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More Mass With Full-Body “Compound” Workouts?

Q: Researchers James Steele and James Fisher, based in the UK, claim one to two full-body workouts with compound lifts for one or two sets to failure will get you 98 percent of the results you’re after. They claim the angles of movements, or biomechanics, make little to no difference as long as the muscle reaches failure. What are your thoughts on this? What do you think about the compound lifts?

A: Using specific compound exercises to failure, or close, will of course trigger some hypertrophy.

The best compound exercise would put the target muscle as the prime mover and achieve a full range of motion (ROM) for that muscle. So some are better than others… [Read more…]

Watching Mr. America’s Mass Workouts

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… [Read more…]

Mr. America’s Controversial Muscle Book

Q: Your Old Man Young Muscle ebook is your best work by far. I’ve got most of your books and ebooks, and this one tops the list. It’s pushed my gains to new heights at 45 years old. You do a great job of distilling Doug Brignole’s information and exercises, intertwining them with your own. My question is, should I get Doug’s book? It’s pricey.

A: Doug’s book, The Physics of Resistance Exercise, is a 400-page reference you will go back to again and again. [Read more…]

Ideal Exercises = Fast Muscle Gains + Slash Gym Time

“What are these ‘ideal exercises‘ of which you speak?”

I get that a lot—maybe not in those exact words; more like, “WTF you talkin’ ‘bout?”

Biomechanics expert and Mr. Universe Doug Brignole lays out 16 factors that exercises should meet to be in the ideal category. [Read more…]

2 Mistakes Blocking Your Mass Gains

I bring up the word “efficiency” a lot. That’s because time is precious, especially when you get old. I try not to waste it because, well, you never know when…let’s not go there…

Unfortunately, I feel as if I’ve squandered a lot of time in the gym over the years. Why? Primarily because I never quite wrapped my head around what each muscle does and how best to train them for growth… [Read more…]