Pro Secrets from Kai Greene, Cedric McMillan and Justin Compton
Bodybuilding Master Class
Pro Secrets from Kai Greene, Cedric McMillan & Justin Compton
Kai Greene
Put Down the Tape Measure and Open Your Mind
Would you mind having someone measure your arms, legs (largest part), chest and calves on video? It would be kind of interesting to know your measurements.
You’ve probably heard this before, but bodybuilding is a sport judged entirely by visual perception. It’s been called a sport of illusion, because the actual size of the muscles is far less significant than what they appear to be. With excellent shape, separation and detail, an 18-inch arm will appear to be much larger than a 21-inch arm lacking in shape and definition. Further, if measurements were actually important, they would be part of the criteria we are judged by, and judges would be onstage with tape measures recording those numbers.
In the grand scheme of things, I would hope that I have more to offer you than providing you with my measurements. For instance, if I had the chance to sit down with Donald Trump and ask him anything, I really wouldn’t waste time asking him what color his socks were. I would rather know what drives him and what his mindset is when he sets and accomplishes various goals, as well as strategies he employs to stay focused and to convince others to be part of the process of success.
I encourage you to stop focusing on things like how big my arms or legs are or how much another pro can bench press or use in barbell rows. Put down the magazine, turn off the computer and break down the barriers of your own mental walls to start expanding your horizons. Think about your hopes and dreams and what it is you really want out of life, and then start brainstorming about how you can make those things a reality. Use someone like myself as an inspiration, by all means, but know that you are capable of being and doing anything you truly set your mind to and believe in. Forget about my measurements. What are yours? And if you’re not happy with them, change them!
Squats: Best Lower-Body Exercise
As a kinesiologist, natty bodybuilder and trainer, I’ve heard all the different opinions. As a person with years of experience and a trainer yourself, I just have one question: as a bodybuilder, to squat or not to squat? It seems as if some people have trouble with the form, and would probably be better off with leg presses.
If you have ever read a single article about my leg training, and I know there have been at least a couple in MD, you would know how much I believe in the value of the barbell squat. You cannot find a more basic, more demanding or more productive exercise for the lower body. You would also be very hard pressed to find a bodybuilder with anything beyond average leg development who did not build his thighs with plenty of squats over a period of years.
There are those who avoid squats for various reasons. A frequent complaint is that the movement is awkward and difficult to master. Others get discouraged because they see how much weight they can load on a leg press and look at the relatively lighter weight they can handle on squats as a failure. The only legitimate reason not to squat would be for those who are suffering from a severely debilitating injury to the spine or the disks between the vertebrae. In a case like this, heavy loads bearing down on the spine would not be advised. For all others, squats are the absolute best option to increase size and strength in the thighs.
Don’t be discouraged because you can’t use as much weight as someone else or as much as you think you should be able to. And don’t worry if perfect form doesn’t come easily to you. There is nothing to be ashamed of! Know that once you do master the form on squats, you can easily begin to gradually increase the weights you use over time. And you should know that squatting even 225 pounds for deep reps with excellent form will yield much better gains than half-reps with 500 pounds, hunched over as if you’re performing a good morning. Never for a minute worry about what anyone else is doing. Focus on your own performance, your own technique and stimulating growth in your thighs.
Cedric McMillan
When One Side Is Weaker, Work It More
Cedric, do you have any tips on correcting asymmetrical body parts?
I train the weak side only, every other workout. Then when I train both sides, I still only do half the workout with both sides, and the rest of the workout with just the weak side. Like if I have four exercises on back day, I do two for both sides and two for the weak one. Then when I train back again, I do the weak side only. This helps maintain the size of the more developed side, while giving the weaker side a chance to catch up.
Train More Than Once a Day? Not Going to Happen
Do you train all at once or break it up throughout the day?
I train once a day. With my schedule, that’s all I can fit in. Pre-contest, I may have to add a couple of cardio sessions in the morning and at night. Once, I saved a lot of leave time and took off work a few weeks before the show. I was able to work out twice a day. It was cool, but my whole day was filled with going to and from the gym! “Ain’t nobody got time fo dat!”
Instinctive Training, Low Volume and High Intensity
Hi Cedric! How many reps and sets worked best for you to gain most of your muscle mass? Did you stick to higher volume or lower volume? Could you please share some of your beginner routines that helped you the most to build muscle mass? Also, do you do the same weight on all your sets or do you increase it to the last working set and work till failure?
