That’s right: Ignore your genetic shortcomings—except when it comes to designing your workout program…
That’s how you’ll do your best to maximize whatever your muscle-building potential may be. Never give up…
Understand that there’s no way to change your parents, so just be consistent with your workouts and you’ll see muscles sprout.
Speaking of parents, my dad weighed 125 pounds and my mom 95 when they were married in their 20s. But I was convinced a twig could become big, so I decided not to pursue modeling gigs for pirate flags and pushed onward…
A friend once told me that my quest for muscle is one of the most impressive displays of persistence he’s ever seen. Sure, it was his way of saying, “You knew you’d never be Mr. Anything, so why didn’t you just give up?”
But when you love something, you keep doing it. It’s why Kevin Hart continues to play basketball pick-up games at 5’4”, running through the legs of his opponents—and why I entered a bodybuilding contest in the early ‘80s at age 22…
I knew I wouldn’t be the biggest onstage, so I did everything I could to maximize my best trait—conditioning. And I also made sure that my first contest was one with only nine inexperienced competitors.
My 165-pound contest physique is the result of training for six years. Really. I was an ectomorph’s ectomorph who should’ve gone into distance running or pole vaulting—as the pole.
Back to the show. To my surprise, I won and promptly retired from competition—undefeated.
I knew my limitations. My favorite bodybuilder was Mike Mentzer, one of the thickest, most genetically gifted at that time. Hercules incarnate. But my eyes were finally open enough to see that his physique and mine were from different galaxies.
I didn’t quit, however. I continued my pursuit of muscle size, committing myself to finding the best hypertrophy methods possible—without drugs. I was relentless, and I continued to make gradual progress. Here’s me in my 40s next to a pic from a year ago at age 62…
Granted, the age-40 pic is with pro lighting in the studio by the best photographer in the biz, Michael Neveux. Still, you never know the amount of muscle you can build—just know that some will come. Keep at it, experiment in the gym, and do everything you can to avoid injuries or inefficient workouts…
Here’s some hope. Check out Arnold in his early teens….
Sure that was probably after three workouts—and he has more muscle than I did at age 21…
The point is that there’s no way to look at him and say that he would become the king of bodybuilding—although apparently he was looked up to as a god by ladies with bee hives on their heads.
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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Build MASS with bodyweight training
One way you’re guaranteed to pack on stacks of muscle is through a process called muscle protein synthesis (MPS), which more than doubles 24 hours after an intense workout…
Until recently, MPS was only elevated when trainees would lift 70-90% of their one-rep max…
That’s not only dangerous for your joints, but it also sets you up for high injury risk every time you exercise…
It used to be believed that training with your own bodyweight couldn’t get you the same results as training with your 70-90% one rep max… Until NOW.