Dennis James Scandal
Written by Craig Titus
25 April 2007
Craig, what do you know about Dennis James' recent drug bust in Thailand? What the hell happened?
Oh, man. Let me say first that it breaks my heart about what happened to Dennis James over in Thailand. It's such a loss to the bodybuilding community. What a tragedy. From what I understand, Dennis received a package in the mail containing growth hormone and Ecstasy, or something like that. Evidently, the Thai drug enforcement agency intercepted the package, he signed for it and they arrested him. I heard this from my father, who lives in Bangkok, and he read about it in the newspaper. I feel very bad for Dennis. He's a buddy of mine and I hope he gets a good attorney and tries to get the charges dropped so he can put this behind him and move on with his career.
The laws over there in Thailand are incredibly strict. They could put him to death if he's convicted! It's unbelievable, actually, for recreational drugs. I feel really bad about the whole thing.
What I noticed, though, and what I really want people to take notice of, is that there were some people- two guys to be exact- who were very close to Dennis and who were recently visited by law enforcement in some way, shape or form. Now, all of a sudden, Dennis James is in jail? I find that very coincidental and common sense tells me the arrests are definitely tied together. These two gentlemen are both retired pros, by the way. It's very, very mysterious and too big to be a coincidence.
Not having Dennis on stage is a huge loss to the sport of bodybuilding. He's a good guy.
TITANIC TITUS DELT DEMOLITION
I've been lifting for over 10 years and while I can say I've made some decent changes in my body, I still struggle with shoulders and biceps. What gives, man? I even juiced cause I thought it would help, but it didn't do much. Do you have any advice or tricks?
I currently train four days a week:
Monday: back
Tuesday: shoulders and triceps
Thursday: legs
Friday: chest and biceps
I do at least four exercises per body part with four sets each, and my reps range from eight to 12. Also, what do you do to stay motivated? You've got to have a secret because you've been doing it for a long time. I know you're legit in responding to e-mails because two years ago I wrote you and you replied. I've posed questions to a number of pros and you're the only guy who's answered back. Thanks.
I always answer my e-mails from my fans, because without all of you, I'm really nothing. I will continue to try to build my fan base and keep my fans happy, so thanks for noticing.
It sounds to me like your training schedule is perfect, because it's basically the same thing I do: four sets per body part, four exercises, 16 sets total. I like the eight-to-12 rep range. Let's try something new, though-a Titus Titanic Shoulder Demolition training session. This workout I'm about to give you will destroy your shoulders and shock them into growing!
Go ahead and start your workout with front shoulder presses on the Smith machine. Up your rep range into what I call Blood Volume Training, which is somewhere between 10 and 16 reps. We're gonna do four sets and the timing between sets will be a little shorter, too. As soon as you catch your breath, you're going again. The whole idea is to force as much blood as possible into that muscle before the blood is released.
Next, we're going to go into the pec deck rear delt machine. Do four sets with a comfortable weight using a 10-16 rep range; same principle on the time between sets. Then, let's go over and do an upright row with the E-Z curl bar because it's a little easier on your wrists. I prefer it to the straight bar because it turns my hands inward and it doesn't crack my wrist at the top. Keep the same set and rep range throughout- four sets, 10-16 reps.
Last, we're going to finish with a dumbbell routine that I like to call the shoulder burn. I start with 60s, 50s, 40s, 30s, 20s and I lay them on the floor in front of me. Whatever you feel you're comfortable with, go ahead and grab, but the whole key is to have five sets of dumbbells in front of you. What you're gonna do is grab the heaviest set of dumbbells first and do as many reps of side laterals as possible. Set them down, take a breath, grab the next lower poundage set, do that until you can't do any more, set those down, grab the 40s, 30s, and so on. You're going to do this giant set in succession for a total of three sets.
When you're done, if your shoulders aren't the most absolutely pumped they've ever been, you let me know. I guarantee they will be more pumped than they have been in your entire life! This is an excellent shoulder shocking workout and will definitely bring you back from a plateau. The workout is especially good for anybody whose been working out for a long time, but if you've reached a plateau with your delts, then this is your trick. Personally, I feel the wider your shoulders are, the smaller your waist appears, so go ahead and destroy them! It's gonna be awesome.
Now, let's focus on the biceps. You said you're doing 16 sets for bi's. Why don't we lower the weight and up the rep range to 10-16 again, use a shorter amount of time in between, inflict more intensity, and see how much blood you can fit in the biceps in the shortest amount of time. When I started doing the Blood Volume Training, that's when I started really growing and bringing my body to a whole nother level.Go ahead and try it for a couple of months. Make sure to write me and let me know.
