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Published on Sunday, 29 January 2012 11:49
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Written by Greg Kovacs
A common, repetitive, question I receive from bodybuilders is: Who are the greatest minds in the sport with regard to nutrition, supplementation, and general science knowledge. Personally, I have always strongly believed that to be an expert and to have unique insights in a specialty field such as bodybuilding, it’s important that a person be highly intelligent as well as have “in the trenches” and grass roots knowledge of what it is that their advising on. That’s why is sports such as football, baseball, and basketball you see retired pro athletes as commentators, coaches and involved in some aspect of the sport they once excelled at. Their experience, knowhow and passion for their chosen sport delivers intangible things that you simply cannot teach in a classroom.
In my humble opinion, there are two men that epitomize these criteria best and those people are Milos Sarcev and Dave Palumbo. Both were elite bodybuilders and brought out the best of what they were genetically given using theories and techniques they believed in and mastered by using themselves as guinea pigs. On one hand it may be argued Dave never got his pro card but who gives a shit. No one maximized their potential for putting on muscle mass more than Dave; and displayed quality muscle, no less. I remember, years ago, having the pleasure of visiting Dave and hanging out with him while I watched one of his leg workouts. At this point in time he was probably weighing 315 pounds and he was wearing his customary string tank top and shorts and I remember staring at the crazy amount of gnarly, detailed, vascular mass he carried; it was more than I had ever seen before. I remember watching him do a set of standing leg curls; his hamstrings looked like a blown up moving anatomy chart as they extended and contracted. It was wild. He truly applied his unique diet and low volume training techniques to maximize his potential.
Milos also maximized his potential by applying his nutrition and training techniques. He was actually so detailed and analytical that he had an extensive and detailed journal that he kept for every contest prep and peaking technique he used to the nth degree. I remember he showed me one of them and it looked like he was preparing a report for a university-level course on bodybuilding, as if that existed. He was constantly learning from one show to the next and fine tuning his peaking process. If I recall correctly, I remember Nasser El Sonbaty studied these journals extensively with and without Milos’ permission. Don’t forget, Milos competed in more pro shows than almost any pro and did quite well in most, if not all of them, by always being in great condition and exhibiting nice fullness. No one looked better standing in a line up in a semi-relaxed pose. Wide shoulders, full chest, great abs and awesome thigh sweep and separation are all traits he is well known for.
Both were already helping and advising other competitors, even while in their heyday. So it is no surprise that both are still doing it today. Whereas David has branched out to broadcasting, researching and reporting on all that is relevant in the industry through RX Muscle, Milos has focused more on in-the-gym one-on-one training and really perfected his theories to his own unique approach. Both are using all their experience and background to continue being involved in the industry and sport they were passionate, lived, and experienced at the highest level. They have both been there, done that, and that cannot be taught but only learned through years of experience.
In order to improve and advance the sport, people like Dave and Milos are both invaluable in their knowledge, unique way of analyzing, and general thinking processes to help the next generation of bodybuilders from making the same mistakes they made along the way. I will admit that throughout my career whenever I had a question or wanted an opinion I valued I was lucky enough to have both these men as friends to call. But now with the advent of the internet and Rx Muscle you all can have that same advantage I had. Hope everyone realizes how lucky they are to have both these guys in one forum now to answer your concerns, confusions, and questions. It feels good to be part of an elite team like that. Keep blasting!
