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Nola Trimble
Multifaceted IFBB Women’s Physique Professional
By Marty Gallagher
As
a women’s physique competitor, Nola Trimble is a
consummate professional. Since
2003 she has competed in no less
than twenty five figure, bodybuilding and physique competitions. She
is able to compete so often because
she never allows herself to get out
of shape. Year round Nola Trimble
exemplifies the bodybuilding lifestyle. For her, the hard training, the
clean eating and the healthy lifestyle
choices are not depravation or even
discipline; for Nola Trimble the fitness lifestyle is second nature. She
loves what she does. “In 2000 I decided to become a personal trainer.
I’d always loved sports and I have
been a competitive athlete at a high
level in several sports. I completed
my ACE Personal Training Certification and I began working as a personal trainer. I met some bodybuilders and I went to their competitions
to support them. The instant I saw
the Figure girls competing on stage
I decided that I too would compete. I
too would mold myself into amazing
physical condition. I competed in my
first Figure competition in 2003 and
I have been competing ever since.”
Nola Trimble has a name straight out
of a Tennessee Williams play set in
the French Quarter of New Orleans.
Nola is an IFBB card-carrying physique professional that possesses a
superb physique and cover-girl good
looks. She has appeared on the cover
February 2013 / Performance Press
1-800-344-3404
www.parrillo.com
Photo by Miguel Salazar
www.parrillo.com
of a dozen mainstream muscle magazines and is in high demand as a fitness model. It also comes as no surprise that since becoming a fitness
professional, she has become a successful personal trainer. Nola plies
her trade out of the famous Quads
Gym in Chicago. Quads is the train-
ing lair of the greatest powerlifter in
history, Ed Coan. Ed has used Parrillo Products for decades and Nola has
used Parrillo Products almost from
the start of her competitive career.
“I work with Todd Swinney, a bodybuilding preparation guru. (Todd
is well known to the readers of the
Photo by Miguel Salazar
1-800-344-3404
Nola Trimble onstage at the August 2012 IFBB Tampa Pro,
winning the Women’s Physique Divison
Performance Press / February 2013
Nola Trimble
JOHN PARRILLO’S PERFORMANCE PRESS
naments. When I reached
high school, my school did
not have a girls’ golf team
so I played on the boys’ golf
team and beat a lot of them.
I also played volleyball for
four years in high school.”
I studied Golf Management and competed on the women’s golf team. After two years at Coastal I transferred
to Lynn University in Boca Raton,
Florida. I received a golf scholarship at Lynn and competed on the
women’s team for two seasons there.
I changed my major to Business
Management and graduated in 2001
with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.” As you might
well imagine, Nola has always been
lean and always fit. “After graduating college I competed regularly in
qualifying events for the FUTURE’S
Golf Tour for the next two years. I
worked as an assistant golf professional in south Florida and I was able
to play and practice a lot. I taught individual and group golf lessons and I
Two weeks after graduating
high school Nola enlisted in
the United States Air Force.
“For the majority of my enlistment, I was stationed at
Shaw AFB in Sumter, South
Carolina. I worked as a Surgical Technologist in the operating room. I was blessed
to be able to work alongside
many great physicians and
observe a wide variety of
surgical procedures.
Nola has been a personal trainer since 2000;
During my four year
she felt drawn, as if magnetized, towards a
enlistment I played
career in health and fitness.
a lot of golf at the
base golf course. There were
Parrillo Performance Press.) Todd
many high caliber players at
championed John’s potent products
Shaw and I was able to furfor thirty years and I use and love
ther improve my golf game.
John’s products because they are poMany times we would play
tent and tasty.”
from sun up to sun down on
Saturdays and Sundays. In
In addition to being one of the na1996 I was selected to reption’s leading women’s physique
resent the U.S. Air Force at
competitors, Nola has an exceedingthe Military Golf Training
ly interesting athletic and military
Camp at Davis Montham
background. Nola was good enough
AFB. It was a great honor
as a golfer to win a college scholarto be chosen for this team as
ship. Nola recalled her formative athonly one female from each
letic roots. “From a very young age,
branch of service is selected
I have been active in sports. When
to compete in this event. I
I was five years old, I recall pesteralso held the Women’s Base
ing my Mother to take me to the park
& Club Champion titles at
after nursery school to shoot baskets
Shaw AFB in 1995, 1996
on the basketball court. I continued
and 1997.”
to play basketball throughout junior high and high school as a point
“After I completed my four
guard. I was fortunate to grow up adPhoto by Miguel Salazar
year stint in the USAF, I rejacent to a golf course and my father
“It was a great honor to be chosen for this team
ceived a golf scholarship to
taught me how to play golf when I
as only one female from each branch of service
Coastal Carolina University
was six years old. I later took lessons
is selected to compete in this event.”
in
Conway,
South
Carolina.
and played in many youth golf tour-
February 2013 / Performance Press
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and a George Foreman grill.
“Fire school was from 0530
to 1500 every day in the
100-degree Texas heat.”
When she returned to her
room after class Nola would
have homework to complete
and exams to study for. “After eating and studying, I
would head to the base gym
to train and do cardio – as
if the fire training wasn’t
enough.” Often Nola would
be required to wear full
“bunker gear” in 100 degree
weather. “One of the hardest
things I’ve ever done was to
go through fire school while
training for competition.”
“I was determined to make
it through fire school and
then go back to Florida
and win my Figure show.
I did everything I possibly could to
make that happen. I even kept small
tupperware containers of egg whites
in my firefighter pants. I would sneak
my meals between drills and many
times got screamed at for doing so,
but I didn’t let them get to me. The
firefighter instructors didn’t understand why I had to eat so often, but
that didn’t matter to me. I was the
only female in my class and I was
awarded the Distinguished Graduate honor at the graduation ceremony.” She not only won first place at
that Figure competition, but won the
overall award too. Nola’s decision to
join the Air Force Reserve as a Firefighter eventually led to her applying
for a position as a Federal Firefighter/Emergency Medical Technician/
Hazardous Material Technician. She
worked for many years as a firefighter – yet she felt happiest when talking with the other firefighters about
fitness, nutrition and training. She
felt drawn, as if magnetized, towards
a career in health and fitness.
Nola has been relentlessly competing
with the NPC for the past nine years.
She started as a Figure competitor
and in 2009 decided to crossover
into bodybuilding. However, in 2009
Nola was presented with a lucrative
opportunity tinged with danger. “I
was offered a job in Iraq to work as a
civilian contract firefighter. I packed
up all my belongings, put them in
storage, spent a week with my family in Wisconsin then boarded a
plane to Dubai which then took us to
Baghdad. I spent a week in Baghdad
for orientation before being shipped
“I was determined to make it through fire school and
then go back to Florida and win my Figure show. I did
everything I possibly could to make that happen.”
organized and promoted weekly golf
tournaments.”
In 2002 Nola decided to reenlist in the
United States Air Force Reserves for
a three year stint. Part of her reason
for reenlisting was an opportunity to
strike off in a new and exciting career
direction. “I decided I wanted to pursue firefighting. I wanted to work in
a profession that was physically challenging and varied. I wanted to work
a job that would require me to use
my body in extreme physical ways
and the rigors of firefighting seemed
a perfect fit for me.” Nola attended
the Louis F. Garland Fire Academy at
Goodfellow Air Force Base in Texas
in 2004. “I endured fourteen weeks
of stressful, demanding firefighter
training. Simultaneously, I was dieting and preparing for my second
ever Figure competition!” While at
firefighting school Nola lived in a
dorm room so sparse that she had to
prepare her meals with only a sink
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Photo by Miguel Salazar
Performance Press / February 2013
Nola Trimble
JOHN PARRILLO’S PERFORMANCE PRESS
Nola with her father at the 2012 Tampa Pro show.
