Roman in the Wild: German Precision in Brazilian Paradise

IFBB Pro and Animal athlete Roman “Rex” Fritz is known for his machine-like execution. A proud purveyor of “German precision,” Roman takes care to leave nothing to chance in any bodybuilding endeavor.

So the deconstructed confines of Arpoador’s Flintstones Gym in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, in all the glory of its crude, beautiful chaos, did not fit within Roman’s comfort zone. Roman stated plainly, “Obviously, I didn’t know what to expect from the weight pit, so I went into the session without any predetermined plan, which is something I never do.”

Though unconventional, the rugged makeshift oceanfront gym suited Roman’s brutally intense approach to the iron. Known for thorough, focused training, Roman chose his workout based on the provided tools. “When I saw what was available, I decided to focus the workout on shoulders with a little bit of biceps and triceps thrown in.”

When he undertakes any task, he puts his all into it. So even an impromptu session without the typical forethought was to be comprehensive and methodical. Supersets were on the menu, so Roman began by employing the principle of pre-exhaustion, tacking on some biceps work as well.

“I started out pre-exhausting with dumbbell side raises supersetted with overhead dumbbell presses. Five supersets of twenty reps each. Using my beloved rest/pause principle in case I hit failure before twenty reps were completed. After every shoulder superset I threw in a couple of sets of alternate dumbbell curls using a weight that would allow for 10-12 reps.”

Pre-exhaustion is an advanced training technique that allows a lifter to completely fatigue his targeted muscle group using isolation movements prior to compound movements. This style of training accentuates a deep burn in the muscle tissue and places less emphasis on using the heaviest weights possible. A bodybuilder employing pre-exhaustion has already gotten a pump and stimulated muscle before a heavy free weight basic exercise has even begun.

He then moved on to an old school combination, alternating variants of the standard military press. “Next for shoulders was military barbell presses paired with behind the neck presses. I used the same barbell for both exercises. Ten reps to the front immediately followed by ten reps to the back of the neck. Again, rest/paused if necessary.”

The rest/pause style of training focuses the lifter on a specific, challenging number of total repetitions. Using weight that makes reaching that goal number in a single set unlikely, rest/pause training allows the lifter to rest briefly. There's just enough time for recovery to continue the set and reach the desired number.

Attempting to shift some focus to triceps, Fritz incorporates a powerful, underrated upper body mass movement and combines it with an overlooked shoulder exercise to finish the session right.

“Last were five sets of dips to failure combined with barbell upright rows for twelve reps. On dips I focused mainly on keeping the tension on the triceps and emphasizing the overload in the fully stretched position, emphasizing constant tension and overloading the stretched position of a given movement are vital for hypertrophy.”

And that was that. Moving at a blistering pace that would leave most bodybuilders’ heads spinning, Roman smashed his delts and arms. “This workout consisting of a little over thirty sets only took me around thirty-five minutes to complete. But it was the best I could do that night despite of the very limited equipment available.”

Challenges aside, the young German IFBB pro made the muscle-building most of his chance to train in this unique and picturesque lifting locale. He did not let less than perfect lifting tools deter him from having the best workout possible. Here, the strength of Roman’s will and tenacity became clear. “If you have a strong enough 'why' you'll figure out the 'how'... No matter what it takes.”

Watch the Video (9:02)

Roman's Flintstone Workout