OLD SCHOOL MUCSLE DRUG FREE BODYBUILDING WITH STEVE DAVIS

During the past decade plus, I have had the pleasure of traveling to the L.A. area, the West Coast mecca of bodybuilding, to attend various natural bodybuilding contests, mostly as a freelance writer (and judge). One thing in particular that is always evident at these natural shows is the fact that the natural anabolic drug free bodybuilders don’t quite have the same degree of muscle mass as the anabolic steroid bodybuilders who complete in non-drug tested bodybuilding contests.

Natural drug-free bodybuilders simple can’t do the same workload as the anabolic steroid induced bodybuilder. With an anabolic steroid bodybuilder there are a whole bunch of artificial chemicals and enzymes that are acting in conjunction with the natural constituencies of that person’s capability of producing great gains in muscle size and strength. The end result is that the anabolic steroid bodybuilder’s training frequency ratios and intensity factors are much higher than that of natural bodybuilders.

Some year ago I attended a bodybuilding seminar by one of the worlds top pros and within his lecture he said that he trains in the gym 7 hours a day, doing 50-60 sets per body part, and resting only 20-30 seconds between each set. He went on to say that he trains at least 3 body parts a day. That’s a mega 150-180 sets per day. I am not saying that this pro was on anabolic steroids but I can’t think of three top natural drug free bodybuilders whose combined workouts for a day would equal what this one individual alone does in the course of a workout day. This seems to be counterproductive to research regarding the correlations of peak blood testosterone, glucose and muscle glycogen levels.

There is a fine dividing line between enough accumulated workout time and too much. Blood testosterone, glucose and muscle glycogen levels peak at around 40-45 minutes of an intense workout and thereafter they begin to decrease rather dramatically. A quality workout can last anywhere from 50-70 minutes and probably 90 minutes at the absolute maximum. On the average you should be able to target 3-4 muscle groups for 8-10 sets for quads, back and chest and 5-7 sets for delts, triceps, biceps, forearms, calves, hamstrings, neck and waist if you are an intermediate natural bodybuilder and if you are advanced then 12-15 sets and 8-10 sets for the subsequent muscle groups listed above will keep you in the arena of positive muscle growth.

2

I have not competed in a bodybuilding contest since the mid 1970s. I am now 58 years of age (2003) and am seriously considering training for a natural masters bodybuilding competition. My natural training approach to this will be to follow the training program that former I.F.B.B. champion Steve Davis used over two decades ago to achieve what many in the bodybuilding world considered (and still do to this day) the absolute maximum in muscularity and muscle size, simultaneously. His methods of training will help me to achieve total muscularity while maintaining huge muscle mass through deliberate heavy training but without canceling out all muscle definition. My nutritional wants and needs will be accomplished through some guidelines of a Beverly International program (more on this later).

The first topic of consideration that Steve Davis suggests in using his “New Breed” approach to obtaining total raw muscularity is training. David feels that training should not be considered as primarily the most important of the elements of total size and muscularity, but as simply just one of three elements with diet and nutrition being the other two. Steve has always felt as many other top bodybuilding champions do that there is a definite interaction in the relationship between training and diet.

The key factor in training for additional size and muscularity is to get stronger by consistently using heavier and heavier weights in the exercise sets. Steve says that this must not be done at the expense or sacrifice of proper training style for if an exercise is not performed in strict fashion; isolating the muscle you are attempting to train, then you have no accurate gauge of knowing if in fact you are becoming stronger.

3

Davis feels that a bodybuilder should attempt to add 5 pounds to all upper torso exercises (except the abdominals) and leg biceps and 10 pounds to all thigh (quads) and calf exercises EVERY TWO WEEKS WITHOUT FAIL.

Regardless of what New Breed progression level program one is following it should not be started with too heavy a weight or the 5 and 10 pound increases every two weeks will not be achieved for very long. It is better to ease into this type of progression by starting out with lighter weights than normal. The New Breed programs have levels that have a minimal time factor of five, to an average of 10, to as high as 16 weeks in duration. On a 4 month (16 weeks) training program, for example, you can increase your training poundages by at least forty pounds, when making 5 pound increases every two weeks and as much as eighty pounds when making 10 increases on the leg work.

Within the structure of the New Breed training concepts it is of the utmost importance to refine proper exercise technique each and every set of an exercise. There are a number of important steps that must be initiated to accomplish this.

