Ilaria Petrucci 

N.A.B.B.A (National Amateur Bodybuilders Association) Certified Personal Trainer

Nutritional Expert:
British Complimentary Medicine Association & Complimentary Medical Association Advanced Diploma in Optimum Nutrition

Introduction

Fitness and healthy living has always been Ilaria’s passion, however she wasn’t always in the shape she is in today.

After gaining weight during her first years of college, Ilaria realized that she needed to make a change. Looking for a quick fix like many, Ilaria jumped from one diet to another experiencing the frustration on “not getting there” or even worst…getting there quickly…and going back to the old weight three times quicker! Only with more frustration and a lower metabolism that she started with in the first place! Eventually Ilaria came to a hard realization… in order to become healthier and achieve the “tone” body she always wanted… there was no magic pill or magic quick fix diet that was going to do this “for her”…

“The first step I had to take was to make a CHOICE. There is very powerful “magic” that happens when you make a CHOICE TO CHANGE. The magic is that once you take that the decision of what you want…it is already done! It is just a matter of allowing yourself the time for people to see it too.

It is about being WILLING TO CHANGE, leaving the  past behind and whatever it is that is holding you back and DECIDE to move on. And LOVE yourself just the way you are RIGHT NOW.”

Quoting one of her favourite speakers, Will Smith, she continues “Do not EVER let anyone tell you, you can’t do something. You have a dream, you got to PROTECT IT. You want something? GO GET IT. Period”.

I believe our thoughts create our future and that we really do become what we think we are…

My passion for Fitness and for People continues, and in my journey and I want to help as many people as possible to achieve their goals, whatever that might be.

I believe in educating my Clients through the correct Training techniques and the correct Nutrition for them to be able to design their own healthy lifestyle according to their own individual needs and preferences.

You will never hear me talking about “diets”…it is about Nutrition, this is what your body needs.

The only diet that works is the mental diet – dieting from negative thoughts

Final Word

Ilaria Petrucci is a top Personal Trainer, Fitness Model and Nutritionist who has changed peoples lives up and down the country with her seminars, boot camps, personal training and nutritional support.

Ilaria has a very tough approach to her training and has adopted a very unique style when it comes to personal training…the end result being some very happy clients!

We are very proud to have Ilaria as part of Team Muscle and know her expertise in nutrition and fitness will help you our members in the quest for a healthier lifestyle.

Deepak Bhangu
Head of Operations

Bodybuilding & Weight Training - Old Skool Vs New Skool

There are allot of debates on weight training especially about the way “they used to train” back in the day and how “they train now”

The one thing we very easily lose prospective of is that as time goes on there are always new developments….that’s not just with weight training, it’s with almost everything and anything.

The biggest developments with weight training has been the type of equipment that is now available and the vast amount of nutritional advice at our disposal. 

Weight Training Equipment

Weight training equipment now allows you to place pressure on your muscles from angles that were not possible 30 years ago, there are now probably 10 more ways to train your chest using resistance machines all giving different angles to work with…this technology was not available to bodybuilders 30 years and more ago…

Nutrition

Nutrition was not as enhanced as it is today, we have better equipped labs and nutritionists that provide us with detailed nutritional guidlines on what we eat, as a result of this we have a much better understanding of nutrition and can use it to our advantage.  

Don’t Let Equipment FOOL YOU!

The one thing I would like to remind bodybuilders and the general gym goers of today is not to lose focus and look beyond what is available to them at their local gym or health club.  If bodybuilders 30 years ago managed to great great abs without having access to some type of abs machine then how did they get amazing 6 packs?…if they also managed to get their body fat percentages close to 6% without the use of treadmills and x trainers then do you really need those pieces of equipment to reduce your body fat?…there are always other ways to achieve your desired results.

Strength Training

Strength training coaches all over the world will tell you in order to get strong you need to focus allot on the following exercises: Bench Press, Squats, Deadlifts, Bent over barbell rows…these exercises were the core exercises used since weight training started developing and are still used today in almost every training regime by top athletes…

Training for MASS 

Anybody wishing to embark on the route of mass training will be told time and time again, focus on the following exercises for good size but keep the reps low and weight heavy.  Bench Press, Squats, Deadlifts, Bent over barbell rows and chins…“Mmm…isn’t that what they used 30 years ago???….”…

The point I am trying to make is not training 30 years ago was better than today’s methods but rather to incorporate what they used purely because it worked!…What made bodybuilders big and strong 30 years ago will make you big and strong today…while technology gets better and develops over time… your body and the way it works doesn’t!…

30 years ago bodybuilders and weight trainers understood to get big and strong they needed to place their muscles under pressure using heavy weights and consume plenty of carbs and protein…this theory still works today and will in another 30 years time and so on…

Conclusion 

Don’t knock old skool training methods as they are still very much alive today in almost every gym and not to be phased by the equipment that you have available to you today…you don’t need the all singing and dancing treadmill or multigym to get you the shape and fitness levels you desire…just ask yourself…”how would they of done that back in the day”…

Deepak Bhangu
Head of Operations & Personal Trainer
Musclemadness

I hate training legs, what else can I do?

