Bodybuilding titans Breon Ansley and Larry Wheels recently partnered for an arms workout. Ansley, who has been competing at the absolute top level for over half a decade, gave Wheels some important posing lessons and training advice as they both prepare for the next chapter of their respective careers.
Breon Ansley is an American IFBB Pro bodybuilder and the former 2-time Classic Physique Olympia champion. He won the prestigious crown at the 2017 and 2018 Olympia. However, rising contender Chris Bumstead caught up with him eventually and dethroned Ansley in 2019. But in spite of having lost the title, the former champion remained in the top five and gave tough competition to Bumstead.
Ansley had stated on several occasions that weight caps in the Classic Physique might force him to move up in weight. He expressed the intention to make the inevitable move after the 2022 Olympia. Following a fourth-place finish at this show, Ansley passed on the torch to Bumstead and left the Classic Physique division behind.
He started the off-season training and diet with a goal to add at least 10 lbs to the frame for the 212 divisional debut. It is not clear when Ansley plans to compete next. However, the Classic Physique division has revised the weight limit. This change can allow Breon Ansley to keep an additional 7 lbs in weight. As a result, he is contemplating a move back to his old division.
Recently, the 43-year-old joined hands with powerlifter, bodybuilder, and arm wrestler Larry Wheels for an arms workout. Wheels is best known for wrecking personal weightlifting records in the gym. The 28-year-old is one of the few people in the fitness industry that have always been open about using PEDs to fuel their performance. However, he decided to stop the use in favor of long-term health and only relies on TRT.
Wheels is set to return to bodybuilding in the Classic Physique division and has looked ripped in recent physique updates. However, he is a novice when it comes to posing. The record-wrecking machine has taken posing lessons from the late Joe Lindner. He learned the same from Breon Ansley after their joint training session.
While Larry Wheels has been diagnosed with Rhabdomyolysis and had to be hospitalized because of that, he is doing great in terms of training.
Breon Ansley and Larry Wheels go through arms workout
Larry Wheels and Breon Ansley trained the arms together and discussed several aspects of bodybuilding. The video of this session was posted on Breon Ansley’s personal YouTube channel.
So without further delay, let’s take a closer look at the detailed account of this training session.
Standing Dumbbell Curls
Breon Ansley and Larry Wheels started the training session with the standing dumbbell curls to work the biceps brachii muscles. After doing a few warm-up sets, the duo cranked out a few solid sets to build the arms.
Wheels could not help but admire the incredible endurance Ansley showed while cranking out a heavy set of standing dumbbell curls.
“That’s what I am trying to improve. Strength endurance and muscle endurance. Because once you improve on those man, performance can only improve but lead to the look… No doubt!” Ansley responded.
Machine Preacher Curls
The training partners next jumped into the machine preacher curls for stimulating the biceps further. They annihilated some hypertrophy-inducing sets of the exercise unilaterally as well as with both arms on a machine and jumped into the next movement.
Overhead Biceps Curls
To really build well-rounded muscles, it’s important to hit them from various angles and levels during your workouts. This approach highlights different aspects of the muscle and contributes to achieving more comprehensive and balanced development. The overhead biceps curl is one such exercise that helps with it.
Wheels and Ansley executed some heavy sets of the exercise with slow and controlled movements before moving on to the triceps exercise.
Overhead Cable Triceps Extensions
Breon Ansley and Larry Wheels wrapped up the arms workout with a few sets of overhead cable triceps extensions. Although this exercise targets all three heads of triceps, it works the muscle from a lengthened position and emphasizes the long head of the triceps more.
After finishing this concluding part of the workout, Breon Ansley gave Larry Wheels some posing lessons and shared insightful tips for the newbie to follow.
Overall, the workout included:
- Standing Dumbbell Curls
- Machine Preacher Curls
- Overhead Cable Curls
- Overhead Cable Triceps Extensions
Breon Ansley explains the weight struggles in the Classic Physique division
Ansley explained that his weight cap for Classic Physique in 2013 – the year he turned pro – was 176.5 lbs. Things haven’t changed much in the nine years that followed. According to him, the weight cap for the 2022 Olympia was 180 lbs, a mere 3.5 lbs over.
“So yes, we’re talking, I only had three and three quarters to work within nine years!” Ansley clarified.
The draconian weight cap restrictions affected the former Classic Physique Olympia champion not just in the competition but off-season as well.
“Knowing that I have to be [176 to 180 lbs], I would have to keep it to above 208, 209, 210… But I would have to keep it there. If I’d get over 210, 215… That’s too much. That’d be to much struggle to get down, you know,” he explained.
Onlookers might assume that cutting down to the competition weight would actually work better for muscle definition and conditioning. However, getting down to the goal weight without losing the muscle mass was a real struggle that Ansley had to fight through.
“If you’re losing muscle, in this game, it’s gonna work against you. Those are the most important things. Not to lose muscle and hold on to all that muscle, by any means necessary,” Ansley said.
Breon Ansley suggests plan of action to Larry Wheels
Larry Wheels is working on the launch of his first ‘no budget’ gym. He was planning to compete in an Amateur bodybuilding show one month after his gym opening on Nov. 1. However, Ansley suggested an alternative route that could give him an opportunity to be at the 2023 Olympia.
According to Ansley, Wheels should try to open the gym in October. He can then compete at the 2023 Amateur Olympia at the beginning of November to earn the IFBB Pro card and kick-start his professional bodybuilding career. Wheels, who was obviously impressed by the suggestion, said:
“I see what you’re saying there. What someone proposed is that I should do my first show right before Pro Olympias go on. So that someone says, ‘Oh, Larry looks better than some of these Pros or Olympians’,” Wheels replied.
Breon Ansley will challenge elite members of the 212 division like reigning champion Shaun Clarida and former champion Kamal Elgargni at the 2023 Olympia. It will be interesting to see if Larry Wheels acts on his advice and attempts to earn the IFBB Pro card on the Amateur Olympia show.
You can watch the full workout video here, courtesy of Breon Ansley’s personal YouTube channel:
Published: 14 August, 2023 | 9:16 AM EDT
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