The Titanic Titus Delt Demolition
EXERCISE SETS REPS
Front shoulder press 4 10-16
Pec deck rear fly 4 10-16
Upright rows 4 10-16
* Shoulder burn side laterals 3 giants Go to failure
* Arrange five sets of dumbbells at your feet. Starting with the heaviest weight, begin a consecutive giant set of standing side laterals. Take each "set" to failure, catch your breath and repeat with the remaining four bells until completion. This entire process counts as one set. Do three giant sets total.
If you're not really getting good pumps, get yourself some Pinnacle Juiced Creatine. That shit works! Take it before and after you train. Remember, your muscle is 70 percent water and the Juiced Creatine will force more water in the muscle cells. This should help with the skin-splitting pump, the increase in muscle size and your recovery.
Finally, you've asked me about motivation. Bodybuilding has changed throughout the years for me. When I first started bodybuilding, I stayed motivated simply out of love for the sport. I still do love the sport immensely. It's my whole life. To be totally honest, though, these days a lot of my motivation comes from financial compensation. Everything I do right now is focused on taking care of my family for the rest of my life. I'm building up a retirement fund for my wife and me.
So, my motivation comes from three different things. First and most important, to satisfy my fans and get a good response from them while I'm on stage. Second, the simple love of the sport and the way the iron feels in my hands when I train. And third, the financial compensation and where I place in the shows. That's what keeps me motivated.
FLABALANCHE
I've been working out for over five years now. I was fat when I first started, weighing over 300 pounds. Now I'm 240 and pretty jacked and cut up. I've seen a lot of changes to my body over the years, but I'm still having trouble with my chest. I've got some flab on the outer pecs and underarm region that I'm dying to get rid of. I've been doing a ton of dumbbell flyes, both heavy and light, and my diet is pretty strict. I don't eat many carbs and I stay away from junk food other than an occasional cheat. Do you have any advice on how to cut this area up?
Unfortunately, there's no way to spot reduce fat. You're going to have to diet down hard enough to get that body fat off. From what you tell me, the rest of your body is lean and the body fat is only around your pectoral region. What you're going to have to do is go past the leanest you've ever been to tap into that fat and use it as energy. You're going to have to up your cardio, decrease your carbohydrate intake and possibly increase your protein intake. This will trigger your body into using more body fat for fuel.
At Cytodyne, we just came out with a new product called NRG, which is an eight-hour sustained-release fat burning supplement. They're pretty strong, so you might give them a try. Take a couple in the morning before cardio to sustain the fat burning process and energy for a long period. I think this would help you dramatically. If you take a couple more NRG eight hours later, you'll be burning fat for a straight 16 hours, which should finally tap into those hard-to- reach areas, like the pecs.
Dumbbell flyes are going to build muscle, which in turn will burn fat just from caloric expenditure associated with heavy weight training, but you're not going to spot reduce the fat in that area. Everybody's got a problem spot like yours. My last areas to lose fat are always in my back, from my lower glutes all the way up to my traps. My skin remains thickest from my lower glutes up to my traps until the final couple of weeks before a show. I always have a film of water on it until I carb load a little bit to pull water in.
But, like I said, you'll need to diet and train harder than ever to get all areas completely leaned out. Thankfully, supplements like NRG are available to help speed up the process.
JUST DO IT
Hey Craig, I'm a huge fan. I'm 29 years old, weigh about 218 and have 18 percent body fat. I am eager to compete in my first bodybuilding contest and I'm looking for the most efficient way to shed body fat without losing my hard-earned muscle. Should I lighten up the weights a bit? I generally do six to eight reps per set. What I fight most, though, is willpower. Any tips on willpower? I hope to see you crowned the winner at the next Night of Champions. It's your turn for victory.
I appreciate the words of confidence and I appreciate you being a fan and following my career. All right, first you have to find out if the six to eight rep range is working for you. As I said in an earlier question, I'm a Blood Volume Trainer, but I still lift very, very heavy. I use 405 pounds on most movements- bent over rows, bench press, squats- and I still keep my rep range high.