Hi Derrick,

I have been training for about 4 years now and I HATE training legs with a passion!….I only train them once a month and even that is a struggle.

I don’t like doing squats, leg press and I know they are major strength  builders but I just hate doing them!…is there any other alternatives or way that I can tolerate these exercises?

John Butcher

Hi John

I can’t stress enough to you just how important training legs are!
Not only are they great strength builders as you quite rightly said, but if you are looking to put on some size then training legs are detrimental to your training regime!

Training legs can be a tough ride but rather than doing set after set try spicing up your legs training regime.  Get yourself a white board and marker and make note of what exercises you will be performing and at the end of each working set make a note of what weight you pushed and how many reps. 

By doing this you are creating a history of your workout and you also have something to challenge the following legs session.

Another trick you can try is the card training regime that has ALWAYS worked well for me.  I use this system frequently on push ups and it works a treat.

Split a deck of cards evenly (after a good shuffle) and select one half.  That half you have selected will be your training challenger. 
You Your cards will be face down  to begin with. 

When you are ready, turn over the first card and perform the number of reps that the card has shown.  So if it is a 4 or spades you do 4 reps.  You then rest for 30 seconds before turning over the next card and again perform the desired number of reps.

If you get any aces or faces then that is 10 reps and if you get any jokers then that is 20 reps!

You cannot not complete a set on this training system. 
If it takes you 3 minutes to do a set of 5 reps then you carry on until you have completed the set, or the deck wins! 
(You MUST complete every set regardless of how long it takes)

I would recommend this type of training regime to be on compound exercises such as a leg press or hack squat as there are multiple muscles working at the sametime and will give you much better gains than isolation exercise.

This system is not only different but will have you coming back the following week for more! 

You would NOT do any other leg exercises after this has been done!

I hope this helps…

Derrick Twum
The Secrets of Bodybuilding 2010

Q – My chest is much smaller than the rest of my body!

Hi Derrick, my name is Stuart Taylor, I have been bodybuilding for almost 5 years now and I have made really good gains all over but my lagging body part seems to be my chest!…I have gone through almost every chest exercise out there to try and get it in proportion to the rest of my body but can’t seem to do it!

My routine is as followed: I start with the bench press for 4 sets, followed by incline smith press, flat dumbbell press, incline dumbbell press and end with the pec dec.  I do 4 sets on each exercise with a rep range between 6 and 12,  please help. 

Derrick’s Answer…

Hi Stuart,

Your routine actually looks ok, but there is one thing I would change that would probably make all the difference!  but before I get to that let’s quickly run through your current chest training routine.  You are starting off with the bench press which is fine especially as it is the hardest and requires the most energy to get through, However for the sake of trying to improve a lagging body part doing this exercise first is your downfall! 

Let me explain, when you perform the chest press there are 3 sets of muscles all working at the same time throughout this movement.  You have your chest, your front deltoids and your triceps. 

The first muscle groups to exhaust during this exercise is going to be either your shoulders or your triceps as these muscle groups are much smaller than the chest, so at this moment in time your chest has not had much benefit!  To improve lagging body parts you always need to isolate that muscle so you can place more stress on it!  Moving on, you are then going on to the incline chest press, dumbbell flat and incline, again you are exhausting your already tired and fatigued front deltoids and triceps!…the only time you are isolating your chest is right at the end of your workout when you are performing then pec dec! 

My suggestion to you is to do the pec dec at the start of your chest routine!  Pre exaust the chest before you attack any of the heavy compound exercises as your front delts and tricpes will be still be fresh and ready to get down to work.  Be warned you will not lift the same poundage after the pec dec but you will experience deep burning when trying to complete your sets.   Follow this routine for a few weeks and watch the gains!

Derrick Twum
The Secrets of Bodybuilding 2010 - By Derrick Twum

Q – I am skinny and can’t seem to put on any weight!

