I mentioned that we as bodybuilders are somewhat “psychotic.” Sacrificing so much in an attempt to look swole is not exactly normal—but it does satisfy a certain alpha-male need.
I left off discussing the early version of my mass-building method Positions of Flexion and how it accelerated my gains. It actually helped me win a bodybuilding contest in my early 20s. Why did it work so well?
POF was a logical way to work a muscle through its full range of motion using three specific exercises. Best example is triceps: lying extensions or close-grip bench presses for midrange, overhead extensions for stretch, and pushdowns for contracted.
Those three exercises completely worked the target over its full arc of flexion—from overhead to mid-torso level to arms down next to the body. In the process it provided stretch overload and continuous tension, two key hypertrophy factors…
In Old Man New Muscle I discuss the key hypertrophy factors identified by Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D., one of the leading researchers in the field: mechanical tension, metabolic stress, and muscle damage.
When Schoenfeld presented those a few years ago, I was shocked but pleased to see that they correlated perfectly with the POF mass-building triumvirate (explained in the new ebook).
That explained why, even way back in the ’80s, the first version of POF helped me win the first and only bodybuilding contest I ever entered…
Granted it was a small show with only a handful of competitors—we didn’t even pose to music—but I got the first-place trophy. Still, POF needed work…
Over the years the method has seen a number of renditions. The real impressive evolutionary jumps occurred once I began working for Iron Man and publisher John Balik assembled our own training and research center at the IM office building.
My training partner and human guinea pig Jonathan, pictured above, helped immensely, but he suffered a lot too. We both were injured a number of times, luckily nothing major.
It wasn’t until recently, due to my re-aquaintance with Mr. America, Mr. Universe, and biomechanics expert Doug Brignole, that the POF method has taken another giant leap in efficiency…
His huge book, The Physics of Resistance Exercise, opened my eyes to a number of missteps I had made…
The bad news is that I’m now 62. If only I’d had the biomechanically ideal exercises to emphasize within the POF framework way back when…
How would it have changed? How would I have gained? Would I have consoled Arnold when I crushed him at the Olympia? Stay tuned for my muscle-building lessons learned…
New: Get the ideal exercise for each muscle, the best add-on moves for ultimate mass, complete 35-minute workouts, exercise start/finish photos, and details on building muscle fast and efficiently in Old Man, Young Muscle.
And you still get The Muscle-On, Belly-Gone “Diet” ebook FREE for a limited time when you add Old Man, Young Muscle to your mass-building library. Go HERE.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
Steve Holman
Former Editor in Chief, Iron Man Magazine
www.X-Rep.com
Ripped Muscle Now: Harvard Research
Harvard researcher Dr. Dimitrios Stamou discovered an enzyme that eats bodyfat. It’s helping women and men lose up to 21 pounds on average in less than 28 days.
Plus, it can help bodybuilders get freaky ripped faster than ever (see the pic of the 69-year-old who is shredded at the link below).
Remember, when you’re leaner, you look bigger than ever… And best of all, your body can MAKE this fat-blasting enzyme by eating these specific foods… and they taste GREAT.
Our colleague, the man who owned the gym that Lou Ferrigno trained at in “Pumping Iron,” turned us onto this. He’s using it himself to shed fat faster than ever, and he’s in his 50s. Get the details and see his photo HERE.