What I Have Learned From
Beverly International
Wisdom from 10 Years of The No Nonsense
Newsletter and BodyMuscle Journal
By: Steve Colescott
“So you wanna be a
bodybuilder?”
I had heard this kid’s spiel countless
times. Gyms across the country,
probably around the world, dealt
regularly with wide-eyed teens,
inspired by the newsstand mags and
dreaming of a pro bodybuilding
career. In their naïve eyes, they see
themselves traveling the US, being
adored by fans, flocked by groupies,
and paid huge bucks just to train,
appear in ads and give guest posing
exhibitions. If only they could see
just a slice of the behind-the-scenes
lives most of these pro card
"winners" experience. For 90% of
them, it’s a scavenger lifestyle in
which "past due" notices are more
prevalent than Humvees.
With a slight waver in his voice,
Paul a tall, lanky 6’2" 160-pounder
reaffirmed his desire for
bodybuilding glory, his voice
resonating more deeply as he
continued to speak. He assured me
that it had been his life’s dream and
he would do whatever it took to
make that dream materialize.
The reality of the situation
though, was that I was working a
sixty-hour week running a World
Gym, putting in five intense
workouts a week (I had my own
outlandish dreams to chase), and
was spending at least an hour a day
on my food prep. There was only so
much time and energy that I
could devote and after going
through this a few dozen
times, I found it was best to
test the convictions of my new
charges before investing too
much energy into them. The
test was two-tiered. Both
stages involved pain
thresholds.
"So you’re ready to get
serious?" I said, trying to
disguise the smirk that was
threatening to take over my
face. "Lets jump into things.
We’ll start with legs!" My
standard intro "Trial by Fire"
leg workout was simple: 1) a
warm-up, 2) two sets of heavy
twenty-rep Breathing Squats,
3) two supersets of Leg
Extensions immediately
followed with Frog Leg
Presses, with 3-4 forced reps
at the end of each set of
presses. It wasn’t a great deal
of volume but it was definitely
grueling.
As I mentioned, this test
was actually on two fronts.
First, how well would they
"hang" during the workout.
This was the easy part because
masculine pride will take one
far into the pain zone as long
as you know it’s a temporary
thing. The second aspect of
the test took place over the
following three to four days,
when the constant throbbing
agony of muscles, yanked awake
from years of sedentary grogginess,
feel as though they have been
turned inside out, sautéed in a light
butter sauce and then gently diced
into bite-sized cubes before being
forcibly jammed back into roughly
the same place they previously
slumbered. This was where most
starry-eyed neophytes fell off the
grid.
So I was caught off guard the
next day when tall, lanky Paul came
slowly walking into the gym for our
second appointment. He was
strutting like a saddle-sore
roughrider, desperately trying to
keep his inner thighs from
accidentally grazing against one
another and sending another wave
of pain through his traumatized
body. This kid had some heart.
I don’t think there is a better
source of bodybuilding info than
the articles in the No Nonsense
Newsletter.
Having earned a certain level of
my respect, I felt Paul was ready for
detailed guidance. We sat down and
I charted out a workout split. We
talked about a basic meal template
and his basic supplement needs.
Last, but not least, I gave him the
guidance he would need to take
things beyond the beginner’s level.
As I handed him the short stack of
info, he looked puzzled. "What’s
this?"
"Therein lie the answers to all
of your questions." (Fortunately, I
left off the corny-sounding "my
son" from the end of the sentence.)
He flipped through the pages, trying
to soak it all in.
Getting a bit carried away with
my mentor role, I continued on with
my proselytizing. "Avoid the
newsstand muscle mags, ignore
Internet bodybuilding sites. This is
real in-the-trenches info written by
normal people that have succeeded
at doing the very thing you are
trying to do." I gave him the three
most recent issues of Beverly
International’s No Nonsense
Newsletter and showed him how to
sign up for his own subscription. I
felt Paul was well on his path.
Since then I have made the
same recommendation countless
times. I can honestly say I don’t
think there is a better source of
bodybuilding info than the articles
in the No Nonsense Newsletter (and
its Irish twin the BodyMuscle
Journal). If you are new to these
publications, you will see that they
are an ideal blend of inspiration,
information and practical real world
info. I jokingly refer to the collected
issues as The Summa
Hypertrophica, in reference to
Thomas Aquinas’ famous religious
text of a similar name.
