Marek “Mr.Mesi” Liiva is a primal man, a beekeeper and a child of nature. Over the past year, Mr.Mesi has streaked across the Estonian bodybuilding sky like a comet, leaving everyone impressed with a fearsome biceps. How does Mr.Mesi train those arms, and which folk remedies keep the body going? The idea of this article is to walk through that training day.
We meet at Arctic Sport Club — a gym where well-known Estonian big names often work out and where the facilities are excellent all round. At least nobody gets chased out of there, unlike at some other Tallinn “elite club” where the narrow-mindedness is downright suffocating. But that’s beside the point.
Preparation in the car trunk
Before stepping into the gym, Mesi leads me over to the pre-war Ford Escort. When the tailgate swings open, a genuine canteen and a whole folk-medicine collection come into view.
First we eat garlic — according to Mesi, it’s a vegetable with an anabolic effect. Mesi crunches a couple of cloves with relish. On the side goes a handful of sea buckthorn berries (vitamin C) and nettle leaves (amino acids, vitamins, iron). Topping it off, half a pack of yeast “to get the power in” and a beer — vitamin E and calories for energy.
Finally, Mr.Mesi pulls off the shirt, grabs a bunch of nettles and starts whipping. This is supposed to stimulate the nerve endings and leave you pleasantly wired before the workout. The weather was damp today, so no bees were brought along — otherwise they’re used for stinging.
At the gym door, one more Milligamma injection — B vitamins. Why inject vitamins? Because the effect is stronger. Still, I recommend that readers don’t copy this blindly — not every syringe holds steroids or narcotics. But it’s worth doing your research before you pick up a needle.
Back training — the light version
Mesi trains back lightly: just two exercises, four sets each. The pyramid principle, 4 x 12, 10, 8, 6.
Lat pulldowns to the chest
Sit down at the pulldown station, take a medium-width grip on the bar and start pulling down in a controlled way. Keep the movements calm. As you perform the exercise, consciously push your elbows forward — you’ll feel your back working more. I had never tried this trick myself, but it gives back work a completely new feel.
Behind-the-neck lat pulldowns
The second and last exercise for the back. Nothing special — go by feel. Use a weight you have the strength to control. Mesi doesn’t load an extremely heavy plate onto the stack; a light weight can load the muscles just as well when the execution is clean.
Main biceps training — EZ barbell and dumbbells
And now to what Mr.Mesi had really been getting ready for — the biceps.
EZ barbell curls
To isolate the biceps as much as possible, we lean our backs against the wall. The wall rules out momentum and keeps the training load on the target muscle alone. Instead of a pyramid, this time we keep the weight the same — there’s plenty of it — and on the last repetitions a partner helps finish off the effort. The scheme is 4 x 12, 10, 8, 6.
Seated dumbbell curls
Sit on a bench, set the backrest upright and lift the dumbbells alternately. One little trick: don’t raise the dumbbell all the way up to your chin, but curl the arm only 90 degrees. That way the tension doesn’t leave the biceps. Choose a sensible weight so that the movements stay calm and controlled right up to your limit. 4 x 12, 10, 8, 6.
Meanwhile Kiku arrives at the gym — and who doesn’t know Kiku, the beauty and pride of Arctic — and asks, wrinkling up a nose, what the hell that onion stink in here is. That’s what folk medicine does for you.
Biceps finisher — lying cable curls
Mesi keeps swapping exercises to give both mind and body some variety. When we reach the last exercise, Mesi asks what’s next. I recommend my favorite.
Set the cable to run from above and place a bench in front of the station. Lie down on the bench with your head toward the cable and start pulling the handle down by curling your forearms. Make sure you consciously squeeze your elbows in slightly — this adds extra tension to the biceps. A very good, isolating exercise. Liiva was delighted with it and promised to add it to the program from now on. 4 x 12, 10, 8, 6.
Abs finisher
Hanging leg raises. Wall bars, grip on the top rung, legs swung briskly up overhead. Raise them to the limit of your ability. 3 x max.
Bench leg and torso raises. You sit across the bench, hold on to the edge and raise your upper body and legs at the same time. Simple, effective. 3 x max.