I’ve always worked out about the same as I do now: low volume, high intensity, progression and instinctive training.I do about nine total sets for all body parts. Occasionally when I feel full of energy, rested and strong, I may do 12 total sets. But most of the time I can get it done in nine. That’s three exercises, three sets each, per body part.None of my sets are to absolute failure. Most sets I stop when I can’t do the reps properly. I’d say out of nine sets, five to seven of those are to failure.Off-season, I rest more between sets. Pre-contest, I only rest enough to change weight, or up to 30 seconds max unless I’m dead tired. Then I can get it done in 45 minutes, too. Also, sometimes I do more than one body part a day, which makes the workout longer. My point is, I go until I feel like I worked the muscle completely. I’m not there with a clock, timing my workout. Some workouts last longer than others.I always try to increase weight progressively with each set, making sure I keep mental notes of the final all-out set weight and reps so I can make sure I try to beat those numbers in the next workout (similar to DC Style). I have always trained this way.
Crunches for a Tight Midsection
Cedric, your midsection is exactly what I want mine to look like! I’ve tried a lot of different routines, with less than satisfactory results. Would you please share yours?
Honestly, man, you’re gonna get mad at me … but all I did was regular crunches. Back in the day, I probably did everything under the sun, and I think they all are effective. It just boils down to doing the ones that you like, and the ones that don’t hurt your lower back, or fatigue your hip flexors too much, ya know? Do exercises that target and focus on abs only. I don’t like doing hanging leg raises ‘cause it hurts my whole upper body trying to hold myself up just to do a few reps of abs. Also, I don’t use any extra weight. I think weight will make the abs stronger, and in turn, bigger. I just want them small and tight. Although, very developed abs look fuckin’ awesome, and that may be an area I will need to develop more one day. Ahmad Haidar had some bad-ass abs— like bricks!
Justin Compton
Working Each Body Part Once Every Five Days
You say you respond well to higher frequency. Do you think working each body part something like once every five days could be good? Something along the lines of:
Chest/tri’s/shoulders
Back/bi’s
Legs
Chest/back
Arms/delts
Legs
I would use that order, and do two days on, one day off (sometimes three on, one off) and just cycle through the workouts like that.
Yep, you could do something like that! The only fault I have with that is the chest/back day. Putting those two muscle groups together would make for a very long workout, and I’m not sure if I or anyone else would be able to hit back with 100 percent after just finishing chest. I would split that up— just my thoughts, though.
Pre- and Intra-Workout Shakes
Can you tell me what’s in the pre- and intra-workout shakes you drink? And if you have carbs in the intra-shake, do you use it when you’re dieting, too?
I usually have 50-70 grams of carbs in each shake. I mix BCAAs in them as well! As for dieting, I never drink a pre-shake, but I will do an intra-shake for sure. As I get closer to the show and am putting the final touches on, I may have to drop it out depending on how sharp I am. But I do like to keep it in pretty close to showtime, as I feel it keeps me fuller.
Volume Training Pushes Everything to the Max
Justin, which training approach do you typically follow? HIT, volume, etc.?
For the most part, I like volume training. I like to push every rep of every set to the max once I am fully warmed up, but I do a lot of volume. My workouts sometimes last 90 minutes, or even up to two hours on leg day. Rarely, I will do a lower volume approach for a few weeks and focus on power. I feel really good in the gym and whatnot with it, but I am quite achy the next day. That’s why I try to toss this in just on occasion, rather than make it my normal style.
Numbers Game: Don’t Get Caught Up in the Weight
Do you worry about how much weight you use, or do you leave that for powerlifters? Seems like a lot of bodybuilders still want to train for power and go heavier than they should, for the purposes of building their physique.
I guess it all depends on how you define the word “power.” I don’t get caught up on the actual number. For example, a POWER workout could look like this: squats: 135 x 10, 225 x 10, 315 x 10, 405 x 8 and 495 x 6 if I am taking 1.5-2 minutes between sets. That’s how I like to train, really. On the rare occasion you will see me up to 585 pounds-plus for six or so reps, I’m taking a much greater rest time between sets. I would rather keep the rest time down and break the muscle down that way.
Stretching and Warm-ups to Stay Injury Free
I want to ask about your 30-40 sets per workout. Is that, for example, 30-40 sets total working sets a day when you do back/biceps/calves? Are you counting all 30-40 working sets total, for all three muscle groups? Also, you mentioned that you stretch post-workout for 15-20 minutes. How do you warm-up in the beginning? Do you just warm-up on a compound lift on back or chest day on your first exercise? I’m asking all this because I want to work around my injuries and stay injury free. Also, do you do anything between sets, like stretch? Keep up the good work!
Thanks, man! The 30-40 sets would be for all three muscles combined, not for each individual muscle. Otherwise, we could be looking at 120 work sets! The 30-40 sets is usually not including my warm-ups, though. I do try to stretch and allow about 15 minutes post-workout for that every day. I have been focusing on flexibility and range of motion (ROM) a lot more lately. I don’t do any pre-workout stretching— I just start with an exercise and slowly move up in weight, usually two or three times, before going into a working set. I don’t really stretch too much between sets, either. I like to save it all for the end.