A thorough review of all of the
back issues will cause a lifechanging
leap in your level of
bodybuilding knowledge similar to
a Masters degree in "Muscleology."
The shared life experience of
hundreds of successful lifters can
save you years of effort. As pro
fitness competitor and Beverly
disciple Liz Maurice said,1 "Now
I’ve been taking Beverly so long,
following their plans and reading
their literature, that I’m the gym
guru." You can use these invaluable
references to become an expert too.
Here are just a small handful of the
basic principles that I have learned,
relearned, discovered and had
reinforced through the Beverly magazines. Enjoy the recap.
KEEP YOUR TRAINING SIMPLE
The Beverly publications have
always espoused hard, basic
training. While there may be a
number of flashy, complex training
programs in the monthly muscle
magazines, basic gut-busting effort
is universally effective at causing
growth. Aram Hamparian may have
said2 it best. "Train hard, provide
extra time for recovery and focus on
perfect exercise form on the basic
compound multi-joint movements."
J.R. McKinney expands3 upon this,
"I always use basic compound
exercises year round; the
fundamental movements that
develop muscle mass."
The Beverly Publications were
strong proponents of powerbodybuilding
— mixing
bodybuilding and powerlifting
techniques to increase strength in
basic exercises. In one issue, Greg
Daniels recounts,4 "I was again
reminded how much fun deadlifts,
dips and military presses were and
how much more powerful I felt
doing multi-joint exercises versus
moving a weight stack up and down
via an attached cable."
"I believe in ‘controlled heavy
training." Shane Smith says,5 "I
train with the heaviest weight I can
control through the fullest range of
motion." Brenda Smith (no relation)
concurs,6 recommending that lifters
"…maintain high intensity levels
with [their] training in order to
incite new muscle growth."
The very core of size and
strength building involves a slow,
steady increase in poundages or, as
Roger Riedinger says,7 "continuous
incremental improvement." Joe
Fogarty echoes this philosophy
when he says,8 "... trying to beat my
previous best in perfect form
encouraged me to get stronger every
workout." Forcing the body to
constantly adapt to greater
poundages in basic exercises would
have to be considered the number
one priority. After all, this is the
stimulus that sets everything else in
motion.
“Believe it or not, for most
people, 50% Protein, 20%
Carbohydrate, and 30% Fat is
optimal.”
KEEP PROTEIN LEVELS HIGH
When it comes to muscle-building
nutrition, there is little doubt as to
the importance of protein in the diet.
Roger Riedinger (in an article
written with Dr. Eric Serrano9) said,
"Believe it or not, for most people
50% Protein, 20% Carbohydrate
and 30% Fat is optimal." While this
skewing of the macronutrient
rations seems somewhat ‘protein
heavy’ the accounts of successful
bodybuilders seems to bear out its
value.
"I’ll consume 450 grams of
protein divided equally seven
meals, 64-65 grams every meal,"
says J.R. McKinney3 (competing at
225 pounds). An article on
heavyweight competitor Dave
Uhlman shares an almost identical
recommendation. "His off-season
diet is very high protein, up to 500
grams a day, made possible by
Beverly Muscle Provider, Mass
Maker and Ultra Size. In addition
to whole food and powdered protein
sources, he supplements with beef
liver tabs, amino acids and
glutamine."
High protein is also important
for power athletes. Champion
bodybuilder and powerlifter Todd
Jackson talks about the strict eating
plan his powerlifting team
followed,12 "Daily food intake
consisted of high protein (up to
50%), a blend of complex and
fibrous carbs, and healthy fats." He
goes on to say that, in addition to
whole food protein and protein
shakes, "Dr. Matt [team coach] had
everyone base their supplement
program around Ultra 40, Mass
Aminos and Creatine."
In addition to providing the raw
building blocks for new muscle
tissue, a high protein diet
encourages leanness. Aram
Hamparian says,2 "The more
constant and elevated you keep your
protein intake, the less carb
cravings you will have. You will
actually begin to enjoy ‘eating
clean.’" The blood sugar stabilizing
effects of protein foods is a key
factor in achieving shredded contest
conditioning.
