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IronMagazine.com™ LLC Newsletter

Date Published 8-02-2005

August Newsletter 2005

In this month's issue...  Editor's Note - by Robert DiMaggio  Featured - Ag-Guys.com  New Articles - Training, Diet & Nutrition  Expert Q & A - by Tom Venuto, Anthony Ellis & Lee Hayward  Product Review - Foam Roll  Exercise of the Month - Prone Cuban Presses  Website Review - WorldClassBodybuilding.com  Site Sponsors- Please visit! ..................................................................................................................................................................  Top Editor's Note Hello Fellow Bodybuilders & Fitness Enthusiasts, I apologize for this month's newsletter as it is missing a few sections. It seems that people are too busy on summer vacations! :) We are working on a new product at IronMagLabs and I hope to have more information out shortly...until next time, train hard and be safe! Yours in Fitness, Robert DiMaggio - Owner/President ..................................................................................................................................................................  Top Featured AG-Guys carries all of your research chemical needs. Unlike other fly by night sites or ones that started up last week, AG-Guys have been in business for three years. "J" at AG- guys took it over about 1 1/2 years ago, and basically runs a top notch operation. They hope to earn your business by continuing to provide top quality products at fantastic prices, as well as the best customer service in the industry. They use high-quality European products rather than low-grade Chinese compounds. Give www.ag-guys.com a try and you will be impressed and you will help support IronMagazine at the same time. Click here to view the August specials at Ag-Guys.com ..................................................................................................................................................................  Top August Articles How Muscles Respond To Various Training Protocols by Tom Venuto Protein Won't Make You Fat: Myth #1 by Marc David Tom Venuto Talks! - an interview by Jon Benson by Tom Venuto Secrets of Gaining Maximum Muscle Bulk & Power! by Dennis B. Weis ..................................................................................................................................................................  Top Expert Q & A by Tom Venuto      What do you think of bodyweight exercises? Get the answer here! by Anthony Ellis      Never judge a person by how they look! Get the answer here! by Lee Hayward      What's better for chest, bench press or dumbbell press? Get the answer here! ..................................................................................................................................................................  Top Product Review - Foam Roll by Dale Mabry What appears to be a relatively useless thing is actually a pretty versatile tool, which I intend to illustrate. The first thing you may see people do with a foam roll is called self-myofascial release. Myofascial release is a technique similar to massage which releases adhesions in the muscle my stretching the muscle and applying pressure at the point of the adhesion(knot). Problem is, you typically cannot do this to yourself in many hard to reach areas when stretched out and cannot typically get the amount of pressure needed to free up the adhesions in places that you can reach. Enter the foam roll. Let's say you have a bad "knot" in you right upper dorsimus (Ok, I stole that from Anchorman, let's say Latissimus). You can't reach back there so your screwed, right? Au contraire. Position a whole foam rolland lie on it with your right side. Extend your hand over your head and stretch. Now, roll your body along the foam roll until you reach the knot, you will definitely feel it. Now, roll ever so slightly back and forth on the knot to free up the adhesion. In a few seconds, you will feel the area loosen up and relief will set in. That, is self-myofascial release on a foam roll. The second thing you may see people doing on a foam roll is balancing. This is the reason for half and whole rolls. Now, you can debate all day long as to whether or not balancing on a foam roll is going to improve balance on a stable surface. What you can't argue is that balancing on a foam roll will help improve reactive ability as it pertains to your ankle as well as strengthen the ankle. You can do this by standing perpendicular or parallel to the roll's axis. Standing perpendicular will improve reactive ability in the sagittal plane (Plantar flexion/dorsiflexion), standing parallel will improve reactive ability in the frontal plane (think rolling your ankle). Once you can stand on the half roll with the round end up, flip it over so the rounded end is down. Once you can stand on the half roll with the rounded end down, advance to the full roll. Once you can stand on the full roll with both feet, lunge with one leg on it, once you can lunge, squat with both feet on it. In the end you will have a much stronger, much more stable ankle to run on and cut on. If you are really good, you can take 2 1' long full rolls and stand on one with each foot, I have never tried this but it looks very challenging. Balancing on a foam roll will also help with spinal stabilization