Not every bodybuilder is given the willpower to refuse anabolic and other hormonal drugs, so as not to completely affect the high results in bodybuilding.
Those who are professionally involved in this sport, probably know about one of its most popular representatives - Medrano Frank. He gained fame with an unconventional approach to the training process and the formation of his own body.
What is so special?
This athlete proved to everyone that you can develop strength and build a beautiful body without using special tools traditionally used by bodybuilders in their training programs. You only need to move away from the usual concepts that oblige athletes to eat a lot of meat and other protein products to restore strength and saturate energy for exercise.
Also, the exclusivity of his technique lies in the fact that it does not include grueling exercises with heavy iron.
The results of the Frank Medrano program prove that a sports body can be developed at any age, and do not despair for those who believe that it is too late. The main thing is desire, and opportunity can be found. So says the author of the program.
A bit of history
When Frank was still young, he practiced pole vaulting in athletics. Then, having matured, he stopped playing sports, and after a few years his health began to deteriorate - fatigue quickly came, overcome weakness and slowness. Diets did not help, it began to affect mental and moral health, self-esteem fell.
Then the idea came to the rescue that something needed to change in life, and Frank Medrano decided to act.
Acquainted with some methods, he chose the kalistenik - special gymnastic exercises designed for deep study of joints and muscles exclusively using his own body weight. This gymnastics allowed to be practiced anywhere and anytime, since it did not require any special devices. It provides a convenient opportunity to effectively use your time and control the conduct of classes.
By setting and progressively achieving small goals, we managed to slowly realize our cherished desire - to create a perfect body. Motivation also played a role - the daily contemplation of progress from training pushed toward moving forward and gave confidence in one's abilities.
Program Postulates
To achieve the desired results, as in other methods, in the training program of Frank Medrano, it is necessary to strictly follow the list of certain rules. No need to be scared - there are few of them and they are clear to everyone, even beginners.
To obtain the results, only three points must be observed:
- Regular classes. It is most important. Failure to comply with this rule will lead to poor results and fading motivation. In this case, the majority leaves the idea of self-improvement of the body. And vice versa, systematic training, visible results make you go to the goal more actively.
- Food by the rules. For full classes that do not lead to malfunctions in the body, you need to eat right. It doesn't have to be meat at all; the vegetarian diet that Frank Medrano himself adheres to is a great fit. Nutrition according to this technique is healthy and complete, which allows the body to be normal.
- Interval training. The high intensity of training strengthens the cardiovascular system, accelerates metabolic processes, effectively burns fat and increases stamina. This is an additional motivation for the athlete.
Training feature
Features of the lessons according to the methodology are based on the use of calisthenics. This method does not involve the use of any devices or equipment. As Frank Medrano explains, the weight of one's own body is a load in these exercises. It may seem to many that this is a completely worthless undertaking and ineffective program. But the fact of the matter is that after the first training session you can observe the results obtained - increased stamina and increased strength.
Calisthenics exercises are useful not only in Frank's methodology, but also simply in everyday life or as additional activities in other sports. They are aimed at a comprehensive study of all muscle groups and do not harm the joints. The complex includes exercises such as lunges, squats, various jumps, push-ups and pull-ups.
The method does not provide for a specific time of day for classes - they can be performed at a convenient time in a suitable place, making an individual schedule.
Where to look and find out?
Anyone can start classes on their own right away. They do not require a partner to ensure safety or help in supplying inventory.
During training, you can use the available accessory items and devices - benches, bars, chairs or horizontal bars. They will help maintain balance or add extra load.
Frank Medrano prefers to record his workouts on video, and uploads the videos on a specially organized channel on the network, where anyone interested can enter. These lessons are great as a tutorial. Until recently, his video lessons were in the public domain, and now their sale is organized on the site.
But the author himself notes that the main classes do not interfere with him from time to time to visit the gym and train individual muscles with heavy weight.
How did it start?
Now it seems unbelievable and many people are surprised that Frank managed to achieve such amazing results as a vegetarian, that he managed to pump his body without eating meat dishes.
But, as you know, up to thirty years, he led an ordinary life and ate like all the people around him. Everything has changed since the moment he decided to seriously engage in sports.
Frank Medrano turned for advice to his bodybuilder friends, who told him about the nuances of switching to plant nutrition and the effect of such a regime on the body. And also about what rules you need to follow in order not to harm yourself.
A short time after the start of training, the first results appeared - positive changes in well-being, decreased time to recover, tiredness went away, and energy levels increased.
Sensing such changes, in three months Frank with his like-minded friends creates his team Vegan Calisthen-X, which decides to popularize healthy vegetarian food among professional athletes.
Why vegetarianism?
At first, Medrano Frank was engaged in fitness, and then extreme gymnastics - muscle and mass building - was the hobby of his life. Food during this period was normal. Then his attention was attracted by a couple of friends who possessed outstanding physical data and incredible strength, but at the same time they were vegans. This state of affairs shocked and made me think.
Veganism is the strictest form of vegetarianism in which the use of meat in any form is completely prohibited.