Step 1

Within this first step the twelve-second rep on all sets where 8 to 15 continuous reps should be performed. This is a New Breed key for achieving total muscularity while acquiring more muscle size. Using the barbell curl for an example, begin curling the resistance up in the positive or concentric phase at a speed that takes you this long: one thousand one, one thousand two, three, four, five and six. Counting in this manner it will take six seconds to curl the resistance from the thighs to chin level. Then, at this complete contracted position, hold for a two second count: one thousand seven, one thousand eight. Slowly begin lowering the resistance to a count of four seconds: one thousand nine, one thousand ten, one thousand eleven, one thousand twelve. This twelve- second count completes one repetition, be it a leg curl, incline barbell press, or seated press behind the neck. These slow or sub-maximal speed reps allows for raising and lowering the resistance in an ultra controlled manner creating high levels of muscle tension development through a full range of movement. There is no momentum or limited motion and the muscles are worked much stronger through all the joint angles. This is one of the best ways to exhaust, pump and burn the muscles for faster training results. Using the twelve second rep, you will have to decrease the resistance used by approximately 40 percent in the beginning, but muscles quickly adapt to new stress stimulus and before long your strength levels will increase and in fact surpass those levels experienced in the conventional speed rep sets.

Steve Davis’s New Breed concepts also suggest that fast reps be performed in addition to slow reps to achieve the maximum in muscle size. Fast reps must not 4

be done at the expense of increasing stress on connective tissue and thus creating injury potential. An example of fast reps done in the New Breed style might be 1-2 seconds in the positive contraction and then 3 seconds in the lowering or negative phase. Speed reps, where strict form with tension is maintained, can be used successfully in the 4 to 7 rep range of a set. To the casual observer these speed reps will still appear painfully slow no matter how fast one tries to do them.

Step 2

It is important to rest no more than 15 seconds between sets if increased muscularity is a key factor. If more muscle mass and strength increases are desired then rest 30-45 to no more than 60 seconds between sets.

Step 3

Quality training the New Breed way is achieved by getting the most out of what you do. The minimum amount of work will be 3 sets of 8-10 reps per muscle group three times per week. The maximum amount will be 15 sets of 6-12 reps per muscle group 3 times per week. Somewhere between these two limits will be ideal for you. The New Breed method takes into account the fact that there is a certain amount of training that is perfect for inducing maximum muscle growth and anymore than this becomes detrimental. This is best accomplished by determining your own best recuperative rate.

Though I will be listing the progression levels of training that I will be following according to Steve Davis’s New Breed advice, remember that I have been training for well over 40 plus years and am considered an advanced bodybuilder. For many of you it will be best to experiment with 8 to 15 sets per muscle group. Some of you will find eight or nine sets adequate while others of you will find fifteen to be superior.

Step 4

The New Breed philosophy suggests that a bodybuilder should train for optimum gains within a given time period. This is accomplished by basing your training on T.E.R. (Training Efficiency Rate) by which your workout time is kept to no more than 1 ¼ - 1 ½ hours. When Steve Davis trained to get into peak shape he was able to do as many as 78 sets in one hour and fifteen minutes while using fairly heavy poundage and sets of 12 reps. His workouts and those of his students were fast and strict. This optimally concentrated style of training is the key to the acquisition of the New Breed of physique. For the natural anabolic steroid free bodybuilder this is quality muscle coupled with maximum muscle separation, 5

proportion, and symmetry at one’s lightest ideal body weight. Mine will be 212 – 215 pounds at 6’ ½”.

Training Efficiency Rate can only be accomplished by training in a totally isolated atmosphere where idle gym talk or conversation, fooling around, or resting too long between sets and exercise groupings are kept to an absolute minimum. These four steps will help you to fine-tune your exercise technique on each and every set of a particular program.

Muscles cannot be bullied and must be coaxed into new muscle growth patterns. Every bodybuilder has different tolerances to workloads, intensity of training, nutrition and frequency of training, etc. Steve Davis has personally trained hundreds and hundreds of bodybuilders (men and women) at both the amateur and professional level with various combinations of exercise programs, which yield the maximum pump, and stimulation of muscle fiber. He has refined these combinations into Seven Levels of Muscle Growth where each training level is slightly more intense and progressive than the previous one for the continuation of typical muscle growth.

The body is not static in that it varies and fluctuates and by using the Seven Levels of Muscle Growth correctly as a training tool one cannot help but avoid overtraining, sticking points and training plateaus. A summary of the Seven Levels of Muscle Growth is as follows:

Level 1

Train the entire body 3 days per week, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday or perhaps on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, resting four days out of the week. Select one exercise per muscle group and perform 3 sets of 8-10 reps each. Exercise selection should be based on your body type, training style and for your development of symmetry and proportion. On this particular level of training the New Breed concept recommends an exercise selection that will heighten a muscle group’s particular weakness. For example do incline bench presses for the upper pecs if you need more upper pecs in ratio to flat benches for the mid pecs.

At this particular level Steve Davis has performed as many as 8 sets of 6-10 reps (calves and waist = 20 reps per set) of each exercise. The order or sequence of the exercises is important and should be arranged so that the blood flows just a short distance.

