• 🚦 Why Guardrails Matter

• 🍗 Grow-Your-Legs Day

• 🐟 Grill Salmon for Gains

• 🦵 Master the Leg Curl

👇 Dive in and Set the Standard!

Professional bodybuilding isn’t a healthy sport. Let’s be real about that.

Bulking and cutting aren’t just “phases,” they’re stress tests that pound on your heart, liver, and kidneys.

Add in the synthetic hormones, supplements, constant hunger, lost sleep, and the pressure to look perfect, and the toll is heavier than most people realize.

In 2018, just four weeks out from the Olympia, I got sick, really sick. At first, it was fatigue. Then my legs swelled so badly I couldn’t see my ankles.

One day I was in prep, the next I was powerless in a hospital bed staring at the ceiling, wondering if my career, or maybe even my life, was over. Moments like that force a hard question: What are you risking, and why?

That’s when I started putting up guardrails. I made decisions about what I was willing to put my body through and what I wasn’t. And the wild part? Even within those limits, I still won six Olympia titles.

I won while protecting my health, and eventually chose to retire so I could heal and move into the next chapter of my life.

My example is extreme, but the lesson isn’t just for pros. Every lifter needs guardrails around their training:

• Lift smart to last. Control your form and manage volume so your shoulders, knees, hips, and elbows stay healthy for life.

• Don’t yo-yo your diet. Blowing up in a bulk or starving through a cut wrecks your hormones, digestion, and mood. Manage your eating so you’re lean, strong and healthy year to year, not just for one show.

• Fuel clean, not extreme. Forget the fads. Whole foods, steady protein, and carbs around training drive real progress.

• Respect off days. Rest isn’t laziness, it’s growth. Skipping days off doesn’t make you tougher; it makes you weaker over time. Step back so you can step forward stronger.

The truth is, guardrails don’t hold you back. They keep you in the game. They’re what make long-term progress possible, in bodybuilding, in business, in life.

And the toughest guardrail I ever built wasn’t physical, it was emotional.

For years I tried to out-tough anxiety by numbing emotions. That never worked. If you numb the bad, you numb the good.

Learning to feel, to open up to my wife, to share the weight, that wasn’t weakness. It gave me strength back.

Guardrails are what let you keep building, not just for a season but for a lifetime. They don’t make you weaker. They help you last.

Set the Standard.

Chris

💪 Grow-Your-Legs Day

Summer’s about over. Now it’s time to get back under the bar, push heavier weights, and set up a new phase of growth leading into the new year.

And this workout is just the start. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be rolling out a Fall Growth Training Series that includes legs, back, chest, and arms, each one built on fundamentals, proven methods, and the mindset it takes to grow.

Leg training kicks it off for a reason. Heavy leg days do more than build quads and hamstrings, they naturally release anabolic hormones like testosterone and growth hormone that prime your entire body to build muscle.

But it’s not just about “squat heavy.” Growth comes from combining big moves with precision: tempo, tension, and smart accessory work.

This workout blends go-to lifts with proven programming to shock your lower body back into growth mode.

📍 Training Goal: Build size + strength across quads, glutes, and hamstrings
⏱ Rest: 2–3 min on compounds, 60–90 sec on accessories
🎯 Tempo Key: 3010 = 3 sec controlled eccentric, no pause, 1 sec drive up, 0 pause at top

🔥 Warm-Up (5–7 Minutes)

✅ Bodyweight walking lunges x 12/side
✅ Glute bridges x 15
✅ Cossack squats x 8/side
✅ Band pull-aparts x 20 (postural primer)

🏋️ Leg Workout

A. Back Squat • 5 x 6–8 reps @ 3010
🧠 Cue: Sit between your hips, chest tall. Drive through mid-foot.
💥 Big systemic driver; prioritize clean reps, controlled eccentric.

B. Romanian Deadlift (Barbell or Dumbbell) • 4 x 8–10 reps @ 3111
🎯 Stretch glutes + hamstrings under control, squeeze hard at top.

C1. Bulgarian Split Squat (DBs) • 3 x 10–12 reps/leg @ 3011
🛑 Don’t rush, get deep stretch on the way down.

C2. Seated Leg Curl (Machine) • 3 x 10–12 reps/leg @ 3011
🔥 Targets hamstrings in their lengthened position for a stronger stretch, more growth potential than lying curls.

D. Walking Barbell Lunge • 2 x 20 steps total
🔥 Finisher: light/moderate load, controlled strides, chest tall.

💡 Programming Tips

• Train legs 1–2x/week depending on recovery and split.