Nola says, “My Father flew all the way to Tampa to
surprise me because he couldn’t make it to the
Chicago show. It meant the world to me
to win in front of him.” to my permanent station of Mosul,
Iraq. This is the very northern part
of Iraq, on the border of Syria. What
an amazing year! I met so many
awesome people! I was so fortunate
to have two amazing gyms, a dining facility that offered damn near
anything clean I needed to eat, and a
hard-structure fire station with a roof
and walls…not a tent! I really lucked
out!” While in Iraq, Nola felt drawn
to helping military members as well
as firefighters with their nutrition
and training.
“The friends I had made in Iraq will
remain my friends for life; such as
my training partners, Hubert Sam-
uels and Mark Howder. We still talk on a
regular basis and I will
cherish them forever.
We experienced something together that not
many people will ever
experience.” After returning from Iraq in
2010, Nola discovered
that the NPC and IFBB
had created a new division, the “women’s physique” division. This
was a new competitive
category and the judging criterion seemed
suited perfectly for Nola’s type of physique.
“In 2011 I competed
in four national level
physique shows in the
women’s physique division, placing among the
top five. Finally at the
2011 North American
Physique Championships I won my IFBB
pro card.”
then went on to compete in the IFBB
Tampa Professional show in August
of 2012 and also won this show. All
while competing, Nola recently completed her Master’s degree in Homeland Security from American Public
University.
“It was gratifying and satisfying
to be recognized and have my hard
work validated. I have been able to
make excellent progress on my own
physique and feel that I still have a
lot of room left for significant improvement. I am finding new ways in
which to take my physique to the next
level.” Nola is quick to credit those
that have helped her. “I couldn’t have
done it without the help of my coach,
Todd Swinney. Todd is the master at
making ‘in-flight’ corrections in the
weeks leading up to a bodybuilding
show. He has such a vast amount of
experience working with competitive
After ten years, Nola
eventually decided to
walk away from the fire department.
“My heart was simply not into it like
my heart was into fitness. I wanted
to wake up every day and love what I
do. I felt I was being pulled in a different direction by fitness.” In February of 2012 Nola packed her bags
and moved to Chicago, not knowing
a soul. “I started my own personal
training business called Fitness on
Fire. I run my business out of the famous Quads Gym in Chicago. Quads
is the best gym in the city and one of
the top ten best gyms in the country.”
Nola made her pro debut at the IFBB
‘Wings of Strength’ contest in Chicago in July 2012 and won the show!
She was naturally ecstatic. Nola
February 2013 / Performance Press
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to compete in the Ms. Olympia. I have already begun my
preparation for the 2013 season with my immediate goal
to qualify for the first-ever
Women’s Physique Olympia to
be held in 2013. I would love to
become the first-ever Women’s
Physique Ms. Olympia. What
a truly amazing honor that
would be!” Nola is honed in
like a heat-seeking missile and
we will keep you apprised of
her progress. You can check
out her website at www.nolajtrimble.com for updates on
her competitions and more.
bodybuilders that offering the right
advice or the right tweak in diet or
cardio at just the right time comes as
second nature to him. His approach
and his advice and suggestions were
invaluable.”
Nola especially thanks her training
partner, Cameron Mitchell, and all
the folks at Quads Gym in Chicago.
“My dream at the beginning of this
competing journey has been for my
parents to see me on stage performing my routine. My Mom was able to
see me win in Chicago and my Dad
surprised me in Tampa by flying all
the way to Florida to be there for me
and see me win in person. These two
days are probably the most memorable of my life because I was able
to share these amazing experiences
with the two people that mean the
most to me in my life. Without them
I wouldn’t be who I am today. My
Dad has always been ‘My biggest
inspiration!’”
Photo by Miguel Salazar
www.parrillo.com
Nola is currently on a roll and is
looking forward to fulfilling a longtime dream. “I have always wanted
www.parrillo.com
Nola Trimble’s
Weekly Training Split
Monday: Shoulders, Glutes
Tuesday: Arms, Calves, Abs
Wednesday: Quads
Thursday: Chest, Calves, Abs,
Glutes
Friday: Back
Saturday: Hams
extra carbs give me extra energy I
need to get through the heavy, intense training. On those days I will
add 3-5 ounces of yam or 1/2 cup of
brown rice to my meal just before
training. On each of my meals I drizzle 1 tablespoon of butter-flavored
CapTri®.
Nola and Parrillo
“I use CapTri® on a daily basis. I love
butter-flavored CapTri®, especially
during the contest dieting period. I
find CapTri® gives my food taste and
makes it almost feel as if I am not
dieting at all. I actually look forward
to my meals when they have CapTri®
on them. Between meals I have a
Parrillo Optimized Whey Protein™
shake. I also use Parrillo’s Evening
Primrose Oil™ for healthy skin and
hair. I like the Parrillo Brownies™
and Parrillo Contest Cookie Mix™.
These are both awesome products
that allow me to eat a dessert without guilt. My coach, Todd Swinney,
tells me that these delicious Parrillo
treats are allowable, right up to the
competition.”
Daily Meal Schedule
Meal 1: 1/2 cup of oatmeal with
two whole eggs & 1 scoop Parrillo
Optimized Whey Protein™ powder
Meal 2: 6 ounces of lean protein, 1
cup of green vegetables
Meal 3: 40 gram Parrillo Optimized
Whey™ protein shake
Meal 4: 6 ounces of lean protein, 1
cup of green vegetables
Meal 5: 40 gram Parrillo Optimized
Whey Protein™ shake
Meal 6: 6 ounces of lean protein, 1
cup of green vegetables
“I will typically eat a slight bit more
carbs on the days I train larger body
parts, such as legs or back. I find the
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Performance Press / February 2013
JOHN PARRILLO’S PERFORMANCE PRESS
I
have been going to commercial gyms for over
25 years now, and there
is one phenomenon that
I found to be universal. Aside from those in the
beginning stages of training,
the vast majority of people in
gyms look the same month
after month, year after year.
Rarely do you see people who
need to drop fat actually do it.
And those who you see working out every day who are theoretically attempting to add
muscle and sculpt their bodies
into something special continue to be perfectly average and
unremarkable. In other words,
they look no better than pretty
much anyone who trains. You
can certainly tell they work
out, but that’s about it.
To be sure, there are a few
explanations. One that I will
give the benefit of the doubt
applies to many is that they
are either satisfied with the
way they look, or they recognize that improving would require more effort than they are
willing to give. They can live
with the fact that they are essentially spinning their wheels to
maintain a modest level of fitness
and appearance that is at least
marginally superior to sedentary
10
A BODYBUILDER IS BORN: Generations
types who don’t exercise at all.
But I am also sure that many others are trying to get leaner, build
more muscle, or both; yet they are
“Do you train just to keep
looking the same?”
going about things incorrectly out
of ignorance. With those masses
in mind, here are some of the most
common reasons men and women
February 2013 / Performance Press
in the gym fail to ever look any
different over time.
Lifting weights, not
training muscles
Most of the people I see training in gyms are weightlifters, even if they consider
themselves
‘bodybuilders’
to a greater or lesser degree.
There is a tremendous difference between moving a
weight from point A to point
B that most simply do not
comprehend. I speak of the
fabled ‘mind-muscle connection,’ which sounds like New
Age mysticism but is really a
term to describe consciously
feeling the muscle contract
and stretch with each rep.
