This impressive shot of Mike Mentzer was a poster that Steve had on his wall in his late teens for motivation…
Steve’s genetics were far from Mentzer’s, but the herculean impressiveness of Mike’s physique still got Steve stoked to push to the limit in the gym, which helped him win his first bodybuilding contest…
But he didn’t resemble Mentzer’s—his physique was and still is more along the lines of Frank Zane…
So, yes, the determining factor in how your physique will look is genetics, plain and simple. The shape of your physique is already in place—but by training hard and smart, you can maximize your muscular potential in minimal time…
Speaking of smart training, Mentzer was a student of scientific protocols for hypertrophy. For example, when he was training for the ’80 Mr. Olympia, IFBB judge Roger Schwab put him through many of his workouts.
Roger said Mike used a full-body routine three days a week, and he used the modified Pre-Ex method. For example, for chest he did a higher-rep set of Nautilus flyes (isolation), rested only briefly, then did a heavy lower-rep set of Nautilus decline presses. Yes, one set of each exercise only–higher-rep isolation followed by lower-rep compound. (For more on Mentzer and how he built crazy mass with Pre-Ex, see The Pre-Ex 3X Mass Workout e-book.)
Mentzer’s modified Pre-Ex with a higher-rep slow-twitch set followed by a lower-rep fast-twitch one is a version of our STX method, slow-twitch exhaustion, which we outline in our Anabolic Reload ebook.
STX is based on a Brazilian study showing that the high-rep set first on the initial exercise not only helps activate more fast-twitch growth fibers on the heavier set that follows but also triggers new growth in the slow-twitch “endurance” fibers.
Most bodybuilders tend to ignore slow-twitchers (higher reps), but they have been found to have more size potential than previously believed. That’s a good way to get more residual growth. Heck, we want as much size from as many layers as possible, including slow-twitch fibers. That’s Anabolic Reload STX.
The STX Anabolic Reload ebook is available HERE
The Pre-Ex 3X Mass Workout is available HERE
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
Mass-Building Lessons From the Master Trainer
Vince Gironda was the Iron Guru, a bodybuilding legend ahead of his time. His most famous pupil in the bodybuilding world was the very first Mr. Olympia Larry Scott, and he also trained many Hollywood stars back in the day, like Clint Eastwood, and even Arnold consulted with him and was a fan (even though Vince told Arnold that he was a “fat f**k” when he first arrived in the U.S.).
Many of Vince’s mass-building tricks and methods have been forgotten, buried by information and misinformation overload on the Internet, but now you can find them all, his true methods, in this must-have, 330-page Vince Gironda e-book anthology…
You get everything from “Train 21 Rest 7” to 10-8-6-15 to Vince’s Stone Age Nutrition, the 8×8 method and program and much, much more (remember, it’s 330 pages). And it’s on sale at a discount for a limited time: Simply use the code GIRONDA20 at checkout for an extra 20 percent off.
Vince Gironda: Legend & Myth (300-page anthology + many bonus gifts and programs) HERE