It's hard for me to answer your question, but if you feel the six to eight rep range is working, and you are building muscle, then that's good. You can stay there. Your diet is what's going to take the body fat off, anyway. Keep in mind that when you're preparing for a show (or any deadline) and start dieting 12 weeks out, during the last six weeks, you're really not going to put any muscle on, so it's all about detail. It's a good idea to up the rep range and lower the weight to burn calories while you're training. As long as you're training the muscle and it's recovering, you'll continue to burn body fat and dial in the muscle detail for the show.
I'm not sure what you mean by willpower. Willpower to succeed or willpower to eat right or willpower to build muscle? Willpower comes from within, brother. There's two kinds of people in this world: people who do and people who say they're gonna do. I suggest you become a doer, because that's the kind of person I am, and those are the kind of people who succeed in life. If you can succeed in bodybuilding, you can succeed in anything.
RAMPING UP FAT LOSS
I'm 16 weeks out from a local bodybuilding contest. At what point should I incorporate fat burners with my protein and creatine intake? I'm currently 204 pounds and would like to get bigger, but I realize I'm approaching my leaning-out phase. I would like to compete around 195 or so.
Let's forget about competing at 195 and just concentrate on the weight you're at right now and the show you're going to do. I have tried every diet range there is, from eight weeks to 16 weeks, but I find that 12 weeks works perfect for me.
When I prepare for a show, my first four weeks is what I call the cleanup month. I get my diet cleaned up, I get into the repetition of eating six or seven meals a day, training at a certain time each day, the correct time to tan, and the groove of doing cardio. The last eight weeks is when I kick in my Xenadrine and ramp up my cardio. So, the last eight weeks is when you want to fine tune and burn all the body fat off for your show.
If you do it correctly, you should be ready about two weeks out and then you can make any final adjustments those last two weeks without doing anything too traumatic to change your appearance on stage. A lot of people reading this might say, "Well, Craig, it seems to me you're always making some mistakes at the end," and that is absolutely true. I'm still trying to find out what works for me consistently from show to show. I think after years and years of training and doing the Ironman, I've finally found out what works for me.
Everybody knows that my wife Kelly and I are signed by Cytodyne and that we use Xenadrine. What's funny is that we were using Xenadrine long before we ever signed with the company! We feel it's the best fat burner product out there.
For those who may criticize me plugging the products that I endorse, my physique does the talking onstage and so does my wife's. People can say what they want about our physique genetics or structure, but we're always lean and we're always in shape. The point is, I know how to diet and my advice can be effectively used by you guys reading Titus Talks.
WICKED VEIN
I think you've got a top physique with the cards you were dealt. What's your secret to getting so vascular? Is it through extreme dieting and cardio, natural vascularity, partial reps, or just a combination of everything? I really want that look when I get in shape.
A lot of times when you see guys on stage who have absolutely no vascularity, nine times out of 10 they lose their vascularity because they're either using some type of diuretic or they've over-dieted. Being naturally vascular, I've always had veins running throughout my body, even in the off- season, so it's not hard for me to bring it out on stage. Now, once I'm in shape and I'm backstage pumping up, I like to use some simple sugars while I'm waiting. Jelly works well for me. The sugars go into the blood stream at a rapid rate and usually swell the veins up pretty good. Of course, you have to be in absolutely perfect shape to be able to do this. When you see my veins popping out on stage, it's often because I've eaten some simple sugars and sodium.
Tricks aside, increasing your overall vascularity is really a matter of how much muscle mass you have and how many years you've been training. That thing about dropping your sodium to zero is an absolute mistake guys make all the time. Anytime you drop your sodium to zero, you're going to flatten out. I guess there might be a few pros that go with no sodium and have the genetics where they stay full, but I'm not one of them. I do know that when you keep a certain amount of sodium in your diet, you will stay vascular throughout, right up to the show. I suggest finding the level of sodium that works for you where it doesn't smooth you out and it keeps you vascular at the same time. Simple sugars work the same way. But, at the end of the day, you'll need to have some big, jacked muscles and a leaned out physique to achieve this look.
AN IRONMAN GLADIATOR FLASHBACK
For me, the Ironman was another learning experience. It was an excellent show. I got some really good compliments from Flex Wheeler backstage. He told me it was nice to see somebody who had a choreographed posing routine, actually flowing to the music like a true professional. That was a really nice compliment and I appreciate it. It really meant a lot to me to hear it from such a seasoned veteran.
There's nothing absolutely more frustrating to me as when I walk on stage knowing I'm in the top three, and I watch subcutaneous water totally ruin my physique. It's the second time it's happened in my career and it's so frustrating it's not even funny! When it starts to happen on stage, I get more frustrated and my hormone levels get out of whack and I smooth out even more.