Almost all of the profiles
involved at least two protein shakes
a day, particularly in the early
morning and immediately following
a workout. Morning protein shakes
were most often mixes of fast whey
protein blends (Muscle Provider)
and slower milk and egg protein
sources (Ultimate Muscle Protein or
Ultra Size), provided a quick,
convenient healthy meal before
heading out the door. Post-workout
shakes were more often higher in
whey protein and may have
contained some carbs (depending
on the goals and individual
metabolic type of the lifter). These
were often Muscle Provider with
Mass Maker sometimes added
during the off-season or gaining
phases. Older articles featured
earlier discontinued or upgraded
proteins like (100% Egg Protein or
Complete Muscle Protein) but the
basic nutritional concepts, while
being slightly tweaked over time,
have changed remarkably little.
Beverly staff members wellknown
for keeping a close hands-on
contact with their clients, shared
the following story,7 "Marc
[Sanguiliano] is always ripped and
has won a lot of shows, but this time
even while twelve-pounds heavier
than just a year ago, he was razor
sharp and shredded! Marc swore
that the only thing he did differently
this year was to take either Muscle
Provider or Ultra Size, Mass and
Ultra 40 around the ‘waking clock’
— with meals, as a meal, in
between meals, etc." This is very
similar to some of the daily protein
consumption techniques used by
Vince Gironda, Rheo H. Blair and
the top bodybuilders of the sixties
and seventies. It is obviously still an
effective strategy.
Supplementation with
additional amino or liver sources is
also an important recurring theme in
all of the stories. Adding 4-6 Ultra
40 liver tabs and Mass Aminos with
each meal seems to improve muscle
size and hardness, as well as
assisting in the prevention of
muscle loss while on a fat-loss diet.
Darren Salmons mentions another
interesting use for these musclebuilding
tablets,13 "For any meal
where I am a little short on protein I
merely pop the number of liver or
aminos I need to bring my protein
grams up to the precise level I
desire." It is precisely these types of
common sense ideas that make the
Beverly publications so useful.
CONTROL YOUR CARBS
With protein providing the musclebuilding
foundation for a
bodybuilder’s diet, properly
handling carbohydrate intake is the
best way to regulate leanness and to
assist training in causing the desired
metabolic changes. In almost every
article, this strategy is mentioned as
the key to changing appearance. For
example, Al Short says14 that, "By
carefully regulating my
carbohydrate intake we were able to
‘fine tune’ my appearance." Subtle
changes can cause immediate
physique changes.
Roger Riedinger relates that,15
"I gained weight while increasing
muscularity. The key was limiting
carbohydrates to sixty to seventyfive
grams daily, using 1 1/2 to two
cups of protein powder daily and
two cups of cream daily." Low
carbs are the key to this type of
gradual fat mobilization.
“Eat your heavier carb meals
ealier in the day.”
Timing of carbs is also
important. By concentrating your
carb intake early in the morning and
near the workout, there is enough
glycogen (blood sugar for muscular
performance) for the workout while
providing an optimal fat-burning
state. Steven Wade says,16 "I was
losing weight daily. I was taking in
about 2800 calories at this point. No
carbs were consumed within three
hours of going to bed." Mike Milas
was among the many others that
agreed with this strategy when he
said,17 "Eat your heavier carb meals
earlier in the day."
As a contest diet progresses, it
is common to gradually replace
carbohydrate calories with protein
calories, depending on the aesthetic
needs of the particular athlete.
Steven Wade shared his tried-andtrue
technique for this,16 "My
general rule of thumb was if I cut
carbs by more than 75 grams one
week, I would add that amount in
protein."
Proper carbohydrate
consumption is not only based on
timing of consumption but serving
size and composition. Kristina
Henn touches on this when she
says,18 "I’ve learned the difference
between good and bad carbs (with
respect to Glycemic index), and
what one serving of carbs really is.
It’s much smaller than what I was
used to!" Mike Matson explains his
carb choices in more detail,19 "The
carbohydrates were of the low
Glycemic variety consisting of
grapefruit, strawberries, red beans
and salad vegetables."
Many other athletes, such as
Brenda Smith, explain how this fits
into their holistic eating approach,6
"I began eating five to six smaller
meals containing quality protein,
green vegetables, slow burning
carbohydrates and essential fats."
“The twice weekly carb-up
meals did wonders to
immediately speed up my
metabolism.”
