Martin Luther King Addo is a competitive bodybuilder with an amazing physique. He believes in natural bodybuilding (so he has never used steroids), eating healthy food, rest and peace of mind. Born and raised in Ghana, West Africa, Luther started focusing on working out and bodybuilding at age 18 in Accra (the capital city) and competing there at 24. He won the Mr. Ghana title twice, the top bodybuilding contest in his country. In 1999, Addo moved to New York City where he continues to bodybuild. He has already won several U.S. competitions. In the September issue, we focused on Luther's unusual Ashanti diet. This month, POWER gets the skinny on his approach to training.

Aerobics: "My workout is about an hour, including aerobics, resistance training and stretching. Normally ten to 15 minutes is aerobic, because I also do a lot of other aerobic activity like walking, running and swimming. If you don't do other physical activities during the day, 25 to 30 minutes should be spent on aerobics - depending on how long it takes to achieve your maximum heart rate."

Resistance Training: "I really believe in dumbbell workouts because, when I started, this was the only available equipment and it has worked very well for me. I don't believe in extremely heavy poundage because I don't want to injure my tendons, ligaments, etc. I believe in very intense workouts, with more repetitions, and working the bigger muscles in the body first - like the legs, chest, shoulders and back. All intermediate and  advanced bodybuilders specialize in what they need most to make the greatest progress. Right now, I am specializing in my calves, forearms, triceps, and trapezius muscles.

POWER: How often do you work out?

ADDO: I do weight training three or four times a week to build various muscles. When I try to bulk up, most of it is heavy exercise. Weight training is one-day on, one-day off because the muscles need 24-48 hours to recover. I do [a full] aerobic workout twice per week on the Brooklyn Bridge; swimming; or stationary bicycling in the gym. I take off at least one day on the weekends - and often both Saturday and Sunday - to give my body a full rest.

POWER: What is your workout routine on a weekly basis?

ADDO: On weight training days, I always spend the first ten to 15 minutes doing an aerobic exercise to warm up the muscles. Then I move onto the floor to do stretching for another ten to 20 minutes. I really believe in stretching every day. Actual weight training takes about 45 minutes.

"I warm up the lower back and hamstrings to strengthen and stretch them, and prevent injury, with an uncommon exercise called ‘the good morning'; put a barbell on your trapezius muscles and bend over at the waist with slightly bent knees. I use an empty 45-lb. bar [Luther normally uses a 45-lb. Olympic bar when he is training the large body parts].

"Then I normally do five sets of squats, using a barbell. The first two sets are 20 reps with a 45-lb. plate on each side (135 lbs., including the two sets of ten reps. Then I put three 45-lb. plates on each side (315 lbs.) for six to eight reps, if I have a very good training partner to back me up and help me. This is the heaviest weight I use for this exercise."

"If my energy level is [still] good, I like to do leg extensions; three sets of ten to 15 reps with 30-40-plus lbs., since I am working smaller muscles. And then I do two sets of lunge walks of ten paces forward and ten paces back with 30-lb. dumbbells in each hand."

Day Two: Chest

"I normally start with pull-ups (palms out). This helps my upper body warm up and get a good stretch before I hit the pectoral muscles. I do two to three sets, often to 12 reps."

"Then, using 20-30-lb. dumbbells, I do two to three sets of flyes to warm up the pectoral muscles further."

"Next are bench presses. When I started bodybuilding, I felt most comfortable with the bench press - lying on the bench, pressing it up and down. And it really helped build up my pectoral muscles. I believe in inclining and declining bench press workouts, rather than only using flat benches, which is all I had in Ghana. I prefer to use dumbbells for bench pressing because it gives me more range of motion to be able to fully contract the muscles. I do three sets of eight to ten reps, starting with 50 lbs. With each set, I increase the weight. I may go up to 100 lbs. in the last set."

"Then one more set of pull-ups."

"After this, I do a set of pullovers (the straight-arm variation utilizing a barbell)."

"Then I do dips (three sets of ten reps), which really work the triceps and inner chest at the same time. I use only bodyweight, since my muscles are [already] fatigued."

Day Three: Back and Triceps

"I begin with pull-ups. Then I do wide-grip pulldowns to the chin or the chest; three sets of 12 reps with a moderate weight (70-80 lbs.), so I can fully contract the muscles and have a full range of motion."

"After this I do three sets of one-armed dumbbell rowing; ten reps with 70-80 lbs., leaning on an incline bench at a 45-degree angle (instead of on a flat bench)."

"For the back, I then do an E-Z Curl bar bent arm pullover; three sets of ten reps with 40 lbs. on the first set, 60 on the second and 80 on the third, (or a 60-70-lb. bent-arm dumbbell pullover)."

"For the triceps, I do lying triceps extensions; three sets of ten to 12 reps with 30 lbs. Then come close-grip bench presses; 45 lbs. on each side; three sets of six to eight reps."

Day Four: Shoulders and Biceps

"I begin with pull-ups. Then come seated dumbbell overhead presses; three sets of ten to12 reps with 60 plus lbs. I am very cautious on this exercise because the shoulder is a very delicate injury-prone joint." *

"The upright row with an E-Z Curl bar for the deltoids/trapezius is next; 40 lbs. on each side; three sets of eight to ten reps."

"Standing lateral raises follow; 25-30 lbs. on each side; three sets of eight to ten reps. I usually combine my biceps work with the shoulder exercises."

"I normally do hammer curls for my forearms; three sets of ten to 12 reps with 40 lbs. Sometimes I substitute reverse curls for hammer curls."

"My favorite exercise is the standing barbell curl, which gives a really good pump. Right afterwards, my biceps really cry. I do between two and three sets of six to ten reps with 45 lbs. on each side, using the shorter version of the Olympic bar (35 lbs.)."

"Finally, there's a close-grip E-Z bar on the preacher bench curls."

POWER: What about your calves? How much time do you spend working on them?

ADDO: I work them three to five times per week, on both aerobic and weight training days. I use three exercises: the standing calf machine (six sets of 15-20 reps with 180-200 lbs.) and the seated calf machine (three sets of ten to 12 reps with 90 lbs.). I then do the "100-rep pump": I stand on the edge of a stair, with the balls of my feet on the step and heels extending over the edge. I pump my heels up as high as possible and then drop them as low as possible, and count to 100 before getting off the step.

POWER: Your abs are amazing. Do you work much on them?

ADDO: I don't really work on my abs until two weeks before acompetition because I don't have to. I train my clients with incline sit-ups, using a twisting variation from time to time; these work the lower, middle and upper sections and the walls of the abs. They also do hanging knee raises and. If they're strong enough, hanging leg raises. I believe the proper approach and quality of the abs exercise is what really counts - not the number of reps.

POWER: Do your clients follow your workout procedure?

ADDO: They often do, but use moderate weights so they can [complete] ten to 12 reps. I tell them not to get discouraged if they can't do pull-ups or the other exercises right away. Little by little, they will eventually be able to do more.

* Luther takes care not to go too heavy on seated dumbbell presses, so as not to overstress the shoulder joint.