Lee Labrada never won the Mr. Olympia, but he got close due to his incredible symmetry, proportions, and muscle size and density—“Mass With Class.” His physique was a work of art…
You can see that from this out-and-about photo by Michael Neveux of Lee in archer mode…
What was his bodybuilding secret? He was from the Lee Haney school of “stimulate don’t annihilate” your muscles during workouts; however, he fused that with the Mike Mentzer shorter workouts to failure—but with only moderate poundages.
He was all about “growth threshold” training. Here’s how Lee Labrada defined it…
The growth threshold is the point at which the level of fatigue in the muscle is high enough that a growth response is elicited. Your goal during a workout should be to fatigue the target muscles you are training more and more with each succeeding set. In other words, you want the muscles to progressively get more and more tired out, until you reach a point where the muscles are functionally ‘worn out.’ Signals are sent to the brain that set up the compensation, or growth, process during the post workout period, so that in future workouts, you can handle it.
That’s what our 4X mass method is all about. Because you use the same weight on every set of a 4X sequence, and the first two sets are fairly easy, you zero in on the growth threshold quickly. The key is the short 30-second rests between sets. Those ensure that fatigue accumulates to a size-triggering climax at set 4.
And you do all of that in minimal time, with strict form, and WITHOUT joint-crushing poundages. That style of growth-threshold mass training is exactly why Labrada still looks unbelievable now in his 60s. His Iron Man cover below left is Labrada at age 51, contrasted with the one on the right when he was 27 (Neveux photos). Wow!
Now that’s Mass-With-Class longevity.
Try 4X for growth-threshold success—no joint stress.
> The 4X Mass Workout 2.0 is available HERE.
If you want our NEWEST mass program that includes 4X, Positions-of-Flexion programs and many free mass-building bonuses…
Grab this for your muscle-building library: the After-40 Muscle-Size Manual package HERE.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
X-Rep.com
The “New” Perfect Physique
You’ve probably believed that women go crazy over huge muscles. You’ve probably even aspired to look like Arnold at some point.
The picture of the perfect physique seems to have changed over the years…
There were several years when it seemed women preferred a leaner and smaller physique like Brad Pitt’s in Fight Club.
Luckily, that seems to have just been a fad, and a more muscular look has become more desired again. Not pro bodybuilder big, but something in between with good muscularity and chiseled detail…
Alain Gonzales refers to it as the “Athletic-Aesthetic” physique, and women go wild over it.
Check out Alain’s 12-week program here: