Tag: GI News
Melle Mel: “Frank Zane Is Hands Down The Best Bodybuilder Ever”
Melle Mel explains why he thinks Frank Zane stands tall as the greatest bodybuilder of all time.
During our Generation Iron interviews, we always make sure to ask who the top five bodybuilders are of all time. Each person has a different list that reveals something about how they view bodybuilding. This held true for rapper and bodybuilding aficionado, Melle Mel. He not only picked a diverse top five – he placed a wild card for the very top of his list. In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Melle Mel details why he believes Frank Zane is the greatest bodybuilder ever – even above the likes of Ronnie Coleman.
Frank Zane is truly a legendary athlete. This much is known throughout the bodybuilding community. But if you were to start discussing the greatest bodybuilder of all time, Zane might not be at the very top of the list. That is usually reserved for the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ronnie Coleman, or Lee Haney among perhaps a few others.
Melle Mel thinks it’s time for Frank Zane to get his due. Again, there is no one who undervalues Zane as a whole. He has gone down in history as a true legend in the sport. But for Melle Mel – that’s not enough. Zane should be noted as the single greatest bodybuilder of all time.
Of course, this comes back down to the debate of size versus aesthetic. Bodybuilders like Dorian Yates and Ronnie Coleman changed the game. The limits were pushed into inhuman levels and created the term mass monster. Ever since then, the broader and heavier look has reigned supreme.
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Check out our latest GI Exclusive with Melle Mel above!
For Melle Mel, Frank Zane represents a perfect physique before the world turned towards mass monsters. His aesthetic, conditioning, and size all came together into something perfect. More reminiscent to a Roman statue than The Hulk. It showcased a true mastery of bodybuilding without the bigger health risks.
Melle Mel believes that health should still be more of a consideration in pro bodybuilding. He prefers classic physiques of yesteryear because they still mastered muscle without taking it to extremely unhealthy places. It’s an opinion that he shares with a sub category of fans. Their outcry eventually led to the creation of the Classic Physique division.
Melle Mel even draws direct comparisons to Ronnie Coleman. Typically, Coleman is placed as a contender for the greatest bodybuilder of all time. Melle Mel thinks this is misplaced. Coleman certainly is one of the greatest but the sacrifice he paid for that physique promotes unhealthy choices. To Melle Mel, that’s not what bodybuilding should be about.
“Everybody loves Ronnie Coleman. He’s a great guy. I met him, I love him,” Melle Mel states in our interview. He continues:
“The difference between him and Frank Zane is like… I could look like Frank Zane… But you’re never going to look like Ronnie. And if you do there’s a price to be paid to look like Ronnie. And he’s paying the price and he’s a great man because he don’t shy away from it… but there’s a price to be paid because to look like Ronnie Coleman you will pay the price.”
You can watch Melle Mel list off his top five bodybuilders of all time and go more in-depth on Frank Zane by checking out our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above!
Jose Raymond Breaks Down His Bodybuilding Comeback Training Routine
Jose Raymond shares insight into his comeback training claiming it’s the first offseason he’s ever had in his life.
In our previous interview segment, Jose Raymond confirmed that he’s planning on making a comeback to Men’s 212 bodybuilding. Or at least, he’s training to compete again to see how his body reacts. If he’s happy with the results, he will pick a show to compete in and re-ignite his journey. But after many years away from tried and true contest prep, what is Jose’s tactic to get back on the saddle? In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Jose Raymond breaks down his bodybuilding comeback training routine.
Jose Raymond had a series of unfortunate situations that prevented him from competing over the past few years. But after full recovering from surgery, he’s ready to jump back into action and return to a competitive level of training. During our recent video conversation, we asked him to share what that comeback training looks like and how it differs from his past tactics.
“This is the most different I’ve ever been in my life”
Right off the bat, Jose Raymond makes a point to say that this training process is different than he’s ever experienced before. More specifically, he claims it is the first true off season he’s ever had in his life. Throughout his career, he’s always competed in so many shows – that he never had time for a real off season. He always had to stay in a contest prep level of conditioning due to a competition right around the corner.
So perhaps for the first time since he originally started bodybuilding, he is going into a true offseason bulk phase. Meaning that he can focus purely on building size without worrying about strict conditioning.
