I was more than pleased to see that Mr. America/Mr. Universe Doug Brignole filmed his workouts and has them all on video. You can check them out HERE.
While he has invited me to come and train with him—or maybe I invited myself—he lives about an hour away, which is three hours if L.A. traffic is in full swing. So I’ve opted for back-and-forth discussions. And now I’ve got these videos to clarify some things…
It’s like I’m in his private gym with him, no screaming at people on the freeway necessary…
They are gold because I was finally able to see his rep tempo and proper performance of each ideal exercise, according to his on-point biomechanical analysis. Here’s how the workouts are presented…
#1: Chest & lats
#2: Midback & calves
#3: Glutes & side delts
#4: Anterior delts & posterior delts
#5: Triceps & biceps
#6: Quads & upper traps
#7: Hamstrings & hip flexors
#8: Abs & erector spinae
#9: Obliques & forearms
#10: Infraspinatus & neck
So much great info here. I truly enjoyed being “in the gym” with Doug. Not only do you see every exercise and how to perform it correctly, he explains why he does certain things and important muscle-building nuances. For example…
On the very first video, Doug explains why he pushes his rib cage up at the bottom of each dumbbell decline press rep—to enhance the stretch and increases pec development. Yes! (New study on this in tomorrow’s newsletter.)
Also, on the one-arm cable lat pull-ins, he has the pulley slightly in front of him, not directly to the side. I discovered that on my own, but I also noticed that he uses a wrist strap with a hook to latch onto the cable handle…
That takes the grip out of it and helps minimize biceps involvement. I just got a pair from Amazon, and they work great—much better lat feel. If you’re interested in these hook straps, you can go HERE.
They’re also ideal for hanging from a chinning bar to help decompress my old spine so I’m not mistaken for Mr. Burns from “The Simpsons.”
Aside from specific exercise details, Doug also provides unique insight into his training tempo and philosophies. For instance…
He discusses resistance in the contracted position and says he doesn’t emphasize it—no squeeze. His rationale is that the “flexed” position is inefficient at engaging muscle fibers and therefore inefficient at stimulating mass. He instead emphasizes the stretch, which is where the muscle is strongest…
I’ve watched most of these videos, sipping on my protein drink—or wine, depending on the time of day. Most run 20 to 30 minutes and all contain eye-opening tidbits, tweaks, and techniques…
One caveat: I asked Doug why he was doing four supersets instead of three on the vids. He said the filming happened before he pulled back his volume. He displays plenty of muscle onscreen, but he says he has even more now that he’s cut back to three sets—so much more that he’s thinking about competing again…
If you want to buy and view these for yourself, you can choose the ones that interest you most and/or contain the exercises you’re having trouble with. Each one is $20.
Or you can get them all for $150 and save $50 (my choice). Again, the link is HERE.
If you’ve ever thought, “Man, it would be great to train chest and back with Brignole,” now you can—no road rage necessary.
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 and Jonathan Lawson
X-Rep.com
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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: