If you can believe it , 2014 is just about done and dusted . If I ’ m honest I am not very happy with the way things have gone for me this year . As I get deeper into my career and my biological clock continues to tick on I ’ m finding that my body no longer responds the same way to things that have worked for me in the past . But , just like so much else in life , and in the sport of bodybuilding , this is just one more challenge we need to overcome .

With that in mind , I have been working on strategies to keep a positive mindset and maintain focus for the 2015 season . This has meant reevaluating my approach to the sport , with my longevity in mind . What has become clear to me is that the longer one aims to compete as a bodybuilder , and stay at the top of the game , the harder one has to eat . It doesn ’ t get any easier the more experience you gain , like many sports . In fact , you need the mental strength and willpower to train harder than you ever did , eat even cleaner than you already were , and focus even harder on your approach as you age .

It ’ s a tall order for anyone approaching the mid-point of his life . But once you adopt the mindset of a champion you ’ re able to accept this and get down to doing what you need to do to continue tasting success on stage .

I have also come to realise that what they say is true ; becoming a champion is the easy part , it is staying at the top of your game that requires the

“ IF YOU ’ RE A 30-SOMETHING ATHLETE THEN KNOW THAT THE HARDEST TRAINING SESSION YOU ’ VE EVER HAD TO DATE IS JUST THE STARTING POINT .”

really hard work , dedication and commitment .

You need to push yourself harder every year and have a strong , durable mindset to constantly grow bigger and better every year ! And that ’ s not an easy task , believe me . Nothing comes cheap or easy in this sport , particularly when time and your biological clock are working against you . If you think you ’ ll never work harder than you do in your twenties and thirties , then think again .

If you want to be the champion , and continue experiencing the thrill of that overall title , you need to accept and make peace with the fact that you ’ ve had it easy up until now . If you ’ re a 30-something athlete then know that the hardest training session you ’ ve ever had to date is just the starting point . It won ’ t get any easier from this point on . But if you can accept that , and the will to succeed still burns within you then you ’ ve got what it takes to go long in this sport .

What that means for me is that as most head off into their off-season , where they slack off on their eating and training slightly , I will continue training and eating with the same focus and dedication I had during my contest prep . I know what I want to achieve , and won ’ t stop working to be the best !

So , my advice to you this offseason is to stay focused , train hard and eat clean . If you do all this , and don ’ t compromise your health , then you have a winning formula to a long , prosperous career as a bodybuilder .

JOHN LESLIE

STRIVING FOR FULL , DENSE MUSCLES

Bodybuilding is about building the best possible physique . This involves far more than just striving for mass and size . We also strive to achieve that muscle density and full muscle bellies . But what does this mean for our training ?

I am a massive believer in basing my training around free weights , both barbells and dumbbells , in order to achieve dense muscle and achieve full muscle bellies . And as such , most of my workouts on all training days revolve around these free-weight exercises .

Let ’ s set the record straight . Rome was not built in a day and bodybuilding is no different . Muscle density and thickness is built over years of proper training and technique . You cannot , and will not , develop proper , thick musculature from grunting and throwing weights around , doing half reps or partial movements . I believe in doing a full range of motion on all your exercises . This form was developed because it takes your muscle through a range of motion that is best to develop the muscles in question . I strongly believe in doing full range of motion in order to develop a balanced physique with deep separations and dense , thick muscle .

There are techniques that I would advise to enhance your density and thickness , and these include drop sets , forced reps , negatives and giant sets etc .

In my experience , training with heavy free weights results in the most dense muscle development as you have to work so much harder with just balancing the weights ( barbells or dumbbells ) and therefore you are involving so much more muscle fibre compared to training with a machine . However , do not interpret this as me saying machines or cables have no place in your workout – of course they do : I will still do one cable or machine exercise per muscle group in all my workouts .

We have dealt with training , and how proper training affects the development of full muscle bellies , however you cannot forget about nutrition . Quality nutrition , and specifically quality carbs , in your diet will really fill the muscle , making it look full , giving that pumped look everyone is after .

Muscle Evolution Muscle_Evolution_-_December_2014 | Page 129

Bodybuilding is about building the best possible physique . This involves far more than just striving for mass and size . We also strive to achieve that muscle density and full muscle bellies . But what does this mean for our training ?