NOTES: Alvin Small, 40, won the super-heavyweight and overall titles at the 2010 British Championships and made his pro debut with an eighth at the 2011 British Grand Prix. Small varies the angles on dumbbell presses and grip width on barbell presses. Around-the-worlds are an upper-body stretching exercise: while lying flat on a bench, hold light dumbbells above your upper torso with straight arms, bring your arms overhead, then around to the front of your thighs in an arc and back up. FLEX does not recommend these as a primary chest exercise. Small does his unique chest routine twice weekly.
Helle Nielsen’s Quad Routine
NOTES: Denmark’s Helle Nielsen returned to the stage after an eight- year absence to win the women’s bodybuilding title at the 2011 FIBO Power Pro Championships. She alternates between barbell squats and Smith machine squats and between traditional hack squats and reverse hack squats (facing the machine). She trains hams and glutes on a different day from quads, sometimes with high-rep giant sets. Because quads are a strength, Nielsen only works them every 10–14 days, but she recommends others hit legs once weekly.
Robert Piotrkowicz’s Traps Routine
NOTES: Poland’s Robert Piotrkowicz finished fourth at the 2011 Mr. Europe Pro Grand Prix. He trains traps after delts once weekly. He sometimes does the barbell shrugs behind his back and sometimes replaces them with upright rows.