• Rotate between back squat and front squat weekly for balanced quad development.

• Prioritize controlled eccentrics — longer time under tension (3-4 sec negatives) drives hypertrophy, especially in legs.

• Do conditioning separately (sleds, bike, stairs) so leg day stays focused on growth. Consider doing it later on the same day, so you can rest completely on the following days.

🔑 Growth Keys

1. Fuel Up: Don’t go into leg day under-fed. Time carbs before and after to keep performance high.

2. Recovery: Heavy eccentrics wreck muscle; plan for 48–72 hours before another lower-body session.

3. Form First: Big weights only matter if you can control them. Squats and RDLs done poorly = injury, not growth.

📲 Next week, our Fall Growth Series will focus on building a wide, powerful back — don’t miss it.

Tap in and Set the Standard.

🐟 Grilled Salmon Power Dinner

Build muscle, boost recovery, and support longevity straight from the grill.

Salmon is one of the best foods for lifters and bodybuilders. It’s packed with complete protein, omega-3 fatty acids to fight inflammation, and micronutrients that support everything from joint health to heart health.

And while it can be tricky (and smelly) to cook indoors, late summer is the perfect time to take it outside and onto the grill.

Here are two simple, foolproof ways to grill salmon, one on a cedar plank for extra smoky flavor, one directly on the grates for a crisp char.

Pair it with whole-food sides and a clean sauce, and you’ve got a dinner that tastes incredible and fuels growth.

🔥 Option 1: Cedar Plank Salmon

Ingredients (2 servings):

• 2 wild salmon fillets (6 oz each)

• 1 cedar plank, soaked in water 1–2 hours

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tsp sea salt + cracked pepper

• Fresh dill or parsley

Directions:

1. Preheat grill to medium (350–375°F).

2. Brush plank with olive oil, place salmon skin-side down.

3. Season with lemon juice, salt, pepper, and fresh herbs.

4. Place plank on grill, close lid, and cook 12–15 minutes until salmon flakes easily.

🔥 Option 2: Grilled Salmon Fillets (Direct)

Ingredients (2 servings):

• 2 salmon fillets (6 oz each), skin on

• 1 tbsp avocado oil

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• ½ tsp garlic powder

• Sea salt + pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat grill to medium-high (400–425°F).

2. Oil the grates well. Brush fillets with oil and season.

3. Place skin-side down, grill 4–5 minutes.

4. Flip carefully, cook 2–3 more minutes until charred but juicy.

🍠 Whole-Food Sides

• Roasted Sweet Potatoes: Cube, toss with olive oil + rosemary, grill in foil pack ~20 min.

• Grilled Asparagus: Toss with olive oil, salt, and garlic powder, grill 6–8 min.

• Quinoa Salad: Cook quinoa, mix with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, lemon juice, and parsley for freshness.

🥣 Clean Dill Yogurt Sauce

• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tbsp fresh dill (or parsley)

• Pinch sea salt + pepper
  Mix and serve chilled over salmon.

📊 Macros (per serving, cedar plank method + sides)

• Calories: ~520

• Protein: 48g

• Carbs: 36g

• Fat: 20g

🏆 Why It Works

✅ Muscle Growth: 40+ grams of high-quality protein per plate
✅ Inflammation Control: Omega-3s, sweet potato antioxidants, and herbs
✅ Seasonal & Simple: Cedar plank = smoky flavor, no fishy smell inside

🔥 Set the Standard — fuel clean, recover faster, and make every meal count.

🎆Need supplements? Go to RAW Nutrition and use the code CBUM for our best deals.

Q: Hi Chris, I saw a post saying seated hamstring curls build more muscle than lying curls. I usually just hit the lying leg curl machine, am I missing out?

Chuck F., Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania

A: Hey Chuck, The research is pretty clear: seated curls lead to more growth because they train your hamstrings in a stretched position under load.

That stretch creates more mechanical tension, which is one of the biggest drivers of hypertrophy.

Lying curls still have value, though. I’ll use them when I want strict isolation or less hip involvement, but if you want to maximize hamstring development, you can’t ignore the seated version.

It’s a good reminder that even small changes in joint position can completely change the stimulus your muscles get.

Question for Chris? Hit reply or email [email protected] and we’ll consider your question for inclusion in a future issue of The Standard.

Champion Mentality

“A champion is defined by the adversity he overcomes.”

— Anderson Silva

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