CYCLING YOUR CARBS
Over the course of my Beverly
education, the most interesting
nutrition revelation for me was
Team Beverly’s exacting techniques
of cycling carbohydrate intake
while dieting. This is the type of
fine-tuning that can only come from
working with (and closely
following the feedback from)
thousands of motivated, driven
athletes. For most bodybuilders and
fitness competitors a basic reduced
carb 50/20/30 (calories from
protein, carbs and fats) diet is
adequate. Those on more stringent
or extended diets (such as those
competing in multiple shows), tend
to find that, at a certain point, the
body refuses to respond. The body’s
feedback mechanisms readjust
themselves to your lowered carb
intake and your metabolism
eventually slows.
Anaerobic exercise requires the
use of large amounts of muscle
glycogen. If we restrict
carbohydrates on a consistent basis,
we run the risk of limiting our
muscle growth (displayed by a lack
of muscle pumps and muscle
fullness). This causes inadequate
recuperation and a state of
overtraining. Cycling your carbs is
a simple solution to this problem.
Beverly clients are familiar with
the benefits of scheduling periods of
additional carb intake. Scott Griffin
explains20 the basis of his diet, "No
complex carbs except Monday and
Thursday as the famous Beverly
carb-up meal." Shane Smith5 and
numerous other top competitors
found that adding in the carb meals
kick-started fat burning when their
metabolisms begin to adapt to the
diet.
Dan Johnson also experienced
great results from a twice-weekly
added carb meal. He tells21 us,
"Monday and Thursday: I added a
sixth meal: one and a half cups of
oatmeal, ten-ounces sweet potato,
one banana, one cup vegetables, and
one tablespoon butter." These types
of adjustments seem to be
universally successful at stoking the
fat-burning furnace for those on
extended diets. Sean Andros says,22
"The twice weekly carb-up meals
did wonders to immediately speed
up my metabolism."
In addition to added carb meals
throughout the week, alternating
gaining and hardening phases has
proven to be very effective for
allowing bodybuilders to come into
a contest ripped and big. As Dave
Diana relates23 when outlining his
contest prep, "Six weeks later the
results from these two cycles of
training were fabulous. I didn’t
experience the cravings I had while
dieting in the past. Not only did I
look and feel great but I was able to
maintain all my strength in the
gym."
"By cycling carbs, you can
rev up metabolic production
temporarily..." says24 training expert
Scott Mendelson. "You get a
rebound ‘stuffing’ of the
muscles/liver with glycogen." The
result? …Full, strong muscles,
higher levels of recuperation and an
optimized metabolism that is almost
permanently in fat-burning mode.
In addition to keeping the
metabolism operating optimally,
loosening your carb restriction has
mental benefits. "I allow myself one
cheat meal a week so that I don’t
feel I’m missing out on what life
has to offer," says drug-free pro
Mark Dal.25 "But I go back on my
diet the very next meal and
sometimes even do some extra
cardio just to be safe."
One of the best aspects of the No
Nonsense Newsletter and
BodyMuscle Journal is that they
allow us to learn from the
mistakes of others.
USE CARDIO TO SHRED OFF
THE LAST TRACES OF
BODYFAT
One of the best aspects of the No
Nonsense Newsletter and
BodyMuscle Journal is that they
allow us to learn from the mistakes
of others, allowing us to have a
much easier, faster path towards our
goals. One excellent lesson that
Beverly has taught us is the proper
place for cardio work in our
program. Since most of us tend to
hate cardio, the news is good. They
have found that proper eating and
hard training should be our focus,
with minimal cardio work as a
"finishing touch." Jason Theobald
tells us,26"...like many first-timers, I
got nervous at the end and added a
bunch of extra cardio, causing too
much weight loss."
Jacqueline Frere enforces this
conclusion when she states,27 "I did
just three 30-minute cardio sessions
per week and let my diet and
Beverly supplements do the rest."
Trainer Adam Wotherspoon found
the same while dealing with his
clients. While describing the
program he designed for client
Kevin Koshuta, he says,28 "Kevin’s
cardio consisted of just two to three
sessions per week at 15-20 minutes
a sessions. With his strict dieting
and intense training he didn’t need
anymore."
