Training

More in Training

Nothing is a more obvious tell tale sign of being physically flaccid than having an underdeveloped back. The only way to build slabs of lats and traps is by having years of executing physically uncomfortable lifts with constantly increasing loads.

Today at Armbrust Pro Gym with Brett Wilkin, Ivana Wilkin and Martin Fitzwater the back day was won. As you may know, this crew utilizes top sets on their lifts and track poundages and reps to be sure that progressive overload happens as consistently as possible.

Brett gives plenty of cues on how to perform the exercises shown here and common ways of performing them that might not be optimal.

Stay tuned for a reunion of the Denver crew with the Dallas crew before you know it!

Win From The Back - Brett Wilkin, Ivana Wilkin & Martin Fitzwater

Olivia Gravengaard and Luke Miller are back with another in depth on leg training.

Everything is relative to each individual so everything regarding training must be catered to the athlete. In the case of leg training and improving proportions for the sake of competition Olivia has programmed movements in her leg training to focus more on glute and hamstring stimulation vs a more "bro science" approach and running through a usual sequence of leg extensions and compound quadricep exercises like squats and leg presses.

As explained above, Luke and Olivia have very specific things they need from their training so they go through their own lifts here and explain the exercises selection, order and how they execute along with a ton of other nuances and cues.

This series is geared towards thoroughly dissecting training. There is a ton of information to take in, digest and come back with questions if you have them for Luke or Olivia. Check this out and please send any questions you may have.

LEG DAY - Intensity Meets Intention

Time waits for no one. It's always ticking away and what you spend in your life, no matter if it is spent being productive or bullshitting, you wont ever get time back.

Aratio is a super heavyweight competitive bodybuilder and also a full time fire fighter. He understood what he lives by now "committed to sacrifice" as a teenager.

The sacrifice can be the time it takes to learn a new craft or time time spent NOT going to particular parties. Sacrificing one thing for the sake of what you really want. Either way a sacrifice and choice is being made. Whether that choice is going to empower you or delay and hinder you from reaching your goals relies on the understanding of this concept.

This mantra of "committed to sacrifice" also alludes to the fact that Aratio is a fire fighter. Being a firefighter is a higher risk profession. Admittedly Aratio has not had too many close calls but it remains that he and his crew risk their own well being for the sake of others.

Committed To Sacrifice

Squat ass to grass... is not what you'll hear from Derek Lunsford here today.

He does however give some badass cues that contradict popular training styles and what has been iterated and reiterated in countless magazine articles through the years.

The mission is always the priority when approaching training for Derek. Here the mission is quadricep stimulation. Hip placement and ankle placement and tempo play huge roles in a lot of his lifts he performs here.

When prompted to spell out his lunge technique for quadricep emphasis Derek mentions the common "don't let your knee go past your toe" and then says for his purposes today (quads) "I actually tuck my hips in, take a shallow step and let my knee go past my toes."

Check out Derek's cues and let us know if we should link up asap with him in Tampa for more instructional content along with getting out in Tampa with him and his fiancé.

Leg Training Cues with Derek Lunsford

Johnnie Jackson is training solo in this shoulder session and spells out his routine, how certain accessory lifts complement other movements and delves into concepts like "not over analyzing the details at the expense of intensity."

Something Johnnie highlights here is intensity. You can have perfect for and dot your I's and cross your T's but if you're lacking in the intensity department, you will always be stuck at an entry level when it comes to development.

Check out Johnnie's training session and his order of exercises and see what you can learn from it.

Johnnie Jackson | Intensity & Shoulder Training

Maintaining a competitive edge in the case of retaining valuable information in the form of training advice or cues that could help a fellow competitor out is short sighted and definitely not good in the bigger picture of our sport.

Here Hunter Labrada and Liv Roth link up with Derek Lunsford for a biceps and triceps session. Issues arose for Derek when they got to the heavier sets of the dumbbell preacher curls.

Seeing Derek's form, Liv and Hunter gave some cues to accommodate for the massive tricep mass that impeded what used to be optimal form.

Check out what Derek and Hunter have to say and the rest of their favorite arm day lifts and when you can, pay it forward to any new lifters when the opportunity arises.

Pro's Helping Pro's | Hunter Labrada Liv Roth Derek Lunsford

Contrary to what the internet will undoubtedly brew up, there will never be beef between true competitors and real professionals in this sport.

212 Mr. Olympia Shaun Clarida and Keone Pearson both arrives in Texas and hauled ass to Destination to link up for a chest and shoulders workout on a crazy packed and epic week of team building and training. Deep in the offseason, Shaun is preparing to defend his title and every Tom Dick and Harry is coming after him... including Keone.

