This black-and-white shot of Ray Mentzer is one we haven’t seen before (we’re not sure of the photographer). It’s when Ray won the 1979 Mr. America.
Ray Mentzer’s classic lines together with excellent mass development earned him the coveted Mr. America title. His physique was more aesthetic than his brother Mike’s, who had a more rugged, herculean look.
And while Ray’s genetics were primarily responsible for his classic mass, his training had to be on point to get him there.
His workouts were short and intense, and he knew how to get in touch with each target muscle every single workout. We’ve mentioned his comment that he could make a 30-pound dumbbell feel like a 60-pounder. Emphasizing control and feeling the muscle contracting and elongating all the way through the stroke did amazing things for his mass gains.
Which is also the reason he was a big proponent of static holds at the end of a set. He would often use holds, or static contractions, on the last rep of a set at three points along the range—contracted, midrange, and near the stretch.
Those tips are ones we can all use right now, as many people are still training at home due to the coronavirus pandemic. And many, like us, are without a lot of poundage to work with…
All of that is the reason we expanded our Quick-Start Muscle-Building Guide to a 2.0 version with many mass tactics, like Ray’s, infused into complete home workouts in a big, updated section…
The section with the new workouts focuses on building muscle in a bare-bones home gym with only moderate poundages. For these programs all you need is an adjustable bench and dumbbells (we have only the 50-pound PowerBlock set, and we’re still growing)…
You can add this newly updated ebook to your mass-building library by clicking HERE.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
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.