Muscle growth can be slow. In fact, it usually moves at a snail’s pace. Ten pounds in a year is considered spectacular progress.
That’s less than one pound a month. But could it be—should it be—faster?
Late pro bodybuilder, Mr. Heavy Duty Mike Mentzer said that most bodybuilders should be able to attain their full genetic muscular potential in two years. (Photo by John Balik)
Is that wishful thinking by a freaky anomaly who reached his size potential early on? Could be; however, consider that muscle gains may be so slow for most because of all the misinformation out there. That slows your roll considerably.
You’re always asking, “My gains are good, but could they be better? Should I try this rather than what I’m doing?”
If that something makes sense, work it into your training. Don’t just do it for the sole reason that some juiced gargoyle told you to—make sure there’s some reasoning behind it…
Yes, trying something new in the gym is scary. Will you lose some muscle you’ve built? Will friends start asking if you’re sick?
The good news is that more often than not, a change will increase gains—at least for a while. Most of us are in a rut and don’t even know it. Case in point: All the folks at the gym who remain the same—they never change.
From a personal point of view, you’ve seen my progress over 10 weeks last summer—using only 50-pound PowerBlock dumbbells, an adjustable bench, and a doorway chinning bar.
I did it with 35-minute workouts three days a week at age 62. I took a risk and centered my workouts around 2019 Drug-Free Mr. Universe Doug Brignole’s biomechanically correct “ideal” exercises from his 400-page tome, The Physics of Resistance Exercise.
No barbell squats. No overhead presses. No flat bench presses. I was amazed as muscle materialize quickly, but now I ask, Could my results have been better?
Going back and forth with Doug, a very smart guy who continues to research building muscle, has me testing a few new ideas.
Of course, I’m retaining most of the things I know have worked, as outlined in the information and my mass-building workouts in Old Man Young Muscle.
I’ll discuss some of the new additions in future newsletters. For now, realize that a few sensible new tweaks can add to your physique.
The mistake is to think you know it all or fear change. That can smother your gains.
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
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What Will You Do When Your Family is Under Serious Threat?
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.