Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay Wins 2015 Arnold Classic Brazil

The monster from the Middle East stormed into the Arnold Classic Brazil, sporting an astonishing 315 pounds of massive muscle! While not the sharpest knife in the set, "Big Ramy" was ripped just enough to edge out a much better conditioned Cedric McMillan, who was much-improved from his Arnold Classic showing in March. Ramy also defeated recent NY Pro champ Juan Morel and veteran Victor Martinez in his dominant victory. The top-10 of the Arnold Classic Brazil went:

Dallas McCarver Wins 2015 California State Championships

Jackson, Tennessee's Dallas McCarver was just 21-years-old when he took overall honors at the 2012 NPC North Americans, making him the youngest IFBB professional bodybuilder. Just shy of three years after earning his pro card, the rookie McCarver stormed into the California State Championships carrying about 25 pounds of added beef to his frame and he carried it very well (especially in his legs and back). At 24-years-old, McCarver doesn't have the muscle maturity that most competitors 10 or even 20 years older than him have but the fact that he is young and has time to grow gives him a definite advantage. If he can stay healthy and free of injuries, this kid is definitely going to be making some noise over the coming years. Congrats on the win Dallas, you came to win and you did!

My Exercise List For Hamstring Development

Hamstrings are a muscle group that require a concentrated mind-muscle connection; you have to focus intently in order to feel the muscles working. When training hamstrings, some exercises come easier than others based on the movement. For instance, any hamstring curl exercise that requires a strong contraction at the top of the movement is considered "easy". However, exercises that require you to focus on the stretch such as the stiff leg deadlift or hyperextension, are considered "hard". Keep in mind, the harder the exercise, the better the results, so be prepared to become a perfectionist if you want appreciable development.

Upper Back, Chest Training | 05.18.15

Here's tonight upper back and chest training session in detail. I am pretty much operating at full strength levels and pulling and pushing relatively heavy weights with good form.

Shoulder Training | 05.13.15

Tonight was all about volume training in an effort to tax the delts from front every angle! Between "running the rack" and using the "Jumpin' Jack" side laterals, I could barely lift my arms when it was all said done. But the EVL ENGN pre-workout powder really gave me the kick I needed to get it done. Mission accomplished!

Driven: Victor Martinez [VIDEO]

Victor Martinez has been in the game as a pro since 2000 when he won the overall title at the NPC Nationals. Since that time, he has steadily climbed the ranks racking up wins and top-five placings at some of pro bodybuilding's most prestigious competitions.

Juan Morel Wins 2015 NY Pro Open Bodybuilding

By winning the IFBB NY Pro, which Morel considers "his Mr. Olympia", he joins an elite group of pros that have gone on to have great careers starting from this prestigious New York-rooted competition. While I would have gone with his good friend Victor Martinez for the win, Morel's victory was deserving, especially considering that he didn't have an off-season and went right into training for this show just a few short weeks after the 2014 Mr. Olympia. Congrats on the win Juan!

Hammer Curls For Thicker Arms

While the barbell curl is considered to be the king of biceps exercises, I actually prefer the hammer curl when it comes to adding size to my arms. Why? The barbell curl, while very effective, has always been the type of biceps exercise that exhausted my front delts way before my biceps. I realized years ago that anatomically barbell curls were not going to be the exercise to give me the big arms that I wanted, so I found an alternative: Hammer Curls.

Leg Training | 05.07.15

Since returning to the gym in early-March, I have trained my legs on several occasions. With each passing training session, my leg strength, flexibility, and muscularity are improving and are operating at about 90%. My main focus has been transitioning back to power rack squatting and away from the Smith Machine, so last night I jumped back into the rack and it felt great to rely on my own body mechanics to squat. Check out my entire leg workout from last night. You will also see a video where I use 720 lbs on the Leg Press for 20 reps-yep, we're back!

Supplement Review: Infinite Labs Joint Support

I have always thought that Infinite Labs made effective products. In the past I have used several products from Infinite Labs, including their intra-workout powder and their test booster and both worked exceptionally well. About six weeks ago when I saw that Bodybuilding.com was offering a 3 for 1 special on the Joint Support supplement, I jumped on it because I knew that the product would deliver great results and with a 9.4 out of 10 rating, I was even more confident in the purchase.

And We're Back.....

It's been just under a year since my last blog post. Why? I was just lazy and didn't feel like blogging about my training sessions. That's it. But hey, I am back, so it's on now!