With the exception of just a
couple compound movements
like squats and deadlifts, every exercise should be considered flexing a muscle against
resistance. A curl is really just
flexing your biceps against
the resistance provided by the
barbell or dumbbells in your
hand. A barbell row is nothing more than flexing your
lats with a weight in your
hands to increase the load. If you
aren’t feeling the target muscle
work, and work hard, during
your sets; guess what? You’re a
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weightlifter. You never provide
the muscle with enough continuous tension to stimulate growth.
So it shouldn’t be such a shock
or a cause for frustration when
you have so very little to show
for all the time you spend in the
gym. Often the culprit is using
too much weight
and sloppy form, but
many times it’s simply not being aware
that there is anything
more to training than
lifting the weight.
tough and require not only grand
effort, but coordination and time
to master. Take them out of your
workouts, and you’re removing
the best components. Making
progress with your physique without the basics is a shaky proposition at best.
results. If that’s true, there sure
are a lot of crazy people in gyms!
The human body is a remarkably
adaptive organism. It is the body’s
struggle to adapt to the shock of
weight training that causes such
rapid gains in the early stages of
working out. But as time goes by,
we need to use heavier weights to provide
that stimulus. There
comes a time when
we will all max out
on strength, though
it could be anywhere
from 5-20 years depending on the perAvoiding
son and how quickly
the most
they gain in strength.
So what you see is
productive
people doing the
exercises
same exercises, with
Another reason more
the same weights,
people don’t see betfor the same amount
ter results from trainof reps, in the same
ing is that they aren’t
sequence. The outdoing the exercises
side observer would
that would benefit
easily
understand
them the most. Mawhy
no
changes
are
chines and cables
forthcoming to the
and isolation exerphysique under these
cises all have their
circumstances, yet
place, but the founthe person is typidation should always
cally at a loss and
be the free weight
simply assumes they
basics. Unless you
have reached their ulgenuinely have an
timate genetic poteninjury that prevents
tial. What they need
safe
performance,
to do is switch up
you should be dovariables: different
ing squats, deadlifts,
“A
rare
few
bodybuilders
continue
exercises, rep ranges,
bench presses, overmaking progress as years go by.”
rep tempo, rest perihead presses, dips,
ods between sets, sechins, and barbell
quence and bodypart
rows. One excuse
grouping,
etc.
Theoretically, there
I hear for not doing those is that
Doing
the
same
sh*t,
are
so
many
variables involved
they are for ‘beginners,’ and adthat you would never have to duvanced trainers don’t need them all the time
The
definition
of
insanity
has
been
plicate the same workouts, ever anymore. What a load of bull!
said
to
be
doing
the
same
thing
evbut few ever seem to arrive at this
The basics aren’t meant to be an
ery
time,
yet
expecting
different
solution to their lack of progress.
introductory routine. They’re
www.parrillo.com
1-800-344-3404
Performance Press / February 2013
11
JOHN PARRILLO’S PERFORMANCE PRESS
Failing to provide
nutritional
support
enough from themselves. They
have every excuse imaginable
for why they ‘can’t’ look any better than they do. Common ones
include bad genetics, age, a history of injuries or illness, or not
being on steroids. Sorry to break
I harp on this all the time and I
will continue to do so until the
time comes when everyone is eating properly - which means
I’ll be at this for the rest of
my life. Plenty of people
work hard enough in the
gym that they should be
seeing ongoing results, yet
they don’t because they fail
to invest the time and effort to consume enough of
the proper building blocks
to synthesize new muscle
tissue. Look, it’s really not
that complicated. You need
1.5 to 2 grams of protein per
pound of bodyweight a day,
and generally speaking,
about twice that amount of
complex carbs as well as
healthy fats. If you can’t
get it all from food, drink
shakes made from Parrillo
Hi-Protein™ ,
Optimized
™
Whey , and Pro-Carb™ between solid meals. The bars
are another very easy and
portable way to make sure
“In the end, the choice is
you take in the nutrients
you need. You should never
yours - change or stay
go more than three wakthe same!”
ing hours without either a
meal or a shake. Is it a lot
of work? Sure, until you get into the harsh reality to them, but I
a routine and it just becomes sec- have met many men and women
ond nature as it is to all success- who have managed to build pretful bodybuilders. But like I say, ty damn good physiques despite
if you aren’t going to eat right, having one of these ‘conditions,’
don’t even bother training and if not all of them! In life, you can
expecting results.
either be your own best friend
or your own worst enemy. If you
choose to settle for mediocrity
and soothe yourself with all kinds
Low expectations
Finally, I talk to a lot of men and of excuses for why you can’t look
women who just don’t expect better, make more money, have
12
February 2013 / Performance Press
the relationship you want, that’s
going to be your reality. If you
choose to ignore excuses, selfdoubt, and naysayers, you can
be and do things you never even
thought possible. I don’t care what
you look like now. You can look
better if you really want to
and accept no alternatives.
Once you decide it’s possible, you will do the things
you need to do to achieve
your goals.
If you recognized yourself in one or more of the
above scenarios, you know
what you must do. Unless
you’re 100% satisfied with
what you see in the mirror, it’s time to make some
changes now. You can be
like the legions of people in
gyms all over the world going through the motions and
looking exactly the same (or
maybe worse over time), or
you can take your destiny
in your hands right now and
start getting results!
Ron
Harris
is the
author of
Real Bodybuilding,
available at
www.ronharrismuscle.com
1-800-344-3404
www.parrillo.com
www.parrillo.com
1-800-344-3404
Performance Press / February 2013
13
HOW TO BUILD MONSTER THIGHS
Parrillo
mass-buildiNg nutrition +
deep squats =
monster thighs!
Radically increase your THIGH SIZE by radically increasing your SQUAT STRENGTH
T
By Andre Newcomb
he Parrillo 12 week highintensity squat specialization program: Here is
a Parrillo truism about legs and
leg training and how best to build
massive thighs, “Men that consistently squat heavy poundage
deep and low while maintaining
an upright posture build gigantic
thighs.” There is an irrefutable
relationship between deep squats
(done properly and consistently)
and big thighs. Bodybuilders want
leg size and big squatting builds
big legs. If you want to take your
thigh development to the next level, we suggest you try our 12 week
thigh specialization program. The
entire program consists of a lone
thigh exercise, the barbell back
squat, done once a week. No thigh
exercises other than squats for 12
straight weeks. We concentrate all
our efforts towards improving our
poundage-handling ability in the
heavy back squat. We would advise throwing in some calf work
and hamstring exercises to round
out this squat/thigh specialization
program. When you embark on the
squat specialization program, you
14
simultaneously embark on a threemonth Parrillo “mass building” nutritional diet. This is a high calorie
diet designed for the athlete seeking to add lean muscle mass and is
the perfect nutritional compliment
for our squat program. We combine
big squatting with big eating to
In our 12 week squat
specialization program, we
concentrate all our efforts
towards improving our
poundage-handling ability
in the heavy back squat.
build big legs. Here are four aspects
of the Parrillo squat specialization
program you need to remember…
1.) Develop perfect squat technique
– this is the foundation.
2.) Learn how to squat deep and
upright, use pristine technique on
every rep.
February 2013 / Performance Press
3.) Each successive week relentlessly drive the squat poundage upward.
4.) Combine the squat specialization program with a Parrillo Mass
Building diet.