if you choose to say curl or shoulder press on it, just use a much lighter weight than you are accustomed to or you will bust your ass. You should always do stuff on the foam roll with a spotter. A spotter should stand behind you with both hands near your upper back to catch you if you fall back. The high density foam worked fine and provided a challenge for me at 220lbs, but when I weighed in at 235 the foam started to compress and it wasn't as challenging. A 3' long, 6" diameter foam roll can be purchased at Perform Better for $17.50. You could probably find one cheaper, but it would probably be lower density and compress when you stand on it. More expensive versions are available that can hold a heavier load without compression and typically cost $29.95. ..................................................................................................................................................................  Top Exercise of the Month - Prone Cuban Presses by Patrick Ward Continuing with some more shoulder stabilization prehab/rehab exercises the exercise of the month is going to be Prone Cuban Presses. Most are familiar with the Cuban Press standing up where you take light dumbbells, externally rotate them and then press overhead. I like the exercise and feel that doing them prone (lying face down) can add more work on the stabilizers of the scapula and the external rotators since now you need to work to stabilize that weight against gravity as you are moving through external rotation and then pressing overhead. This can be performed on either an incline bench (lying face down, place your knees on the seat) or, the way I like it, on a stability ball (lying face down. if you can't balance yourself on the ball then you can move over near a wall and place your feet in the crevice of the wall where the wall meets the floor. Try to keep your toes forward and not externally rotated and pointing out at an angle.) as this ads another core element to the exercise. Once you are positioned on the ball or bench, start with your arms hanging down towards the floor. From here you will perform what will look like a wide grip row. Your elbows will move straight back and be in the shape of an "L". They should move in line with your shoulder blades. Once you row them back you will externally rotate your shoulder. To do this simply move the "L" from the position it is in, with the palms facing behind you, to a position where they are now facing the floor, or what would resemble a "W", with your head being the middle portion of that letter. Now, your shoulder blades should be pulled back and externally rotated and your hands should be in a position that they would be if you where doing an overhead press and they are at 90 degrees. It will feel awkward at first as you are overhead pressing on an incline with your chest down but don't worry, a few reps of this and you will feel the benefit. Most people will be tight through their chest and lats so their arms are going to naturally want to press more towards the floor instead of straight out. You goal is to work on your flexibility and strength so that you can press in a straight line, keeping your arms in line with your ears. I would advise starting with no weight at all and then working up to light dumbbells. Sets of 12-15 reps are good here so that you increase the endurance of these muscles and increase the time that they have to stabilize the load. This exercise is great for finishing off a workout, especially one where you have performed a lot of anterior pressing work as it will help to balance you out. Have fun. ..................................................................................................................................................................  Top Website Review - World Class BodyBuilding.com by David Gill For August, we highlight Basskiller’s site, World Class Bodybuilding. It made it’s debut in January 2004. Basskiller has been known for years now as the father of Finaplex with his Basskilleronline.com website. There he outlined the how-to’s of Finaplex conversion. He has since expanded the site to include drug profiles, vitamin and mineral list and growth hormone and IGF-1 articles. There are days of reading and reference material that you can search through. WCB is known as a site for class, that is earned, not bought. They have an outstanding mod staff that is experienced and willing to help. There are also many vets that give their time and advice on the board. It is home to many women, not just men. Whether you are a competitor or just trying to stay in shape, there is a section in the forum for everyone. They also have top of the line sponsors for all your needs. If you don’t have a home board or you are looking for another one to “hang out” on, WCB stands out as one of the best. Be sure to give them a visit. www.worldclassbodybuilding.com ..................................................................................................................................................................  Top Site Sponsors ..................................................................................................................................................................  Top IronMagazine.com - Bodybuilding & Fitness Magazine IronMagazineForums.com - Bodybuilding & Fitness Community IronMagLabs.com - Bodybuilding Supplements