Sergio Oliva had perhaps the most incredible bodybuilding genetics of all time—tiny waist, broad shoulders, and long muscle bellies in every body part. You can see that in his famous “victory” pose here…
Speaking of victory, he won the Mr. Olympia in 1967, ’68, and ’69, with Arnold taking second in that last one. In 1970, Arnold came back to beat Sergio, which was a controversial decision to say the least. And Sergio was not happy…
Sergio was banned from the contest in 1971, as he spoke out about his defeat loudly and often. That caused the federation that staged the O, the IFBB, to suspend him; however, he was allowed to go against Arnold again in ’72.
Sergio took second one more time in another even more controversial decision. That set him off again. He completely lost his cool, and he abruptly severed ties with the IFBB. He did make a comeback at the O in 1985 at age 44, but he could only manage eighth place.
Sergio was 5’10” and competed at around 245 pounds in his prime. He was a classic volume trainer, using up to 30 sets per body part at times. Many of his workouts lasted 2 1/2 to three hours—and that was after a 10-hour day of hard labor in a Chicago steel mill. Incredible…
Did Sergio need those long workouts? With his genetic gifts, probably not—but we do know that adding volume to a workout is a form of progression that builds mass—if it’s done correctly (unlike Sergio, mere mortals must take a more methodical approach)…
Now, increasing volume doesn’t mean that you have to add “regular” sets until you’re camping in the gym; there are other ways to do it, such as quick rest/pause sets, gradually adding more over the course of many weeks without overly extending your workouts…
For more on that ultimate mass tactic, see Chapter 6: Hypertrophic Progression in our Anabolic Reload ebook.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
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What Would You Do to Protect Your Family?
Mike Westerdal is a renowned personal trainer and national best-selling physical preparedness author, but he’s also a father and a husband… who would do anything to protect his family.
He used to get pushed around when younger and spent years building up his body and becoming stronger, getting mentally and physically tough the hard way. As he got bigger, he learned to handle himself, and working in security, he learned first-hand how violence really plays out.
Some of the other guys online who show off their self-defense videos and books need to get a grip. The level of skill needed to pull off their basic moves is CRAZY for most ordinary people.
If a defense system requires more than a few hours to master, it’s not a program.
The only techniques you will ever use are the simple ones.
They need to work for an ordinary person without prior training, technique, or ability.
So even if you think you don’t have time to learn how to defend yourself…
You don’t need to spend years training to be a martial artist.