In terms of diet, Jose Raymond is currently eating 100 grams of carbs per day. He’s not the kind of bodybuilder to eat sloppy – but he’s also using this opportunity to really focus on building size and worrying less about conditioning at this moment. That means allowing for more heavy foods and carbs in his diet.
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Check out our latest GI Exclusive with Jose Raymond above!
Lower weight with high volume… with a few exceptions
Jose Raymond also dives into his training regimen. He’s doing very little cardio. This is again because he’s focusing on building mass at the moment. He does about 30 minutes of cardio, very light, on a treadmill or stepmill.
Being a bit older and wanting to prevent injury, Jose Raymond is focusing less on heavy weight and more on high volume. In a traditional set he aims for approximately 12, 15, or 18 reps. Though he admits sometimes he will feel energized and try and go all out with some truly heavy weight.
He also does, in a sense, drop sets. Thought perhaps not as strict as a traditional drop set would be. After he gets to a point with his high volume sets where he can only do six to eight reps. He will do one extra set. He lowers the weight and tries to do as many reps as possible. Sometimes reaching up to 20 or 22 reps. This is to make sure that he’s truly exhausted the muscle.
Wrap Up
Ultimately, Jose Raymond is excited to be able to focus on building as much size as possible. He’ll see how his body reacts. And then will evaluate his options and decide what show he wants to compete in. Once he decides that, of course, real contest prep begins. He’ll go back to what he knew for most of his career – focusing on conditioning. We can’t wait to see what show he’ll appear in and how he’ll compare to the new era of competitors.
You can watch Jose Raymond go into even more detail about his bodybuilding comeback training regimen in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above!
Arash Rahbar: The Best Pump You’ll Ever Get Is From Sodium
Arash Rahbar reveals the misconceptions behind sodium for bodybuilders.
For the average person interested in fitness, one of the biggest things you’ll hear is to avoid sodium in your diet. Sodium can lead to high blood pressure and weight gains. If unchecked, it can lead to some serious heart problems long term. While this is true, removing sodium completely from your diet is also not the answer. Like many things, it’s all about moderation. This becomes even more complicated, though, for bodybuilders. In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Arash Rahbar details the misconceptions people have about sodium in a bodybuilding diet.
In the modern world, everything has added sodium. According to Arash Rahbar, this is for two reasons. The first is as a preservative. It helps keep food longer which is essential for our current era of canned goods and instant meals. The second reason for sodium is more simple – it makes things taste better. You’d be surprised how many processed foods actually contain sodium – even sweet food. It’s a key ingredient to making things taste better.
Of course, we know that relying too much on processed foods is bad for you. It all contains too much sodium and when eaten consistently can lead to high blood pressure, weight gain, and long term heart problems. But when it comes to bodybuilding, things get a little more complicated.
A competitive bodybuilder’s main goal is to appear as dry and conditioned on stage. This is to show off the massive muscle they have built. But sodium plays a key role in that process. If a bodybuilder were to remove sodium completely, not only would they feel worse, they would also appear “flat” on stage.
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Check out our latest GI Exclusive with Arash Rahbar above!
Without getting into the science or technical details, Arash Rahbar explains how sodium essentially regulates your blood pressure. This is why too much gives you high blood pressure (also known as hypertension). In fact, having high sodium is the best way for a bodybuilder to achieve the pump during a workout.
It might sound backwards, but it’s true. Arash Rahbar keeps himself on a high sodium diet. But he makes sure to stay as healthy as possible in his overall diet. His sodium isn’t coming from chips and snacks. Much like anyone, balanced sodium in your diet is important. For bodybuilders – what is considered “balanced” might be a bit different than the average person.
Arash Rahbar admits that he is no doctor or scientist. But he does know from years of experience and experimentation that no sodium in your diet is also bad for you. For bodybuilders it’s even worse. It can lead to bloating and when combined with fasting – can make your muscle look flat.
Of course, too much sodium can also lead to more water retention, which will make a bodybuilder’s muscle puffy and soft. It’s all about balance. What that balance is might be different for each bodybuilder.
You can watch Arash Rahbar go into even more detail about sodium in bodybuilding by watching our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above!