My recent newsletter, “Ideal Lat-Mass Moves,” got under the skin of biomechanics expert and 2019 Drug-Free Mr. Universe Doug Brignole. He disagrees with my assessment of the one-arm cable lat pull-in as having a less-than-ideal resistance curve. [Read more…]
Lats Grow! Kipping No! (video)
Q: I’ve seen new muscle after adding in stretch exercises. But your discussion on pulldowns was kind of confusing. You concluded that parallel grip with separate handles is best at about shoulder width, and close-grip V handle is okay, but an over grip can cause shoulder impingement. I don’t see much of a difference. Can you explain? [Read more…]
Lat Stretch Variation for Mass Acceleration
My daughter and future son-in-law reported back to me about my lat-stretch suggestion. I told them to try undergrip pulldowns after the ideal exercise…
Keeping the torso angled slightly back allows the arms to stay in front of the shoulders to avoid joint impingement—but there are some problems I forgot to warn them about… [Read more…]
Lat Stretch for Back Mass?
As I mentioned, my daughter and future son-in-law have been working out for a few years, and they love quizzing me on the workout process…
They also enjoy tell me I’m wrong because Mongo at the gym does it a different way, and “he’s huge.” [Read more…]
Mass Gains: I’m Not Insane
I was talking with my daughter and future son-in-law the other day. The subject moved to weight training quickly, as it usually does…
They both have been working out for a few years. He’s after bigger muscles, she’s after a shapely physique, muscle included. [Read more…]
Surprising Muscle-Killing Exercise (stop)
I’ve mentioned one of the first controversial articles by Mr. America Doug Brignole we published in Iron Man many moons ago was his “Stop the Overhead Presses.”
He slammed the exercise as not great for shoulder development and most responsible for jamming the joint into painful submission over time. [Read more…]
Rows Blow for Back Mass—What?
Mr. America Doug Brignole opened my eyes to a number of bodybuilding missteps that I and lots of others have been making in the gym…
If you missed it, Doug recently won the 2019 AAU Drug-Free Mr. Universe at age 59, and he did it using only a handful of “ideal” exercises. Rows for back are not on his list… [Read more…]
Trouble with 10X on Chins
Q: I’ve been hitting it heavy for a few months, so I’m planning to switch to your 10×10 Mass Workout for a few weeks. I’ve done two workouts so far with 10X, and it feels great so far, and the pump is awesome. One problem I have is chins—there’s just no way I can do 10 sets of 10 reps with only 30 seconds of rest between. I know I can do pulldowns instead, but I believe chins are the superior back builder. Any suggestions?
A: You have a few choices. Famous Hollywood trainer, Vince “Iron Guru” Gironda, favored 8×8. You could try that instead of 10×10. Vince called that his “honest” muscle-building workout, and his trainees’ muscles got bigger, fuller shapes with 8×8.
One of the most famous proponents of the 10×10 method was our colleague, Olympic coach, and muscle-size-and-strength expert the late Charles Poliquin. Here was his advice to those who couldn’t manage 10×10 on chins…
The law of repeated efforts will enable you to develop the work capacity to perform all 10 sets… Start at 10 sets of 5 reps as your first goal so that you can accumulate volume. Then progress to 10 sets of 6, and so on.
So once you get all 10 sets—or almost all—for 5 reps, add a rep at our next workout so you attempt 10×6. Keep striving to bump up your rep count…
Also, there’s no hard-and-fast rule that 30 seconds is the ideal between-sets rest. You can use 45 seconds or even one minute. For sarcoplasmic-expansion stress—building the energy fluid in the fibers—which is what 10×10 is all about, one minute should be the limit…
As for your comment that chins are better than pulldowns, maybe not better—just different. Pulldowns allow you to angle your torso for a unique lat-fiber hit. There’s really no way to angle your torso on chins to vary the stress on your back…
To get a best-of-both worlds double hit, you could start a 10×10 sequence on chins, and when you can no longer get 10, move to pulldowns. You’ll have to experiment with the poundage so that your first set of pulldowns isn’t too easy but also not close to failure…
Say your chins go something like 10, 10, 10, 9. That’s four sets. Rest 30 seconds, then move to pulldowns. Your reps should go something like 10, 10, 10, 9, 9, 8. And your lats will be thoroughly pumped from hitting two slightly different angles of pull. It’s a great double attack to get your back jacked…
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
Recommended
Mass-Building Lessons From the Master Trainer
Vince Gironda was the Iron Guru, a bodybuilding legend ahead of his time. His most famous pupil in the bodybuilding world was the very first Mr. Olympia Larry Scott, and he also trained many Hollywood stars back in the day, like Clint Eastwood, and even Arnold consulted with him and was a fan (even though Vince told Arnold that he was a “fat f**k” when he first arrived in the U.S.).
Many of Vince’s mass-building tricks and methods have been forgotten, buried by information and misinformation overload on the Internet, but now you can find them all, his true methods, in this must-have, 330-page Vince Gironda e-book anthology…
You get everything from “Train 21 Rest 7” to 10-8-6-15 to Vince’s Stone Age Nutrition, the 8×8 method and program and much, much more (remember, it’s 330 pages). And it’s on sale at a discount for a limited time: Simply use the code GIRONDA20 at checkout for an extra 20 percent off.
Vince Gironda: Legend & Myth (300-page anthology + many bonus gifts and programs) HERE
Back-Attack Size Effects
Q: You have V-handle pulldowns as the Ultimate Exercise for lats [in the X-traordinary X-Rep Workout]. I do those for the power pyramid then wide-grip pulldowns for a density drop set. But I feel the wide-grips in my lats more. Can I reverse the order and do the wide pulldowns for the pyramid, then the V-handle pulldowns for a density drop set?
A: Absolutely! Your question is similar to one we had for chest before. In that case, we suggested switching the order at every workout to emphasize a different line of force for optimal size effects. You could do that with lats also (and it will help your arms look huge too, as you’ll see in a moment)… [Read more…]
Ultimate At-Home Back Exercise
Q: I just read through the updated Quick Start Muscle 2.0. Great info! I’m starting the new at-home workout immediately. One question: What is an incline row, and does it work mid back or lats?
A: Training at home can be a challenge, so we tried to include the best exercises for all muscle groups in the at-home workouts, especially the advanced ones…
And the incline row is in that best-of-the-best category. Why? [Read more…]