The correct strategy, and one
championed by the Beverly
Training and Nutrition System, is to
be strict enough in your off-season
program so that you have a proper
starting point for a diet. "I found
that if I keep my bodyfat in check
by improving my nutrition, I do not
need to do endless hours of cardio
to get ready for a contest," says
Dave Diana.23 "I ate double the
amount of calories this time around
and cardio was not even an issue."
The trick here, it seems, is to
make your cardio work short but
intense. Scott Griffin explains how
he worked up to higher intensity
levels as he progressed but did not
spend a lot of time with cardio.20
"Before starting my Beverly
International program I ran three to
five miles five days a week; now
three or four 20-30 minute sessions
did the trick," he recalls. Mark Dal
shares a similar story.25 "I was
killing myself with cardio, starving
to death and my progress had come
to a dead stop."
Shane Smith describes his 20-
30 minutes cardio sessions,5 "My
goal is 400kcal per session. I vary
the activity so I don’t get bored… I
try to maintain my heart rate at 75-
85% of my predicted maximum
heart rate." Using calories burned as
a gauge for volume is a simple and
workable solution, but needs are
going to vary from individual to
individual, based on their
metabolism, goals and fitness
levels. Perhaps the most helpful
piece of cardio advice came from a
standard Beverly staff member,
when they describe their logical
system for building to the proper
volume.
Record the calories expended at
each session for a week. As an
example go 200 calories a day the
first week for a total expenditure of
1400. For the following weeks, set a
goal to increase by 10%. Get into
the high intensity realm by keeping
the time constant and increasing the
intensity level each week. Add 10%
per week to your total calories
expended for the entire eight weeks,
like 1400, 1540, 1700, 1870, 2100,
2300, 2530 and 2800 in week eight.
This is about 400 calories each
session for 7 days and this is what
most bodybuilders peaking tend to
do.
The profiles in the Beverly
magazines contain numerous
practical ideas on how to
arrange your life so that training
and nutrition fit easily into your
lifestyle.
Increase your calories burned
[by cardio] each week. This means
you will have to increase your
intensity, intervals or duration each
week to reach a higher rate of
calories burned. Continue this
regimen until you reach your goal
and then find a cardio point that will
allow you to maintain your results."
Mark Dal points out that high
intensity interval training holds
other benefits over the long, slow
marathon type of work once popular
by lifters longing to lose bodyfat.25
"Roger instructed me to do
intervals, as well to run hills and
sprints. It has done wonders for my
leg separation."
PLANNING IS KEY!
Reading stories about top
professional bodybuilders can
quickly become depressing when
their advice includes double-split
training, cost-prohibitive eating
plans and techniques that require a
support team beyond the time and
financial restraints of the average
lifter. This is what makes The No
Nonsense Newsletter and
BodyMuscle Journal so useful. The
profiles in the Beverly magazines
contain numerous practical ideas on
how to arrange your life so that
training and nutrition fit easily into
your lifestyle.
With the hectic pace of our
world, it is not easy. When
comparing the fitness lifestyle to
other sports, Greg Daniels says,4
"Bodybuilding, however, requires
that you live it both on and off the
field." This level of commitment is
not for everyone but the rewards are
exceptional. While trying to fit
contest training into his rigorous
collegiate schedule, Sean Andros
concluded,22 "It probably was not
the best time, but there may not be a
best time." Sean, Greg and the other
athletes that have appeared in the
magazines made the time and
enhanced their lives in the process.
Even if bodybuilding is your
top priority, the necessities of
survival in the modern world often
require work, family and other
obligations to come first. As Liz
Maurice says,1 "Since I don’t have
the luxury of planning my life
around my training, I plan my
training around my life." Planning
that time intelligently may be the
difference between success and
failure.
Being maximally efficient with
your time and pre-planning is the
key to making bodybuilding work
in your life. "Another time-saving
technique is preparing my food
early in the week," Says Roger
Schei.29 "I usually pick Sunday
evenings and cook in bulk." Once or
twice weekly food prep sessions
will ensure that your clean, musclebuilding
foods are always available
when needed.
Professional fitness competitor
Julie Lohre adds,30 "When you
prepare your own food, you pay
closer attention to what is in it."