Squat till you drop: For three
straight months concentrate all
your thigh efforts towards the attainment of one goal: successfully
pushing the back squat poundage
upward each week for 12 straight
weeks. We are looking to add 100
to 200 pounds (or more) to the
poundage you use to repetition
back squat. We also look to add
one to three pounds of bodyweight
per week each week for 12 straight
weeks. At the end of the 12 week
cycle expect to add 1 to 3 inches to
your thigh size. This is a size and
power routine for a serious man
serious about taking his thigh development to the next level. No sissies need apply. The good news is
you only have to train squats once
a week; the bad news is you will
have to use an excruciatingly difficult squat technique and come hell
or high water, each week you must
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add weight to the squat bar. What
the Parrillo elite understand is that
by dramatically changing how we
squat and by dramatically increasing the exercise poundage used,
the legs have no choice but to grow.
We create rep and poundage goals
for each successive week and each
week we hit the target poundage
for the week and take a step closer
towards our final squat poundage
goal. Start off light and precise;
repetitions are relatively high initially. Every 2 to 4 weeks the reps
are lowered. Be patient.
Establish a sound technical base:
squat deep and squat upright: If
you are seeking to increase thigh
size, improve thigh shape and amplify thigh power, then you need to
get really good at deep squatting.
Start off light; learn how to squat
deep while staying upright. Go all
the way down, “ass-on-heels” as
the squat pros say. Over time, as
we master the technique, build up
the poundage. Over a three month
period, drive the exercise poundage (and your bodyweight) upward.
Watch as your thighs morph from
poor to good by the end of month
one, then from good into really
good by the end of month two; and
finally, from really good into outstanding by the end of month three.
Increasing thigh size is directly proportional to increasing squatting
power. Establish a perfect technical squat style, one that stimulates
the maximum number of thigh fibers. Over time increase the squat
poundage. The good news is that if
you have never done deep squats
consistently, by starting now and
doing them right, over the next 90
days you will experience the best
www.parrillo.com
leg gains of your entire life. The
good news gets better: you only
have to train thighs once a week.
The bad news is the effort exerted
during these squat sessions will
undoubtedly be the hardest physical effort you have ever put forth on
any progressive resistance exercise
in your entire life.
 Increase strength and create
new muscle: There is an intrinsic
relationship between strength and
size. Increased strength creates additional muscle size and size always
follows strength. Champion powerlifters and power bodybuilders,
men like Tom Platz, Dorian Yates
and Ron Coleman, all leg giants,
all understood the need to get truly
strong in order to build truly huge
muscles. Power trainers worship at
the altar of intensity…maximum
weight done for low reps.
How the squatting elite roll: The
powerlifting elite will work up to
one all-out top squat set. That is it.
They will use massive ball-breaking poundage for a single top set
of 1 to 5 reps. That’s it! One top
set and the squat session is over:
no leg extensions, no leg press, no
hack squats, no lunges, nothing
more for thighs. So the procedure
is this: work up to a single, all-out,
ball-busting top set of squats for a
single set of 1 to 8 reps. That is it
for the thighs for the week! Sounds
good so far, but the tradeoff is the
lifter must adhere to a rigid periodization schedule that calls for
relentless weekly poundage increases. The once-a-week, single,
all-out top set of squats must be
driven ever upward each successive
week. The top set poundage is increased by 10-25 pounds per week.
The elite lifter has predetermined
weekly target poundage they need
to achieve. This target poundage is
always heavier than the previous
week and lighter than the following
week. A 12-week squat specialization periodized cycle might look
like this…
Weeks 1 thru 4
Work up to one all out set
8 reps
of squats for
Weeks 5 thru 8
Work up to one all out set
5 reps
of squats for
Weeks 9 and 10
Work up to one all out set
3 reps
of squats for
Weeks 11 and 12
Work up to one all out set
1 rep
of squats for
Week 13
Competition
1-800-344-3404
Performance Press / February 2013
15
HOW TO BUILD MONSTER THIGHS
JOHN PARRILLO’S PERFORMANCE PRESS
Squat right! There are valuable
lessons to be learned from elite
powerlifters and power bodybuilders. Here is one: “If you want to
grow big legs, squat big poundage
DEEP!” The surest way to grow
big legs is to obtain a monstrous
(relatively speaking) back squat.
In order to take your leg development to the next level, you need
Deep squats,
deep and heavy
squats, need to
be done with an
upright torso
and a minimum
of forward lean.
Depth is critical.
to increase, extend and elongate
the squat ROM, the squat rangeof-motion, the depth. Deep squats,
deep and heavy squats, need to be
done with an upright torso and a
minimum of forward lean. Depth
is critical. One recurrent mistake
novice and intermediate weight
trainers and bodybuilders make is
they squat shallow. They fudge on
the depth and depth is everything
when it comes to productive squatting. Typically the novice squatter backs up from the squat racks
with poundage way too heavy and
then proceed to bang out ten reps,
barely breaking their knees. These
“nosebleed” squatters squat down
perhaps one foot before they arise.
A purposefully shortened rep
16
stroke, regardless the progressive resistance exercise, allows the
trainee to handle a lot more poundage. The macho ego prefers big
weight, as in, “HEY! Look at ME!
I can squat 405 for ten reps!” If the
405 x 10 nose-bleed squatter were
forced to go down to ass-on-heels
depth, this macho man would be
hard pressed to do 185 x 5. Ironically that 185 x 5 would provide
him far superior strength building/
muscle building results compared
to results delivered by his shallow,
worthless 405 pound squats.
Squat technical analysis: The elite
all agree that a properly performed
super deep squat is the finest thigh
developer known to man. The question becomes – how best do we do
them?
• Squat all the way down, ass-onheels
• I nhale mightily on the descent
•S
ynchronize slow exhalation with
coming erect
•M
aintain a vertical (or at least
static) spine throughout
•L
ittle if any forward lean while
descending
•T
he barbell stays over, or behind,
the knees; never let the bar get in
front of the knees
•T
he lifter goes all the way down
– they bottom out
•S
tay tight – don’t relax your muscles at the bottom of the squat
•C
ome erect to a full and complete
lockout
•S
tart super light, ingrain proper
technique
•S
lowly increase poundage over
time
•N
ever allow technique to disintegrate
Most elite squatters squat once a
week: if a man is training his dead-
February 2013 / Performance Press
lift heavy and his squat heavy, you
work many of the same muscles;
hips, erectors, thighs and hamstrings. The key to making oncea-week squatting (and deadlifting)
work is continually and consistently making progress. We define
progress as improved poundage
handling ability. This results in
an increase in lean muscle mass.
Strength gains beget muscle gains.
The key is being disciplined and
determined enough to stick to
the plan.
• It is optimal to combine thigh/
squat specialization with a Parrillo mass building regimen.
• Success in squatting is all about
being able to master ultra-deep
barbell squats.
• Poundage and muscle size will
come with time.
• Full ROM is performed while
maintaining an upright torso.
• This ensures that 100% of the
muscular stress is centered on the
thighs.
Avoid bending forward: Perhaps the worst technical mistake
in squatting is to bend forward at
the hips when descending; this dilutes muscular focus on the thighs.
When we lean forward we redistribute and reapportion muscle
stresses. We purposefully call upon
the lower back and the hip-hinge to
come to the aid of the maximally
taxed thighs. When leg power alone
is insufficient, the legs call for help.
World record holders squat with
an upright torso. With 800, 900 or
1,000 pounds draped across your
shoulders, and assuming you go
below parallel, you can’t bend forward or the ponderous poundage
will slam your torso to the floor.
1-800-344-3404
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Staying upright and avoiding the
temptation to lean forward makes
squatting all about thigh power.
you under-eat, you will ruin any
chance of success. To grow muscle
the body needs an excess of protein and carbs, to varying degrees.
