2009 Arnold Training Series: Dennis James

[DriDDeRz]

2009 ARNOLD TRAINING SERIES: DENNIS JAMES

The Menace shares his chest routine and predictions for the Arnold Classic

According to Dennis James, when he steps on stage for prejudging at the 2009 Arnold Classic, he's going to look better than he has in over half a decade.

"My prep has been going great," he says. "I would say that this is the best prep than I've done so far. Even better than '03."

James is alluding to his career-best fourth place finish at the 2003 Olympia, but he hasn't competed at the AC since taking seventh at
the 2002 Columbus (Ohio) Classic. James finished third at the 2001 Arnold and fourth in the 2000 show. So where does he see himself fitting in to this year's jam-packed line-up?

"The top three, definitely."

While he'll have to contend with wispy-waisted, well-conditioned competitors like Silvio Samuel and Kai Greene, one area where DJ won't be overshadowed is his chest. Thick, wide and detailed, his pectorals leap out at the judges in nearly every pose from the front. Dennis credits his adherence to the basics and a stubborn insistence on slowing his rep speed down to really bring out every fiber.

"No fast movements," he says. "We want to squeeze hard at the top for a peak contraction and bring it back slow."


COMING SOON!
Gustavo Badell - back
Marcus Haley - arms
Moe Elmoussawi - delts
Silvio Samuel - hamstrings
Toney Freeman - quads

 

[MarkoB]

Thanks Dri, nice post!

 

[FlexFan]

His chest is probably the best out there but he trains it twice a week with 24 sets?!

 

[Zigurd]

24 fucking sets ??

BITCHES BE CRAZY

 

[The big king]

Hope he brings his best package at the ASC.

 

[DriDDeRz]

2009 ARNOLD TRAINING SERIES: SILVIO SAMUEL

Silvio Samuel's superb conditioning is only part of the equation for his show-stopping hams

Silvio Samuel - always busy and seldom silent - will have the luxury of being the year's only pro show winner at the Arnold Classic in a few weeks. But the 5'8" marvel of conditioning will be posing down against a much more competitive field in Columbus than the one at January's Ironman Pro. Not that he would acknowledge that - Silvio claims to be focused solely on the task at hand, which is finding a way to bring a better build to the stage. Again.

"I'm really focused on what I'm doing," says Silvio, the fifth place finisher at last year's Arnold. "Whatever anyone else is doing is okay for them. The judges are there to judge. I have great respect for every competitor. I don't look to the lineup to pick my preparation. I always base my preparation on what I can bring to the stage."

Part of Silvio's growing mystique lies in his amazing hamstring muscularity and conditioning. He does admit readily that Kai Greene is one guy - maybe the only one - who can match him in this area - depending on how well his show prep goes. Here, Silvio weighs in on his twice-weekly regimen as he prepares for the Arnold.

 

[Natzo]

the muscle bellies of silvio are just the best in the business! the guy is the trully genetic freak!

 

[Beau]

wonder why he trains legs twice a week....there his strong point IMO. He needs more back/shoulders to improve on what he has. His legs dominate his poses from the back.

 

[MetalMX]

Silvio = Meh... for me personally.

 

[curtisymoo]

yeah i agree.

aside from great conditioning and great muscle bellies...

lags in back, a little in delts and arms. long torso no lower leg development (and although irrelevant to bodybuilding, he seems to think highly of himself..)

btw, kai might possibly have better hams than him? my god i can think of a handful of people who have much more detailed and separated hamstrings than silvio. wtf?

 

[tkD]

El Moussawi's mighty shoulder routine for the '09 Arnold

Moe El Moussawi charges into the 2009 Arnold Classic on March 7th propelled by serious momentum thanks to a strong runner-up finish to Silvio Samuel at the first show of the new year, the Ironman Pro. El Moussawi is confident that he will only get better as the season progresses. "I was only at 80 percent. That was not the crispy Moe. I know I can improve vastly for the Arnold," said El Moussawi, who placed 11th at the '08 Arnold.

In our continuing Arnold Classic training series, he shares with us his unique 1,000 rep workout, this time applied to his shoulders.

