The movie starts off with an intro detailing his start with bodybuilding. Markus had injured his leg playing soccer, and upon the advice of his doctor, went to the gym to build up some leg muscles. With time, he got bigger and bigger - it showed him in 1992 - a far cry from his current size, but you could clearly tell he was made for bodybuilding. It then showed pictures of him currently, weighing in at over 280 pounds in contest shape - around double the body weight he was at when he started bodybuilding at age 18! I personally assumed that Markus was a mesomorph or an endomorph, but judging by his picture at age 18, he clearly looks like an ectomorph.
The training sequences in the video were shot in grainy black and white.
Markus starts off with machine incline bench presses for his chest with his wife Simone spotting him. He goes all the way up to five plates each side (495 pounds)! He arches his back slightly while performing this movement, but nevertheless, Markus has one strong chest! He breathes hard throughout the set, giving 110% effort, and follows his set up with some posing.
Next he moves on to the machine press for chest - his body weight at the time of training was 138 kg (295 lbs). After that, he heads over to do cable crossovers and follows it all up with some posing.
Next we move on to the Jump Fitness Center - this sequence is shot in colour. Markus explains how he has never been in the spinning room, and that he is not allowed on the treadmills because he is too heavy (haha). There is a special bike just for him to use for cardio.
Markus uses an extremely wide grip for his bench press movements (incline, decline and regular flat barbell bench presses), and he uses a very narrow bench.
Next Markus moves on to his biceps workout - also shot in grainy black and white. He is curling 200 pounds on the curl machine. He does six sets normally, in the 5-15 rep range. Markus gave the following advice for building big biceps: "Just train." What Markus meant by this is that people are always trying to turn bodybuilding into an exact science, when really it is mainly about dedication and consistency. If you are consistently working out hard in the gym and eating the proper amount of calories and protein at the proper times - you will grow. That is what Markus is trying to say. Markus also complains that some of the machines he uses are so small that they can't accomodate him since he's so big! His biceps measure 60 cm (24 inches). Markus then moves on to a unique exercise for his biceps, where he lies down on a flat bench, and does cable curls - explaining that he likes to do three sets of 12-25 reps for this exercise (his invention). This is followed by two hand cable curls - Markus likes this motion because it gives him a chance to practice the same pose which he will later be showing on stage in competition - the "front double biceps" pose. Markus uses this exercise to get a good pump in his biceps.
For the next sequence, Markus visits some of his fans! Like the rest of the non training footage in this DVD - this section is in full colour. Markus is so huge he needs help taking off his shirt! He is always joking around and it is no surprise to me why Markus Ruhl is so popular in the sport of bodybuilding. He is well liked for a reason. Markus poses for the crowd in living colour and hits the following poses:
Front Lat Spread
Front Double Biceps
Most Muscular
Afterwards, Markus heads back in the gym for another hardcore workout in black and white. He hits his triceps this time - starting with french presses (skull crushers) using 170 pounds on the E-Z curl bar. He goes up to 210 pounds on this exercise and does 10-20 reps per set. Markus then comments that he trains his triceps twice a week using heavy weights, and that once, when he decided to change this routine up a bit, he lost 2 CM on his triceps in only two weeks! That is almost an inch off his arms in only two weeks time.
Markus then goes on to do triceps pushdowns using a long bar. He does two sets using light weight and great form. His last set is using very heavy weight. Markus' wife Simone also trains triceps with him - she is exceptionally strong and in excellent (near contest) condition at the time of filming. Markus cites genetics as the reason his triceps are lacking in comparison to other body parts - he states that Kevin Levrone and Lee Priest have excellent triceps and work out using similar exercises that he does. Markus says that the rest of his body overwhelms his triceps but that they are one of his favourite muscles to train. He follows up with some posing and once again - Markus is looking large and in charge.
FOOD
Now Markus goes over the part that really builds him the muscle - all of the goodies in his kitchen, and boy is it ever packed. He shows us the following items:
Markus explains that he eats eight meals a day to build size.