Anabolism is induced by the expert use of regular food. Potent
Parrillo supplements further amp
up results. You have to have your
nutrition squared away. Before
embarking on this 12-week thigh
blitzkrieg, stockpile a bare minimum of Parrillo supplements…
buds: pick amongst the Energy
Bar™ , Protein Bar™ , or Hi Protein
Low Net Carb Bar™.
Complement squats with Par• 50/50 Plus™: Post workout suprillo Mass-building nutrition:
plement designed to provide the
To maximize muscular results, the
body, traumatized by the just
elite bodybuilder engaging in our
completed workout, with exactly
thigh specialization program pushes
the nutrients needed to fuel recovtheir bodyweight upward each sucery and growth.
cessive week for twelve consecutive weeks. Look to add 1-3 pounds
• Muscle
Amino
Formula™:
of bodyweight per week,
branched-chain
amino
depending on the physiacids “spare” muscle procal size of the trainee. At
tein during the workout
the end of the 12-week
and replenish decimated
squat specialization promuscle tissue after the
gram, the trainee ends up
workout.
heavier, thicker, stronger and just as muscular
Let us recapitulate: the
with dramatically larger
strongest guys have the
thighs. This squat spebiggest legs; the best
cialization program nevthighs belong to the men
er misses – the only time
that squat the lowest with
it falls short is when the
the most poundage. Emutrainee slacks off in their
late them. We can get
execution of some critiaway with squatting once
cal aspect of this multia week if we’re smart
layered and multidimenabout it. Do it right! Squat
sional leg specialization
super deep, use pristine
If you embark on this high intensity squat specialization technique. You need only
program. If you embark
program and under-eat, or eat the wrong foods at
on this program and unsquat (and deadlift) once
the
wrong
times,
results
will
be
subpar.
der-eat, or eat the wrong
a week if your efforts are
foods at the wrong times,
sufficiently intense and
™
results will be subpar: to optimize
• Hi-Protein or Optimized Whey
heavy. Eat big, eat clean, eat ofresults, consume a steady stream
Protein™ powder: supplemental
ten, supplement with Parrillo and
of “clean” calories over the course
protein provides building blocks
settle in for three months. We use
of the day; eat multiple meals and
needed to construct new muscle.
power squatting to blast our thighs
at each meal eat a portion of lean
out of whatever growth rut they are
®
protein, a portion of insulin-damp• CapTri : ingest clean calories
currently in. Nutrition is used to
ening fiber carbs and a portion of
and fuel growth; CapTri® calories
aid healing, recovery and muscle
starch carbs. Food meals are supcannot be converted into body fat;
growth. That this program works is
plemented and augmented by the
they are used to construct muscle
beyond dispute – whether you have
expert use of powerful and potent
or burned to fuel activity.
the stones to pull it off, to adhere to
Parrillo nutritional supplements.
its rigid tenants and strict rules for
• Parrillo Bars: sort through the
the requisite 90 days is an entirely
Blasting legs and using Parrillo
various types and flavors to find
different story. Well do you?
nutrition to amplify results: If
a bar that appeals to your taste
www.parrillo.com
1-800-344-3404
Performance Press / February 2013
17
tips & tidbits
of the month
RECIPE
spotlight
Corn Chips
1/2 cup boiling water
2 tbsp. CapTri®
125 g. corn meal
chili powder to taste (no more
than 1/4 tsp. recommended!)
popcorn salt
Training Tip
of the month:
Pec/Shoulder Stretch
Start: Seated on a bench, clasp your hands behind
your neck. Point your elbows slightly upward
toward the ceiling,
as illustrated. From a
standing position, your
partner presses his
stomach against your
back.
Stretch: Holding your
elbows, your partner
stretches your upper
arms up and back. The
stretched position is
held for ten sec­onds.
18
of the month:
Turnip Root and Greens
Preheat oven to 350°. Pour water over CapTri®, corn meal
and chili powder. Mix well with fork until dough balls itself
together. Shape into small 3/4 to I inch balls and place far
enough apart on nonstick cookie sheet so that they do
not touch when pressed flat. Press balls as flat and thin as
you can, shaping them however you want (triangles, oval,
rectangles, etc.). Sprinkle lightly with pinches of popcorn
salt and bake about 30 minutes until edges just start to
brown. Chips should be thin and crisp, but firm so that
they can be used to scoop Mexican Bean Dip (see pg. 89 in
CapTri® Cookbook) or any other you may want to try.
Variations: add 1 tsp. jalapeno juice or other spices to give
your chips some zip.
18
Food
February 2013 / Performance Press
• Turnips are often overlooked, but they are good for
you and easy to cook! The turnip root is high in vitamin C, and turnip’s greens are a good source of vitamins A, C, and K, as well as folate, calcium and lutein.
•Turnips can be eaten raw, baked, boiled, sautéed or
steamed. Try them mashed right along with potatoes.
• Turnips are best during their peak season: Oct.- Mar.
Nutritional Information for 100g, raw root:
Calories 30
Protein 1g
Fat .2g
Total Carbs 6.6g
Fiber .9g
Calcium 39mg
Phosphorus 30mg
Iron .5mg
Sodium 49mg
Potassium 268mg
Vitamin A Trace
Try these great recipe ideas using turnip roots & greens:
• Cut raw turnips into sticks and eat with your favorite healthy dip. You can also grate them and use in
salads or cole slaws.
• Make mashed turnips and Yukon Gold potatoes,
and stir in steamed (2-4 minutes,) finely chopped
turnip greens while still hot.
News & Discoveries
In Fitness & Nutrition
Omega-3 Supplements May Slow A Biological
Effect of Aging
Taking enough omega-3 fatty acid supplements to change
the balance of oils in the diet could slow a key biological
process linked to aging, new research suggests. The study
showed that most overweight but healthy middle-aged
and older adults who took omega-3 supplements for four
months altered a ratio of their fatty acid consumption in
a way that helped preserve tiny segments of DNA in their
white blood cells. These segments, called telomeres, are
known to shorten over time in many types of cells as a consequence of aging. In the study, lengthening of telomeres
in immune system cells was more prevalent in people who
substantially improved the ratio of omega-3s to other fatty
acids in their diet.
Omega-3 supplementation also reduced oxidative stress,
caused by excessive free radicals in the blood, by about 15
percent compared to effects seen in the placebo group. “The
telomere finding is provocative in that it suggests the possibility that a nutritional supplement might actually make
a difference in aging,” said Jan Kiecolt-Glaser, professor of
psychiatry and psychology at Ohio State and lead author of
the study.
In another recent publication from this study, Kiecolt-Glaser
and colleagues reported that omega-3 fatty acid supplements lowered inflammation in this same group of adults.
“Inflammation in particular is at the heart of so many health
problems. Anything that reduces inflammation has a lot of
potentially good spinoffs among older adults,” she said.
- Ohio State University, October 1, 2012 (edited for length)
nutrition Tip
of the month:
Helpful quick tips for your diet issues:
• If you’re stuck at a plateau, try Hi-Protein™
and Pro-Carb™. That combination alone will usually add
several pounds of muscle in a month or two.
• If you need more energy to train, try Liver-Amino™.
This should be considered an essential supplement for
serious endurance athletes.
• If you’re having trouble eating all of your scheduled
meals or getting in your required amount of calories,
Parrillo bars are a great answer.
• If you’re trying to lose fat and have hit a fat-loss plateau, cut back on 100 grams of starchy carbohydrates a
day (400 calories worth) and use one-half to one tablespoon of CapTri® at each meal. This will get your fat loss
going again. To get in contest shape you may have to
cut back on carbs further, increase CapTri®, and increase
aerobics to an hour a day. I have yet to meet a person
who could not get exceptionally lean by following this
protocol. The exact details of how to structure your diet
www.parrillo.com
are in1-800-344-3404
the Parrillo Nutrition Manual.
