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Bodybuilding DVD (Vol 1) Review by Matt Canning from BodybuildingPRO.com
REVIEW - GUY GRUNDY'S DVD! The Video From the getgo, the production values of this DVD are seen. The intro is done by Guy himself and he tells us that this DVD is the first in a series, which will feature both male and female participants. We get a glimpse of Jerome Ferguson, Richard Farley, Abbas Khatami, and Jason Bard, all of whom look fantastic. Guy is a good speaker and does well with the task of narrating the DVD. The commentary was a good touch. Jerome was first up - he was seen only six days after the North American Bodybuilding Championships, in which he placed 2nd. Jerome starts off by training biceps on the preacher machine (one arm) - a machine Dorian used to swear by. Jerome explains his reasoning for using a one arm technique and not two. Jerome had just competed at 231 and was looking good. He had worked with Tom Prince for his prep. What I found strange was that during the gym shoots, anyone walking around the gym were blocked out at the face. This might have been done for legal reasons, although I've never seen it on any other bodybuilding videos. Jerome explained that he and Tom Prince did not use diuretics during the prep - interesting since they are so predominant at that level. Jerome goes on to perform standing barbell curls for his biceps (which were looking fantastic by the way). He used the olympic bar for his curls, which is rare in bodybuilding videos - the only other bodybuilder who I can think of off the top of my head who uses them is Ronnie Coleman. In any case, Jerome's results were showing. Guy asked Jerome questions in between sets, which covered details of his prep for the Nationals. Jerome was talking about his diet after the North America show. Jerome explained that he was eating at least 20 egg whites a day and 20 pounds of chicken a week - heed this advice, nutrition makes the bodybuilder - more than training ever could. Jerome explained that he was doing no cardio at the moment, but he wasn't sure what Tom's plans were. Next Jerome went on to perform his third exercise - cambered bar wide grip curls. He started off with a plate per side. Jerome had some big and strong arms (definitely a strong point on his physique). At this point in the DVD, the face blotting got annoying, because I sited a babe in the background. Gold's gym is full of that. Oh well, there's always waiting for Guy's next installment in the series (featuring the ladies). After the cambered curls were completed, Jerome went on to perform seated hammer curls. All in all, Jerome is definitely a bodybuilder with pro potential - he recently came 2nd place at the USA Championships. He has the size, shape, condition, and drive to be a pro. I'm sure he'll get his card sooner or later (probably sooner). Abbas Khatami Abbas starts off by explaining the basic ins and outs of his quad workout. He had suffered an injury earlier in his life and does a lot of warmup sets to make up for that. He starts off hi workouts with leg extensions. Like Guy said, Abbas doesn't just have some of the best legs in the amateur ranks, but some of the best legs around. Abbas is an overall good speaker and provides good instructional commentary during his workout (See Also: Abbas Khatami: Advanced HIT DVD). Abbas is 5'8 and weighed in at 240 for the North American Bodybuilding Championships. He won his class and is another guy who should be going pro shortly (as of July 2005, he is still an amateur bodybuilder). Abbas continues to do sets of leg extensions, and his cuts and separation are clearly visible with every rep. For Abbas' next exercise, he performs walking lunges outside of Gold's. This is an exercise that both Ronnie Coleman and Dennis James performed in their videos - respectively in The Unbelievable and Back to Basics. Jay Cutler also performs this exercise as well (inside Gold's in his DVD Ripped to Shreds. Abbas says that he has been performing the same leg routine for five years. He shows very good results, so I won't question him on that. Next Abbas hits Smith Machine squats starting off with two plates. He does a bit of posing in between sets, showing the size and detail in his quads - he was also showing good calves development. Abbas moves up to three plates per side on the Smith squats, performing them roughly to parallel, then four plates. There was some pretty cool editing during this part - overall the DVD had some great production qualities. Good video quality, and nice editing touches. More than can be said for some bodybuilding DVDs, although I'm not usually one to complain. Abbas does another set with four plates and then adds some commentary. Abbas explains that he normally eats eight times a day and trains twice a day - more proof that bodybuilding is a lifestyle and the reason why I will probably never get much past 200 pounds. The training is great fun, but how anyone has time to eat eight meals a day is beyond me. I have a hard time getting in my six. Some compilation shots of Abbas are up as the sequence ends. Abbas is another guy who I think will be getting his pro card soon. Guy does the next intro (for Jason Bard), showing once again the good production values of the DVD. It seemed "mainstream" if that makes any sense - something you'd expect on ESPN. If enough good speakers can come out and produce DVDs, the better the chances of bodybuilding becoming more recognized by the general populace. What we need is attractive, confident representatives. Gunter comes to mind, and Guy and the crew on this DVD. Seems shallow, but bodybuilding has long been associated with a slew of negative stereotypes which have been everlasting black eyes. If we can deviate from those stereotypes, we can get bodybuilding more recognized. Gunter, for example, represents pretty much none of the stereotypes of bodybuilding (minus his muscle size). I don't know if bodybuilding will become more popular, but every well produced DVD helps. Jason Bard Jason is 29, and had just placed 9th in the super heavy class of the 2004 North Ameican Championships. As usual, Guy asks some questions as Jason begins his workout. This adds to the instructional nature of the DVD and makes it a worthwhile watch for the newbies as well as the intermediate and advanced traineers. Jason starts off with incline Smith Machine presses, working up to three plates per side which