Lying trunk flexions. Lie on your back, one hand behind your head, the knee on the same side bent up. Raise your upper body and rotate inward — the training load goes to the obliques. Switch sides without resting and repeat to the limit of your ability. 3 x max.
Marek’s weekly training plan
- Lat pulldowns to the chest 4 x 12, 10, 8, 6
- Behind-the-neck lat pulldowns 4 x 12, 10, 8, 6
- EZ-barbell arm curls 4 x 12, 10, 8, 6
- Seated dumbbell arm curls 4 x 12, 10, 8, 6
- Supine cable pulldowns 4 x 12, 10, 8, 6
- Hanging leg raises 3 x max
- Bench leg and torso raises 3 x max
- Lying trunk flexions 3 x max
- Mon — back, biceps
- Tue — wrestling
- Wed — chest
- Thu — legs
- Fri — wrestling
- Sat — shoulders
Marek “Mr. Honey” Liiva in his own words
“I rarely rest, because otherwise I can’t sleep at night — I sleep at lunchtime every single day, after all. In winter I rest more, because there’s no sun to give me energy and no nettles to get me especially wired. I just discovered a new supplement — it works like tribulus, it’s hemp agrimony. Give it a try.
Unfortunately I didn’t have any bees on hand before the Doers’ Workout, because it was raining. I use them to invigorate myself and ease muscle soreness — bee venom numbs the nerves. Usually on weekends I let 20 bees sting me, which gets me so wired that I want to fight or wrestle. But there are no bears in that forest to roughhouse with, so to calm down I fell trees for fun.
I whip myself with nettles before training, because they really wake you up. Your nerve endings kick into gear, and when I eat them I get plenty of vitamins, especially iron. I recommend yeast to everyone — it cleanses the blood and puts you in a positive mood. I always knock back yeast before training and before heading out to the club; it’s rich in B vitamins.
If you want to start growing too, eat every two hours, sleep at lunchtime, go for massages, and before training slam garlic, yeast, sea buckthorn berries, nettle leaves and honey. Try to eat about a kilo of honey a week — lots of vitamins, and I’m a beekeeper myself, so I recommend that others get to know these little critters up close too. Massage should be mandatory in the pre-contest period — five times a week for two months before the competition. Great relaxation, though it gets a bit pricey.
Don’t forget to drink beer. Every morning I have one beer fasted and bite into garlic and nettles afterwards. Morning is a good time, because it goes straight to your head and you can set the plan for the day.
Don’t forget to eat goat meat, drink olive oil, green tea and apple cider vinegar water. Of course, I don’t buy meat — I go hunting with my Russian hound. A poacher, yes, but what can you do when you’re in need.
I recommend swimming until December — it hardens you, and not a little. Around 0c I put away a couple of big shots of vodka with garlic, and then I don’t get sick. Eat fats and amino acids, avoid pointless carbohydrates like white bread, potatoes and pasta — they make you drowsy and your looks ugly.
For the winter I’ve stocked up on 3 potato sacks full of nettle leaves, kortshein, pujeng leaves and rowan berries. They contain natural steroids, as the literature claims. Stay positive, rest, go out and have fun, and drink beer — then the muscle grows.”
Summary
I picked up a couple of good ideas and tricks — as in every Doers’ Workout. The workout was a workout like any other, with no miracle exercises. What impressed me more was Marek’s nutrition and recovery routine. Before training I only whipped my forearms with nettles, which started to itch; trying the yeast, I nearly threw up, and eating nettle leaves I scorched the underside of my tongue. But otherwise it was great fun.
FAQ on biceps training
How often should you train your biceps?
In Marek’s plan, the biceps get a heavy training load once a week (on Monday, together with back). When trained after the larger muscle groups, the biceps have time to recover from the previous session. For a beginner, one targeted day per week is enough as well.
Why support your back against the wall during EZ-barbell curls?
The wall stops you from swinging the weight up with your hips. When you can’t “help” with your upper body, the biceps is forced to do all the work itself — this gives better-isolated stimulation.
Isn’t lifting the dumbbell only to 90 degrees a partial rep?
In the final phase the biceps relaxes and the load shifts to the shoulder deltoid. Stopping the movement at 90 degrees keeps tension on the target muscle throughout the whole set — it’s a technical choice, not carelessness.
Author: Joker
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