Interesting
Article Fact:
It has been proven that glutamine administered
orally can increase growth hormone release; most
interesting was that the effective dose was only two
grams. Read more in John’s article on page 20.
Dominique’s
Time Cruncher
When you’re cooking with bell peppers and you want
them to retain their fresh crispness, be sure to completely remove the peppers’ inner “ribs,” the white
membrane-like sections holding the seeds. You can use
a paring knife to trim the ribs away smoothly.
www.parrillo.com
1-800-344-3404
?
Question
of the month:
Question: I’m a beginning bodybuilder and want
to know if it’s OK to occasionally add fruit to my
diet. I know there’s a concern about fructose for
bodybuilders, but fruit has so many vitamins,
minerals and other benefits.
Answer: Can you eat some fruit
now and then and still have a
good physique? Sure you can. But
the athletes I work with want the
best results possible. Professional bodybuilders don’t want good
physiques - they want perfect physiques. Of course,
fruit is generally a healthy food - high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals, and low in fat. But try to think of
fruit as nature’s candy, because that’s exactly what
it is. If your goal is to build lean and muscular physique, then you don’t want to eat candy. Sugar and
fat are natural, but that doesn’t mean they’ll make
you lean and muscular. I hate to see people work
hard in the gym just to have their results ruined by
eating the wrong thing.
Quick Tip
of the month:
Keeping cooked quinoa on hand in the refrigerator
makes for handy side dishes: Make up a batch of quinoa and let cool, then transfer to a sealed container and
promptly put into the fridge. You can scoop out a serving
and heat it up each time you are ready to eat. Cooked
quinoa is also great to have on hand for packing lunches.
You can add steamed vegetables, rinsed canned beans,
and spices for a nutritious and easy side dish. Cooked
quinoa should last up to five days in the refrigerator.
Supplement
of the month:
Optimized Whey Protein Powder™
• Indispensable for building muscle
• Speeds recovery time between training sessions
• Helps retain muscle during dieting
Protein is the nutrient most responsible for the creation of
new muscle tissue. Without an adequate supply of protein,
no muscular growth is possible. If you lack protein, you radically increase the risk of overtraining. Training hard, while
in a protein deficient state, has a disastrous effect on progress. Science has shown that protein consumption after hard
training speeds recovery. Parrillo Optimized Whey™ provides
33g of potent and clean whey protein isolate, in 3 great flavors: Vanilla, Chocolate, and Strawberry.
Performance Press / February 2013
19
19
JOHN PARRILLO’S PERFORMANCE PRESS
PARRILLO PRE-WORKOUT POWER
see in the over-training syndrome.
If you want more oomph in your
workouts, then make sure you’re
powering up properly with preworkout supplements – a regimen
that will help boost your strength,
increase your focus, and give you
a turbo-surge of energy. Here’s a
protocol I recommend:
CREATINE
One of the most amazing and effective bodybuilding supplements
ever has to be creatine monohydrate. Creatine is actually an energy supplement first and foremost,
providing high energy phosphate
groups to replenish the ATP which
is consumed during muscular contractions. Creatine is nontoxic even
in large amounts, is well-absorbed
orally, and is readily taken up by
muscles. There it is converted into
creatine phosphate, which then
serves as a donor of phosphate
groups to ADP to re-generate ATP.
ATP, as you know, is the immediate energy source used by muscles.
So if we increase creatine levels inside muscles this will increase energy production, which translates
into longer and harder workouts.
Athletes using creatine report a
significant increase in strength. It
is not unusual for an experienced
lifter to improve his or her maximum lift by 5-15% or to notice an
increase of 2 or 3 more reps with
a 10 rep-maximum load after cre20
atine supplementation. This places
a more severe stress on the muscle which ultimately stimulates
greater hypertrophy. This has been
confirmed by numerous research
studies.
The standard protocol for using
creatine is to “load” the muscles
for 5-7 days with 20 grams per day,
taken as four servings of 5 grams
It turns out that
the amino acid
profile of whey
protein is very
well suited to the
needs of growing
muscles.
each. This saturates the muscles
with as much creatine as they can
hold. This is followed by the “maintenance” phase, which usually consists of 5 grams per day, although
some of our larger bodybuilders
use 10 grams per day.
WHEY AND GLUTAMINE
I have found the combination of
Optimized Whey Protein™ and creatine to be a very powerful supple-
February 2013 / Performance Press
ment tool. This is probably a more
effective supplement combination
than anything that was available
even just a few years ago. To understand why, it is important to
know a few things about whey protein and amino acid metabolism. It
turns out that the amino acid profile
of whey protein is very well suited
to the needs of growing muscles.
For one thing, whey is loaded with
glutamine, an amino acid that occupies a central position in amino
acid metabolism, since it is able to
donate an amino group to a variety
of keto-acids to form other amino
acids.
Glutamine also plays a pivotal role
in energy metabolism, believe it or
not. Glutamine serves as the preferred fuel source for several cell
types including immune cells and
cells lining the intestines. During injury, burns, illness or other
severe stresses (such as surgery),
sometimes the body has to rob
muscle tissue of its glutamine to
serve as fuel for the intestine and
the immune system. This depletes
the body’s glutamine reserve which
can ultimately compromise immune function. This is one of the
reasons why these conditions are
highly catabolic and are associated
with rapid loss of lean body mass.
The fascinating thing is that this
parallels in many respects what we
1-800-344-3404
www.parrillo.com
tural - functional type of tissue with
really no role in energy production.
Well, I have news for you. During
times of stress, including severe exercise, muscle tissue can be broken
down to serve as a fuel substrate,
just like any other tissue of the body.
Hopefully you will burn mostly fat
as fuel, but you must also rely on
glycogen, the storage form of car-
If this isn’t enough to stimulate
your interest in glutamine, it has
also been proven that glutamine
administered orally can increase
growth hormone release. Most
interesting was that the effective
dose was only two grams. The real
bottom line is that glutamine increases skeletal muscle protein
synthesis, making it the single
For pre-workout power,
most important amino acid in
take an Optimized Whey
supporting muscular growth. It
Protein™ shake with your
not only helps block catabolism
of muscle tissue during stress
creatine dose one hour
but also provides an important
prior to your workout.
anabolic stimulus for muscle
growth.
To use this information, I suggest that you take an Optimized Whey™ shake with your
creatine dose one hour prior to
your workout.
BCAAs
The scientific understanding
of muscle metabolism and exercise performance is probably
the richest when it comes to the
BCAAs - the branched chain
amino acids. These are the essential amino acids leucine, isoleucine,
and valine. While glutamine is the
most abundant amino acid in the
bloodstream and free inside muscle cells, the BCAAs are the most
abundant amino acids incorporated
into muscle proteins.
The branched chains have been a
favorite supplement of hard core
bodybuilders for years. And finally
science is ready to agree. For decades, and still even today, many
people think of muscle as a strucwww.parrillo.com
larly before a muscle blasting, iron
pumping workout or a high intensity aerobic session.
MAX ENDURANCE
FORMULA™
Certain supplemental nutrients, in
combination, can boost your endurance, mood, and mental acuity.
This means you’ll be more alert
and focused during your workouts. The combo I’m talking
about is:
• Inosine, which improves oxygen utilization
• DL-Phenylalanine, which improves mental acuity and pain
tolerance
• Ferulic Acid, which stimulates endrocine function
• Potassium and Magnesium
Aspartate, which helps clear
ammonia, an endurance robbing waste product of intense
training is quickly turned to
uric acid and filtered out of
the blood supply.