he handles for reps with ease. He then moves on to the flat machine presses where he goes up to four plates (35s) per side for reps, then adding a 45 to each side and pumping off some of those. After the presses, he moves on to cable crossovers where he does most of the stack for reps with ease - Jason definitely proves to have a strong upper body during his sequence. He hits some poses after a set with the cables, including a most muscular pose and a front lat spread - he sports good size as well as vascularity in his arms. Guy asks Jason some questions about his workout, and Jason explains his technique. After the talk, Jason moves on to pec deck flyes for his chest. After his chest workout is complete, Jason moves on to his shoulder workout. He starts off with the Smith machine again. Guy points out that shoulders are a freaky body part for Jason, and this I completely agree with. He goes on to do two plates per side on the Smith for reps which he handles pretty comfortably. After that, he hits side lateral raises. Jason does more lateral raises and is looking large. At 29, he will probably be pro within the next few years (it really is getting harder and harder to get that card). For rear delts, Jason does the reverse pec deck (one of my favourites for rear delts). Next we have some well edited scenes from Jason's segment to recap it and Guy comes in next to introduce Richard Farley. Richard Farley Since Richard was close to a show at the time of the filming, he said he didn't want to push himself to hard in risk of injury (smart training in my book). He starts off with seated side lateral raises (without a shirt) and displays his fantastic physique. From the front, back, and side, this guy was in condition. He definitely has the type of physique I wouldn't mind having myself. While I would consider most pros to be far too muscular, this is one guy whose physique I would take if I could snap my fingers and have it. Obviously, due to genetic limitations and time constraints, it's a moot point anyway, but you get the idea. Richard is a light heavy and looks fantastic at that weight. Richard is another guy who was working with Tom Prince - it seems that since his retirement from bodybuilding competition, he has become somewhat of a guru, helping out up and coming guys with their prep - good for Tom. Richard finishes off with some machine presses for his shoulders. Next Guy comes back to make some finishing comments for the DVD. He requests feedback for the DVD series from the viewers and points them to the contact info on the DVD - my feedback: don't blot out the babe's faces walking around Gold's! Seriously, this helps no one. ;-) Other than that, I have nothing but good things to say about the DVD. The Interviews Richard Farley Richard's interview takes place after his shoulder workout. Richard explains that he graduated from Chapman University with a degree in business finance. He says that he is a personal trainer and is currently pursuing bodybuilding. He explains that his first show was the 1999 Orange Country Classic where he won the novice middleweight and went on to win the open light heavyweight at 178 pounds in his first contest (very impressive). Like some other up and coming guys, Richard worked with Tom Prince and also Charles Glass. He entered the 2004 Tournament of Champions at 192 pounds and took second place (where he qualified for the Nationals). Richard's current goals are to bring up his weak points for national level competition. Guy went on to ask Richard how he felt about the prospect of becoming a pro, and also asked about his diet. From Richard's comments, he quite enjoyed working with Tom Prince. He had a lot of props for Tom. Jason Bard Next up to be interviewed was big Jason Bard - Guy asks Jason where his drive and motivation comes from and Jason explains (his wife was way up there, as well as family). The interview with Jason was fairly short, but Jason gave thanks to those who supported him and came across as genuinely modest. Abbas Khatami The interview took place shortly after Abbas' heavyweight win at the 2004 North American Bodybuilding Championships. Abbas put on 15 pounds of contest muscle between 2003-2004, which is basically unheard of at his level (top amateur). Abbas had been working his ass off for quite some time by the time of the interview and was looking forward to a well deserved rest. Abbas also mentioned he received a Bachelor's degee in Human Nutrition - it's always good to have a backup plan as a bodybuilder, since money is not always a guarantee in competition. Abbas is a good speaker and presents himself well in the interview and on the DVD as a whole. Posing Room Richard Farley Richard was looking very good - he had a small waist
and freaky all around conditioning. He hit the following poses: He looked great. Definitely a very pleasing physique. Jerome Ferguson Jerome did the following poses: Jerome had huge arms as well as a great taper. You can contact Jerome at his website, http://www.1bigman.com Previews This segment showed some footage of the next training video. Looks like Guy is featured in the next DVD. Hopefully it is available soon. DVD Sponsors Koolabura Tan Towel Kaizen Extras Grundy Theme Song The Grundy theme song runs during the menu portion of the DVD. It's pretty good. You can download the rap here: http://www.grundydvd.com/trailers.html. The Athletes Athlete bios and additional info is put on the screen in text format. It's a good addition to the DVD. Commentary Another good feature - although I prefer to watch the DVD without the commentary, it's nice to have this option available (as it is for movies as well). DVD Creator The DVD was produced by www.trueimageconcepts.com. The Music The music was produced by www.iconunderground.com. OVERALL REVIEW! To me, I judge a DVD for a few factors, a big one being price. I ask myself what expectations I have to make the DVD worth the money. For a DVD only costing $19.95 like this one, I have expecation "X" - if my expecations are met or exceeded, the DVD is worth getting. Needless to say, this DVD is well worth the money. Of course, there is more to it than that. It was a well produced DVD with good training footage and the bodybuilders in the DVD were in great shape (near contest condition) and good speakers. It's instructional and informative and definitely worth purchasing. Take care, |
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