Most of the judges had me in a solid third place after the morning show, and I even had some second place votes. That really meant a lot to me and it felt good. With the help of Chad Nicholls, I think I've corrected the mistake, so all I can do is learn from the experience, move on to the next show and come in 100 percent. God knows I was only about 75 percent at the Ironman.
1st Dexter Jackson
At this point in his career, Dexter Jackson has an unbelievable physique. He's gotten bigger and his conditioning is spot on from head to toe, front to back. It's really unusual to see somebody that has the exact same conditioning in the front as they do in the back, top to bottom. Normally, small guys are harder in certain areas. He's hard in every area in his entire body! He has no weak points. He continues to get better and he's really on a roll right now. Other than Ronnie Coleman, I don't see anybody beating him anytime soon. That's just my opinion, I may be wrong, but the kid is put together so sensational.
2nd Lee Priest
Lee Priest came in second. His upper body was hard as nails and he looked like a superhero. His lower body was a little softer, but it wasn't enough to affect his placing and I thought he had a solid second. I thought I was in a solid third, until I started to smooth out.
3rd Gustavo Badell
I was impressed with Gustavo's conditioning. He's never really been a factor in the sport and all of a sudden he put on some more size and came in really conditioned.
4th Ahmad Haidar
Ahmad Haidar looked like he always does. I knew I was off and it's so frustrating to be beaten by a couple of guys that you beat all the time. I guess sometimes you gotta pay the price, but I don't plan on letting it happen again. Having said that, I give all respect to Ahmad and Gustavo for coming in where they did. They beat me fair and square, so I thought the placings were fine.
The crowd was great. I was pretty shocked at how loud the California crowd was, because normally they're a pretty tough crowd to pose for. I appreciate all my fans out there. All in all, the weekend was pretty bad. My wife got salmonella poisoning from some bad food and we had to take her to the hospital Friday night because she was throwing up so bad. She's just now feeling better. As a result of the salmonella poisoning and throwing up, she developed vertigo. She's still dizzy and is trying to overcome it. It was a very tough weekend.
The weigh-ins were fun. A lot of guys weighed in and their true weights came out. Dexter Jackson didn't show up for the weigh-in. I don't understand why he was excluded from it, or how he got out of it, but I don't think it's fair to other people. If they're going to have a weigh-in and athletes' meeting, then everybody should be there, period! The press conference is another issue, because Dexter wasn't there, either. It seems to me if you're signed up for the show, you should be there. I think they need to address that issue and make sure everybody's included. Maybe Dexter had something going on like a photo shoot, I really don't know.
I saw Tom Prince at the weigh-in. I know Tom's got a lot of health problems, and if I were him, I would just quit because it's not worth dying over. He weighed in at 276 pounds, which was probably 40 pounds overweight. I'm not sure if he's 40 pounds overweight because he's sick or because he didn't diet. I can't put myself in his position because I don't have those types of health problems. I just know 276 pounds is at least 40 pounds too heavy for him to compete.
I'm really looking forward to doing the Arnold. Chad Nicholls is going to be there, he's bringing me into the show, so it's kinda nice for a change to simply do what somebody tells you to do. I'm pretty excited about it and I'm feeling really confident. I think I can break into the top five. Of course, I know Jay, Dexter and Chris will be the callouts for the top three, but I really don't think anybody else after those top three is solid in any positioning. If Gunter looks like he did at his past show, he'll have no business being there. Other than Dexter, of course, I just know I don't plan on losing against the guys I lost to at the Ironman. [Editor's Note: Craig placed sixth at the Arnold held in March, 2004, shortly after he turned in this column].
By the way, let's clear something up real quick here. Qualifying for the Olympia is the last thing on my mind! I'm not one of those guys competing just to qualify for the Olympia. I'm sorry if this offends anybody, but that's not my mindset at all. I go into each and every show to place well, place in the money, bring the fans a good show and give the promoter a good show.
I qualified for the Olympia last year and sat it out because I had no business being on the stage even though it was one of the weakest Olympias in the history of the sport. I'm not good enough to be on the Olympia stage. If I qualify for the Olympia this year, I have no idea if I'll even do it. I don't know right now. I'm not going to do a show unless I know I can make some money. If I qualify for the Olympia and I don't feel I can place in the money, I'm not doing it. I'm not going to compete for free.
In other news, my promuscle-worship.com website is almost complete. We're signing girls to contracts right now and we'll have men posing on there, too. It's very exciting. We're almost done. It should be up and running sometime in May.
