Q: Your newsletters on genetics-based training were eye-opening. You appear to be a mix of slender and muscular genetics, so how are you training now? Do you mix heavy and more moderate-weight [high-rep] workouts?
A: I turned 65 in July, my “muscular genetics” are minuscule, so power bodybuilding is not in my wheelhouse…
It hasn’t been for two decades; however…
I still strive to get stronger, especially on the ideal exercises, those that I emphasize in my workouts. And getting stronger is still happening—when I don’t overtrain…
Over the winter, I was forced into full-body workouts due to my wife going into the hospital for an infection. She’s fine now. It was a stressful time, but…
It allowed me to experiment with the New Wave Full-Body Workout outlined in The Ultimate Mass Workout Reloaded (free with Never Stop Growing).
That has you prioritize half of our body while de-emphasizing the other half at one workout. Then you flip-flop that priority at your next session. It’s an excellent, innovative solution for training your muscles more frequently…
It worked amazingly well for five weeks, but once my wife recovered, I was ready for a change. Full body was beginning to feel a bit overwhelming despite de-emphasizing half my muscles at each workout…
I went back to splitting my body over two workouts, using STX at one and Doug Brignole’s SSS (superset) method at the next (outlined in NSG)…
I had been on that alternating-methods schedule in early fall, and….
I saw decent results. Short rests between sets at one workout (Density Training) alternated with longer rests with opposing-muscle supersets at the next kept me motivated and my muscles full, BUT…
I could tell that my more ectomorphic physique responded much better to STX training. That led me to my current schedule, which created immediate new muscle gains…
NOW I do STX rest/pause at EVERY workout, doing an SSS workout ONLY whenever I feel the need: Instinctive training…
Results the past few weeks are visibly noticeable—my shirt sleeves are tighter as my abs are beginning to show. I also feel bigger…
My main workouts are the STX Upper-Body and STX Lower-Body on pages 40-42 in Never Stop Growing…
I do switch up the add-on exercises. For example, for triceps I’ll do bench dips or kickbacks as the contracted-position exercise instead of cross-cable pushdowns…
Those are all good, varied contracted triceps add-on choices I use after the ideal, low-incline cable push-outs…
Will I ever go back to the New Wave Full-Body Workout? I’m sure I will. I’m someone who thrives on change to gain….
That’s why I believe it’s good to have a few different solid muscle-building workouts, as well as different exercises, to choose from, depending on your life situations and motivation…
That and emphasizing the ideal biomechanically safe exercises is how you stay…
Built for Life