Bodybuilding Training Tips for the Busy Professional from Mr. Natural California
Los Angeles County’s San Fernando Valley in the heart of the summer is a brutally hot place, enjoying none of the cool breezes from the beaches that lay just a twenty minute drive through the mountains to the Pacific Coast Highway . On this particular day the temputure has a hit 113 degrees, a thick dry air that’ll drain your body and mind if you’re not careful. As the clock hits noon in a gym in the west end of the valley, it’s predictably sparse, as it often is mid-day, when the heat is the worst, the fans overhead doing little to cool the place. No air conditioning here. Most of the people are leisurely walking on the treadmill or riding the recumbent bike, water jug in hand . In the far corner of the gym, though, one man is oblivious to the unfriendly climate.
The bodybuilder stands alone, a muscular 6’3” 240 lbs, grunting and sweating as he grinds out barbell curls. The burning in his biceps is intense, but he thrives on this feeling. He curls the weight all the way up and squeezes the biceps, then slowly lowers the weight feeling every inch of the negative. Each rep causes the blood to further swell his already naturally large, peaked biceps. When his muscles will move the weight no more, the bodybuilder releases the barbell to the floor. He’ll rest a minute and then repeat it all over for two more sets before moving on to alternating dumbbell curls. This isn’t work, though. It’s sheer joy.
The bodybuilder would prefer to train in the cooler evenings like most, but his schedule won’t allow it. He fits his own workouts in between personal training clients and classes at California State University Northridge for his master’s degree in exercise physiology, with an eye on teaching health-related topics at the university level. Dedicated and driven in all aspects of his life, James Kohler is a 28 year old who has devoted his life around bodybuilding. healthy living, and teaching the benefits to others. He believes the positive principles associated with the bodybuilding lifestyle like the dedication and focus involved in regularly working out and eating a healthy diet will translate into people finding success in all areas of life, business and personal, when they apply the same principles. Kohler also believes anyone can make physical improvements, no matter what their age or fitness background.
Kohler, like many, was first drawn to bodybuilding as a teenager because of Arnold Schwarzenegger and a fascination with muscles. “I was real skinny kid when I started high school,” says Kohler. “I read Arnold’s book ‘The Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding’ and was inspired to build my body. I followed the routines and tips and by the time I graduated high school I had gone from 125 lbs as a freshmen to 215 lbs.” After seeing Arnold in the movie ‘Pumping Iron‘, Kohler was further inspired, this time to train for and enter a bodybuilding competition. In first show, the Teen Mr. Wisconsin, he narrowly lost to future IFBB pro Art Atwood. Kohler continued to compete each year after, winning his weight class in the Mr. Wisconsin in 2004 and getting a pro card that same year from the drug-tested MuscleMania organization after placing third at the MuscleMania Supershow. Kohler won the Mr. Natural California title in June 2007 and in the process received his pro card with NGA organization.
Kohler’s busy daily schedule allows him to relate to the dilemma many busy professionals face when trying to balance training, career, and relationships. Through trial and error of his own, Kohler has picked up many tips that will work for the busy man to maximize his training time in the gym. Success for the recreational bodybuilder as far making consistent physical improvements, says Kohler, comes from an emphasize on three primary things: training, nutrition, and mental outlook. “If one is lacking the other two will suffer,” he adds.
Intensity, coupled with good form on exercises, is a key point to Kohler’s own training and something he emphasizes with his clients. “Maximize your time and energy in the gym. You can get a great workout in under an hour for single body part if you stay focused. Hit each muscle once a week, and hit it hard. Then allow it to rest,” says Kohler. He recommends doing one warm-up and then one acclimation (meaning stop two reps before failure) set followed by three to four exercises per body part, three sets each, choosing each exercise with the idea to target different areas of the muscle. Take each working set to failure.
For chest hit your upper (incline), middle (flat) and lower (decline) chest. Back workouts should include exercises for both width (lat pulldowns) and thickness (t-bar rows and barbell rows). Work all three heads during your shoulder routine: front (dumbbell presses), side (side dumbbell laterals) and rear (bent over dumbbell laterals). Use power exercises (squats) and isolation exercises (leg extensions) to bring both mass and detail to your thighs. Kohler adds, though, for taller trainees like himself they may prefer leg presses as he founds squats were hitting his glutes too much. Excellent bicep development can be achieved by incorporating exercises that work the overall muscle (barbell curls) and isolate each individual bicep (one armed preacher curls). For lagging triceps, Kohler recommends trying two less common exercises. “I like decline barbell bench presses with a close-grip because I feel it in the triceps a lot more then the same exercise on a flat bench. Another great exercise is one taught to me by former Mr. Olympia Frank Zane during a session at his private training facility: overhead tricep extensions with a rope. I found them easier on my elbows then regular dumbbell extensions and recommend them to others with a similar problem.” On hamstrings and calves you can add variety by rotating between standing (one legged curls and calf raises) and seated (lying leg curls and seated calf raises) positioning.