Oh, man. Let me say first that it breaks my heart about what happened to Dennis James over in Thailand. It's such a loss to the bodybuilding community. What a tragedy. From what I understand, Dennis received a package in the mail containing growth hormone and Ecstasy, or something like that. Evidently, the Thai drug enforcement agency intercepted the package, he signed for it and they arrested him. I heard this from my father, who lives in Bangkok, and he read about it in the newspaper. I feel very bad for Dennis. He's a buddy of mine and I hope he gets a good attorney and tries to get the charges dropped so he can put this behind him and move on with his career.
The laws over there in Thailand are incredibly strict. They could put him to death if he's convicted! It's unbelievable, actually, for recreational drugs. I feel really bad about the whole thing.
What I noticed, though, and what I really want people to take notice of, is that there were some people- two guys to be exact- who were very close to Dennis and who were recently visited by law enforcement in some way, shape or form. Now, all of a sudden, Dennis James is in jail? I find that very coincidental and common sense tells me the arrests are definitely tied together. These two gentlemen are both retired pros, by the way. It's very, very mysterious and too big to be a coincidence.
Not having Dennis on stage is a huge loss to the sport of bodybuilding. He's a good guy.
TITANIC TITUS DELT DEMOLITION
I've been lifting for over 10 years and while I can say I've made some decent changes in my body, I still struggle with shoulders and biceps. What gives, man? I even juiced cause I thought it would help, but it didn't do much. Do you have any advice or tricks?
I currently train four days a week:
Monday: back
Tuesday: shoulders and triceps
Thursday: legs
Friday: chest and biceps
I do at least four exercises per body part with four sets each, and my reps range from eight to 12. Also, what do you do to stay motivated? You've got to have a secret because you've been doing it for a long time. I know you're legit in responding to e-mails because two years ago I wrote you and you replied. I've posed questions to a number of pros and you're the only guy who's answered back. Thanks.
I always answer my e-mails from my fans, because without all of you, I'm really nothing. I will continue to try to build my fan base and keep my fans happy, so thanks for noticing.
It sounds to me like your training schedule is perfect, because it's basically the same thing I do: four sets per body part, four exercises, 16 sets total. I like the eight-to-12 rep range. Let's try something new, though-a Titus Titanic Shoulder Demolition training session. This workout I'm about to give you will destroy your shoulders and shock them into growing!
Go ahead and start your workout with front shoulder presses on the Smith machine. Up your rep range into what I call Blood Volume Training, which is somewhere between 10 and 16 reps. We're gonna do four sets and the timing between sets will be a little shorter, too. As soon as you catch your breath, you're going again. The whole idea is to force as much blood as possible into that muscle before the blood is released.
Next, we're going to go into the pec deck rear delt machine. Do four sets with a comfortable weight using a 10-16 rep range; same principle on the time between sets. Then, let's go over and do an upright row with the E-Z curl bar because it's a little easier on your wrists. I prefer it to the straight bar because it turns my hands inward and it doesn't crack my wrist at the top. Keep the same set and rep range throughout- four sets, 10-16 reps.
Last, we're going to finish with a dumbbell routine that I like to call the shoulder burn. I start with 60s, 50s, 40s, 30s, 20s and I lay them on the floor in front of me. Whatever you feel you're comfortable with, go ahead and grab, but the whole key is to have five sets of dumbbells in front of you. What you're gonna do is grab the heaviest set of dumbbells first and do as many reps of side laterals as possible. Set them down, take a breath, grab the next lower poundage set, do that until you can't do any more, set those down, grab the 40s, 30s, and so on. You're going to do this giant set in succession for a total of three sets.
When you're done, if your shoulders aren't the most absolutely pumped they've ever been, you let me know. I guarantee they will be more pumped than they have been in your entire life! This is an excellent shoulder shocking workout and will definitely bring you back from a plateau. The workout is especially good for anybody whose been working out for a long time, but if you've reached a plateau with your delts, then this is your trick. Personally, I feel the wider your shoulders are, the smaller your waist appears, so go ahead and destroy them! It's gonna be awesome.
Now, let's focus on the biceps. You said you're doing 16 sets for bi's. Why don't we lower the weight and up the rep range to 10-16 again, use a shorter amount of time in between, inflict more intensity, and see how much blood you can fit in the biceps in the shortest amount of time. When I started doing the Blood Volume Training, that's when I started really growing and bringing my body to a whole nother level.Go ahead and try it for a couple of months. Make sure to write me and let me know.
