FLEX is Australia’s and the world’s leading hardcore bodybuilding magazine. It delivers cutting edge information on diet, nutrition and muscle growth that will help you grow stronger faster. For those who are serious about their bodies.
Q HOW CAN I MAKE 2016 THE YEAR I REALLY ACHIEVE MY GOALS? — STEVE G For me, the key to setting goals and achieving them always begins with visualisation. You have to create a picture in your mind of what you want to achieve and imagine it’s already true. Then it’s almost easy to get there because you know what it is you want – it just takes time and work. People fail to achieve goals because they can’t really see themselves succeeding, so they don’t believe they can, and then they quit at the first sign of adversity. Successful people don’t quit, because, in their minds, they’ve already won. It just isn’t official yet. I like to use the example of how I brought up my calves to…
TOM PRINCE COMPETITIVE HISTORY 1995 NPC Nationals: Heavyweight – 2nd 1996 NPC Nationals: Heavyweight – 2nd 1996 NPC USA Championships: Heavyweight – 2nd 1997 NPC Nationals: Heavyweight & Overall – 1st 1997 NPC USA Championships: Heavyweight – 9th 1999 IFBB Night of Champions: 13th 2000 IFBB Ironman Pro Invitational: 9th 2001 IFBB Grand Prix England: 8th 2001 IFBB Night of Champions: 3rd 2001 Mr Olympia: 16th 2002 IFBB Night of Champions: 7th 2002 IFBB Southwest Pro Cup: 9th It was only his third contest, and he had no titles to his name. So when Tom Prince finished second in the loaded heavyweight class of the 1995 NPC Nationals, he shocked the bodybuilding world. “I was so blown away that this was really happening. I went back to the room and…
“FOCUS ON THE PRIZE, ON WHERE YOU’RE GOING, NOT WHERE YOU’RE AT.” Three-time Mr Olympia competitor and former FLEX cover athlete Kris Dim is on a mission – to walk without assistance. Dim, 43, has undergone four heart surgeries since 2007 in an attempt to repair a ruptured aorta. “The hospital told my family I had a 10 percent chance to live, and if I did I was going to have brain damage and paralysis,” says Dim. Six months of hard work proved them wrong, as Dim went from walking 10 steps and lifting 1.5kg weights to adding size back on. “I wasn’t ready to end my career,” he explains. Dim returned to the stage in 2009 but retired after the US Sacramento Pro, in which he placed fourth. The…
HOW OFTEN DO YOU TRAVEL HOME TO WALES? A minimum of twice a year to see all my family and friends. However, because of the baby, this will be the first time I don’t spend the winter holidays at home. I’m going to be trading winter in Wales for palm trees in Florida. My parents are going to come out here instead. The baby is a big deal in my family – she will be the first grandchild out of me and my siblings. Q What was the highlight of your first UK tour? Seeing friends and fans and sharing their stories. I had many opportunities to meet the grown children of my fans – where years before I had taken photos with fans and their children, and now I’m…
These are the building blocks most used by champions and children alike. They are the simple movements that involve the body’s complicated system of muscles, bones and ligaments advantageously, safely, and joyously. They are the basics. They work best. The rest is up to sound nutrition. Of the top 20, extract six to eight major moves on which to concentrate to avoid excessive instruction time and learning time and, therefore, devote more intense training time in near-future workouts. This will assure greater muscle and strength response. Stick to the basic exercises that work the larger muscle groups completely and are responsible for fuller and more effective muscle growth. Exercise repetition is needed to gain the maximum an exercise has to offer. Changing exercises frequently defeats one’s purpose to grow in…
“EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE A BODYBUILDER , BUT DON’T NOBODY WANT TO LIFT NO HEAVY-ASS WEIGHTS.” — RONNIE COLEMAN STOP THE FLOW Researchers in Denmark showed that blood-flow–restricted (BFR) training and low-load traditional training taken to muscle failure both produced 12 percent gains. However, BFR training did it with three times fewer reps. ROLL WITH IT A Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research study showed that hamstring flexibility can be improved equally well with a foam roller compared with common proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching. SUPER 8 A meta-analysis of strength-training research showed that maximal strength gains are produced in athletes who train using 85 percent of their 1RM, two days per week, and doing eight sets per muscle group. A BETTER BENCH? A California State University, US, study showed…
