This is a great photo of Rich Gaspari looking aesthetic in the gym… [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 109: Danny Padilla Onstage Mass
Here’s Danny Padilla once again featured in our weekly Zen. Thickness and mass perfection onstage in the ’70s.
We’re fans of his physique as well as his training style that amplified his genetic gifts and preserved his joints…
In fact, our workouts evolved in many good way thanks to info on Danny’s training—and Vince Gironda’s methods as well.
Padilla’s workouts were best described as “progressive muscle-fiber exhaustion” using only moderate weights. That means no hammering joints into submission with crazy poundages…
That moderate-poundage style saved our joints and has us still training and gaining into old age—Steve is in his early 60s.
Our 4X Mass Method that we’ve been using for years now, is based on Danny’s training, which was an off-shoot of Gironda’s Density Training…
It consists of moderate weights for four to five quick sets. The method is designed to gradually exhaust the various muscle fiber types due to short rests between sets.
It’s a thorough, efficient, and safer way to get total muscle growth in almost all fiber types.
The 4X method is excellent for younger trainee looking to preserve their joints as they pack on new mass, as well as for older bodybuilders who are training around aches and pains. Oh, and the pump is unreal…
Now is the perfect time to try 4X for major muscle-growth success. For loads of motivating info and programs…
> The 4X Mass Workout 2.0 is available HERE.
Or for our other favorite density method, check out STX growth-threshold tactic in our latest retooled ebook, that includes many mass-building home-gym workouts…
> Quick-Start Muscle-Building Guide 2.0 is available HERE.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
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
More Mass with the Front-to-Back Attack
Q: I always hurt my back when I squat heavy. And now I even hurt it doing moderate-weight 4X, probably because of the damage I’ve incurred over the years. You may call it brainwashing, but I really feel that I need to squat to build more mass. Any suggestions? I don’t want to give up squatting.
A: We’re right there with you on that. After years of heavy squatting—and numerous back injuries–we’re now very cautious when doing that exercise. But the good news is that we’ve figured out how to do it while significantly minimizing the injury potential and still gaining more mass… [Read more…]
10 Minutes per Muscle Is All It Takes
Q: After reading some of your previous newsletters, I’ve been thinking about trying your 10×10 method. It sounds good, except I can’t get myself to accept using such a light weight. Will that really build muscle? I bench 300 pounds for a single, so that means I should use 180 pounds for 10×10. Man, how can that work?
A: You’re falling for the old the-heavier-you-go-the-more-you-grow myth. It’s been ingrained in all of us, but once you understand how muscle mass is created, you’ll know that you can build a lot of size with more moderate poundages and short rests—like with 10×10 or 4X… [Read more…]
Moderate-Weight Mass Building
Q: I love the Super-TORQ mass method you outline in the Power-Density 2.0 e-book. I’m 55 years old, so moderate weights are great for me, but I can’t quite wrap my head around doing such high reps at every workout. I alternate with heavy workouts as you suggest in the e-book because I’ve brutalized my joints over the years (screw you, heavy benches—Lol). Is there a MODERATE-power/Super TORQ workout I could use instead?
A: That’s an easy one—and we mention the solution in the Power-Density 2.0 e-book. You were probably just so into the new Super TORQ part of that e-book that you overlooked it… [Read more…]
Moment of Bodybuilding Zen 19: Danny Padilla
Danny Padilla was known for his classic, no-flaws physique. His nickname was “the Giant Killer” because at only 5’2” his perfect mass-symmetry combo allowed him to beat bodybuilders who were much taller and larger than he was. [Read more…]
Flip Your Growth Switch With This 4X Mass Mix
Q: I’ve been using the Positions of Flexion 4X program [in The 4X Mass Workout 2.0]. I’m blown away at how much muscle I gained in a month. 4 pounds! That’s after a couple of years with zero muscle gains. That workout is all moderate-weight 4X and 3X sequences, and I’m wondering if I should use your downward-progression 4X method every so often, adding weight on each set. How should I work it into that program?
A: There are a couple of excellent options, but we have a simple one that’s our favorite. Before we lay it out, let’s explain the 4X vs. DP 4X since we have a lot of new readers…
[Read more…]Muscle Size by Priming the Pump: Do You Really Need a Warmup?
Q: I don’t seem to see you guys talking about warm-up sets very often. Do I need to do any? I’m interested in building the most mass possible.
A: If you’re using something like our 4X mass method, you don’t need warm-up sets. The first easier sets prime the pump… [Read more…]
Max Muscle Mass: Power vs. Density (before and after photos)
Q: I’m blown away by your Super-Size Crash Course e-book. Great workouts and innovations in training. Love the [Progressive-Speed 4X]. I felt bigger just reading about it. LOL! And bigger yet after trying it. One question: You often say that you don’t need heavy lifting to get big, but you had [Jordon Williamson, your test subject] doing heavy training every other workout in Phase 1. Could he have made similar or even better size gains without that heavy training?
A: Excellent question, and, yes, we often say that trainees can get big without ultra-heavy training. Research verifies that fact. [Read more…]