The Titanic Titus Delt Demolition
EXERCISE SETS REPS
Front shoulder press 4 10-16
Pec deck rear fly 4 10-16
Upright rows 4 10-16
* Shoulder burn side laterals 3 giants Go to failure
* Arrange five sets of dumbbells at your feet. Starting with the heaviest weight, begin a consecutive giant set of standing side laterals. Take each "set" to failure, catch your breath and repeat with the remaining four bells until completion. This entire process counts as one set. Do three giant sets total.
If you're not really getting good pumps, get yourself some Pinnacle Juiced Creatine. That shit works! Take it before and after you train. Remember, your muscle is 70 percent water and the Juiced Creatine will force more water in the muscle cells. This should help with the skin-splitting pump, the increase in muscle size and your recovery.
Finally, you've asked me about motivation. Bodybuilding has changed throughout the years for me. When I first started bodybuilding, I stayed motivated simply out of love for the sport. I still do love the sport immensely. It's my whole life. To be totally honest, though, these days a lot of my motivation comes from financial compensation. Everything I do right now is focused on taking care of my family for the rest of my life. I'm building up a retirement fund for my wife and me.
So, my motivation comes from three different things. First and most important, to satisfy my fans and get a good response from them while I'm on stage. Second, the simple love of the sport and the way the iron feels in my hands when I train. And third, the financial compensation and where I place in the shows. That's what keeps me motivated.
FLABALANCHE
I've been working out for over five years now. I was fat when I first started, weighing over 300 pounds. Now I'm 240 and pretty jacked and cut up. I've seen a lot of changes to my body over the years, but I'm still having trouble with my chest. I've got some flab on the outer pecs and underarm region that I'm dying to get rid of. I've been doing a ton of dumbbell flyes, both heavy and light, and my diet is pretty strict. I don't eat many carbs and I stay away from junk food other than an occasional cheat. Do you have any advice on how to cut this area up?
Unfortunately, there's no way to spot reduce fat. You're going to have to diet down hard enough to get that body fat off. From what you tell me, the rest of your body is lean and the body fat is only around your pectoral region. What you're going to have to do is go past the leanest you've ever been to tap into that fat and use it as energy. You're going to have to up your cardio, decrease your carbohydrate intake and possibly increase your protein intake. This will trigger your body into using more body fat for fuel.
At Cytodyne, we just came out with a new product called NRG, which is an eight-hour sustained-release fat burning supplement. They're pretty strong, so you might give them a try. Take a couple in the morning before cardio to sustain the fat burning process and energy for a long period. I think this would help you dramatically. If you take a couple more NRG eight hours later, you'll be burning fat for a straight 16 hours, which should finally tap into those hard-to- reach areas, like the pecs.
Dumbbell flyes are going to build muscle, which in turn will burn fat just from caloric expenditure associated with heavy weight training, but you're not going to spot reduce the fat in that area. Everybody's got a problem spot like yours. My last areas to lose fat are always in my back, from my lower glutes all the way up to my traps. My skin remains thickest from my lower glutes up to my traps until the final couple of weeks before a show. I always have a film of water on it until I carb load a little bit to pull water in.
But, like I said, you'll need to diet and train harder than ever to get all areas completely leaned out. Thankfully, supplements like NRG are available to help speed up the process.
JUST DO IT
Hey Craig, I'm a huge fan. I'm 29 years old, weigh about 218 and have 18 percent body fat. I am eager to compete in my first bodybuilding contest and I'm looking for the most efficient way to shed body fat without losing my hard-earned muscle. Should I lighten up the weights a bit? I generally do six to eight reps per set. What I fight most, though, is willpower. Any tips on willpower? I hope to see you crowned the winner at the next Night of Champions. It's your turn for victory.
I appreciate the words of confidence and I appreciate you being a fan and following my career. All right, first you have to find out if the six to eight rep range is working for you. As I said in an earlier question, I'm a Blood Volume Trainer, but I still lift very, very heavy. I use 405 pounds on most movements- bent over rows, bench press, squats- and I still keep my rep range high.
It's hard for me to answer your question, but if you feel the six to eight rep range is working, and you are building muscle, then that's good. You can stay there. Your diet is what's going to take the body fat off, anyway. Keep in mind that when you're preparing for a show (or any deadline) and start dieting 12 weeks out, during the last six weeks, you're really not going to put any muscle on, so it's all about detail. It's a good idea to up the rep range and lower the weight to burn calories while you're training. As long as you're training the muscle and it's recovering, you'll continue to burn body fat and dial in the muscle detail for the show.
