We gravitate back to Bob Paris in our Zen newsletter often because he had one of the most perfectly proportioned physiques to ever grace a bodybuilding stage… [Read more…]
New Home-Grown Mass: Slo-Mo vs. High Reps
Q: Your Quick Start Muscle 2.0 has renewed my motivation for home training. I’m stoked and starting the STX workouts next week. You have the first set in both workouts for slow-twitch exhaustion. Do you think that first set is better as a slow-mo set or as a normal speed high-rep set?
A: Either of those methods on the first set accomplishes the same thing: You fatigue the slow-twitch fibers, triggering more fast-twitch-fiber activation on the set or sets that follow… [Read more…]
All-Stretch Home Mass Workout
Q: I have the updated Quick Start Muscle 2.0. Thank you! The new home-workout section is just what I needed. One question: I remember you guys talking about an all-stretch-exercise workout a while back. Is that something I should try to increase mass gains while I’m training at home?
A: Yes, absolutely. Doing ONLY stretch-position exercises at a workout for every bodypart can do some great things for muscle growth… [Read more…]
Home-Grown Muscle: The Speed Factor
Q: I’m training at home like everyone else, but I don’t have a lot of weight. In fact, on many exercises, like dumbbell bench presses, the weight is way too light. Is there anything I can do to keep my muscle growth moving forward without going heavier?
A: First, bodybuilding is called “progressive-resistance” training because adding weight and/or reps to your exercises can increase muscle size…
We say “can” because getting stronger does not always mean getting bigger. Strength may also be the result of neuromuscular adaptation—nervous system efficiency—or better coordination/leverage. [Read more…]
Our At-Home Mass Workouts (what we’re doing)
Back in the 1990s, Steve’s very first book was titled Iron Man’s Home Gym Handbook. Looks like we’ve come full-circle. At the moment, there’s no place like home—or nowhere else to train but home…
Like most iron men and women, we’re at home with limited equipment. Luckily, our decades of bodybuilding experience have resulted in multiple mass-training tactics and moves to keep gains coming. Here’s Steve’s report on what he’s doing in his bare-bones pump-atorium. [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 47: Danny Padilla’s Mass
We featured Danny Padilla back in Zen #19, but after recently running across the gym photo below, we had to include him again. That’s because every time we see it, all we can say is, “Damn!” [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 45: John Grimek
John Grimek, at 5’ 8 1/2” and around 220 pounds, was one of the most massive bodybuilders of his era. He was the AAU Mr. American in 1940 and ’41, and at age 38 he beat Steve Reeves for the 1948 NABBA Mr. Universe. He retired from competition the next year.
Home-Gym Training
Q: I’ve been following your Quick-Start Muscle Building Guide. I’m currently on week 4, and it’s a great program. I’m already seeing results, but I’ve been reading about X Reps and the Positions-of-Flexion approach to lifting. I want to start using those as part of my home-gym training. I currently have only a pair of dumbbells, an EZ-curl bar, and an adjustable bench. Which program should I follow next? I’m not sure I can do POF with my limited equipment.
A: That’s a limited gym alright, and if you’re going to with your home-gym training, consider adding some essentials. For now you can continue progressing with what you have—although you didn’t say if the dumbbells are adjustable or selectorized (so you can change the weight by moving a pin or twisting a dial).
[Read more…]Pec Contraction Without Machines or Cables
Q: You have cable crossovers, cable flyes, or pec deck flyes listed as contracted-position exercises for chest in 3D Muscle Building. I train in a home gym without a cable set up. What should I do for pec contraction?
A: Contracted-position exercises are usually isolation exercises that keep the target muscle under tension throughout the set. In other words, there is no bone-support at lockout so the target muscle gets no rest till the end of the set… [Read more…]