Begin by working from the largest muscle groups to the smallest with slight variations. Start with the thighs and then on to the calves since a large concentration of blood is already in this area. After these two muscle groups have been worked, go on to the chest, for two very good reasons. The rib cage 6

has been stimulated to the max from the heavy breathing from the thigh work and the pectorals, being a very large muscle, literally demand a heavy supply of blood flow and pulls the blood into the upper body region from the lower against gravity. Next comes the upper back (lats), where its location is near the chest with its muscular function being opposite that of the chest. Next are the shoulders that have been warmed up by chest and back work. A bit of advice here is to select an exercise to stress the side or lateral head of the deltoid since the anterior (front) and posterior (rear) have been stressed by chest and back work respectively. The triceps are next and have a pre-pump effect from the chest and shoulder work. Biceps are next because they oppose the triceps. Forearms are worked after biceps and then to give the body a chance to “detune” work the abdominals and then the erector muscles, not only to build muscle but also to re-align the posture of the body.

Steve Davis performing Hack machine squats

Order of Performance:

• Thighs Hack machine squat • Calves Donkey calf raise • Chest Incline barbell (or with dumbbells) press to neck • Lats Wide grip pullup • Delts Seated press behind neck – non-lock • Triceps Lying French press • Biceps Braced (back against a wall) barbell curl • Forearms Barbell wrist curl (palms up) • Waist Lying leg raise • Hamstrings Stiff leg deadlift

Stay at Level 1 for 5 weeks.

7

Level 2

Work each body part twice per week, utilizing a split routine where the upper body is trained on Monday and Thursday and the lower body on Tuesday and Friday. Again only one exercise per muscle group is performed but for 5 sets of each exercise.

Monday & Thursday – Upper Body

Order of Performance:

• Waist Hanging knee-up 20 reps • Chest Low-angled 30 degrees bench press 10 reps • Rib cage Single dumbbell pullover 10 reps • Lats Close grip barbell bent-over rowing 10 reps • Spinal Erectors Prone hyperextension 10 reps • Shoulders Seated press behind neck 10 reps • Biceps Preacher curl 10 reps • Brachialis Reverse barbell curl 10 reps • Triceps Close grip bench press 10 reps • Forearms Barbell wrist curl (palms down) 15 reps

Tuesday & Friday – Lower Body

Order of Performance

• Calves Seated calf raise • Quads Parallel squat with heels on block • Leg biceps Leg curl

All three exercises are done for 5 sets of 15 reps each. Stay at Level 2 for 8 to 10 weeks.

8

Level 3 – Push/Pull

Using the same split routine as suggested in level 2, select 2 exercises doing 5 sets of each in push/pull method.

Monday & Thursday – Push

Order of Performance Reps with Sets • Chest Bench press to neck 12, 10, 8, 7, 6 Dumbbell pullover 12, 12, 12, 12, 12 • Delts Press behind neck 12, 10, 8, 7, 6 Bend dumbbell lateral 15, 15, 15, 15, 15 • Triceps Triceps push down 12, 10, 8, 6, 6 Parallel bar dip 12, 12, 12, 12, 12 • Waist Hanging knee up 20, 20, 20, 20, 20 Crunch 20, 20, 20, 20, 20

Tuesday & Friday – Pull

Order of Performance Reps with Sets • Thighs Front squat 20, 18, 16, 14, 12 Leg curl 15, 15, 15, 15, 15 • Calves Standing calf raise 20, 20, 20, 20, 20 Seated calf raise 30, 30, 30, 30, 30 • Back Barbell bent over rowing 12, 10, 8, 7, 6 Lat pull down 12, 12, 12, 12, 12 • Biceps Strict standing barbell curl 12, 10, 8, 7, 6 Dumbbell incline curl 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 • Forearms Strict reverse curl 12, 12, 12, 12, 12 Barbell wrist curl (palm up) 15, 15, 15, 15, 15

Stay at Level 3 for 5 weeks.

Level 4 – Push/Pull II

At this level continue to use the push/pull technique as in Level 3. The big difference at this level is that you will be doing three exercises for 5 sets each in the following six day split routine.

9

Monday & Thursday – Pull

Order of Performance

Back: Wide grip pull-up Bent-over rowing Stiff-legged deadlift off bench

Biceps: Strict barbell curl Preacher curl Incline dumbbell curl

Forearms: Barbell reverse curl Wrist curl (palms up) Reverse curl (palms down)

Tuesday & Friday – Push

Chest: Flat bench press Incline dumbbell press Flat dumbbell fly

Delts: Seated press behind neck (non-lock) Standing dumbbell lateral raise Bent-over dumbbell lateral raise

10