I'm not sure what you mean by willpower. Willpower to succeed or willpower to eat right or willpower to build muscle? Willpower comes from within, brother. There's two kinds of people in this world: people who do and people who say they're gonna do. I suggest you become a doer, because that's the kind of person I am, and those are the kind of people who succeed in life. If you can succeed in bodybuilding, you can succeed in anything.
RAMPING UP FAT LOSS
I'm 16 weeks out from a local bodybuilding contest. At what point should I incorporate fat burners with my protein and creatine intake? I'm currently 204 pounds and would like to get bigger, but I realize I'm approaching my leaning-out phase. I would like to compete around 195 or so.
Let's forget about competing at 195 and just concentrate on the weight you're at right now and the show you're going to do. I have tried every diet range there is, from eight weeks to 16 weeks, but I find that 12 weeks works perfect for me.
When I prepare for a show, my first four weeks is what I call the cleanup month. I get my diet cleaned up, I get into the repetition of eating six or seven meals a day, training at a certain time each day, the correct time to tan, and the groove of doing cardio. The last eight weeks is when I kick in my Xenadrine and ramp up my cardio. So, the last eight weeks is when you want to fine tune and burn all the body fat off for your show.
If you do it correctly, you should be ready about two weeks out and then you can make any final adjustments those last two weeks without doing anything too traumatic to change your appearance on stage. A lot of people reading this might say, "Well, Craig, it seems to me you're always making some mistakes at the end," and that is absolutely true. I'm still trying to find out what works for me consistently from show to show. I think after years and years of training and doing the Ironman, I've finally found out what works for me.
Everybody knows that my wife Kelly and I are signed by Cytodyne and that we use Xenadrine. What's funny is that we were using Xenadrine long before we ever signed with the company! We feel it's the best fat burner product out there.
For those who may criticize me plugging the products that I endorse, my physique does the talking onstage and so does my wife's. People can say what they want about our physique genetics or structure, but we're always lean and we're always in shape. The point is, I know how to diet and my advice can be effectively used by you guys reading Titus Talks.
WICKED VEIN
I think you've got a top physique with the cards you were dealt. What's your secret to getting so vascular? Is it through extreme dieting and cardio, natural vascularity, partial reps, or just a combination of everything? I really want that look when I get in shape.
A lot of times when you see guys on stage who have absolutely no vascularity, nine times out of 10 they lose their vascularity because they're either using some type of diuretic or they've over-dieted. Being naturally vascular, I've always had veins running throughout my body, even in the off- season, so it's not hard for me to bring it out on stage. Now, once I'm in shape and I'm backstage pumping up, I like to use some simple sugars while I'm waiting. Jelly works well for me. The sugars go into the blood stream at a rapid rate and usually swell the veins up pretty good. Of course, you have to be in absolutely perfect shape to be able to do this. When you see my veins popping out on stage, it's often because I've eaten some simple sugars and sodium.
Tricks aside, increasing your overall vascularity is really a matter of how much muscle mass you have and how many years you've been training. That thing about dropping your sodium to zero is an absolute mistake guys make all the time. Anytime you drop your sodium to zero, you're going to flatten out. I guess there might be a few pros that go with no sodium and have the genetics where they stay full, but I'm not one of them. I do know that when you keep a certain amount of sodium in your diet, you will stay vascular throughout, right up to the show. I suggest finding the level of sodium that works for you where it doesn't smooth you out and it keeps you vascular at the same time. Simple sugars work the same way. But, at the end of the day, you'll need to have some big, jacked muscles and a leaned out physique to achieve this look.
AN IRONMAN GLADIATOR FLASHBACK
For me, the Ironman was another learning experience. It was an excellent show. I got some really good compliments from Flex Wheeler backstage. He told me it was nice to see somebody who had a choreographed posing routine, actually flowing to the music like a true professional. That was a really nice compliment and I appreciate it. It really meant a lot to me to hear it from such a seasoned veteran.
There's nothing absolutely more frustrating to me as when I walk on stage knowing I'm in the top three, and I watch subcutaneous water totally ruin my physique. It's the second time it's happened in my career and it's so frustrating it's not even funny! When it starts to happen on stage, I get more frustrated and my hormone levels get out of whack and I smooth out even more.
