Flex_USA_JulyAugust_2017_2

1ST SET
ASK MERLIN
BY ERIC “MERLIN” BROSER
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@coachericbroser
FLYING SOLO
INTENSITY
TECHNIQUES FOR
TRAINERS WHO
WORK OUT ALONE
DO YOU FEEL ONE CAN
MAKE IT TO THE HIGHEST
LEVELS OF BODYBUILDING
WITHOUT HAVING A
TRAINING PARTNER? I
DESPERATELY WANT TO
COMPETE SUCCESSFULLY
AND MAKE A NAME FOR
MYSELF IN THIS INDUSTRY,
BUT MY PARTICULAR JOB
FORCES ME TO TRAIN IN
THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT
WHEN EVERYONE ELSE IS
FAST ASLEEP.
Before I explore this interesting
query further, I will cut to the chase
and tell you straight away that you
most certainly can be a successful,
high-level bodybuilding competitor/
champion while training all by
yourself! Of course, there are
obvious disadvantages to flying
solo in the gym, such as not being
able to utilize certain effective
intensity techniques (like forced
reps or negatives) and needing to
stop short of complete failure on
major exercises like bench presses,
leg presses, and squats—but this
certainly does not mean you cannot
still train “balls to the wall,” my friend!
While I have had several
amazing training partners in my
25-plus years in the gym, I have lifted
on my own for the majority of my
career and yet managed to win
several titles, earn a natural pro
card, and carve out a successful
career in the fitness industry.
The keys to attacking the
weights all by your lonesome lie in
these three vital things: 1) choosing
the right exercises—dumbbell
movements, machines, cables,
2) utilizing intensity amplifiers that do
not require the aid of a partner
(cheat reps, partials, rest-pause,
supersets, dropsets), and most
important, 3) learning to be 100%
self-motivated while consistently
fostering the necessary drive/
passion to push yourself to your
utmost limits in the gym day in and day
out. In bodybuilding, it is the individual
who is singularly responsible for his/
her own success or failure.
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In fact, I can honestly say
that my most intense, gut-wrenching,
vomit-inducing workouts have taken
place while training all alone, with loud
music blasting in my ears, blood
rushing through my veins, and no
knowledge of anything else going on
around me! So stop worrying about
not having a partner and instead
embrace and appreciate getting to
face the battle with iron all on your
own, because your greatest ally in the
gym is none other than you.
JASON BREEZE
54 FLEX | JULY/AUG ’17