Hi Derrick, I am 6 foot 3 inches, 24 years old and weigh just 9 stones.  I am really skinny and have always been teased about my body but it has got to a point where I just can’t take it any longer and really need to do something about it.  It’s got so bad that  winter is now my favourite time of year as I can try and hide my body under thick layers of clothing, but with summer I can’t get away with it.  I cannot wear t-shirts without getting stares from people or without my friends making comments….I have tried protein shakes and it didn’t seem to help.  I eat whatever I want and how much I want but still can’t seem to put any weight on.  It is only recently I started going to the gym and I see allot of people lifting heavy weights and looking good.  Do you have any advice for a complete beginner in weight training?

Jamie Beckham

Derrick’s Answer…

Hi Jamie,

Believe me when I say this but how you feel at the moment in regards to joining  a gym and not knowing exactly what to do is how millions of people around the world feel when they first start.  It’s like joining a new school or starting a new job, everyone has there little groups and they are all comfortable with what they are doing because they are in a set routine.  All we need to do is get you going in to a routine too….and I have to say well done in actively doing something about wanting to gain wait….

My suggestion to you is to stick to compound exercises such as the chest press, lat pull down, squats, deadlifts and bent over barbell rows. Now before you ask what are these exercises, I would see a personal trainer at the gym and ask him/her to show you these exercises, start with very light weight and get the technique spot on before even trying to push any heavy weight.  Remember weight training is long term, so don’t try to rush this process as you will only end up with an injury and slow down your progress!
 
When performing squats use your body weight first to get the technique right, with the deadlifts and bent over barbell rows just use a barbell with no added weight.  Let’s build your body’s tolerance to exercise; first before trying to lift heavy weights. 
Don’t forget to include a solid core workout consisting of abs training and lower back exercises, these early years are all about building your foundations!

When it comes to your diet, try to avoid fatty foods, concentrate on protein and plenty of carbs for now to help you gain some weight.  I would suggest you get back on to the protein powders as these will assist you allot more now that you will be weight training!

Derrick Twum
The Secrets of Bodybuilding 2010 - By Derrick Twum

What makes you Grow?

“How Squats & Deadlifts can make your whole body grow…”

Not only did the top bodybuilders of the past – men like John Grimek, Steve Reeves, Bill Pearl and Reg Park – have incredibly muscular physiques, they were also very strong. In fact, many of them competed in strength contests before making the switch to bodybuilders. One of the reasons they were so strong is because they relied heavily on compound exercises in their workouts. By compound exercises, I mean movements that involve lots of different muscles, such as the deadlift or squat. They were convinced these exercises stimulated growth in the entire body, and not just the muscle groups they were training. And it’s only in the last decade or so that exercise science has confirmed that compound movements do have the potential to increase muscle size throughout the whole body. Here’s how: Studies show that doing squats, bench presses or deadlifts increase levels of testosterone and growth hormone to a greater extent than doing biceps curls or triceps pushdowns. Scientists agree that testosterone is one of nature’s most powerful muscle building hormone. Testosterone tells your muscle cells to absorb more protein, leading to more muscle size and strength.

Squats & Deadlift

Before attempting to carry out any explosive, heavy or general workout, it is imperative that the body has been warmed up thoroughly and stretched prior to heavy lifting. When carrying out exercises such as the Deadlift and the Squat, special attention should be paid to the lower back. As well as warming up and stretching, it may be advisable to practice and simulate the activity to follow.

Squats 4 sets x 6-15 reps
Deadlifts 4 sets x 6-15 reps

Squat

Having perfect execution and technique will reward you with all the size and gains that you need, however incorporate incorrect and bad postural technique and undoubtedly you will suffer the painful embarrassment off being stretchered of the Gym floor.

Insure that the barbell is position and sat comfortably on the traps, tilt your pelvis out, and ensure that your feet are positioned slightly wider than shoulder width apart. The aim is to squat down at a 90 degree angle without allowing your knees to go over your toes. Once you have achieved this position push from the heels, hamstrings, glutes (bottom) and return to the starting position. Ensure that all movement is fully controlled and execution is perfect.

Deadlifts

Grip the barbell which will be positioned by your feet at shoulder width apart and kneel down as if you are performing a squat. Keeping a neutral spine (tilt pelvis out), throughout the movement.
You will begin the lift by pushing from the heels, hamstrings and glutes (bottom) and execute in a standing position. Once executed you will return to the starting position (returning slowly) and repeat the movement.

Always consult your GP prior to carrying out any exercise or dietary program. If you experience dizziness, pain or discomfort during exercise, stop immediately and consult your GP.