Bodybuilding

Not too long ago I had a photo shoot with Mike O’Hearn and we started talking about what we do to get in shape, so I decided to write it down figuring some people may want to know.

Clark’s Top 5 Do’s

1. Do eat consistently, portionally correct meals.
2. Do supplement with products that work; don’t waste your money on fad products.
3. Do drink plenty of water.
4. Do listen to your body: train heavy, rest when you need to.
5. Do get a great training partner that pushes you.

Mike’s Top 5 Do’s

1. Do take dieting serious—it’s 90% of getting in shape.
2. Do take photos and measurements every couple of weeks to watch your progress.
3. Do get plenty of sleep. You grow while you sleep.
4. Do train heavy relative to you. Train smarter—not harder. Go big or go home.
5. Do train with Clark Bartram if possible—if not, then try to find someone as motivating as Clark

I always finish my workout with a brisk thirty to forty-five minute walk on the treadmill, Stair Climber, or with a Spin Class. Needless to say that can be rather boring, so I spend my time watching people train. I observe fitness fanatics working hard to achieve the body of their dreams, some training hard and smart while others seem to be attempting to tear a limb from their anatomy.

As I witness these ill-informed club members, I cringe and oftentimes step off the treadmill and offer my assistance so they don’t leave the gym in an ambulance. It seems as if the most abused body part is the shoulders.

Lateral raises are arguably one of the most poorly executed exercises performed in gyms around America. The old “pouring from a pitcher” routine causes the ball of the humorous to come out of the socket therefore causing an impingement in the joint.

Try this; raise your arm as if you were doing a lateral raise to the point that your arm is parallel to the floor. Now rotate your palm downward from the thumb. Feel the strain it puts on the joint? Now imagine that with a load.

Behind the neck presses is another one. Do that same thing: raise your arms as if you were doing an overhead press; now simply push your hands back a few inches. Feel that?

The human back is a marvel of creation. When it’s properly developed, it can add years of quality to your life, improve your performance in sports, and even impress bodybuilding judges and fans if you’re planning to compete.

Training the back isn’t easy, and back workouts require an intense mental focus if you want to reach your potential. The back is a complicated system of muscles that cover a large percentage of your body. Your training protocol, however, is going to rely on a few simple movements done with strict attention to proper form.

That’s why we’re going back to basics to make sure your back doesn’t lag behind your other body parts.

The magic question on this site is how do you bulk up? Well bulking up as you know has to do with how much you eat and how many calories you consume. I personally haven’t bulked up in about 3 years but the biggest I’ve ever been was about 235 to 240 and I was still under 10 percent body-fat. What I did to bulk-up was I ate about 5 solid meals a day and I took about three to four protein drinks a day. I made sure I followed a very high protein diet and I still consumed my carbs but I never overdid it. Some of the sources of the protein I ate during my bulking up phase was mainly chicken, turkey, steak, and fish. I made sure I was eating somewhat clean but with lots of protein that was high in calories. I was big on counting calories because it helped me know how much I needed to consume to be at my maximum desirable weight.

The protein drinks I took were each about 600 calories. So with just protein drinks I was consuming 2,000 to 2,400 calories a day. Also during that time I took No-Explode which was a great supplement to take for incredible pumps during your workout. I also took K3, Kre-Alkaline which is similar to creatine without the bloating and I also took glutamine which was great for recovery purposes. All of the supplementation I took together allowed me to push harder in the weight room which helped me achieve great muscle growth along with the heavy eating. I probably averaged over 4,500 calories a day during this bulking up phase.