This guarantees that hidden
chemicals, sugars or other additives
don’t derail your otherwise clean
eating. In order to avoid fast food,
Julie simply makes sure that she is
never stuck in a situation in which
bodybuilding is known as a very
isolated avocation, I have rarely
seen anyone succeed at it without a
strong support team. This is as it
should be, for why endeavor to
great ends without people with
whom to share your success?
The lesson of this is to
appreciate those people in your life
now (don’t wait until you’re being
profiled in an issue to let them
know). If you currently do not have
that type of support network,
consider exactly what you are
missing out on and the enrichment
to your life (and, by extension, your
bodybuilding) from developing
those type of deep meaningful
relationships.
These are just a handful of the
most commonly repeated and
interesting lessons I noticed in my
review of the Beverly library of
publications. If you’ve read even
two or three issues, certain patterns
emerge. Take these seriously as
these are the very strong indicators
of areas that can help you reach
your bodybuilding goals. For back
issues, you can reach the online
archives at http://www.bodybuild
ingworld.com/
REFERENCES
1) Liz Maurice. "Liz Maurice Wins Her Pro Card… Naturally" NNN Vol. VIII #4.
2) Aram Hamparian. "How I Took My Physique (and Life) to a Higher Level." NNN Vol.
IX #1.
3) J.R. McKinney. "How I Increased My Competition Weight Eight Pounds Yet Still Came
in Harder." NNN Winter 1996.
4) Greg Daniels. "Advanced Muscle Mass Plateau Buster." NNN Vol. VIII, #4.
5) Shane Smith. "Advice to the Bodybuilder." NNN. Vol. IX #1.
6) Brenda Smith. "Making a Dream Come True." NNN. Vol. IX, No. 1
7) Roger Riedinger and staff. "BodyMuscle Forum." BMJ Vol. #5
8) Joe Fogarty. "I Turned My Dream Into Reality with Precision Nutrition and Training."
NNN. Vol. IX, No. 3.
9) Roger Riedinger and Dr. Eric Serrano. "Building Muscle Faster" NNN Vol.7 #2
10) J.R. McKinney. "How I Increased My Competition Weight Eight Pounds Yet Still
Came in Harder" NNN. Winter 1996.
11) Dave Uhlman. "Blast Workout for Herculean Muscle Quality" BMJ Vol. #5
12) Todd Jackson. "Matrix Revisited for Maximum Power and a National Championship."
NNN. Vol. IX # 2.
13) Darren Salmons. "Straight Up: Supplementing Can Facilitate Faster Results with
Quality Muscle." NNN Summer 1996)
14) Al Short. "Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks" NNN Summer 1996.
15) Roger Riedinger. "Protein and Whipping Cream?" NNN Fall 1995)
16) Steven Wade. "Guaranteed Formula for Fat Loss and Muscle Preservation." NNN Fall
1995
17) Mike Milas. "Putting It All Together—My Best Year in Bodybuilding." NNN Vol. IX
#3.
18) Kristina Henn. "Dedication, Commitment and Desire — My Recipe for Success."
NNN Vol. IX #4.
19) Mike Matson. "A Different Approach to Contest Dieting." NNN Fall 1995.
20) Scott Griffin. "Timeline to Bodybuilding Success." NNN Vol. IX #1.
21) Dan Johnson. "Three Shows, Three Wins in a Row" NNN Vol.7 #2.
22) Sean Andros. "Finding the Way with Beverly" NNN Vol. IX #4.
23) Dave Diana. "Countdown to Bodybuilding Success" NNN Vol. VIII #4.
24) Scot Mendelson. "Cycling Nutrition: Rapid Muscle Growth, Rapid Fat Loss" Body
Muscle Vol. #5
25) Mark Dal. "Mark Dal, Drug Free Pro Bodybuilder" NNN Vol. IX #4.
26) Jason Theobald. "First to Fourth in Less Than a Year… Beverly Style." NNN Vol. IX
#2.
27) Jacqueline Frere. "Beverly by Accident — Winning by Design." NNN Vol.7 #2
28) Adam Wotherspoon. "INTENSITY Spells success for Kevin Koshuta." NNN Winter
1996
29) Roger Schei. "Training and Nutrition Tips for the Time Challenged." NNN Vol. IX #2.
30) Julie Lohre. "Childbirth to Figure Champion in just Five Months." NNN Vol. IX #1.
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