can go “too intense” thus causing a missed mark at the next competition.
John Meadows thinks this is all bullshit. He understands that beginner and intermediate bodybuilders might need to pull back on intensity until they become more experienced. But for pro bodybuilders like Shaun Clarida, he believes that finding little ways to push intensity even farther is the best tactic to guarantee a second Olympia victory.
The Biggest Training Mistakes Bodybuilders Make Today
John Meadows is a former competitive bodybuilder who now helps train pro bodybuilders today. He is deeply involved with the bodybuilding community and works with both veteran and up-and-coming bodybuilders throughout the industry.
That’s why we thought he was the perfect person to ask – what are the most common bodybuilding mistakes happening today? You may not be making all of these mistakes – but it can be a helpful guide for what just might be the biggest oversights the new generation of bodybuilders are making.
John Meadows starts off by stating one of the biggest mistakes he sees today comes as a direct result of social media. He believes that the constant ability to see incredible physiques on apps like Instagram create a warped perception of how bodybuilding really works. More specifically, that bodybuilders now attempt to stay extremely lean all year.
The reality is that in order to improve your physique, you need to go through adjustment phases throughout the year. If you want to build more size, you can’t stay extremely lean for the entire year. You need to go through a bulking phase to help build more mass – then cut it down to a lean look once you’ve achieved the size you want.
Bodybuilders today feel so much pressure to appear lean for social media – that it is actually hindering these bodybuilders’ ability to build bigger and better physiques within a timely manner. It’s slowing down the process towards bigger success.
The other big mistake is one that you might not expect. John Meadows believes that there has been advice growing in popularity within the bodybuilding community. Advice that he believes is actually wrong and should be debunked.
John Meadows believes that young bodybuilders are being advised to train less hard. Due to this, the past few years have produced bodybuilders that don’t train as hardcore in the gym. While it’s true that there is a limit to how far a bodybuilder should push in the gym – Meadows thinks the advice has become over-exaggerated in recent years. This causes bodybuilders to train with less intensity than is needed to succeed in the sport.
The good news is – John Meadows thinks that the newest crop of bodybuilders are starting to amp up the intensity again. Based on the bodybuilders he has seen recently, he thinks a new era of hardcore training athletes is on the way up in bodybuilding.
Wrap Up
John Meadows is a man who can provide rare in-depth knowledge on all things bodybuilding from training perspective. There are far many more topics we discussed in our hour plus interview that could be vital for anyone looking for insight into optimizing bodybuilding training. So make sure to watch our latest full length GI Exclusive interview with John Meadows above!