Dedicated to Your Physical Transformation
Q: In Old Man Young Muscle you have a Base Workout for upper body and one for lower body. Then you have a separate chapter on full-range Positions-of-Flexion [stretch-first] workouts. How often do you switch to that from the Base Workout?
A: First, in all of my workouts I emphasize the ideal exercise for each muscle… [Read more…]
We’ve featured Danny Padilla in our Zen installments many times, but this is a shot we haven’t seen before. It’s a great stage shot that highlights his mass and symmetry, things his training style emphasized and amplified… [Read more…]
Ronnie Coleman won the Mr. Olympia eight times, and his incredible monstrous physique set a new standard in the pro ranks. Check out the back shot on the right—striations on top of striations. Incredible… [Read more…]
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…]
Q: I’ve seen speed reps in some of your routines. What are those, and how do they work to add more mass?
A: We call this mass tactic X-celeration, and it can pack on new mass FAST because of extra fiber activation, and it’s a technique that lends itself well to home-gym training… [Read more…]
Q: Your higher-rep TORQ (tension overload repetition quantity) method is unreal. It’s given me new size in every muscle after only three weeks. I use your [3-way] Positions of Flexion, and I TORQ on one of the 3 moves. I switch it up with regular 4X and heavy pyramids. My question is, Should I add weight on each set when I use TORQ [30-20-15 reps]?
A: Mixing it up is great for ultimate mass, as we’ll explain. As for adding weight to each TORQ set, that’s going to depend on the exercise and where your TORQ move falls in the POF bodypart routine… [Read more…]
A few Zens back, we mentioned that our friend and colleague Doug Brignole recently won the 2019 Drug-Free Mr. Universe Open division at age 59.
He’s not a mass monster, but rather cut from the aesthetic-physique mold. Nevertheless, even in a T-shirt, his physique is very impressive, as you can see from this flexing pic [photo courtesy of Doug Brignole]… [Read more…]
The shots of Frank Zane (left) and Mike Mentzer below show a unique contrast of physiques and conditioning. Both were taken at the 1979 Mr. Olympia, with Zane weighing 190 and Mentzer 210.
[Read more…]Q: In the description of your new e-book [The X-traordinary X-Rep Workout], you mention that Arnold used X Reps. How is that even possible? He was training [at his peak] way back in the 1970s, and X Reps didn’t come around till the 2000s. What’s the deal?
A: We coined the X-Rep term about fifteen years ago, but partial-rep training has been around for ages in various forms. What we did was take the most recent research on semi-stretch-point fiber activation and zero in on the BEST spot on the stroke for end-of-set partials, or X Reps…
[Read more…]Q: Okay, your before and after photos at X-Rep.com are unreal. I can’t believe you made those changes in only one month, and my friends say you used drugs. What’s the truth? How did you do it, what kind of training did you do, and were drugs involved? Please be honest.
A: Trust us, no drugs were involved. Truth: Jonathan is a drug-free for life bodybuilder and Steve experimented with 5 milligrams of Dianabol once a day back in his early 20s—but after three weeks of dreams that his liver would explode, he stopped. BTW, he saw no visual improvement during those 3 weeks on that dosage.
[Read more…]