1,000 REP MADNESS
"I do 1,000 reps on all major bodyparts. I've been doing this since before the 2008 Ironman Pro and the results have been unbelievable. My muscles are denser and have a much more mature look."

Here's an example using lateral raises to illustrate this insane 1,000 rep workout in action.

WORTH A 1,000 WORDS
"After viewing the pictures from photos taken earlier today, I know I'm ready. You never know when you look in the mirror because some mirrors lie, but pictures tell it like it is."

ROCK AND ROLLA
"I've never liked the idea of rushing in the last two weeks before a show. My philosophy is that you should be ready to rock and roll at two weeks out and that's exactly where I'm at right now."

TO BE CONTINUED IN COLUMBUS
To catch the on-going battle of words and muscles
between El Moussawi and Samuel - such as El Moussawi's promise to "catch Silvio" in Columbus - stay tuned to our ongoing Arnold Classic precontest coverage right here on flexonline.

 

[DriDDeRz]

Thanks bro,
Moe's a dark horse and slowly making a name for himself

 

[curtisymoo]

meh. never liked him much he never appealed to me :/ could use more separation though i like his determination to beat silvio

 

[DriDDeRz]

2009 Arnold Training Series: Tanji Johnson

Competitor: Tanji Johnson
Contest History: Here
Height: 5ft 3in
Weight: 116 lbs

 

[DriDDeRz]

2009 ARNOLD CLASSIC TRAINING SERIES: MARCUS HALEY

Marcus Haley talks biceps for the '09 Arnold

"My biceps have been growing really well this year. I've been stressing the brachialis and working on developing the peak, so there have been a lot of preacher curls and hammer curls. I noticed that once you get to a certain size it's all about refining what you have, so I've turned to cable movements to help me concentrate on the peaks more.

"I've been doing single arm preacher curls, cambered bar curls, which I superset with cable rope curls to hit the brachialis and then I do curls where I'm on an incline bench and instead of curling the dumbbells straight in front of me I keep my hands out to the sides. It's almost as if I'm doing a double biceps shot, but with my elbows down. It's very intense. I only need to use 25lb. dumbbells when I'm doing these, and I go really slow.

"I'll start my biceps routine with standing cambered bar curls. For my first set I'll use 60 pounds and I'll work my way up to 120 pounds. I don't go crazy with the weight. Ever since my (thigh) injury I've been very careful in my training. I've adopted the Lee Haney principle of "Stimulate, don't annihilate."

"Every other workout I'll switch up the cambered bar curls for straight bar cable curls. I like the variation and you can concentrate on squeezing a little more. When I do these I'll bring the bar up to nose level. When I raise up my elbows I can get that peak contraction at the top of the movement.

"From there I'll move onto single arm preacher curls. Again, I use a moderate weight and by the time I'm done with these my biceps are really pumped.

"Next up is rope curls, for the brachialis - four sets of fifteen reps - and that's pretty much it for biceps.

"One thing I do that's pretty different is periodically throughout my workout run my index finger up and down my biceps, trying to push the fiber strands apart. It's basically a fascial massage. The Tampa Bay team doctor, Ira Gutentag, who is actually the one who fixed my leg, taught be how to do this. It's pretty amazing actually. I've been doing this kind of massage to all my muscle groups and the results have been great. I highly recommend giving this a try to anyone looking for a new way of stimulating growth."

 

[ddubbs]

Better late than never......
I got all the footage from the Arnold. Hours of video i have to Edit to.
But I put up over 200 pics today on Myspace and Facebook. If you stopped by our booth you may be on the pics.

Also New Product Releases
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WTF Pump's NEW Flavors that taste good like Chain'd Out out today
Poison will be out very soon and the people that sampled it at the USA's were blown away felt it in minutes

David Dubbs

 

[Tech]

I don't trust anyone who wears Affliction.

 

[Lanois]

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Why would anyone want to take a poison that blows you away within minutes ?

 

[Johnny5]

WTF, Bad Ass Mass, Porn Star, Chain'd Out, Jungle Warfare - they really have some interesting products!