When we put on a Parrillo Training Camp one particular aspect our participants invariably have neglected in their own efforts is fascial stretching. Done between weight training sets, Parrillo-style fascial stretching is designed to actually enhance muscle growth. More often than not the Training Camp attendees don’t understand why they should stretch and secondly they don’t know how they should stretch. We explain in order to maximize god-given genetic potential it is critical to stretch. We demonstrate and have the attendees actually do the stretches themselves in conjunction with a high intensity weight workout we put all camp attendees through. Typically camp participants stretch more attending our two-day weight training workshop than they have in their last several months of training. One attendee summed it up. “I went back to my training log and counted: during Parrillo camp we performed over sixty stretches during our workout session. I learned enough information about stretching in those six hours to keep me busy the rest of my bodybuilding life.” Parrillo-style stretching is unlike any other stretching protocol in that its sole intended purpose is to increase muscle size and strength.

Every other stretching program is designed to improve flexibility and suppleness; we go one step further and use stretching as tool to expand muscle size. Flexibility and suppleness are acquired using Parrillo stretches but these are bonuses and not the real reason we stretch. Quite a few camp attendees assume Parrillo stretching is some type of warmup flexibility procedure; do they ever get the shock of their life. Often we’ll have a bodybuilder perform a 100-rep set of belt squats then I’ll “partner assist” them in an intense quad and hamstring stretch immediately after the set. To complete the procedure I’ll insist that after the belt squats and partner-assisted quad and hamstring stretch, the athlete flex their legs with every ounce of might. Legs will typically balloon up over two inches after a single set. This protocol, pump/stretch/flex, is the most effective bodybuilding method I have ever devised and I have devised quite a few.

 

 

 

 

 

Muscles are enclosed in fascia, similar to the tubing that surrounds a link sausage. The muscle fascia casing is stuffed with muscle tissue. The fascia defines the outer limit of the muscle. Some bodybuilders are blessed with a relatively loose and pliable fascia. This is a genetic advantage as looser fascia makes for easier muscle expansion. Others are cursed with a fascia casing stiffer than the leather on a catcher’s mitt. These bodybuilders develop compact, tight muscular physiques but are unable to develop the swelling muscles the very best bodybuilders possess. Arnold once described it thusly, “A powerlifter can develop huge muscles and the lifter looks fantastic standing around relaxed; but when they flex their muscles not much happens. A champion bodybuilder will not look nearly as thick or powerful when standing relaxed but when they flex, muscles explode and their physique expands to twice its size. It is startling… like a peacock spreading and fanning plumage.” The powerlifter with the tight fascia will look like the Incredible Hulk standing around but the bodybuilder who has successfully and simultaneously built muscle mass and elasticized the fascia will look doubly impressive when they strike a pose as muscles swell and expand dramatically. The absolute best way for a serious bodybuilder to stretch is to use the patented Parrillo FxStretch™ equipment.

These are heavy duty devices designed to enable the user to self-administer every single Parrillo facial stretch. If you are lucky enough to belong to a facility that has the FxStretch equipment – make use of these stretch-enhancing devices! If you do not have access to FxStetch™, don’t despair as there are milder versions of the basic stretches that you can do to replicate FxStretch™. Remember that the greater the muscle is pumped, the more effective the stretch will be. Further, if you are smart and disciplined about your nutrition, you can amplify pump potential before you arrive at the gym! A muscle stuffed with glycogen will pump up far easier and larger than a glycogen-depleted muscle. When a glycogenstuffed muscle is pumped to the maximum (using forced reps and drop sets and all the other Parrillo intensity-multipliers) then that pumped muscle is stretched to the limit and finally flexed to the point of cramping, that muscle is forced to grow if fed properly afterward. The stretching loosens the fascia and provides wiggle room for newly created muscle tissue to grow into. At Parrillo Performance we combine high intensity weight training with high intensity stretching and the result is muscle growth past your wildest dreams. Parrillo fascia stretching takes the trainee past their current flexibility limit. My stretches are purposefully designed to get results which exceeds the boundaries of comfort. In order to loosen muscle fascia you have to take it to the limit and hopefully a little past. By continually seeking to go further and deeper into a stretch, flexibility improves and simultaneously fascia is loosened. Gains lie past the pain barrier. Fascia is not loosened and flexibility is not improved by doing what is comfortable and well within your capability. Nothing of any significance is going to occur by performing easy weight training followed by easy stretches – that will net nothing! Seek to safely extend and exceed current limits in the various stretches. Capacity need be equaled and exceeded. CHEST STRETCH: There are two general ways to stretch the pectorals: have the arms stretched back by a partner or if no partner is available, take a light pair of dumbbells and do a flye. In the bottommost position rather than press the bells upward, allow the light weights to sink downward. By relaxing with the light bells in the bottom of the fly the pecs are stretched to the limit and beyond. My favorite upper body stretch is the ‘skin-the-cat.’ This is the old school yard standard and done hanging from chin bar. The legs are thrown overhead (use a partner to help if needed) and through the ‘hand hole’ and once the torso is behind you, draped in a relaxed fashion, the bodyweight of the athlete stretches the upper pecs and shoulders with a degree of intensity that must be experienced to be believed. Be careful not to hurt yourself; I consider the skin-thecat the single finest upper body stretch. Different grip widths vary the effects.

