Balanced biceps: building better arms doesn't have to be a high-wire act-craft your own with ease thanks to mark dugdale's intense training tactics

Muscle & Fitness, Sept, 2007 by Bill Geiger

WITH A SQUAT OF 675 POUNDS, HE NO DOUBT HAS the power of the strongman. He eats eight nutrient-dense meals a day, enough calories to rival the fat lady. And when he's with his daughters, he likes to clown around. But if Mark Dugdale were a circus performer, there's no question he'd be a juggler. * Yes, Mark has found that successfully balancing a professional bodybuilding career, a full-time job as vice president of a vegetable-processing plant outside Seattle and being dad to three young, energetic girls takes all the skills of an accomplished juggler, so to speak. It's a balancing act that consumes most of his day, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

"To me, having a sense of balance in all areas of my life is really important," he says. "Being married and having kids can create more challenges for a professional bodybuilder, but it also keeps me sane and grounded. I don't become so focused on only bodybuilding and lose track of everything else in life such as people, my job and my health. In fact, I'm glad that I'm so busy at work--if I'm dieting for a show, I don't have time to think about food!"

Contest dieting, Mark says, is unquestionably the toughest aspect of being a competitor. "I'm usually miserable, and that also affects the relationship with my family," he admits. "I tell people, 'How do I know if I'm ready for a show? If I'm miserable. If I'm not, I'm not going to be ready.' Being a smaller guy [he's 5'6", 210 pounds on contest day], I can't afford to be off one bit because I don't carry the size to be anything less than shredded."

Mark, who turned pro just three years ago after winning the overall at the 2004 NPC USA Championships as a light-heavy, put all that misery to good use this year with his best professional placing ever--second behind Toney Freeman at the Ironman Pro Invitational in February, which qualified him to compete in his first-ever Mr. Olympia this coming September.

"Now that I've qualified for the Olympia, of course I'm going to do it because that's the dream of every pro," he says. "But then I need to ask myself if I'm going to do the Arnold Classic again [where he finished 11th on March 3]. I'd have literally a month off my diet and then I'd be back on it. It really adds up. I know I can't really bring up my physique and make noticeable improvements when I'm dieting; I need off-season time for that."

Dieting won't be the only contributing factor to his future competitive decisions. Having kids--Mark married Christina when he was 21 and they had their first child two years later--has given him a different perspective on bodybuilding. "It has totally changed," he admits, "Some people wait [to have children] until after they're done competing. Having kids, I've got to look real hard at what shows I do."

THE ROUTINE

EXERCISE   SETS(1)    REPS

Standing      1      8-4-2(2)
EZ-Bar
Curl or
Standing
Cable
Curl

Hammer        1      6-4-3(2)
Curl

One-Arm       1      20-30(3)
Dumbbell
Preacher
Curl or
Barbell
Preacher
Curl (not
shown)
(1) Excludes 1-2 warm-up sets before the first exercise.
(2) Mark chooses a weight that he can use for 6-8 reps, rests about 20
seconds and continues the set. Ho gets about four more reps, rests
another 20 seconds and does as many additional reps as he can. He
does just this one set for the first two exercises.
(3) Followed immediately by a 60-second barbell stretch.

TRAINING SPLIT

DAY  BODYPARTS TRAINED

1    Chest, biceps, calves
2    Quads, abs
3    Rest
4    Back, hamstrings, calves
5    Shoulders, triceps, abs
6    Rest
7    Rest

Through it all, the balancing act continues. Mark also has the added pressure of proving himself to sponsors--he's now signed with both Weider and Nutrex--and not overextending himself with contest and guest appearances. "Not that there's a ton of pressure, but I feel I need to do well and present myself well to continue to maintain those contracts," he says. "In this past year I've tried to find happiness with myself in the sport if the contracts went away, to get back to the point where I simply enjoyed lifting weights and wasn't consumed with feeling like I have to gain x amount of pounds. I love working out; I'll do that forever."

In a sense, Mark's fortunate, too, that his body has responded well to his lower-volume, high-intensity training methods--he's in and out of the gym in about 60 minutes, training just four days a week. "Getting it done in an hour works for me not just in terms of my physique but for my life. I guess you could say I'm lucky in that sense. With my workload and my family, I simply couldn't afford to invest in 2 1/2-hour high-volume workouts daily."

Juggling the demands of running a $10 million company, the responsibilities of being a husband and father, and the necessary commitment that comes with being a highly ranked professional bodybuilder--it may not be easy, but if he can help it, Mark's not about to drop the ball.

MARK'S BODY HAS RESPONDED WELL-TO LOWER-VOLUME, HIGH-INTENSITY TRAINING JUST FOUR DAYS A WEEK