Most of the judges had me in a solid third place after the morning show, and I even had some second place votes. That really meant a lot to me and it felt good. With the help of Chad Nicholls, I think I've corrected the mistake, so all I can do is learn from the experience, move on to the next show and come in 100 percent. God knows I was only about 75 percent at the Ironman.
1st Dexter Jackson
At this point in his career, Dexter Jackson has an unbelievable physique. He's gotten bigger and his conditioning is spot on from head to toe, front to back. It's really unusual to see somebody that has the exact same conditioning in the front as they do in the back, top to bottom. Normally, small guys are harder in certain areas. He's hard in every area in his entire body! He has no weak points. He continues to get better and he's really on a roll right now. Other than Ronnie Coleman, I don't see anybody beating him anytime soon. That's just my opinion, I may be wrong, but the kid is put together so sensational.
2nd Lee Priest
Lee Priest came in second. His upper body was hard as nails and he looked like a superhero. His lower body was a little softer, but it wasn't enough to affect his placing and I thought he had a solid second. I thought I was in a solid third, until I started to smooth out.
3rd Gustavo Badell
I was impressed with Gustavo's conditioning. He's never really been a factor in the sport and all of a sudden he put on some more size and came in really conditioned.
4th Ahmad Haidar
Ahmad Haidar looked like he always does. I knew I was off and it's so frustrating to be beaten by a couple of guys that you beat all the time. I guess sometimes you gotta pay the price, but I don't plan on letting it happen again. Having said that, I give all respect to Ahmad and Gustavo for coming in where they did. They beat me fair and square, so I thought the placings were fine.
The crowd was great. I was pretty shocked at how loud the California crowd was, because normally they're a pretty tough crowd to pose for. I appreciate all my fans out there. All in all, the weekend was pretty bad. My wife got salmonella poisoning from some bad food and we had to take her to the hospital Friday night because she was throwing up so bad. She's just now feeling better. As a result of the salmonella poisoning and throwing up, she developed vertigo. She's still dizzy and is trying to overcome it. It was a very tough weekend.
The weigh-ins were fun. A lot of guys weighed in and their true weights came out. Dexter Jackson didn't show up for the weigh-in. I don't understand why he was excluded from it, or how he got out of it, but I don't think it's fair to other people. If they're going to have a weigh-in and athletes' meeting, then everybody should be there, period! The press conference is another issue, because Dexter wasn't there, either. It seems to me if you're signed up for the show, you should be there. I think they need to address that issue and make sure everybody's included. Maybe Dexter had something going on like a photo shoot, I really don't know.
I saw Tom Prince at the weigh-in. I know Tom's got a lot of health problems, and if I were him, I would just quit because it's not worth dying over. He weighed in at 276 pounds, which was probably 40 pounds overweight. I'm not sure if he's 40 pounds overweight because he's sick or because he didn't diet. I can't put myself in his position because I don't have those types of health problems. I just know 276 pounds is at least 40 pounds too heavy for him to compete.
I'm really looking forward to doing the Arnold. Chad Nicholls is going to be there, he's bringing me into the show, so it's kinda nice for a change to simply do what somebody tells you to do. I'm pretty excited about it and I'm feeling really confident. I think I can break into the top five. Of course, I know Jay, Dexter and Chris will be the callouts for the top three, but I really don't think anybody else after those top three is solid in any positioning. If Gunter looks like he did at his past show, he'll have no business being there. Other than Dexter, of course, I just know I don't plan on losing against the guys I lost to at the Ironman. [Editor's Note: Craig placed sixth at the Arnold held in March, 2004, shortly after he turned in this column].
By the way, let's clear something up real quick here. Qualifying for the Olympia is the last thing on my mind! I'm not one of those guys competing just to qualify for the Olympia. I'm sorry if this offends anybody, but that's not my mindset at all. I go into each and every show to place well, place in the money, bring the fans a good show and give the promoter a good show.
I qualified for the Olympia last year and sat it out because I had no business being on the stage even though it was one of the weakest Olympias in the history of the sport. I'm not good enough to be on the Olympia stage. If I qualify for the Olympia this year, I have no idea if I'll even do it. I don't know right now. I'm not going to do a show unless I know I can make some money. If I qualify for the Olympia and I don't feel I can place in the money, I'm not doing it. I'm not going to compete for free.
In other news, my promuscle-worship.com website is almost complete. We're signing girls to contracts right now and we'll have men posing on there, too. It's very exciting. We're almost done. It should be up and running sometime in May.