Now Markus goes back to the gym for a hardcore training session for back. He starts with front lat pulldowns. Then does pullups. He uses wraps during the workout and explains that it is all about the feeling in the muscle and not the amount of weight being used. He then does incline dumbbell rows using up to 80 kg (180 pounds). He explains that he knows he will not be able to win the Mr. Olympia Contest - probably in part due to the current competition including Ronnie Coleman, Jay Cutler, and Dexter Jackson - but he says he would like to win the Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic. Markus says he wants to always have fun and please the founds. For his back he then does seated rows using wraps for his grip and going up to 480 pounds. He then does 530 pounds with his wife Simone helping spot him.
GOING GROCERY SHOPPING
Next Markus goes shopping, and he is a complete joker, clowning around with people he sees in the grocery store. One of the other customers in the store looks completely in awe (or disgusted) with Markus' mass! It was hard to read what she was thinking, but she was certainly shocked to see how massive Markus was. Markus goes out to the parking lot and lights up a cigarette. Next we see some more offseason footage - he goes to Burger King and jokes around in an elevator (he is so huge he can barely fit in the elevator with the other people). He is shown as a special guest at the DTM.
Back to the grainy black and white footage, Markus works out his shoulders. He does machine shoulder presses, 6-10 sets of 3-25 reps per set. He starts off with "easy weight" but it gets much heavier throughout the sets. Markus clearly has huge and extremely strong shoulders. He follows it up with some posing, and then does incline bench laterals for his rear delts. He goes up to 95 pounds per side (42.5 kg). He then does seated lateral raises - three sets of 5-15 reps using 50 pound dumbbells. He then does flat bench "upright rows" which Ruhl himself created using light weight. Markus follows that up with dumbbell shrugs - he trains using wraps for grip. He starts using 50 pound dumbbells, but finishes using 200 pound dumbbells (10-20 reps / set).
Markus states that he hopes to compete in bodybuilding for another six years, and win the Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic Contest. He loves to train and makes that totally clear when he talks about bodybuilding.
We then get a glimpse into Markus Ruhl's bodybuilding trophy collection in full colour. He shows us quite a few of his bodybuilding achievements. Back to grainy black and white footage - Markus trains his legs. Markus goes up to around 1,800 pounds on the leg press! His quads are pretty strong - other than Ronnie Coleman and Johnnie Jackson, Markus is no doubt one of the strongest bodybuilders around and has some of the strongest legs on the scene. Markus says he can't do squats anymore because his shoulders have become so big it makes it impossible! So he does machine front squats instead, and leg extensions, which he says he does to improve the detail of his quads. Markus has become so huge that he is riddled with stretch marks - this is the result of gaining so much mass that the skin ends up stretching. He has clearly put on some size since his beginning in bodybuilding!
BONUS MATERIAL:
Some of the bonus material is listed below.
Video Diary - 2002 Night of Champions.
Seminar in Powerhouse Gym Lahnstein.
"On the Way" - Amateur Footage of Various Contests.
"Posing Lesson" - In this track, Markus helps Simone with her posing routine for an upcoming contest.
Simone Ehrlich Onstage.
Outtakes - More Ruhl - Eibon Films - XXXL.
BUY "MADE IN GERMANY" ON DVD!
Markus Ruhl - Made in Germany (DVD)
Retail Price: $39.95 Our Price: $35.95
Click Here To Buy This DVD Language: English & German [selectable] Format: DVD NTSC Encoding: Region Free - Will play on any DVD player Number of Discs: 1
Running time: ~ 120 minutes Extras: > 60 minutes
Studio: Eibon Films
I have this DVD and it's in both english and german. If you understand german this DVD is twice as good. He talks a lot on the commentary track and really gives some great tips. For instance, when he talks about what foods he eat, you only get half of what he is really saying when choosing english track.
This is my alltime favorite BB video. He talks A LOT and pulls some heavy ass weights + he is funny.
5/5 Dumbbells (german)
4/5 Dumbbells (english)
__________________ No broadband connection yet = not able to be online
A must have BB video!!!
He shows you how hard he works and how hard you should work.
The best thing is that he looks like he loves BB and you really feel that through out.