SHOULDER STRETCH: It would be very hard to top the close grip skin-the-cat for shoulder stretch intensity but ‘bottom dips’ come close. On a set of dip bars assume the bottommost dip position and relax. Your bodyweight will cause pecs and shoulders to stretch, the focus will depend on the angle of your bodyweight and the width between the dip bars. Alternately, find a bar or railing suspended at waist height, back up until your glutes or lower back touches the bar. Grasp the bar with your palms facing rearward and sink back and down onto the bar. The shoulder stretch is quite intense. LATISUMUS STRETCH: The ‘lat pull’ requires you grab a sturdy support at eye level and pull down and away at an angle that pinpoints the stretch right in the lat: one hand at a time, one lat at a time. Another oft overlooked stretch is simply hanging from a chinning bar: I recommend the bodybuilder use lifting straps and attach the hands to an overhead bar. Sag and allow your bodyweight to stretch the shoulder girdle upward as this lifts and separates the lat muscles from the traps and erectors. The straps take the grip out of the equation and you can literally hang all day long. This exercise provides an intense lat stretch if done correctly. ERECTOR STRETCH: Nothing beats the stretch provided by stiff leg deadlifts done off a box: a 45-pound bar will be sufficient to stretch tight erectors after a killer set of deadlifts, high pulls, rows or power cleans. Light and precise is the ticket for this stretch; just relax and keeping the knees flexed, allow the poundage to pull you downward. You have to stay relaxed. HAMSTRINGS: Got a training partner? Have him or her push you forward as you sit on the floor and try to touch your toes. The added push allows you to push way past where you could get to on your own. A wide stance stiff-leg deadlift while holding dumbbells will stretch the tightest hamstrings.

Remember to not tense up as the weights pull you downward. QUADRICEPS: The easiest stretch is the ‘hurdler layback.’ Sit on the floor with your legs folded under you. Play with the how wide or narrow you place your knee – now lean back as far as you can until the quad stretch becomes intense. The classic Parrillo quad stretch is done by standing erect and placing one foot on a sturdy bench behind you. Sit down until the quad screams. This works every time if applied correctly. CALVES: Stand on a stair step and allow your bodyweight to stretch the two calves downward. For a more intense stretch, stand with locked knee on one leg and allow the bodyweight to stretch the calf down. Want more? Hold a dumbbell in one hand while doing the single leg calf stretch. Want still more? Load a standing calf machine up with 200-300 pounds, stand erect with the pads on your shoulders and allow the poundage – plus your bodyweight – to stretch the calves down. BICEPS: Remember the oft cited skin the cat? In addition to being the premier shoulder/chest stretcher, if the bodybuilder grips the bar wide and really relaxes into the finished position, the biceps receive as intense a stretch as you likely can stand. TRICEPS: A tough muscle to stretch, try letting two light dumbbells assume the low position in the overhead tricep extension. The upper arms are pointed at the ceiling, now lower the dumbbells to the bottommost position and instead of pressing upward, relax and allow the bells to stretch the tri’s as gravity takes over. *You must exercise extreme caution and commonsense when using poundage or a partner to aid in amplifying the stretch. One wrong move or jerk and you can injure a muscle.

Make haste slowly! THE PARRILO PROTOCOL: Pump, stretch, flex is the Parrillo protocol, our mantra. The first order of business is the lifting. If you follow Parrillo procedures for training, you are doing a lot of sets and hitting a lot of weight training sessions each week. If you stretch the target muscles between each and every set, within a week’s time you’ll have accumulated a lot of stretches. As soon as the weight training set is finished, commence the target stretch. No resting. The procedure is simple: assume the posture and relax deeper and deeper into the stretch. At some point during the stretch you will bump up against your limit and past that is the discomfort zone. The true champion athlete will hover here and try inch slightly deeper into the zone. This is where the gains lie. I recommend that each stretch be held for 10-60 seconds. As soon as the stretch is completed the athlete needs to flex the target muscles as long and hard as possible and do so repeatedly. This pose-flexing sends muscle tissue cascading into the newly loosened fascia. Flexing the target muscle literally pushes muscle against the fascia outer boundary and contributes mightily to muscle expansion. Pump/stretch/flex, 1-2-3, then rest until breathing normalizes and blast it again using the same procedure. Optimally I like to perform a different stretch with each individual exercise but this is not mandatory.

POST WORKOUT NUTRITION, THE FOREGOTTON ELEMENT: Parrillo - style stretching is no walk in the Park and quite intense all by itself. Couple stretching with a high-intensity weight workout and add hard, repeated flexing taken to the point of cramping and you’ve subjected the body to a traumatic physical event. If you feed a body battered by this type of workout lots of bodybuilding- style calories, muscles will expand

like a dry sponge immersed in a pail of water. If you subject yourself to this type of savage training and under-feed or starve yourself, then you will ‘go catabolic ’ and actually go backwards. The body will strip muscle cells of protein in order to feed itself. On the other hand, if you take advantage of the “window of opportunity ” that opens during a killer workout and snaps shut approximately one hour after the cessation of the session, results are dramatically amplified. Scientific study after study has demonstrated that nutrients ingested after an intense weight session are absorbed up to 350% faster than normal. What is the ideal post-workout replenishment fuel? Initially it was thought a carbohydrate-only mixture would be ideal. Liquid was logical as it could be quickly digested and distributed. After all, it takes the body time to break food down into nutrient sub-components for delivery to starved and battered muscles. A post-workout liquid glycogen replenishment drink need also contain quality, easily digested protein to replenish amino acids depleted during the workout. What could be easier than drinking a delicious mixture of roughly 50% maltodextrin carbohydrate and 50% protein? I invented 50-50 Plus™ as the perfect post-workout supplement. Place a serving (or two) of 50-50 Plus™ powder in a Tupperware shaker dry and throw the shaker in your gym bag. Simply walk to the gym water fountain, fill the shaker with cold water and activate this nutritional dynamite by shaking vigorously. I recommend you start sipping the mixture halfway through your workout as this helps avoid second-half training session energy nosedives and stays well within the ‘window.’ Good luck and lets all start stretching!

Parrillo Performance
(800) 344-3404 

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