Take 5-10 capsules before training.
bohydrate. Eventually your body
will also turn to protein, particularly the BCAAs, as a fuel source (the
good, the bad, and the ugly). The
muscle proteins are a rich source of
branched chain amino acids. The
problem is that muscles can actually use the BCAAs directly as fuel,
so in a pinch they will cannibalize
themselves and oxidize their own
proteins as a fuel source.
Take 2 Muscle Amino Formula™
capsules with every meal, and
take 3-5 or more capsules particu-
1-800-344-3404
FINAL WORD
Of course, beyond supplementation
is nutrition, which for athletes and
active people can be the difference
between success and failure, health
or injury. To have energy for your
workouts, you need to consume
energy in the form of a balanced
diet – which is the basic tenet of the
Parrillo Nutrition program. Taking
in adequate calories, and increasing them from the right foods, will
keep your strength and energy levels up. So eat well, train hard and
supplement smart!
Performance Press / February 2013
21
JOHN PARRILLO’S PERFORMANCE PRESS
Chocolate syrup on a strict diet? That’s right!
Chocolate
HIGH FIBER
Just add
water !
Mix™
• Only 20 Calories
• 0g Fat and Sugar
• 12g of Prebiotic Fiber
Y
es, you can have Chocolate
Syrup even if you’re on a
strict diet! With Parrillo’s High
Fiber Chocolate Syrup Mix, you
won’t blow your diet because one
serving is only 20 Calories, has no
fat or sugar, plus you’ll be getting
12g of prebiotic fiber. It’s delicious on Parrillo Ice Kreem, Cakes,
and Brownies! For an extra special treat, how about this: a Contest Brownie or slice of Hi-Protein
Cake, topped with a scoop of Parrillo Protein Ice Kreem and drizzled with Chocolate Syrup! Now
that’s the way to diet.
22
To order, call Parrillo at 1-800-344-3404
February 2013 / Performance Press
1-800-344-3404
www.parrillo.com
Order online
at www.parrillo.com
Parrillo walks the walk…Insulin management…How to
add 1-2 inches to your calves…Twist off oblique fat?...
Pro-Carb™: why and when?
G
reetings elder statesman,
Anything new at Parrillo HQ?
Smitty, York
Check out these photos (on page 24)
we pulled off an ancient video we
found of John Parrillo winning the
1986 Ohio state powerlifting championships. In the photo John weighs
180 pounds and at the competition
he squatted 640, bench pressed 390
and deadlifted 635 to secure the
state title in the toughest power state
in the nation at the time. Parrillo
seemed poised to launch his national level power career as his performance at this competition qualified
him to lift at the national championships. He fully intended to compete
at the nationals when fate, circumstance and life intervened and John
never did compete and never did
www.parrillo.com
fulfill what promised to be a terrific
career as a national-level powerlifter. In the photo Parrillo sports a pair
of 19 inch arms. He was already
experimenting on himself using the
unique and unusual training and
nutritional tactics that would later
form the foundation for the Parrillo
System as we know it today.
When I saw this video, I insisted we
publish these photographs in order
to show the wider fitness world that
John Parrillo not only talks the talk,
he walked the walk. In this day and
age, every single day, some new nutritional or training expert arises or
emerges. The first question out of
my mouth is, ‘What has this expert
done? What has this newest expert
accomplished, insofar as their own
body: do they, the expert, possess an
1-800-344-3404
outstanding physique? Do they have
any outstanding athletic accomplishments?’ Now while there is a truism
that ‘rarely does a great athlete make
a great coach,’ there are exceptions
and Parrillo was and is an exception
to the rule. John was an outstanding strength athlete: his lifts, done
nearly thirty years ago, would rank
high in today’s ‘raw’ powerlifting
ranking charts. Think about this:
Parrillo posted an official 650 squat,
400 pound raw bench press and 650
deadlift, all done while weighing
a diminutive 180 pounds – yet, incongruously, Parrillo sported a pair
of 19 inch guns. Prematurely grey
even at age 39, the video snippets
of Parrillo lifting at this competition depict a calm, focused, low-key
lifter going about his business in a
deliberate and methodical fashion –
Performance Press / February 2013
23
JOHN PARRILLO’S PERFORMANCE PRESS
his professionalism was a dramatic
contrast to the ammonia-snorting,
face-slapping, professional wrestlerinspired antics used by the other top
lifters of that day. The 1980s were
a wild era and even then Parrillo
was the epitome of the quiet pro going about his business as a real pro
does. Check out the video, just YouTube ‘Parrillo Wins.’
Greetings!
What’s the Parrillo approach
towards insulin management?
All of the smart nutritional types
that write these best-selling diet
books are highlighting the ill-effects of too much insulin. Insulin in excess has a detrimental
effect on the human body. Most
agree that insulin can be managed by what we eat and what
we drink. Their best-selling diet
books usually damn some sort
of food or food type or nutrient
while championing another. I
know Parrillo has been pointing out the facts about insulin
since the 1980s. Science and the
diet book experts are just now
catching up. What’s your take
on insulin? How does Parrillo
suggest we manage insulin and
use this potent hormone to our
advantage?
lin causes obesity and diabetes and
brings about all sorts of weakening,
estrogenic-related maladies and diseases. A proper amount of insulin
released into a pure bloodstream,
particularly after a savage lifting
session, is an anabolic event. If insulin is secreted in the right amount
after a hardcore training session,
results from the session will be am-
John Parrillo powerlifting
all the way back in 1986
Frankie, Baltimore
Good question: since the 1980s John
Parrillo has been writing about the
double-edged sword that is insulin.
Insulin can be both good and bad.
In small amounts and introduced
into the bloodstream at critical
times, insulin is a powerful anabolic
agent that accelerates the construction of new muscle. The other edge
of the insulin sword makes insulin
our worst enemy. Too much insu-
24
IRON VIC SPEAKS By IRON VIC STEELE
plified. By eating certain foods in
certain amounts at certain times
we control insulin. Be aware that a
“window of opportunity” exists after a workout. The window will stay
open for about 60 minutes after the
end of the training session. While in
this endorphin-drenched, muscleblasted, post-workout state-of-being, if you intake insulin-producing
food or drink, science says you can
February 2013 / Performance Press
triple the results obtained from the
just-completed workout.
Now that’s one hell of a thing when
you think about it: triple training results by causing the right amount of
insulin to enter into the bloodstream
after a hardcore lifting session. Insulin is an anabolic hormone that
sparks muscle growth. It needs to be
activated after an intense weight
workout. The entire Parrillo nutritional system is designed with
one eye always on insulin management. Generally speaking,
we want insulin circulating in
the bloodstream is after a workout. The worst time for insulin to
appear is at night, after a huge,
insulin-producing meal, a meal
loaded with easy-to-digest, insulin-producing foods and drinks:
Parrillo avoids sugar and grains,
alcohol and refined foods, sodas
and manmade foods; even fruit
causes insulin to spike. Too
much insulin basically corrodes
the body’s internal plumbing and
gums up function. Too much
insulin causes obesity and way
too much insulin way too often
causes diabetes. The Parrillo approach towards insulin is commonsense...
• Protein does not spike insulin
• Fibrous carbohydrates do not
spike insulin
• Medium-chain triglyceride (fat)
does not spike insulin
• Protein, fiber and MCT all dampen
insulin secretions from other foods
This last bullet point is critical: Protein, fiber and MCTs do not cause
insulin to secret and further, when
these foods are taken together as a
meal they combine to have a dampening effect on the insulin secretions from starch food. The classical
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www.parrillo.com
Parrillo Meal consists of a serving
of lean protein, a serving (or two) of
fibrous carbs, a drizzle of CapTri®,
Parrillo’s patented MCT oil, and a
serving of starch carbs is eaten as
well. However, because the starch
is purposefully ingested with these
other insulin-dampening foods and
liquids, the insulin from the rice
or potato is essentially neutralized.