After Frank collected the necessary information, he decided to also try this format of nutrition. I really wanted to take my life to a new level. In the beginning, not everything turned out, there were breakdowns, the diet was a normal vegetarian with a rare use of chicken meat and eggs.
After several weeks of such nutrition, positive changes became clearly noticeable - strength appeared, heaviness disappeared, and speed of movements increased. This reinforced the idea that you can not stop and you need to move on.
The next step was a complete rejection of dairy products and poultry. In addition to this, Frank began to profess nonviolence over animals, which strengthened him in his path. He became a vegan.
Frank Diet
The nutrition in the system of Frank Medrano, whose photo is presented in this article, plays the main role. Food should be environmentally friendly, homely, so that you can clearly determine what enters the body.
The main products that the author uses for food are as follows:
- pasta and noodles;
- various nuts;
- legumes and lentils;
- mushrooms, cilantro, spinach;
- brown rice;
- fruit and vegetable dishes;
- almond milk;
- peanut butter (peanut), coconut and olives;
- oatmeal;
- whole grain bread products.
Nutrition Professional Tips
Frank Medrano, whose press is astonished and envied even by the most eminent athletes, provides everyone with recommendations and nutrition tips.
The main ones are:
- The transition to a vegetarian food system, and even more so, to veganism, must be carried out gradually. It is necessary to abandon the usual products in stages, trying to replace them with plant foods of a similar vitamin content.
- You should not morally castigate yourself in the event of disruptions that are inevitable. This is natural until the body adapts to a new way of eating and thinking, which will lead to a lack of craving for unwanted foods.
- You need to make a nutrition plan and a list of those products that are suitable for a particular athlete. You should also understand what dishes you need to cook and how - they must be nutritious, attractive and mouth-watering.
Pitfalls can be expected along this path - doubts, the resistance of friends and relatives who will dissuade them from making such a decision and claim that their health will only get worse.
Advice to overcome the difficulties of such a plan is to move towards the final goal, understanding the usefulness of such a diet and that only targeted actions will give a positive result.
Tips for beginners to adapt
Many novice athletes who want to engage in this system are wondering - will they succeed? Answering such questions, Frank Medrano, whose muscle growth has been gradual over time, advises you to pay attention to a good rest.
For those who are just starting to play sports, the processes of recovery and adaptation to stress are much slower. Therefore, it is necessary to approach the initial stage individually, determining what load a particular athlete can train with.
General recommendations are such that:
- training should take place three to four times a week;
- between classes it is necessary to take a break in one day;
- if the body does not have time to recover, then it is necessary to reduce the number of exercises or their repetitions;
- the number of repetitions and the weight of weights should be increased gradually;
- work out certain muscle groups every day.
As an additional load for lifting biceps, squats and lunges, deadlifts can be dumbbells and a barbell.
After each workout, you must add a run to a distance of one hundred meters. This helps burn fat faster and helps muscle growth through hormonal emissions.
Schedule for the first three days
Since the training program of Frank Medrano provides for the study of muscle groups by day, you should consider this schedule.
For the first three days it is as follows:
- Monday - working out of the pectoral muscles and triceps: approaches of one hundred and fifty push-ups, respectively, with a change in the setting of the hands, bench press dumbbells, push-ups on the uneven bars.
- Tuesday - training of the spinal muscles: thirty repetitions of exits by force, pulling back and forth with a grip of fifty and one hundred repetitions, respectively, dumbbell traction and pullovers of five sets for each type of exercise. Then again pull-ups (fifty repetitions) and exits by force (ten repetitions).
- Wednesday - study of the shoulder muscles: one hundred push-ups, dumbbell bench press in a standing position, lifting the dumbbells to the sides and lifting to the sides with the body tilted (five sets of twelve repetitions).
The order of classes in the second three-day
According to the method of Frank Medrano, in the case of slow recovery of the body on the fourth day, it is worth taking a break for one day, and then continue.
Those who do not need this continue classes further:
- Thursday is the work of triceps and biceps: thirty exits by force, fifty pull-ups in the back grip, lifting the bar biceps, lifting the dumbbells with a hammer grip (all exercises are five sets). Then push-ups on the bars and the usual push-ups (one hundred repetitions).
- Friday - leg muscle training: four sets of lunge and dumbbell squats, one hundred air squats, four sets of twelve repetitions of squats on one leg, deadlift on straight legs and lifting on toes (four sets of twelve repetitions).
- Saturday is a general study: one hundred pull-ups and the same number of push-ups, one hundred meter run in the amount of ten runs, one hundred twists and push-ups on the uneven bars, fifty exits by force.
Also, each workout can be supplemented by working out the muscles of the press and lifting the legs in the hang.
Benefits of Calisthenics
Calisthenica has undeniable advantages over other training programs .
They consist in the fact that only your own body is used for classes, exercises can be performed anywhere and anytime. This is enough to improve health and transform body shapes. Additionally, you can apply things that are easy to find, and they can serve as shells: chairs, boxes, barrels, horizontal bars.
People of both sexes, as well as of any age, can engage in this sport.
The main thing is to have a goal and stubbornly go towards its achievement.