Shaun and Keone are kicking off a great week and will be linking up with the likes of Branch Warren, Johnnie Jackson, Brett Wilkin Ben Chow, Ivana Wilkin, Olivia Gravengaard, Christina Heath, Joe Mackey to all shoot some timeless photos with the one and only Per Bernal.

Stay tuned for more jam packed and LIT sessions with these ladies and gents.

BEEF - Shaun Clarida VS Keone Pearson

No matter where you are or your circumstances, goals, or obstacles, the core values here are ALWAYS to get it done no matter what. No Excuses!

212 Mr. Olympia champion Shaun Clarida is in town along with Keone Pearson and Per Bernal and they all link up with Jon Irizarry for several training sessions along with lots and lots of meetings, food and team building.

Shaun is planning on defending his title this year and Keone is keen on becoming his best and pushing Shaun to the limit to try to earn his own place in history.

Jon Irizarry burst onto the bodybuilding scene a while back but like most trajectories to success, his rise to professional status was anything but a straight line. Jon had a ton of success as a national teenage champion, then collegiate champion and top ranked national level competitor. Life came into play and Jon ended up traveling the world, went on a journey of self discovery and growing his business. Now he is ultra committed to making it happen this year.

Per Bernal needs no introduction to most bodybuilding aficionados. Tons of magazine covers and (a safe bet to say) most timeless/epic shots that stand the test of time have been shot by Per. These guys team up and train and Per captures everything in real time with very real weights. No bullshit staging here. What you see is for sure what you get.

Stay tuned for more of these guys getting it done. Get it done yourself too!

We Get It Done - Shaun Clarida Keone Pearson Jon Irizarry

Brett Wilkin and Ben Chow go hard training shoulders and chest. Even though bodybuilding is a individual sport, the two express how the camaraderie of athletes fuel the energy of their workout session and gives them that extra bit of pump.

Aside from training hard in the gym, recovery is also very important for the two, since they are reaching new sizes and weight they have never been. Deep tissue massages and quality nutrition is a must for the two as they set sights for their first show of the 2021 season.

No Backing Down | Chest and Shoulders with Brett Wilkin & Ben Chow

In bodybuilding training or exercise where muscular growth is the goal and priority, sensation or feeling the target muscle is heavily emphasized hence the term "mind muscle connection." This connection and the strength or lack there of has been attributed to how developed and how easy to develop any muscle group is.

Olivia Gravengaard admittedly has a very hard time "feeling" her medial deltoid during training and the lateral delt is extremely important when it comes to figure competition given its role in making a more extreme X-frame illusion and more tapered "figure."

Luke Miller designs Olivia's push routine to prioritize back to back lateral exercises and makes a lot of good points when it comes to sensation and action of the target muscle.

In classic Luke fashion, a ton of cues and tips are given in this push session. We will be continuing this series as Olivia and Luke continue their offseason and prep respectively. If you have questions ASK AWAY!

How To Target The Medial Deltoid - Sensation vs Action

Limits, rules, boundaries etc. are ALWAYS meant to be push, bent and broken in the name of self improvement and realizing goals and potentials.

A common barrier or filter in the bodybuilding realm is leg development for the sheer intense, humbling realness it takes to know what you have to do to get your legs to respond, sucking it up and doing it.

Here new IFBB Pros Martin Fitzwater and Keone Pearson grit and bear a hell of a quadricep focused training session at Destination.

These young guns really push the competitive envelope going set for set. It is the type of symbiotic training camaraderie that produced the championship physiques in the likes of Branch Warren and Johnnie Jackson. When Keone is going Martin is pushing him past limits and vice versa when Martin is doing his top set.

You have to go to a dark place sometimes. Then you turn the switch and just go for it.

Martin and Keone explain their routine here and further explain the mindset it takes to properly train legs.

That's How You Get Big Legs - Keone Pearson and Martin Fitzwater

What do we do when there's no cameras? Work

What do we do when there's cameras in our face? WORK

Joe Mackey posted about his ailment 3 weeks prior to the Tampa Pro. He refused to give in and by sheer determination pushed all the way to a very respectable showing on stage. Now Joe is linked up with Animal Nutrition, got plans to mix things up with Larry Wheels all the way in Dubai and is committed to deadlift at the Battle of Texas this December.

Jonathan Irizarry took his bench press up from 450lbs PR to over a hundred pound gain after the 12 week program he ran through with Josh Bryant. Now Jon has his sights set on continuing to grow and then shredding it all down in 2021.

Here is the epitome of Real and Raw. They both have the big picture goal in mind and are plain and simple GETTING SHIT DONE!

Minimal talking here and all lifting on this shoulder day at destination.