So I see a post on Instagram that made me laugh out loud—yes, I waste time scrolling when I’m not posing in my front yard to entertain the neighbors…
Former pro bodybuilder Lee Labrada said that he’s an ectomorph. Really? Here’s how Lee looked in his prime…
Um, no. Sorry, a true ectomorph will not get that muscularly thick, even with drugs. Sure, Labrada may have some ectomorphic tendencies, but come on…
Few people fall strictly into one category—ectomorph (skinny), mesomorph (muscularly athletic), or endomorph (heavy set). Labrada falls more in the meso class with perhaps one foot in the ecto pool.
More of a true ectomorph is martial-arts-movie superstar Bruce Lee. This shot is after years of weight training—and I have no idea if he was using anything…
Mr. America and Mr. Universe Doug Brignole says he’s an ectomorph. Here he is on the cover of my favorite magazine after winning the Mr. California back in 1982…
Yes, Doug is more of an ectomorph than Labrada, but far from Bruce Lee. Doug is more ecto/meso, maybe an even split—but he leans more meso in my opinion. Check out the thickness of his arms and legs. Do you think Bruce Lee could’ve achieved that? Nope.
Me? I’m an ectomorph with a toe in the meso camp—or maybe just a toenail. I’m 5’10 1/2” and weigh around 185—with abs in the right light. I was very much a Bruce Lee type when I started—see below. The after is at age 62 with 45 years of training under my belt…
I wasn’t on anything for the above before (obviously) or after photos—or any photo shoots throughout my tenure at Iron Man. And I only had one short three-week steroid experience in my 20s with no results. I can’t speak for the other men pictured above.
I remember pro bodybuilder Mr. Heavy Duty Mike Mentzer being asked if, once you get big with steroids and then go off, isn’t it easier to get bigger again without them? In other words, once you’ve built that muscle memory, won’t it be easier to add mass naturally if you train correctly?
His answer was yes, that seems to be the case—not as big as when you used, but bigger than if you never did…
My point is that you need to be careful about emulating workouts of those with much better genetics than your own. Some people can grow driving by a gym—and even more so if they have a needle in their ass.
As far as competitive bodybuilders go, Brignole is similar to my body type—although more meso. I respect his views because he is a deep thinker, analyzes the research, and has a certain innate biomechanics brilliance….
Even so, I’ve found things that work for me that aren’t in line with Doug’s training. For example, I add another exercise after the ideal, and I use very short rests between sets; Doug’s are much longer. (See OMYM for my workouts, exercises and the STX method.)
Always remember that you are an individual, which is why I beat this drum: Experimentation can trigger new mass creation. Give something a try to see if it builds new size; if the answer is no, let it go.
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
www.X-Rep.com
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