While Arthur Jones, inventor of Nautilus machines, wasn’t always right, and he’d call you a fool if you said he was wrong, his ideas on limited recovery ability are on the money. Here’s a quote from his 1971 Nautilus Bulletin #2: [Read more…]
Question to Ask for More Mass
Muscle growth can be slow. In fact, it usually moves at a snail’s pace. Ten pounds in a year is considered spectacular progress.
That’s less than one pound a month. But could it be—should it be—faster? [Read more…]
Twig to Big—Putting Muscle Mass on a Flagpole
Q: The after photo of you when you used X-Reps [in your early 40s] is impressive. You look massive. Hard to believe you’re a hardgainer ecto type. Do you really think you’re a true ectomorph? From that photo, I’d say no. [Read more…]
Body Type and Mass Gains
My friend and colleague Doug “Mr. Universe” Brignole recently said something that had me rewinding to years ago when I reported on a study that verified his point… [Read more…]
“Speed” Your Mass Gains
Q: I haven’t seen you mention Speed Sets in the newsletter. Are you still using them? You have them in Old Man, Young Muscle.
A: In the spirit of change to gain, absolutely. I generally do speed reps on the last set for a body part…
While studies show that the best rep tempo for building mass quickly is lift in one to two seconds, lower in three, using a different cadence can produce unique size effects… [Read more…]
A Big Thing Holding Back Your Mass Gains
We love our workouts—or at least we have a love/hate relationship with them…
We like to train, but the pain to gain—torching and scorching muscles—is a teeth-clenching necessity for hypertrophy. It hurts… [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…]
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…]
X-celerate Your Mass Gains With X-Reps
In a previous newsletter I mentioned range of motion and how a target muscle is strongest near its stretch point and weakest at full contraction… [Read more…]
We were wrong: Our biggest mass-building misstep
Learning how to train properly and efficiently for the best mass gains is an evolutionary process…
Even so, you can work out for years thinking you’re on the right track and then—Boom!—an epiphany wakes you up. [Read more…]