For intensity purposes, take each post accumulation set to point you can’t move the weight anymore (use a spotter on appropriate exercises to ensure safety). When you feel like you need something extra or are just in the mood for variety, Kohler says to occasionally add in one of the following principles and find which your body responds to best: 1) forced reps - when you can’t do another rep, have a spotter assist you do pump out two more; they should be helping guide the weight up, adding a minimal amount of assistance, not doing all the work. 2) Rest-Pause - Go to failure, rest ten seconds, and then pump out as many more reps as you can; always have a spotter. 3) Drop sets - After going to failure, drop the weight by ten to fifteen pounds and immediately perform the exercise to failure again. Then drop the weight by fifteen pounds again and repeat.
Kohler currently does a six day on-one off routine, but emphasizes that each person is an individual and has to experiment for themselves with what works best for their own body type in terms of growth. “We as serious bodybuilders balance a fine line between growth and overtraining, especially when you have a hectic lifestyle,” he says.
Kohler’s Weekly Routine
Day 1) Back
Day 2) Chest/Abs
Day 3) Quads/Calves
Day 4) Shoulders/Abs
Day 5) Biceps/Triceps
Day 6) Hamstrings/Calves/Abs
Day 7) Rest
* four exercises for chest/back/shoulders, three sets per exercise, 6-12 reps
* three exercises for quads/hamstrings/biceps/triceps, three sets per exercise, 6-12 reps
* three exercises for calfs, three sets per exercise, 15-25 reps
Through his college courses, personal research, and trial and error, Kohler says he learned about the kind of a diet a bodybuilder, be it competitive or recreational, should follow. “We hear it all the time, but it really is true, high protein, moderate carbs, low fat, eat every couple of hours. It’s sound simple, and it is, and it works.” He recommends the working man packs his day time meals in containers the night before to keep on a regular eating schedule. “If you eat every two to three hours you derive a couple of benefits,” explains Kohler. “First, you condition your metabolism to be more efficient. You also take in more protein overall on a daily basis which contributes to muscle growth , quickens recovery and has a thermo effect on the body in that you burn more calories. In addition when you eat like this you tend to eat smaller meals which keeps your weight under control. Try it, and you’ll probably be surprised how much more energy you feel then eating the standard three mid to large sized meals a day.”
Kohler bases his diet throughout the year around a staple of foods, which include protein sources of egg whites, chicken breasts, whey protein shakes, tuna, salmon, lean steak, and low-fat turkey patties. Carbohydrates in his diet come primarily from sweet potatoes (a slower digesting carb, says Kohler, which provides a longer sustained energy source), whole grain cereals, brown rice and oatmeal. He also supplements his diet with small daily doses of glutamine (for muscle recovery) and eats a green vegetable and piece of fruit at least once daily. “Balance and clean wholesome goods are the key to a good bodybuilding diet. Once you get in the habit of eating this way you won’t want to go back.”
Kohler’s Recommended Diet for The Career Professional to Build Muscle and Stay Lean
Meal 1) 5 egg whites, cup of oatmeal, piece of fruit
Meal 2) Can of tuna, two slices of whole meat with organic peanut butter
Meal 3) chicken breast, brown rice, broccoli
Meal 4) (Pre-Workout) Whey Protein Shake, one slice whole wheat bread
Meal 5) Lean Steak, sweet potato, salad with green leafy vegetable, tomatoes, avocados, low-fat dressing.
* mix and match foods are okay; substitute salmon sometimes for steak
Kohler stresses that the benefits of the hard work in the gym and clean eating is enhanced by a positive mental outlook. Channeling your mental energy in the right direction can ultimately be the difference between achieving your goals and coming up short. Your mind truly is one of your most powerful assets. “Belief in yourself,” says Kohler. “Take a positive outlook to your training experience. Then put in the work. When you reach an obstacle, work to overcome by achieving your goal in small steps. Passion can count for a lot.” Indeed, James Kohler brings passion with him every time he steps into a gym or talks about bodybuilding.
c) copyright 2007 Howard Feintuch Enterprises, Inc.
* James Kohler is the feature subject of the Musculargalore.com bodybuilding training DVD “Sculpted by Choice”.
