"V" for victory? Ronnie Coleman's much-reported anointment of Victor Martinez as his heir apparent was made with the caveat that Coleman would be retired. Will Martinez wait that long?

Flex, Oct, 2006 by Allan Donnelly

Whether or not he unseats Coleman, Martinez can earn that respect with another high finish at the Olympia. Along the way, he can begin to fulfill his colossal potential. "I'm using it as a tool for motivation," Martinez says. "Sacrifices need to be made. There's too much on the line--it's not just a trophy anymore. Opportunity comes only once, and this is it."

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEVIN HORTON

VEGAS-BOUND

The following is Victor Martinez's precontest workout plan as he readies
for the September 29-30 Mr. Olympia showdown.

                    DAY 1: SHOULDERS, CALVES AND ABS

BODYPART    EXERCISE                                SETS      REPS

Shoulders   Seated dumbbell presses                  4     12, 10, 8, 6
            Single-arm standing dumbbell presses     3      10, 10, 10
              superset with
              Single-arm lateral raises              3      12, 10, 8
            Bent lateral raises (on incline bench)   3      10, 10, 10
            Barbell shrugs                           3      10, 10, 10

Calves      Seated calf raises                       3        15-20
            Standing calf raises                     3        15-20
            Donkey calf raises                       3        15-20

Abs *       Leg raises triset with                   3          20
              Crunches and                           3          20
              Russian twists                         3          20
            Cable crunches triset with               3          20
             Roman-chair crunches and                3          20
             Hanging leg raises                      3          20

                             DAY 2: QUADS

Quads       Leg extensions                           4    40, 30, 20, 15
            Squats                                   4     15, 12, 8-10
            Leg presses [dagger]                     4    20, 15, 10, 10
            Hack squats                              3      12, 12, 12
            Sissy squats                            3-4       12-15

                   DAY 3: BACK, TRICEPS AND HAMSTRINGS

Back        Pullups                                  3      15, 15, 15
            Deadlifts                                4    10, 10, 10, 10
            Lat pulldowns                            4    12, 12, 12, 12
            One-arm dumbbell rows                   3-4   10, 10, 10, 10

Triceps     Single-arm overhead dumbbell             4    10, 10, 10, 10
            extensions
            Cable pushdowns                          4    10, 10, 10, 10
            Close-grip bench presses                 4    10, 10, 10, 10

Hamstrings  Lying leg curls                          4        10-12
            Stiff-leg deadlifts                      4        10-12
            Lying single-leg curls                   3      10, 10, 10

                      DAY 4: CHEST, BICEPS AND ABS

Chest       Incline barbell presses                  4     12, 10, 8, 8
            Dumbbell flat-bench presses              4     12, 10, 8, 8
             superset with
             Hammer Strength presses                 3      10, 10, 10
            Dumbbell pullovers                       3      10, 10, 10

Biceps      Standing barbell curls                   3      10, 10, 10
            Alternate dumbbell curls                 3      10, 10, 10
            Concentration curls                      3      10, 10, 10

Abs *       Leg raises triset with                   3          20
              Crunches and                           3          20
              Russian twists                         3          20
            Cable crunches triset with               3          20
             Roman-chair crunches and                3          20
             Hanging leg raises                      3          20

* Martinez performs his abdominal exercises as trisets, running through
each cycle three times. He rests for approximately 40 seconds between
each triset.
[dagger] After his fourth set, Martinez performs a drop set of 6-8 reps,
decreasing the amount of weight used by approximately three plates per
side for three sets.