Were the potato or rice to be eaten
alone, the glycemic index number
would be sky high; eating starch
alone creates an insulin deluge.
When the same starch is eaten in the
same amount along with a portion
of protein, fiber and MCT, the Glycemic Index rating associated with
the starch plummets, is cut
in half and the net insulin
effect is anabolic and not fat
producing.
insulin. Use the Parrillo nutritional
strategy and turn the use of insulin
to your complete advantage.
Victor,
So is it possible to build gargantuan
calves? We all know all the Arnold
stories about his lousy calves, blah,
blah, blah, etc. etc., however out
here in “real-ville” and having to
work a real job – is there any way
to put on some real calf size? Or is
calf training basically a waste of
time and genetically you are pretty
much born with good calves or born
with bad calves. Is there calf-building hope?
Reg, Manchester
protocol. Calves and forearms require high rep sets and they need
more sets and more training volume.
Sorry – wish it weren’t so, but calves
and forearms are used so often during our lives that they develop dense
muscle tissue that only responds to
high reps and lots of sets. Calves
need to be taken to failure and beyond. The more calf exercises and
the more calf work you can do the
likelier you are to add the 1-2 full
inches needed to make an appreciable difference in the size of your
calves. Kicking a pair of pathetic 15
inch calves up to a more respectable 17 inches is tough but doable
– expanding a decent pair of 17 inch
calves into a sensational
pair of 19 inch calves is doable but difficult. Again, it
is hip and deserved to bash
Arnold, however his calf
strategy was genius. If you
want to add 2 full inches to
your calves, be prepared to
work hard for six months.
That’s no typo; six months
is needed to improve hardto-build calves…
Anyone following the Parrillo nutritional system will
have clean and functioning insulin receptor sites.
Clogged insulin receptor
sites are problematic and are
a direct result of continual
insulin overload. Parrillo
eating eliminates 90% of
Day one: standing calf raise
all insulin secretions. The
– heavy weight; seated calf
Parrillo approach to insulin
raise – lighter weight, 6 sets
control could be summa- Add inches to your hard-to-build calves each
rized as follows: first step,
Day two: between other
with Vic’s weekly workout, which
stop consuming refined
exercises – perform a set
includes
Seated
Calf
Raises
foods, grains, pastries and
of seated or standing calf
sweets; next, delete insulinraises, 10 sets
spiking sodas, beer, chips, fruit and
I would say that it is possible to build
Day three: off
fast food. Void these foods and you
up your calves and build them to a
Day four: single-leg calf raises,
will detoxify. Cut spikes in insulin
significant degree. However if you
seated calf raises, donkey calf raisand clogged insulin receptor sites
think that doing three sets of calves
es, 6 sets each
unclog. Parrillo will purposefully
per week is going to build the type of
Day five: between other exercises
cause an insulin secretion after an
size you are alluding to and seeking,
– perform a set of seated or standintense workout. This is done by
you are sadly mistaken. Calves and
ing calf raises, 10 sets
consuming a patented 50/50 Plus™
forearms have cellular density that
Day six: off
post-workout smart bomb carb/prorequires these muscles to be worked
Day seven: off
tein shake. That’s the lowdown on
using a radically different training
www.parrillo.com
1-800-344-3404
Performance Press / February 2013
25
JOHN PARRILLO’S PERFORMANCE PRESS
Using this protocol you are blasting
calves in some manner or fashion
four times per week and performing 50 cumulative sets of calves
every seven days. Be sure and take
top sets to failure on a regular basis. Going to failure on calf raises is
relatively safe. Calf work is all about
expanding and extending pain tolerance. Stick with this routine for six
months and net substantive calf improvement. I guarantee it.
Hello Vic,
What’s the best way to shed oblique
fat? Can we exercise it off? I have
done thousands of reps in the seated
and standing broom windmill twist
exercise over the years and honestly
don’t have jack to show for it. So is
spot reducing a myth? Is there any
point in doing a certain exercise designed to melt fat off a certain body
part? Or is spot reducing complete
BS?
Branch, Odessa
Indeed the idea that twists will melt
fat off oblique muscles is as ridiculous as thinking that crunches will
melt off stomach fat. We all have
fat depots. These fat storage tanks
are placed at strategic locations on
our body. These fat deposits are of
varying sizes, depending on your
genetics, your lifestyle and your
exercise and nutrition habits. Typically the body will “draw down”
body fat as needed when the body
decides to use stored fat to power
movement and activity. Generally
speaking, in men, if you are burning
fat (congratulations!) the body preferentially burns fat off the limbs, off
the arms and legs first. Only after
having exhausted fat stores located
on the limbs will the body start to
draw down fat from fat storage depots located on the torso and back.
26
The last depots to shrink are the
lower pecs, frontal abs, sub-abdominal fat, external obliques and lower
back. Each of us will have a single
fat depot larger than all the other
fat storage depots. This will be the
LAST fat depot the body will draw
What’s the best
way to shed
oblique fat?
down upon. Only after all the other
fat has been vacuumed out will the
body begin drawing down from the
last and largest. There is no twisting
off oblique fat. The last fat to go always comes from the largest depot
– that’s how it got that way.
Hello Sir!
Does anyone really use straight
carb powder? I am trying to think
of a single instance when I would
have need for extra carbs in powder
form. I suppose there are situations
that require supplemental carbohydrates; I just can’t imagine not being able to simply eat those extra
carbs.
James, Torrance
When it comes to building muscle
and not fat, there are good carbs and
there are bad carbs. The foremost
February 2013 / Performance Press
reason for using Pro-Carb™ , Parrillo’s patented low DE maltodextrin carb powder, is for amping up a
mass-building cycle. One IFBB professional used to order Pro-Carb™
by the case so we asked him if all the
Pro-Carb™ he ordered was for him
alone – he answered, “Oh absolutely; coming off a show, say the Night
of Champions or the Arnold, I look
to ‘swell up’ by reintroducing lots of
carbohydrates into my diet. If I am
smart enough and patient enough
and disciplined enough, I can add
almost thirty pounds of muscle inside of six months – without ever exceeding a 10% body fat percentile.
I love the taste of Pro-Carb™ and I
love the preciseness with which I
can monitor weight gain when using Pro-Carb™. The idea is to keep
adding bodyweight, slowly, like a
pound or two per week, consistently
for 6-8-10-12 weeks. I go as long
as I can before ‘spill-over’ occurs.
Spillover is when I start adding an
unacceptable amount of body fat.
When spill-over occurs, time to
tighten up and solidify gains to that
point. Pro-Carb™ is the ideal supplement for strict, bodybuilding dieters
to use to add size. I love to consume
a triple serving of Pro-Carb™ after
a hardcore power workout – I go
from carb-depleted to super-compensation and swell up.” Pro-Carb™
is also used to “carb load” immediately prior to a workout, a competition or a contest; fill your glycogen
stores before intense athletic activity and perform that activity better!
Use Pro-Carb™ for the acquisition
of lean muscle mass and use ProCarb™ prior to training or competing for energy and improved performance. Ideally Pro-Carb™ shakes
are consumed twice daily; upon
arising and a second before or after
training.
1-800-344-3404
www.parrillo.com
www.parrillo.com
1-800-344-3404
Performance Press / February 2013
27
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